Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness Against Thy Neighbour.

Dear Journal,

What is a big deal? "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.¹" (Exodus 20:16). How can this commandment be a commandment that we ought to follow? What is such a big deal about this? I mean, our parents have done it, our leaders have done it, even the presidents of America have lied. So what?

My whole name is Assdhy Frengky Lolowang. I’m a youth leader at my local church and an adult care provider to adults who needed an alternative support. However, in English, Frengky is technically spelled Frankie, and the nick name that they used for me is "Frank." Which the World English Dictionary defined it as "honest and straightforward in speech or attitude." So technically, I can say, "how can I lie, my nick name is Frank" followed by a wink.

Nevertheless, if I stand at the judgment door today, I would have been weight, and found guilty before God and men. Breaking this simple commandment of God, would separate me from the love of God. But why?

The Bible says, “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.¹” (Isaiah 59:2). Iniquity, or lawlessness, or the transgression of the law (1 John 3:4), or sin, would separate me from my God?

What is bearing false witness against our neighbor anyway? Isn’t it the same as lying to others? And why is it such a big deal to God?

John 17:17 stated that God’s Word is truth, John 1:1 said that the Word is God. Hebrews 6:18 mentioned that it is impossible for God to lie. Ok. I can see that God is truth and understand why God dislikes lying. But does He hates it?

In Proverbs 6:16-19 the Bible says, “These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto Him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.¹” According to this passage, lying is an abomination to God. No wonder Isaiah 59:2 mentioned that sin, transgression of the law, or even lying, would separate me from the love of my God.

So now, my small lie, whether it is a white lie or an unspoken lie have placed me away from the God whom I love. What about to the family whom I love, the youth whom I love, the church whom I love or the work place whom I love? What about to the woman and her family whom I truly love? If a lying tongue is an abomination to God, which separates us from Him, how is it to human being?

Throughout my life, I may have not made my lies apparent, however, I have slowly revealed this sin and now it is transparent to the one whom I truly love. And because of this, it has separated me from the love of my girlfriend and especially from the love of my God.

Lying is not just a small sin that can simply be covered up under the carpet, lying is a conduct that is abominable not just to our neighbors, friends and family, but to God. It separated me from the love of the one whom I love, and it absolutely separated me from the love of my God.

I have been weighted and found guilty before God and men. There are no words that I can say to justify my false testimonies or anything I can do to keep me away from death that I deserve. The lies that I’ve committed deserves a penalty that is worst then death. I do would like to sincerely apologize for the abominating act that I have performed against any of you, especially to the one whom I truly love. And if any of you whom I have lied to, or bore a false witness upon, would like to vindicate justice upon me and wish to have justice be put in place, I am willing to face those consequences.

Forgive me of my wrongdoings. I do promise to God and men, if I am given another chance to live, I will do my best to walk in God’s precept and according to His will for as long as I live. I have made my mistakes and I do hope that the people I have hurt would forgive me of the lies that I've committed.

Sincerely,

Assdhy F. Lolowang.

¹The verses provided were taken from the King James Bible. There are no copyright infringements intended.

God's Love on 18th of April, 2012

Dear Journal,

Let me quickly tell you of the love of God in my life today. Today I was at work a little earlier than usual. I grabbed my assignment, and there they are five names of clients who I thought was difficult to deal with, especially with their high levels of alertness.

So the first thing as everyone entered the van, I told them that I will be praying before going out. The three of us got quiet, and I prayed. Once that's done, I supposed to have another staff with me, however, he wasn't available, so I went on my pick-up route alone.

Of course, God wouldn't leave me alone; He had me worked with a Nepalese gentleman named Sha. There was a reason why, because through our activities of the day, a couple of our clients almost got into a fight. Good thing I had Sha at the passenger side to help me control the clients.

The awesome thing that I experience today, through the long driving, was that my God was able to keep the car and the passengers safe. There was time when my eyes were heavy, but God was there to help me. I asked Sha to switch with me, but I don't know why, God was able to waken me up with some of the sour Skittles that I’ve purchased, and I was fine after. I do praise God, who faithfully watches over me from the beginning through the end of my shift.

There was also another cool experience that I almost forgot to mention. Yesterday, a client and I had a little bit of conversation on which day is the Lord's Day. When I dropped him off, I told him to do a research on it from the Bible and the internet. This morning when I picked him up, I asked him about the research that he did, and he himself stated that the Sabbath day falls on the Seventh-day which is Saturday. So I was glad that he too agreed on it.

God is so awesome throughout my journey, and I know that He will be with me through the end. Now a question comes to mind...

"Would I be faithful to Him to the end?"

Blessings...

PS., "But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth." - Psalm 86:15 -KJV.

Why Acacia Wood?

Dear Journal,

       This morning, I was reading Exodus 25 with my girlfriend, Jessica, and it mentioned of Acacia wood that was used for the sanctuary and the arc of covenant, which holds the two tablets of the 10 commandments, Aaron budded staff, and a bowl of manna.
       The thing that captivated my mind at this moment is Acacia wood. Why Acacia? What is it?

       So far, what I found was that the Acacia wood took a while to decay, and it was the longest to decay in the area of mount Sinai. The other thing about Acacia trees is that it was also known as Shittim, hence "the valley of Shittim" - Joel 3:18 due to the abundance of Acacia or Shittim trees.
       Here are the list of verses in the KJV Bible that mentioned of Shittim or Acacia: 26 in the book of Exodus (Chap 25:5, 10, 13, 23 and 28. Chap 26:15, 26, 32 and 37. Chap 27:1 and 6. Chap 30:1 and 5. Chap 35:7 and 24. Chap 36:20, 31, and 36. Chap 37:1, 4, 10, 15, 25, 27 and 28. Chap 38:1 and 6.), 2 in the book of Numbers (Chap 25:1 and Chap 33:49), 1 in the book of Deuteronomy (Chap 10:3), 2 in the book of Joshua (Chap 2:1 and 3:1), 1 in the book of Joel (Chap 3:18), and finally 1 in the book of Micah (chap 6:5). Note: KJV does not use the word Acacia. Instead, it used Shittim.
       I don't quite know if there is any symbolism of the Shittim or Acacia tree, but it is used for a special reason in the wilderness of Israelite's Exodus.

       Here are some facts that I found. This tree has thorns (other than the ones in Australia). The trees are difficult to germinate and usually successful at areas where the temperature can reach 80 °C or 176 °F.
       It also produces seed that is edible and acacia is found in many of the ingredients we have today like energy drinks such as Powerade, candies, mints such as Altoid mints and Eclipse gum.
       Acacia, the leaves, stem and or root is also used in medicine, paints, even perfume due to its strong fragrance.
       Acacia wood is valuable in many countries and it is used in creating furniture and houses.
       There are many different kind of Acacia tree worldwide and with many functions that it holds, no wonder God uses it for the right reason in creating His sanctuary in the wilderness.
       Now I wonder, with the many things that I can do, am I using what I do for the right reasons? After all, my body is the temple of God (1 Corinthians 16:19, 20).

       Blessings...

God's Love on 17th of April, 2012

Dear journal,

Of course God has been faithful, I was tardy once again in arriving to work, but by the grace of God, I was able to drive to pick up our clients on time, and now spending one to two minutes in sharing how awesome God is to me.

I did not have the chance to eat my breakfast this morning, and as I was thinking of buying some breakfast at McDonald, my co-worker, Durga, shared me a sandwich that she pre-prepared.

Then, one of our clients requested for the group to go to a Dollar Tree store, where I was able to purchase $1.00 worth of water bottle and a box of candies to keep me awake through my drive. So instead of wasting $5 to $6 worth of breakfast at McDonald, I spent about $3 plus tax in total. Amazing.

Well, this is just a quick update. After the library, we will be heading to the mall for lunch. Boy, I can't wait for lunch.

Another good news, my wonderful girlfriend is so patience with me, she sent me a text message telling me that she forgave me. Boy that sure made my day. Journal, just between you and I, I truly love her so very much. Sometimes I feel like she doesn't believe me. So I think I have to do something about that.

Anyway, will be back to write more of what happened this morning.

Blessings...

17th of April, 2012

Dear journal,

        I got to be honest to you, this is quite selfish of me in writing what things have happened in my life on this journal, however, I will try my best to daily write of how God have touched me. Like this morning of course. In spite of the troubles that I ran into with my girlfriend, I am excited to share you what God have done through it.
       But for now, I'm running late to work, so I will get back to you on what happened.

       Blessings...