GOD's CHISEL

GOD does not ever create junk!

You are GOD's masterpiece, His workmanship...in progress. The Skit Guys explain:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXut0HxncvY

When GOD accepts us as His children, He loves us so much that He will not leave us the way we are now, but will chisel out any (and all) parts of us that are not of His making. His chiseling hurts at times, especially when we stubbornly fight Him by holding on to that He is taking away; but He lovingly does it to make us the masterpiece He had always intended us to be. We are His workmanship. He is the Ultimate Perfectionist...He will not leave us not perfect.

PERSONAL TESTIMONY

i've broken ALL the Ten Commandments of GOD. i've transgressed ALL of GOD's Laws.

1) Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.

MErlin was my god. i lived for my own SELFish ends, i loved mySELF first over everyone, i served only mySELF, i and me!

2) Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.

Traveling, SELF-realization, spiritual knowledge were my idols. i was an idolater. i sacrificed my daughter's well-being, my integrity and true righteousness to chase after these SELF-serving passions.

3) Thou shalt not take the Name of The LORD thy GOD in vain.

In anger, i cursed and cussed aloud GOD's HOLY Name. i misused the Name of CHRIST JESUS -- i spoke His Name without reverence, without respect and awe, without love. i used GOD's Name frivolously, flippantly, foolishly.

4) Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

When i was addicted to exercise, to glorifying my body--i went to the gym six to seven times a week, sometimes even on Sundays. i did not respect my body to give it the rest it needed, nor give rest to my soul by stopping my busyness to worship and meditate on GOD and His Word.

5) Honor thy father and thy mother.

i gossiped about my parents. i looked down on them with contempt for their faults, the way they raised us. i thought they were narrow- and shallow-minded.

6) Thou shalt not kill.

JESUS said, "Whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the Judgment." i have wished death on someone innocent. i have been extremely angry without just cause at a family member. i have killed in my HEART and mind.

7) Thou shalt not commit adultery.

JESUS said, "Whoever looks at a woman to LUST for her has already committed ADULTERY with her in his HEART." i committed adultery in my heart...several times.

8) Thou shalt not steal.

When i was a child i stole. As an adult, i stole by taking office supplies without my employer's knowledge (pens, pencils, Post It pads). i also stole some one's good name when i gossiped and talked badly about that person. i stole whenever i took ANYthing without the owner's permission or knowledge, like eating my friend's baked goods that she was saving as CHRISTmas gifts.

9) Thou shalt not bear false witness.

To avoid embarrassment, i lied. i lied by not telling the 100% truth -- telling only the part that made me look good. i lied so i wouldn't take the blame. i lied by bending the TRUE Righteousness of GOD to suit my OWN form of righteousness (fornication is okay as long as we truly "love" each other... living together is okay because we're in a committed, monogamous relationship).

10) Thou shalt not covet.

i coveted by wanting my husband to be like someone else's husband. i coveted someone else's life of ease, including the house by the seaside. i coveted my friend's leather-bound Oswald Chambers' My Utmost for His Highest. i wanted some other thing, not being content with what GOD has given me.

i've broken ALL the Laws of the One True GOD...i must reap what i've sown. i have to pay GOD's Penalty. And His Judgment is JUST...it is also fearful. He MUST punish SIN because He is a Righteous GOD of LOVE. (Will He not mete out JUSTICE to someone who raped your sister or murdered your child?)

GOD is a GOD of LOVE and JUSTICE.

Not only do i need to pay for my SINs here on earth (the consequences of my chosen actions -- for as in the law of physics, every action has a RE-action; or as in GOD's Law, one reaps what one sows)--i have to pay the penalties for breaking GOD's Laws in the day of Judgment. And who can stand against the WRATH of GOD?

But with utter gratefulness, i thank the One True GOD -- Merciful and Gracious -- HE has provided the One and ONLY way out of my mess, out of my SURE destruction, out of my HELL-bound destiny. GOD has given me (and EVERY sinner who sincerely REPENTS and TRUSTS IN CHRIST JESUS as LORD and SAVIOR) out of His unimaginable LOVE, His very own SON, JESUS, The CHRIST, The Messiah.

Messiah JESUS has PAID IN FULL, my fine of ETERNAL Condemnation -- of ETERNAL Hell. JESUS DIED for my SINS that i may LIVE an ABUNDANT Life here on earth and literal Paradise in Heaven. Through JESUS' Ultimate SACRIFICE by faithfully fulfilling His purpose here on earth -- His perfectly sinless LIFE, His horrific DEATH on the Cross at Calvary, His Burial and literal RESURRECTION -- He satisfied the WRATH of GOD that would have been poured out on me, here on earth and later in Hell.

And because of the FACT of JESUS' Resurrection, i have ROCK-solid Hope, i have SURE Knowledge that i too will live after this life on earth has fulfilled GOD's purpose. Today i am not part of the Walking DEAD -- for those who have broken GOD's Laws are DEAD already -- in spirit, and later if not sooner, in body too.

Today i am truly ALIVE, a NEW creature altogether. INdwelt by The SPIRIT of GOD, emPOWERed by ALL that He IS through His SOVEREIGN control, i am willingly and JOYfully surrendered to HIS will. i am a fully devoted Follower of JESUS CHRIST.

i'll declare again as i did last year this quote from Oswald Chambers -- it matters not What GOD does, it matters only WHO He IS!

And WHO is HE? The ALL-mighty Creator of ALL things seen and UNseen. HE is the Source of ALL Life. HE is Infinite Wisdom, HE is Ultimate TRUTH. HE is Perfect and HOLY. WHO IS HE? HE is CHRIST JESUS, and HE is ALIVE in me, through The Holy SPIRIT. The mystery of the INdwelling SPIRIT is no mystery to me (or to any genuine BORN AGAIN believer) -- i know His Voice, for i am HIS sheep. His Presence is as REAL to me as the day, as the sun and the moon that i can see with my physical eyes.

GOD Himself has opened up the blind eyes of my Heart. Today, through the INdwelling SPIRIT, i see JESUS!

SUCCESS--WHAT IT IS to me

SUCCESS, to me, is being the wholeheartedly OBEDIENT daughter that GOD, my heavenly FATHER, desires me to be. "If you love Me, keep my commandments." (John 14:15)

i honestly love GOD's will, for it is ALL-ways good, ALL-ways perfect, ALL-ways accomplished in LOVE, ALL-ways wise. And i love His Word. i am not speaking figuratively or in exaggeration when i say that i "love" His will and His Word. i literally LOVE His will and i literally LOVE His Word. They are bread and water--real nourishment--to my spirit, to my soul, to my body... to my very life. And i am glad to obey GOD's Holy SPIRIT when He speaks in His still, quiet voice. The issue is not not wanting to obey; the issue is my dullness of hearing--am i hearing HIS voice or mine? Am i listening with the attentive ears of a SPIRIT-led heart, or am i distracted with my oftentimes unruly monkey mind?

That's why i pray this prayer of SURRENDER to my heavenly FATHER: "FATHER, today i abandon myself into Your hands, do with me what YOU will. Whatever You may do, i thank You. i am ready for ALL, i accept ALL. Let only YOUR will be done in and through me, and in all Your creatures. i wish no more than this, O LORD." (by Charles de Foucald)

SUCCESS, to me, is being loving and being at rest in the midst of turmoil or deep valleys--of being JOY-full even in seeming drudgery. Success is having peace of mind, whatever the outcome of ANYthing--WHATever tomorrow may bring. Success is trusting GOD in ALL the details of my life, trusting Him in ALL ways, always -- "It matters not what GOD does, it matters only WHO He IS!" (Oswald Chambers)

SUCCESS, to me, is not having an earthly goal in sight, nor an imagined happily-ever-after-fairytale-ending. Success is being IN the process of becoming CHRIST-like and realizing that the process itself is GOD's plan...the process of becoming more and more intimate with JESUS. "Don't store up treasures here on earth...store your treasures in heaven. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be." (Matthew 6:19-21, NLT)

SUCCESS, to me, is resting at ease in GOD's will. "As JESUS is, so are we in this world." (1 John 4:17)

SUCCESS, to me, is being content with whatever i have, wherever i am,.."for i have learned how to be content with whatever i have. i know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. i have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For i can do everything through CHRIST, who gives me strength." (Philippians 4:11-13)

(Taveuni, Fiji)

(London, England)

(Castillejos, Philippines)

(Moorea, Tahiti)

SUCCESS, to me, is dancing the tango of Life with the SPIRIT of GOD and seamlessly following His lead. It is being 100% surrendered with a JOY-full heart to the One who owns EVERYthing anyway. "For as many as are led by the SPIRIT of GOD, these are sons of GOD." (Romans 8:14, NKJV)

SUCCESS, to me, is BE-ing love--no longer acting nor behaving in a loving manner, but BE-ing love itself.

Success, to me, is having my LORD JESUS greet me with "Well done, my beloved rLn!" (Matthew 25:21)

FOR AS HE THINKS IN HIS HEART, SO IS HE

As a child, growing up in a small town in the Philippines, i felt loved, even though my siblings and i were with one parent most of the time.

When i was about 10 years old, we immigrated to San Diego, we were united with our in-the-Navy father...we had both parents at last. But it was quite a sterile environment...we were sheltered, clothed and fed (for which i am very grateful), but not with much real loving affection to nurture our souls.

In this new environment, i grew up an introvert, thinking (therefore, acting on what i thought) that i was a nobody--not special in any way. Then as an adult, as i discovered hidden talents and new aspects of myself through foreign travel, i began to think (and act according to these thoughts) that i was someone special...i became puffed up, deluding myself into thinking i had much to offer.

Then i got saved (received CHRIST as my Messiah and Redeemer) and thought (and therefore acted on these new beliefs) that i was indeed special, taking pride in being a child of GOD. Yes, i was (and am) indeed His child, but i didn't know Him yet as my Father.

Then GOD, the Good Father that He is, began the purifying process of burning off contaminants which adulterated His end product--the true child of GOD He had always intended me to be. And during this process (which continue even as i type this blog), i was convicted so that i knew that i was indeed a nothing, a nobody, just a lot of hot air.

And that's when GOD made me a somebody--His somebody!

i'm His artist, His ambassador, His instrument so that He may bless others, His hands and feet to do and go where He wills.

When i am being a nobody, then He makes me His somebody. Then i am special in His sight, and i become the apple of His eye (never mind if i'm a worm in the apple in others' eyes). Then i can dance the walk (LifeWalk 101 In CHRIST)--not just walk the walk, but walking the walk with such joy that i just do it with a bounce in my steps, turning LifeWalk 101 into a joyfilled jig.

Then i can rest in the midst of my busy-ness (a balancing act between being a Martha and being a Mary, doing what needs to be done, yet sitting at JESUS' feet in rapt attention). i stand firm and at ease within GOD's will for i think and believe, and therefore act accordingly, that GOD is indeed in control.

Before when i didn't know GOD and thought i knew much but didn't really know anything at all of lasting value, i talked the talk...an intellectual spewing out a lot of spiritual junk.

When i got saved, i talked the walk. i eagerly learned the new lingo, and i tried my best to put into practice what i crammed in my head. In my impatience, in my perfectionist attitude, i was like a new student trying to earn that A+ from my LORD. (i had good grades in school, why not in LifeWalk 101?)

But GOD in His mercy didn't just leave me alone to stumble through with my hit and miss m.o. He knew that i was serious about my salvation. He knew i loved His Son. He knew i wanted to grow as His child. He knew me through and through because He knew me even before i was born. (He created me...of course He knows me!)

So He caused (made!) me, through His Holy SPIRIT abiding in me, to walk the walk. He taught me to pray. He strengthened my faith in Him--through some hard knocks, through some lengthy Valley of the Shadow of Death, through some soul-searing emptiness--by being with me all throughout these trials that tested me.

Today, i am dancing the walk. i'm living the walk, but not so heavy handedly, not so seriously (don't get me wrong--i am deadly serious about my salvation, about the Cross of JESUS--what it took Him to gift me this free, undeserved full pardon).

Today, doing the walk is a joy because i am truly loving (loving!) GOD's will. i know who He is--He is the Source of all existence, including mine. He created everything seen and unseen. He upholds and sustains the heavens. He is the all mighty Almighty GOD--so utterly powerful and righteous, yet so infinitely tenderhearted, compassionate, gracious and loving.

And He is my Father! Thinking, believing and acting on this truth gives me peace of mind, allows me to rest from all my striving, energizes me to enjoy this LifeWalk 101--this tango with the Holy SPIRIT--where He leads and i simply follow..."fear"fully, willingly and joyfully.

Thanks and praises and hallelujahs and all honor to GOD, my Father, whose SPIRIT has caused me to change how i think, and therefore how i act. But most of all, thank You, JESUS, my Beloved, for living out Your Passion that i may dance the walk today.