Breaking Barriers

No Boundaries

2010-10-28T10:00:00.000-07:00

Seconds, hours, so many days

You know that you're lost, but how long can you wait?

Every moment you are dying

Coz you know you've lost your way

What if your chances are already gone?

This life is too short 'fore you knew it, it's done

That's why you gave me one good reason

To tell you of what Jesus did

Onto the cross He was holding on

With every step He climbed up on that mountain

Though every breath was harder to breathe

He made it through the pain, bore all our sin and shame

And got to that one thing

Died on the cross, you think He went nowhere?

He rose again, humanity redeemed

He'll take you by the hand and show you that with Him

There are no boundaries!

Believe it and trust it, no other way

What if today could be your end?

Don't know where the future's headed

What other way've you found?

I've jumped every bridge and I've heard every lie

No other Name can save, and then I knew why

Then I knew why!

Coz there He was still holding on

With every step He climbed up on that mountain

Though every breath was harder to breathe

He made it through the pain, bore all our sin and shame

And got to that one thing

Died on the cross, you think He went nowhere?

He rose again, humanity redeemed

He'll take you by the hand and show you that with Him

You can go higher, you can go deeper

There is no other, that can cleanse from within you

Salvation is here and all you do is believe

With every step He climbed up on that mountain

Though every breath was harder to breathe

Yeah! There are no boundaries

There are no boundaries!

Died on the cross, you think He went nowhere?

He rose again, humanity redeemed

He'll take you by the hand and show you that with Him

There are no boundaries!

There are no boundaries

Luke1:37

"For nothing is impossible with God."

Acts4:12

"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other Name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

Christian Night

2010-09-22T08:29:00.000-07:00

But He said to me, ""My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ's power may rest on me.
~2Corinthians12:9

So much has happened for this long while now, and i've just recently come out of my hibernation to finally get back here. Anyway, last August was an entire month of testing. Hibalag's Christian Night was coming up, and God's called me to help out in planning for it. The moment i heard the news, all the blood from my head rushed down to my stomach. It was, yet again, another Gideon moment for me. Drowned it in prayer immediately when i reached home, and God was just clear about Christian Night.

To be honest, when it comes to taking the lead spiritually, i am absolutely terrified, and would make every attempt to confirm, or to excuse myself from taking the job. However, since God was pretty clear, i'm pretty sure i really don't want to spend three days in a fish.

Weeks of preparing came by our way, and Patrik, the one in charge of the whole night assigned me to coordinate with all the presenters of the night which increased my concern for the matter tenfold. Not only that, CCC was also asked to perform a skit, and i was gonna be acting director. The pressure of planning a night that would bring Jesus out into the open, coordinating with seven group presentations plus the speaker for the night, directing CCC's presentation, not to mention the horrifying thought of messing up really just brought me to my knees every night. I wasn't exactly 100% sure i was up for the job, but God sure was, and for that, i have to obey.

Day after day, God continually filled me with His strength and He was not slow to showing me His faithfulness, providing encouragements everyday, providing Euna, Anton, Gretel, Lilet, Zee, Neil, Jong-jong, Paolo, and Johanne for the team, and most of all, assuring me with His Word.

When the week finally came, a lot of problems came up, but to no avail, God prevailed. I knew it would be a week of nonstop activities here and there, so i was also thankful for a couple of fellowships along the way. During the night before the big event, i literally cried out of exhaustion both physically and mentally during youth night. KG kept assuring me about God's grace, and that it's really a time to fall to my knees.

That night, and the morning after, i texted everyone i knew who's prayers would be of use. It was pretty awesome feeling like i was calling an army of prayer warriors. However, as the day passed on, i was already hearing of attacks everywhere. People were late, sick, disappearing, unwell, grounded, and the like. It was hard hearing about what was happening, but it somehow encouraged me all the more to know that the enemy was getting desperate. God assured me then that it was going to be a powerful night.

Christian Night started with introduction and prayer, then Victory's band. All the while, whenever i went over to where some of my friends in the audience was, i would always ask about how the night was going, and KJ would always tell me to take nice, deep breaths before telling me anything. Next was CCC's Need You to Love Me skit. Next was PSALM's We Can Make a Difference dance, followed by their Puppet skit. Next was J2MAD band. Then came the FREAKS. Kuya Archie then came out and delivered the message powerfully. From what my friends in the audience said, around 20-25 people came up to accept Christ in their lives! H4U band did the last songs, and the night ended with blessed people, saved souls, empty stomachs, and [not to mention] my sore neck.

God can do so much with hearts that are just willing to listen and obey to what He has to say. It doesn't matter what we feel, it's about what He wants. God bless y'all! <><

Freshmen Festival

2010-06-29T06:43:00.000-07:00

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. -Proverbs3:5-6

It has been a spectacular, and not to mention exciting couple of weeks lately. A test of trust and faith is great every now and then.

So here's what happened since the school year began: my friend, Patrik, probed me to join RLC [Religious Life Committee], the organization that collaborates with all other Christian organizations in campus. Drowned it in prayer, and found myself being called to do it.

So for the first activity, we were planning a Freshmen Festival, aiming to welcome freshies in school and share the Gospel to them. I'm blessed to see that majority of the core members of RLC really are believers with the intent to make Jesus renown.

Since me and kuya Dex were like the only two from CCC during the meeting, Patrik told us that we would have to prepare stuff like gimmicks and the like for the festival, under our organization, as did PSALMS and CYF. We were also told to prepare presentations for the event. Kuya Dex assigned me to get anyone for presentation. I would've gotten a friend's band, or even our church's drama team for it, but they all had to be in Ozamis for an outreach during that time, which meant extra testing for us [whew! ~]. Anyway, God was pretty clear about doing two skits, Need You to Love Me, and Lucy. God was awesome providing the people i needed for it. We practiced enough, and usually, because guys are [well,] GUYS, i also did only a bit of extra lecturing [you gotta love 'em for that].

June 26, 2010 finally came, and even though i've been shaking in my boots for weeks already, this time, not to mention having made a complete fool of myself the night before [another story which i intend not to share], i'd say i was quaking. Had to be constantly reminded that where faith starts, fear ends. Still not quite sure what i would say after the presentations, and it was raining, which meant we weren't going to do it in the venue we selected [ampi]. It was already 4pm, and everyone was supposed to show up by this time, but i only had three people and that concerned me a lot. Most of them went over to a friend's house for lunch and fellowship, but turns out, rain was pouring like crazy where they were at! Prayer was all it took. A little while later, one of them showed up. Then another two. Then just as we were about to start, the last three arrived, and i could finally breathe easily.

Presentations started, and we had to adjust to a lot of things, but all went well. We did the skits, and i did some talking. Though a lot of them really weren't listening, i knew God was still at work, and that it was far from over. After of which, more presentations continued. I then met up with Eli, Angelo, Abby, Kirsty, Greena and Cazel, and gave them a bit of an overview of how things will turn out next. When Kuya Noel arrived to do the message, i gathered them to help out in the follow ups, and more prayer.

The message was being delivered. You could literally sense the battle raging inside the crammed chapel. By the time he gave out the opportunity, i called the six of them to be at the ready and do some more intercession. Everyone's heads were bowed down, and the opportunity was given out. A minute had passed, and no one budged. Suddenly, a few people from the far end of the room stood up, then everyone in the room stood up all at once to receive Christ. We were moved to tears by what God just did. Worship went on, and we did the follow ups. I got acquainted to a group of seven guys. Prayed for them and told them more about Jesus. One of them turned out to be a Muslim, and it was actually my first time sharing to one. Same thing happened to three other guys a while later. We all just came out blessed to be part of a miracle. Went out with them a bit for more fellowship.

Things may look dysfunctional, but when you know God called for it, He always knows what He's doing. <><

dust

2010-04-21T08:32:00.000-07:00

How do we really treat our existence here on earth? Only but so many have uncovered the very essence of existence. Too many take the time they breathe in for granted, but still for many of us, we are left to ponder on a number of things people disregard.

After watching the movie "Amazing Grace," it's really breaking how too many people confuse humanity with savagery. How simple movements to save lives can be viewed as rebellion against the government; how simple acts of grace can be viewed as strategies to exalt oneself; how so many people stand firm in an idea they believe in, and end up contradicting themselves time and time again.

This brought me to the reminder that the human race is bound on pride and evil. Few have really noticed how much this world has fallen. For most, it's no longer surprising to see anyone lie, cheat, steal, crave, and connive for the lusts of their hearts, and in addition, opposing such practices becomes wrong! For this reason, countless people have dubbed themselves numb to the pains brought about by the corruption of such acts and practices, and end up tearing down one another.

It is very painful how people grow comfortable with contradicting themselves with aid of the pride they harbor in their hearts just to get their way.

This further brings me to a self-discovery: i claim to be one of integrity, yet i still manage to find myself sinning against the God who breathed in me the very life i've destroyed. I've come to see that i'm a being not fit to be called a man for man was created in God's image, and God does not sin! What i am is a repulsive crerature transformed into the rightful image, which i have for so long been running away from, by the blood of the Son of God. i am a servant made capable to serve the Creator of the universe. Unless i daily let this take full effect on me, i will end up facing the wrath the God who went through incredibility just to set me free. It is never a case of self-exaltation or self-strengthening, rather self-realization that i am nothing without Jesus.

It has become clear that there are only two things i can, and will ever know: i am a great sinner, and Christ is the great Savior.

"Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered."
~Psalm32:1

When True Love Died

2010-04-02T08:26:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tzuAxhOSfE

2Corinthians5:21

God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

Tonight, we watched The Passion of the Christ movie. It was torture to have to see what Jesus had to go through. In fact, this portrayal done by the film couldn't even be compared to what happened to Him.

Isaiah52:14b

His appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and His form marred beyond human likeness

The verse says that He was beaten to the point where no one could recognize Him.

i was just so horrified, watching that i thought in my heart: God, i am not worth this effort! however, God reminded me that it was never because He thought me "worth His effort" that He went through the incredibly painful death that He did not deserve. He kept reminding me that it was because He found me so filthy in my sin that it took the merciless massacre of His body, and the continuous flowing of His blood, just to take away the sins that stained my life so that i may dwell in His presence.

Goes for all of us. He loves us so much that He was not willing to leave us in the terror of our sins. His painful journey to the cross was just enough for the salvation of all humanity. Nothing more, nothing less. The very fact that THIS was what it took to redeem us all is hard to swallow, but it is already done. Now it's up to us to be forgiven, and leave our life of sin.

John8:10-11

Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"

"No one, Sir," she said.

"Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."

When You Sin, Where/Who Do You Turn To?

2010-01-12T22:07:00.000-08:00

1Samuel 12:20-25 "Do not be afraid," Samuel replied. "You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. For the sake of His great Name the Lord will not reject His people because the Lord was pleased to make you His own. As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right. But be sure to fear the Lord and serve Him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things He has done for you. Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will be swept away."

Who ever said that the Christian Walk was going to be easy? I mean, we were even promised that it was going to be difficult. One of the things that's so evident in our life that makes our Walk so difficult is the struggle with sin. It is the very thing that placed the Son of God on the Cross to take our place in death just to set us free. You see, the more we take in to understand the reality of the danger of sin, the more we really struggle against it, and all the more we should allow what Jesus did on the Cross to take effect on us. This brings me to the verses God’s led me to.

(verse 20)
One of the things I remember most when I was real fresh in my Walk, and I am still very young in Christ, is that I can really tend to overestimate my capabilities as a believer, and underestimate the grace of God. When the Israelites realized the danger their sins could cause them, they practically panicked. However, Samuel encouraged them all the more not to turn from the Lord. I can honestly tell you that the devastation I felt when I stumbled actually caused me to worsen my relationship with Him the more I focused on it. Living with and for Jesus is not based on our emotions, I can tell you that. We serve Christ regardless, because He loves us regardless.

One of the real beautiful things about living with Christ in us is that even though we still sin, so long as we keep coming back to Jesus, we no longer live for sin; we're no longer dead in it, but we’re dead to it, and alive in Christ.

(verse 21)
One of the things that's so evident when it comes to us human beings is that we're really drawn and made to worship something. Things that are other than God come in the form of money, a job, a person, a figure, nature, a gadget, a celebrity, artists, musicians, makeup, computer games, pornography, computer fads, drugs, liquor, self, relationships, etc. But I tell you that anything we turn to which isn't God (even if we think that it is God) is an idol. All idols are worthless and incomparable to the Creator of all you know and see.

(verse 22)
It is really amazing how God is still faithful whichever point we've reached in our life. If you read 2Timothy2:11-13, it says in the first two parts that if we die and endure with Him, He will reward us greatly; if we disown Him, He will also disown us; but the thing in this verse that really captures me most is the fact that He will remain faithful even in our faithlessness. But that's just who God is. He's the Author and Finisher of our faith. He won't stop pursuing us just because we've stop our pursuit of Him. He's the God who won't give up! As unfathomable as it may be, He chose to create us for His purpose, and continues to love us unendingly, immeasurably, and unchangingly.

Before any of us came to know Christ, He wanted us to start a relationship with Him. Once the starting's done, He wants us to keep going, despite the fact that we keep on stumbling. Wherever we are in our relationship with Him, He still wants to meet us right where we're at and to keep pushing forward.

(verse 23)
This one goes out to those who have accountability to someone you're discipling, or even to the friends you have around you. You won't always be in good weather when it comes to leading and guiding people in their life as believers. Even the friends we have who talk to us about their concerns. It could come as a challenge to lead them in the way that is good and right. It shouldn't be our own perspective of what is good and right that we teach, but God's. If you read the whole Psalm119, you can really see how powerful God's Precepts are. His Word declares His sovereignty over all which is created, so there's no one else we should really point anyone to except God.

(verse 24)
God's grace, faithfulness and mercy should cause us to respond to Him with fear and service. Now, fear and service really go hand in hand. There is no service when that righteous fear and recognition of One Who's in authority is absent. If the fear is absent, it's most likely that God's not the One the service is rendered to. Furthermore, fear of the Most High can't really be called "fear" if it does not cause you to serve. If you read Hebrews12:3, it tells us of Jesus' zeal for the glory of God by bringing man back to Himself even if it meant opposition from the ones He came to save.

(verse 25)
Samuel here cautioned the Israelites of God's wrath against sin. Here in the old testament, disobedience to God meant quick deaths to many. But all the time, when God spoke of His wrath and anger against His people, Israel, He's always extending mercy to them, and opening up a door for them to repent. God also extends mercy to us at this very moment. Sadly, a lot of people take God's grace as a licence to sin. They tell themselves it's okay to sin because God's already forgiven, and that nothing really "bad" has happened to them, and God hasn't punished them yet, so it's still okay. It is never for our own selfish pleasure that God had to free us from sin. In fact, sin is so filthy that it took the merciless slaughter of the Son of God just to take it away from us so that we will be cleansed of it, and be made pure to enter His presence.

So do not turn from the Lord, even when you think yourself too unworthy. Fact is, you were never even worthy to begin with. Do not replace God with anything in your life. Idols are worthless. Keep going back to the Cross, because although God knows everything about us, He is still pleased to make us His own. Let's lead each other back to Christ with prayer and encouragement. Lastly, everything about God should cause us to fear and serve Him.

Christmas Outreach 2009

2009-12-30T06:31:00.000-08:00

Here it is again! Livingstones Youth Christmas outreach. It was only my second time this year, and this year, we were doing the skit again! My only dilemma this time was that i was casted off as the character, Angel Gabriel, who sort of narrated the story, and acted along with it. To tell you the truth, i was real scared with my role. I'll leave the reasons for your witty imagination.

So weeks before the day we would reach out, we practiced long and hard for it, and prayed for it as well. Good thing too, because everyone helped each other out. Bloopers here and there always cheer everyone up.

Finally, the day came when we would go over to NOPH to reach out to the sick kids and their families stranded there in the hospital for the holidays. Sad to know that people get stuck in the hospital for Christmas huh? Spreading the joy and the real reason for the season was our mission that day.

So there we were, propped up and ready, just about to visit the wards. However, even though we were there to carry out our mission for God, it's quite unfortunate that the enemy never sleeps. i got attacked the very moment we started. The right part of my chest cringed with the greatest pain i've ever experienced in that area. It was so distracting that i really hesitated during our first visit to the first ward. Struggling to keep with the outreach, i did my best, messed up a few of the lines, but whispered a few prayers every time i didn't appear in a scene. i needed God's help that very moment. Ministering to the families and telling them about Jesus comforted me a bit.

Right after we got out, i had to tell KG that i needed prayer. He reminded me that i shouldn't let this distract me, especially since at that moment, we were all on a mission. He prayed over me, and had our group rest up a bit.

God gave me so much strength after that. The pain never left, but it didn't distract me when our group got to the other wards. "Trust, trust," was what rang in my mind while doing the skit. "It's hard, but keep fighting. Jesus never leaves." He kept me going.

Being a little kid myself and ministering to the patients really blessed me to be used as a blessing along with all my other teammates. God is awesome!!!

By the time we finished, i couldn't believe it was over. Honestly, i was still hoping to do a little more visiting to the patients, but we all had to call it a day.

An awesome start to an awesome Christmas eve! The Lord is the ONLY source of our strength in the real battlefield! Can't believe i had to go through all that to be reminded. Jesus loves you!!! <><

Dear Jesus,

2009-12-22T04:17:00.000-08:00

It's Christmas again. i mean, You for One should know it, though. Not that it actually is Your birthday, but just because most of the world celebrates Christmas.

i just decided to write You a letter this Christmas. i thought, maybe You'd like something different from me this year, compared to years of just whispering in Your ear, turning away from You, and well, You know the rest. So let me start.

Happy Birthday! You know what i mean. More and more people are celebrating this year, and You know it. Parties are being thrown everywhere, gifts are being given, decorations are put up the whole season, i mean, it's just grand! But it's also sad for me to know that You're the One who's supposed to be the reason we're all celebrating, and You're the One being shut out of all of it. Nobody knows the reason we're singing anymore. There's less and less talk about You every year. Everything's becoming more and more about the presents, the tree, the parties, the food, the games, the booze, and Santa. Even Your Name in Christmas has been replaced with a big X. i can't imagine how that must be for You. i mean, You came to forgive, and You're the One forgotten. But i guess You're not surprised.

As for me, i choose to remember the real reason for celebrating. Jesus, there's not much i can give to You, but i do want You to take my time and turn it into moments of glorifying You. You know i can't love the way You do, or comfort the way You can, or forgive, or provide, or do anything You can, but that's the reason why i've turned my life to You. It's all i can give.

Jesus, You know my heart and You know how it loves to ask. But this year, i'd like to add others in my wishlist this year. i'm not a child anymore, so You won't see any toys down below. The wants of a teen are much different from what a little young one asks for. So here it goes. Just a few things i want to have.

1 First and foremost, my family (the one at home) really misses me. School really keeps me out of the house, not to mention the things i love doing in church. i'd really like You to bring us closer this time. They would like that.

2 Peace within the household. i'm not asking for a perfect Christmas, just one where people aren't all at one another would be enough.

3 If You plan for me to reach out to people in need, please do. Especially to the ones forgotten.

4 You're the great Healer. Thanks for restoring me back from my sickness. For Christmas, i also wish for You to help me mend the friendships i might have messed up. You know how i am in need of coaching when it comes to friends.

5 i know i'm not the most [let's say] charming guy in the world, nor the most easy to be with, nor the one who knows what to do, nor the least annoying. i can never take back the things i have said or done to the people i hurt, so please give me the heart to ask for forgiveness, and for them [and me] to be able to forgive me.

6 For all the people i dearly love, if it is possible that You would give them a better Christmas than me, please do. That would quite honestly make my world.

7 For all the people i care for, mend and build them up in their relationship with You. Count me in this one.

8 For all the people i've met who don't have a relationship with You yet, open doors to let them enter one with You. Show them that now is the perfect time to start.

9 You've blessed me with so much. More than most of the world, in fact! So this one goes out to everyone who might not make it this year. Be with them, provide for them, and let them know the true meaning of Christmas. You know what to do.

10 For me to be able to bless You.

11 Most important, if You could use me to make Your Name shine brighter and brighter to the world, and not only for this Christmas, but for the rest of my life, don't hesitate to show me Your plans.

This is my letter to You, Jesus. Just hope these words from a just turned seventeen-year-old are enough for You.

Your beloved,

Matt

Matt and Raina Adventures

2009-11-14T15:07:00.000-08:00

[okay, so this one happened last month, October24, 2009.. after this Raina said that this was her first ever embarrassing moment]

good swimming with kuya Izzy, followed by a really awkward surprise visit to RJ's, then an awesome time sharing before a great breakfast at ChowKing.

okay, so here's what happened.. me and kuya Izzy decided to go swimming today at 6am, and then go out and share Christ to random people right afterwards. our friend, Raina, told us that she also wanted to come along, so since her house was near by the pool, we both decided to pay her a visit. out of her bedroom window came the sleepiest, groggiest face you could get from her. she told us she would just go right after.

so kuya Izzy and i went swimming for a while, and Raina came by with a Bible and a hard boiled egg to eat. since Raina arrived, Izzy and i decided to take our showers to start the day. only problem is, that Izzy forgot his underwear, and decided to go home.

SO, Raina and i decided to pay RJ a visit since his house was really near. it was 7:10am. Raina and i argued a few times over the route to his house, until we finally arrived. we saw our friend, Jobert there, and he told us RJ was still sleeping, and asked if we wanted him to wake RJ up. i told him we would rather have the pleasure of doing so. we went inside the gate, and after a few wet-nosed greetings from their dogs (and having Raina almost jump on my back because of that, if i might add), we came inside the house and found a sleeping RJ resting in their livingroom bed. Raina and i approached the side nearest to him, and then Raina whispered to RJ's ear, "i am your conscience." this got us both laughing for a very short while, but NOTHING could prepare us for what happened next. right after she whispered in RJ's ear, and having him toss and turn after that, one head popped out from right beside RJ, and asked, "huh?"

the sleepy head of RJ's mom looked at both of us straight in the eye from under the covers. Raina and i FROZE in embarrassment, and (after a long pause, so to say,) then explained we came for RJ to have him team up with us for sharing. his mom shook him, and when he woke up, he realized it all wasn't a dream.

Raina and i collapsed, laughing on their sofa, recalling what just happened. after RJ brushed his teeth, we went out and strolled in the park. we were all able to share to a couple of people right before Izzy came back, fresh and ready (if you know what i mean). after sharing to the two people, the four of us split up into two groups, Izzy and RJ composing the first, then me and Raina the second. Raina and i were able to share to four guys from Mabinay, and were just filled to the brim! PTL for this morning! one of them asked us exactly how to receive Jesus, so we led him in prayer.

we then went to ChowKing for breakfast and fellowship and recalled how really great and funny today was.

Raina's perspective:
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=299122380583

When Roads Fork In

2009-11-10T04:47:00.000-08:00

Psalm17:6

"I call on You, O God, for You will answer me; give ear to me and answer my prayer."

It's been a while since i've had timely fellowship with sibs. i mean, recalling MM days, blowing off the dust from the images in my head of the wonderful moments spent there with my Ates and Kuyas. Maybe it hasn't been that long though, but i still miss that Gethsemane. Anyway, times have changed for the better, and God is still sovereign over all, and He's still at work as He always has been.

The fellowships i'm getting into, and the new friends i'm making are just awesome. They're a real encouragement to me, and i'm so blessed to have been led to them. However, since i started college, i've been missing out a bit on fellowship. i mean, i rarely get to see my friends from church these days because of tight schedules, not to mention days pass by like weeks for me, but i am really glad for Friday nights at the Youth and Wednesday nights at Core.

For a while now, i've been praying about having a brother in Christ to chill, hang out, and Fish with during the free hours. God's definitely been doing some preparation because i didn't know what i was getting myself into one Tuesday morning while waiting for the Registrar's office to open and get my schedule printout to be finally stamped, ENROLLED. i sat down waiting, and there at the other end of the row of seats sat a guy who was doing the same. Well, we were both not going anywhere, so i had to share Christ to him. i was finally able to open up a conversation with him, but quickly found out that he too was a Christian from the same church as i was. His name is Dan, and i was curious about never having to have met him even though he has been attending church longer than i have; when he said he doesn't know when and where youth nights and college nights are held, and can't find anyone to hang out with. It broke me to learn that because he's unable to find Christian friends, and his timidity, he decided to just go about his days as a loner, rather than getting mixed with nonbelievers. That's when God grabbed my heart the most.

The Christian life was never meant to be lonely. I knew at that moment that my prayers were answered. To further confirm it, the free time in our schedules during Tuesdays and Thursdays matched! The same morning, since i was off at 9:30 in my only class, Dan and i went to validate our IDs. i asked him if he was up for some fishing, and was blessed to know he didn't hesitate one bit, even though he didn't have much experience, and still wanted to learn how. We were able to talk to this one guy sitting next to us, and he was very thankful. While waiting, it became clear to me that Dan really felt lonely. He warmed up to me real quickly, and shared to me that he too was praying for a brother to hang out with and talk to about God in an edifying way. God just put us both in awe when we both learned we had the same prayer answered.

We now meet up regularly on Tuesday mornings to listen to sermons, and TTh afternoons to do some witnessing. Dan's been a real blessing to me in just a short while. He reminds me that there really is nothing up for grabs in this world which will ever satisfy the Spirit. i guess my task now is to bring him out of his shell and encourage him to stand boldly for God regardless the circumstance.

God's been real awesome as He always is! <><

One in the Lord

2009-09-22T07:11:00.000-07:00

September 18, 2009

Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many from one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

-Romans12:12

With God's children, there are no barriers. Everyone called forth to be His is family! i had an awesome experience regarding this just today.

Today, at about past 4pm, i was able to meet this guy named Lau, and after a short conversation, i discovered that he was a Christian. We exchanged encouraging words for a while, then i asked him if he was up for some FISHING. He said he was! =)

We then turned to our left, and saw this one guy who wasn't going anywhere, so we decided to try to talk to him. Only problem was, we were pushing each other as to who would be the one to talk to the guy. i finally opened up the conversation about his views on God and Jesus, then we (Lau and i) preached the Gospel to him. We learned his name was Kyle and it was awesome just looking at him respond to what Jesus had done for him! Overwhelmed, convicted and repentant, Lau and i prayed over him and gave him the opportunity to accept Jesus into his life as his Lord and Savior, and he willingly accepted and had a few follow-up questions. Praise Jesus Lau and i were able to answer. Heaven was rejoicing that day as Lau and i welcomed him into the family.

Kyle was surprised to learn also that Lau and i just met that very day, and Lau sheepishly said, "Like brothers na noh?" It's just awesome how God unites His kids through His Son, Jesus! Lau and i were in such awe that day as to how God used us even though we knew practically nothing about each other. Nonetheless, we're one in the family of the Lord! <><

Renewed Fire

2009-09-14T09:52:00.000-07:00

August 31, 2009

After my major breakthrough, things have been smooth. So smooth, that i wasn't used to it. Thank God for what He had in store for me!

Lately, i've been feeling a bit empty. It's really not a pleasant spot to be, but it really made me question, "Lord, what's wrong with me? Why is it that the things i'm doing for You don't seem worth doing than just a few weeks ago?" i knew something was wrong with my relationship with Him, and that kept me thinking.

Last, last Friday, Kuya Ed and Kuya Josh arrived here in Dumaguete to have a short vacation. i went to the airport at 8am, thinking that a bunch of the youth also planned to meet up with them, only to find out that i was the only one who did so. Anyway, when they both finally arrived, i met up with them, and they invited me over to Josh's place, where both of them will be staying for the next ten days, for breakfast (my second, if i might add). They had me update them with what was going on with the youth, and of course, i gave them good news and bad news. Then we all talked about church, how we were, plans, and a few things under the sun.

After Kuya Josh and i visited a friend in the hospital that same morning, while Kuya Ed decided to catch some Z's, Kuya Josh and i had a talk. He really asked me about why i was serving God. Now, i really can't remember what my answer was, but what he said to me really convicted me. He asked me, "In the absence of the people who encourage you, and the people who keep you accountable, is your relationship with the Lord strong enough to withstand the pressures of the world?" Now that really hit me. He then told me that we serve God, not because we have anything to gain in it, whether it be the good feeling we get in serving, or any other reason, but we serve Him because He is worthy of our service! That's why we always go back to the Cross. He did it all for us, so why not do it all for Him? To us who are serving, in the corners of our minds, we might not realize that we had other motives of serving or pursuing the faith.

As for me, i've been in tight situations for my entire walk with the Lord until just recently, and after our talk with Kuya Josh, i realized that when God lifted the weights, it wasn't Him i was completely leaning on to. i was mostly relying on the encouragements i kept getting from my sibs at church, that i have forsaken my First Love! Fact is, He is worthy of my all, and i have lost sight of that! It just proves that EVERYTHING in this dark world is meaningless, and nothing but a mist blown away by the wind. Not that encouragement isn't good, but it shouldn't be the reason why i serve. God should be the reason of service! He is the only thing that will not pass away.

When i got home that day, i just fell to God and asked Him to forgive me for leaning onto something else, and for Him to just take me.

The next day, after sharing to a bunch of friends at McDonald's with Kuya Josh and Kuya Ed, we went to gather a bunch of the youth at the room where a friend of ours was in because Ed and Josh had something to share to us. Basically, it was about what Kuya Josh and i talked about the day before, and that really encouraged me more. Then Kuya Ed got to the part about sharing our faith. He said something which convicted me further about who to share to. He told us that we should not pray about whether or not to share to someone, because God had already commanded us to do so. Rather, pray for the words we need to say to extend Him to those who are in need. We also shouldn't comprimise with other fellow believers. To those who proclaim the Name of the Lord, we should also test them whether or not they know what Christianity means, because we don't want people running around, thinking that they are saved. That really hit me as well. i mean, there's no good excuse why not to share the Gospel! Says in 2Timothy1:7"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline."

After that, i was dead-set ready to share. When i got home that day, i asked God to just empty me of myself, and let Him take control. After that, He's led me to so many people! i mean, i'm sharing to at least one person every day! God drastically changed me! It was AWESOME!!! If you would've asked me to share to that many people, i would probably run straight for the EXIT door. But God took hold. For the past week, probably the only time when my flesh took more control was when i complained about something.

It has been an awesome week. i've been given a better, more genuine fire for the Lord. i pray God will continue to carry this out, and that i would continue to just keep surrendering to Him.

Check your motive of service. So many have fallen because they have lost sight of the reason why there's service. Also, never comprimise your faith. Let the lost be welcomed home.

Remember, we are all sinners(Romans3:10-12), bound to hell(Romans6:23), punishment and death, but because God loves us so much, that He gave us Jesus Christ, to live the life we could not live, a perfect life, so that no sin would be found in Him. Because He was blameless, He offered Himself up as a replacement, taking upon Himself the punishment that was supposed to be for us, not because of anything we've ever done to deserve Him doing it for us, but because we were so in need, that He did that to clean us from our sins so we would be found blameless (Isaiah52:13-Isaiah53:12). The only thing we have to do is to accept Him as our Lord and Savior, and repent. Repentance means trying not to sin, and the best way to do that is to read the Bible (Psalm119). There's no other way (John14:6).

2GBDG!!! (To God Be The Glory)

SOFT L!!! (Sold Out For The Lord) <><

The Storms of Life are Breaking, but God is Always in Control

2009-08-05T08:02:00.000-07:00

"I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry."

i made it thorough.

I Was Running, When I Should've Stopped at the Cross

2009-07-30T09:57:00.000-07:00

John 16:33

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

i was running. i didn't know how fast, and i didn't care. i just knew i had to run. No, i wasn't running away never to return, i was just running under the pouring rain to a place where i knew was going to be safe for me to stay for a while.

Again, i screwed up. Things weren't going well around the house, so before i could do something terrible or vice versa, i ran out of the house with no second words. i probably hurt my brother and grandparents pretty bad, and i got them worried, but i just took off.

It was a long way from my house to KJ's. i guess i forgot, but when i got there, my breathlessness turned into tears. KJ wasn't there, but Ate M was. She was very concerned, and made sure i got warm. It was a pretty low day for me, especially since i was so afraid to face the people in the house once i returned.

After a while of waiting, KJ came back, and we talked. It was very encouraging for him to remind me how much love was surrounding me.

Then after dinner, Ate M got me and KJ to watch a sermon about trouble by Pastor Louie Giglio. It really opened my eyes more to what the Cross meant for me as a believer in Jesus.

First of all, it isn't true, what they say, that the Christian life was going to be an easy life. That God will always be the God we want Him to be; that He will never put us in a tight situation; or that in everything that happens, it alright, just because you're a Christian. Well, what if things get rough? What if they get so rough, you eventually come to that place where you question God's love for you, where you may question His existence, or where you just can't help but break down? What if? Where then, is the God that keeps us from the fires of life? Well, i'm here to tell you that that God doesn't exist. God is a God who makes you fireproof, not fire-less. Being fireproof doesn't mean that it'll never come, but that when it does, you'll be able to withstand it.

Now, back to what the Pastor was talking about, the Cross isn't something believers should cross once, and never to return again. Rather, it's the centerpoint of the Christian faith. It's when we take our eyes off the Cross that we begin to notice the waves all around us, and we forget to seek Jesus. When we focus our eyes on the Cross, we are reminded about how much love was proven on that very day at Calvary, and that He knows what's going on because He understands pain, despite our filth, He willingly took our place in death, and welcomed to His kingdom those who accepted Him.

Here in John16:33, Jesus talks about peace. True peace that can only be found in Him. The peace that He's freely given up for grabs to those who are willing to grasp it. But then, He says, "In this world, you will have trouble." If you think about it, peace and trouble are very opposite points in life, both of which, if you think about it, exist in the same sentence if they have "doesn't exist when there is" in the middle. However, Jesus continues, "But take heart! I have overcome the world."

As Pastor Louie Giglio said, this verse puts together two very different concepts, and associates them with what was going to happen a little while after. To have the peace Jesus was talking about, ou can't take the two sentences in this verse and focus on it, because that would lead to terrible theologies.

The first terrible theology when you take the verse apart, is that since you're a Christian, it's going to be smooth sailing from now on. Good times will come, and peace will be abundant. That sounds pretty twisted when you add a little reality to the broth.

The second, and more accepted terrible theology states that there's nothing but trouble in life, and that in order to live, you must accept it as it is, and just go on with your life. It's the more familiar theology in life, but nontheless, still very terrible.

Jesus takes two overlapping realities, and comforts us with His words. Yes, we're going to have troubles in life. Yes, it's not going to be easy, and it will bring us to the point of great distress sometimes, and it's not okay. But Jesus says, take heart! Have faith! Believe! Hold on! I have overcome the world. I am not bound by anything, and I will bring forth victory. Through this truth you have heard Me say, you will have peace.

The time i spent at KJ's house really got me through what was going on in my life. It's taught me to lean more onto Jesus and not let go of His promises. All the more, He's working out all things for the good.

Sometimes, we're put through fire. Sometimes, the sky's going to fall on us. Sometimes, the bottom's going to fall. But we have to remember that the Cross is what we should focus on if we call ourselves believers. It should remind us of what took place 2000 years ago. It should help us recall what our Savior went through, and that He isn't lacking in love. We should all the more turn to the Cross than from it when the weight of the world is on our shoulders. Jesus has overcome and overwhelmed it all, so let's take heart and hold on to this truth, and grasp the peace He's extending towards us!

1Corinthians1:18

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."

Jesus Exemplified!!!

2009-06-01T08:45:00.000-07:00

click here to view the first youth camp album (don't forget to check out days 2-6 as well)

1Timothy4:12

"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity."

Last year, i wasn't able to join Youth Camp because God had better plans. This year, i prayed long and hard to be able to join, and amazingly, God's confirmed it to me time and time again that it is in His plans that i would join.

So i was so excited about camp, that i packed most of the stuff i knew i needed about a month before Camp was scheduled, and yes, you read it right, ABOUT A MONTH. I was so excited because i knew i would come out changed just like the Sweetly Broken Camp. Little did i know just how i was going to be changed. I also praise God that He planned for my brother to go as well.

Okay, so i heard that a bunch of the youth planned to meet up at church and go at 1pm on the day of Camp, so my brother and i were ready to go about half an hour before the time. Unfortunately, our mom and aunt were (yes, and i really DO mean what i say) a bit TOO PARTICULAR with our stuff even though we were all set. We arrived at church at around 1:17, and nobody was there. Thank God that one of the people there whom i knew offered to help us get to the vicinity because none of us knew where CCTC was. Mom gave us some money to get there. We arrived at 1:42, and we both got registered. They all gave us free time because Camp starts at 4:00pm. While there, my brother started taking pictures, and he met Kuya Michael (who is, btw, a cool photographer), and they both started talking about photography stuff that would just leave me bleeding at the nose. Anyway, me and some girls practiced the dance we prepared for Talent Night which would be on Friday.

At 4, KG welcomed us at Camp, and we proceeded with the Icebreaker games. First game was to give up one of our slippers, pile them up, grab one that's not yours, and get to know the owner. It was real fun (and thank God, not as smelly as expected). Next was rock, paper, scissors, dragon where everyone plays rock paper scissors with someone, and the loser goes to the winner's back, until we all fall in one large dragon of a line. Kuya Miggy won. He (Kuya Migs) then borrowed my guitar pick because it was the one thing he forgot to bring. The worship team the proceeded with teaching us all the Camp songs, Your Name High, and No Reason to Hide. Really cool songs, but since it was still the first day, everyone was just standing, clapping, and looking at the lyrics. We had dinner at 6, where afterwards, Kuya Migs broke the news to me that he lost my pick. It wasn't a big deal, but i still decided to test my acting skills, convincing him i was really upset, and that it would take time to get over with it. He was real depressed, until i told him i was just acting, which, i'm sure, he was very relieved with.

We then had our first session, "From the Inside Out" led by Pastor Jo in Ephesians4:29-30. The message was all about speech, and that what we chose to say really affects everyone around us, including ourselves, and that a Christian should strive to be set apart from the rest of the world, speaking things that build up and glorify our Creator, and be like Jesus, since from the beginning, though technology and styles have changed, never has the heart of man because the heart of the problem is the problem of the heart. It takes a live fish to go against the flow, and it takes a dead fish to go with it. i love that line. Eye openners for our blind faiths. It was awesome.

We then had our counselor hunt, a way of knowing what team you belong to. All lights were out, and we should be able to find the leader (not exactly counselor, but yeah) we were assigned to. Problem was, CCTC was a wide place, so it was a lot like looking for your keys in the grass. i think none of us (in our team) was able to find our counselor, but time ran out, and we had to stop. So i belonged to one of the six teams called Gideon, composed of Kuya Aaron (team leader), Kuya Cole (team counselor), Yana, Alex(o), Alex(a), Anjo, Bangs, Ronna, Shay, Moymoy and Brian. Afterwards, lights out. Awesome first day.

i had a terrible night, trying every position i could think of to just fall asleep. That nightmare went on for hours, until i decided to check the time, and discovered it was 3:44, which got me tossing and turning a while after. Not until 5:30 when i woke up that i discovered i had slept just over an hour. Anyway, we then had our devotion, then breakfast (sit with your team, which, btw, was the noisiest table in the canteen), then a game called DODGEBALL!!! Teams had to partner up to form just three teams. Our team won second. Lunch was served, our table being the (proud to be) noisiest in the canteen, then we had free time. After that, the Workshop started, led by Kuya Mike, the topic being Devotions. Though much of it was covered during the Core night prior to this, i still learned a lot about devoting time to God, where it's all about Him. It was great.

That night, we had our second session, "Shine" with Pastor Jo in Matthew5:13-16. To be honest, i was drowsy during much of the session because (not to make excuses but) of the night before. The topic did not only concern being set apart from the rest of the world, but also about us influencing those who are in the world, and not being influenced. We (young as we are [and in a lot of years, were,]) are to be as Salt and Light, preserving, cleansing, adding to life, thirsty, dispelling the darkness, exposing truth, and leading to the way out of Satan's grasp. So dear flock, step up, step up, for Jesus is near!

Afterwards, we had the Life Game. A game requiring incredible teamwork where we are all one body to get the parts of the key and set our tied up leader free. Anjo played the eyes, Tiyan, the ears, me the mouth, Moymoy and the girls, the hands, and Alex and Brian the feet. We had to perform all tasks blindfolded, eyes excluded where the eyes whispered the commands to the ears, then the ears to the mouth. The mouth was the one who spoke out the instrucitons, and the only one allowed to speak up (and yes, i was very comfortable with that position, especially with the food part!). Sadly, our team didn't finish on time, and our poor leader, who was the most secure just sat there waiting. We all still had a blast, especially what happened in the horror chamber, right guys? After that, lights out.

This time, i had the sleep i needed. Didn't take a bath though (and no, i didn't stink, coz i asked a few people), becaus i knew we were eventually going to get down, dirty, sweaty and messy after the morning. We then had our devotion and individual devotions. It was awesome having alone time with the One who created all things. After that, we had breakfast, then the game VOLLEYBALL!!! No, we didn't win again, but since during our game, the opposing team only had a point more than we did, we were thankful for the really close fight. We then had lunch, then rest time (which, btw, we usually used for dance practice), then the Workshop, led by Kuya JB, concerning FRIENDSHIP. Concerning this, it was a really good and encouraging workshop. It's really cool to know that when you're building up someone, you sometimes fail to realize that you too are being built up as well. After that, i was really encouraged to encourage.

We then had dinner, then our third session, "Unashamed" led by none other than Pastor Jo taken from Daniel3. It was an awesome message because i really don't like comprimising about my faith, because, sad to say, that's where most of us tend to fall when we pud down our shields. I want to strive for the Saving Faith that puts all hope and trust on things that are for eternity, and not the Demonic Faith that only believes with the mind, nor the Temporal Faith that focuses only on things that are on this earth. It taught me that we should have faith NOT in God's answers, but in His person, that whichever way He chooses to lead us, we would accept it, be it a walk on the beach, or a boatride in the storm, we would accept it the way Job accepted his trials in Job1:21 because God is a God who know what He's doing. Afterwards, we then had a short movie. After that, God reminded me that one of the reasons He placed me at camp was because there was a problem that needed to be solved in me. i then went over to talk with Kuya Cole since he was the one i was most open to at the moment. We talked, and God just revealed to me that i was still in shackles, because for a long time, i noticed i was fearful with getting real close to people. God showed me that it was because of all the pressure i was putting on myself not to mess up, or sin, or cause anyone harm, partly because i did hate it when people get hurt because of me, and because of the fear that they would condemn me or do harmful things back, and that this has caused me to be too serious for my own good with a lot of things. But the truth of the matter is, i'm still made of flesh and bone, and as willingly as God has gifted me to forgive people, so has He gifted every sibling with the same willingness to forgive. God wanted me to be free during that period of time. Free to unload my burdens, free to express myself, free to not think too much, free not to worry, free to make friends, free to teach, free to be taught, free to breathe easily without paranoia, and free to just be in awe of Him without any distractions. An awesome night.

Next day, we woke up, did our awesome individual devotions, ate breakfast, then had our third game, popularly known as KICKBALL!!! We had fun, but this time, most of us were in un-Christ-like mode. i could clearly see some of the rules being broken, some of us not saying things encouraging, and we had the least cheers that game. That wasn't right. So to make fair, fair, we all decided to give all the teams the same number of points. After lunch, we were all encouraged to take a break since later that night, we were going to have the AFTERGLOW, so that meant no practice for our little dance group. It was fine though. We sure needed the rest.

After that, we had our third workshop concerning PURITY. It was convicting, especially for us guys (btw, KG lectured the guys, and Ate Abba lectured the girls separately). Anyway, the message was awesome, changing, and fun. We then had dinner, and then the fourth session, "Sacrifice" in Luke10:25-37, and 1Corinthians13. It was a very cool message. Pastor Jo talked about the four loves, Eros, Estorge, Phileo, and Agape (the most important). I began to see more of the unique beauty in each of the four loves, especially the wonder found in Agape, which requires no condition, no task, no reward or anything. How God loves us oh so much.

When Pasor Jo closed the session, we then had the AFTERGLOW. We all felt God's presence crash on us. It was an array of unexplainable moments where you would just feel His love pour out on you. i (and a lot of us, if i might add) found our eyes soaked up in tears. I fell on my face just praising the MIGHTY ONE who lives. It was too beautiful to be called beautiful. Barriers were broken, hearts and lives were changed, thoughts were expressed, and to think, Jesus would give us the freedom just to be in awe of Him! It was an awesome night, and afterwards, i lost a portion of my voice. We then had a bonfire where we took pictures, had fellowship, and just had fun. Eventually, we had to sleep.

Next day, we had to rise up early and have an early breakfast. After that, we crammed into the rides because we were going to the beach that day! When we arrived, we gathered next to the water, under a tree to discuss the rules, and have our devotion. KG called those who wanted to be baptized in the biblical way. He explained that baptism was an act of symbolically showing your love and devotion for Christ publicly. i decided to do so. Others also decided, and i was surprised to see my brother freely allowing himself to be baptized. i mean, i didn't even have to talk to him about it. They all prayed for us, then we began. It was awesome! Well, except for the part that i expected to be submerged in the water much longer, KG, Lolo Lloyd and Kuya Cole pulled me out and my head sort of got left behind a bit. i laughed when i saw the picture.

Anyway, after that, they prayed for us one more time, then we had our Relay Race! KG explained to us the rules, the tasks and the parts of the game. Each of us would be assigned to a different task. First, Yana and Bangs would do the three-legged race, then Anjo would do the army crawl, then Moymoy would do the back crawl, then i would swim around the far off buoy in the water, then Shay would skip rope to Brian who would walk with coconut husks under his feet, then Alexa and Alexo would do the death crawl then last, Ronna would do the pingpong ball balance to the finish line, passing the bug along the way. When we did the race, it was very exciting because we were far in the lead! We won 8000 points for our team that morning. It was really fun! Then we had free time until 3pm. We had real fun with the underwater cams, the boats, the fellowship, and (of course, never to forget) the FOOD!!! It was an awesome day. One really cool part was when schools of fish started to jump out of the water! It was SO COOL to see the little guys just doing what God made them to do! Eventually, 3pm came and we had to get back to CCTC.

When we arrived, we had free time, which we spent for practicing for what would happen that hight. After of which, we had dinner, which was a bit nerve racking since we were having TALENT NIGHT afterwards. I also met up to pray with the girls because i knew we didn't practice enough for the dance, but we reminded each other that this wasn't a competition, just an intermission number, and more importantly, we were dancing for God, just lifting back up our desire and our talents to Him.

When we all gathered there, the parents were already finding a place to sit, and we soon discovered that we were going to be the fourth group to present, so we readied all our stuff, our parts, our talents, and our hearts. The first three groups were really good and funny. Me and the girls were then called to do our dance, so we did. i cannot tell you how much we messed up. i loved every bit of it. TIJOC (Treasure In Jars Of Clay from 2Corinthians4:7) had a blast that night! After that, we were up! We gave each other last second reminders of what to do, where to go, and when to move. We then started. We all just had a blast performing what we came up with. For the most part, we were really glad to hear the laughter of everyone in the room when we presented. It was cool. Same can be said about the other teams. After the whole thing, when they announced the winners, our team really didn't expect anything, until Kuya Popong announced that we won first place, CD's of the Camp Tracks, stickers, and 10,000 points! We were so happy! We also won best props since we decided to get up in costumes, and use what we had. Awesome night.

After that, we had a second bonfire, then the TRIBALISTA presentation. You'll have to view the pictures to find out what happened. It was a really funny night. Then we roasted marshmallows and hotdogs until the night was over, though none of us wanted it to.

We rose up later than the usual 6am the next day, then we had our Community Devotion, then breakfast, and then the fifth session, "Jesus the Ultimate Example" in Psalm119:9, 1John3:16-18, Ephesians5:1-2, and 1John2:6. During the worship part of the session was different (like last night). We were just pouing our our all into worship, jumping, singing (a few of us off key, if i might add), dancing, and just being free, unlike the first time we arrived. Here's what i got: We as Christians need to have that ability to trust and surrender ourselves to the Living God, being set apart from the rest of the world, trusting in God's person, letting Him pour out His love on us, spreading it, growing, knowing, seeking, believing, reflecting, persevering, and just let Jesus in so we would be more like Him. We then had a communion.

After of which, we (sadly) had our last meal together, then we packed our things, distributed the shirts, had fellowship and picture taking, then we said our goodbyes.

Jesus continues to be awesome. He changed both me and my brother at camp. May He continue to do so for the rest of our lives. We're ready to exemplify Jesus!!!

LOVE

2009-04-16T00:12:00.000-07:00

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another."

-John 13:34

"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers."

-1John 3:16

What is love? Have you ever been asked that question? i'm pretty sure you have. When someone talks about love, the boy-girl relationship is really the first thing that crosses our mind. Not that there's anything wrong about that, but when you talk about the genuine TRUE LOVE, the love that Jesus Christ showed upon the cross, it is a much deeper, and more meaningful love to talk about. i'm going to talk about how God gave me a more genuine insight about what love really is.

Last night was a ery special night for the Core. Last night, we had movie night, and the movie was "Fireproof." It was about this man named Caleb who screwed up his marriage with his wife, Catherine, and was now trying to fix it because his dad helped him realize there was still a part of him that wanted to save their marriage because his wife had already prepared the divorce papers. His dad gave him a book entitled "The Love Dare" which was a 40-day journey that Caleb would have to take. It was written in his dad's hand, filled with Biblical teachings and suggestions what to do, like buying her flowers, or do something unexpected.

Catherine rejected every single one of Caleb's gestures. Out of hope and halfway through the 40-day journey, he had a talk with his dad that made him realize that love isn't about showing how much you care for someone, but it's this unexplainable "thing(*)" that leads you to care and do things for someone, regardless of whether or not they deserve it, or will accept it, surpassing all storms, all trials, all rejections, all fires, all hardships. In the same way, his dad made him realize that Jesus is always showing us how much He loves us, especially what He did for us on the cross to save us from all we've ever done against Him, and all we've ever done was reject Him.

Caleb (and the viewers) has now received a much more genuine insight about what love is, and is now doing what the book is leading him to, ultimately because of his love for his wife. In the end, Catherine finally realized the truth of what Caleb's been doing, and has accepted both him, and Jesus.

Caleb then goes to his dad to thank him for the faithfulness he's shown, and for not giving up on mom when he took the Love Dare. However, his dad said that although the book was written in his hand, it was his mom that took the Love Dare when he wanted to leave, and that he wrote it in his hand because he knew that Caleb would take it from him. This broke Caleb because he used to always get annoyed about how his mom acted like, like you know, mom, he realized how strong his mom was, and what her faithfulness led their family to. This part made me cry the most.

As i'm writing this (or in this case, typing), it still makes me cry about how much my mom really loves me, and that how she showed her strength to raise both me and my brother alone really made a great impact in my own life. Though she gets worried much, and tends to get all clingy, like Caleb's mom, i've always tried not to complain about that because here on earth, she's the only one i've ever got apart from my brother, and it shatters me when i make her feel like retiring from motherhood.

Up until this day, she and the rest of the family remain unbelievers, sticking to their religion. In my walk with God, there have been times when i really felt like either giving up, or just be taken away. But looking at how Jesus persevered on His excruciating journey to the cross, i want to persevere with my mission here on earth with His guidance.

Not just for my family, but for everyone, i want to continue spreading truth. i'll continue to step up in faith to show them that God does not want our sacrifices, our works, or our religion. Rather, He just wants our whole selves. i want to show them that there is nothing and no one else but Jesus that they could go to for salvation, or forgiveness, or needs; that prayers are our conversation with God, and not repeated gestures, or something given by a anybody that is to be presented to God, like it's "the right words to say"; that religion is worthless and that they should come to a church that is committed to Jesus, and nobody or nothing else; and that reading the Bible is more important than eating.

That night really gave me a new and better perspective of love. It isn't something that must be shown, rather it's something that should be given. It isn't something that requires you to make gestures to someone, rather it's something that leads you to want to do great things for someone. It isn't something that can only be shared with a "special someone", or a spouse, but even to somebody whom you just met. Most of all, it isn't something reserved to reward someone for something special that they've done, rather, true, genuine love exists unconditionally, whether or not somebody deserves it, whether or not somebody wants it, whether or not somebody asks for it.

Jesus loves you! God bless you all.

Sweetly Broken

2009-03-25T07:15:00.000-07:00

"the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart. O God, You will not despise."

- Psalm 51:17

This year's first ever CORE camp in CCD is the very first college ministry summer camp, as it is my very first summer camp. The theme for this year is Sweetly Broken, wherein we are taught the true meaning of brokenness as a believer, how it happens, why it has to happen, and where God really is in our brokenness. It was da COOLEST! We couldn't bring (use, rather) our cellphones, or bring anything like games to lessen our distractions, but it was WORTH IT!!! I'm glad i left my phone.

Since it was my first camp ever, i was (naturally) out of my shoes excited. I finished packing my bags two nights before the first day, and i kept on calling Pastor Jerry (or Kuya Jerry or KJ) our youth pastor, for information, precautions, rules, activities, and other stuff that i felt like i was starting to get on his nerves (hahah).

On the very day (March 23) after lunch, i set off to CCD to meet up with those who were going to get a ride to the venue. When we finally left, i already started taking pictures of everything and everyone, especially when we arrived. Everyone registered on time (except for Kor, who had a class and arrived past six). We had a blast with the first game, wherein each of the campers shouted out their own name and course. Later, they split us all up into two groups, separating us (the groups) with a thick blanket. The object of the game was to guess the name and course of the person on the other side of the blanket when it was pulled down. Our team won! WOOHOO!!! After that, we played cops and robbers, guys versus girls. Girls won, but it was real fun!

KJ and Ate M always encouraged us to meet new people. They even grouped us into tables with people we didn't know during dinner. On our table, we had a real fun conversaton, but we had to end it because Session 1 was about to start, and Pastor Jo will be teaching us. The message was awesome! It was taken from Hosea 2:14-23, wherein God was punishing His people for their unfaithfulness, but He reminds us that He hates sin, but loves the sinner (oh, how i love that line!), and wants us to draw to Him and Him alone because the things of this world are worthless and broken. He also reminds us that we have to be broken and contrite (Psalm 51:17b) in order to obtain self-emptiness, because God is all we will ever need, and that after brokenness, we always get a new, better perspective of God. The message not only spoke to me, but to all of us. I spent time alone, talking to God afterwards in one of the covered areas. It was awesome. After a while, Kuya Miggy approached me to find out what's up, after he had a conversation with Kuya Cole. We bonded and encouraged each other for a while and shared our struggles. It was great. Eventually, we all had to go to bed.

The next day, i woke up at 5am (after waking up and sleeping again at 3am), and did my morning devotion next to a praying mantis. Afterwards, i took a few cool pics of everything, especially the colors reflecting the ocean before the sun rose. Kuya Champy then woke up and we both sat on the sand, staring at the horizon. Not too long afterwards, i discovered that he was actually waiting for the sunrise. I took more really cool pics of it. He and i then sang the first lines of the song, Beautiful. We then started our group devotion, then took our physical b-fast, and had Session 2 with Pastor Jo. The message was really awesome as well. It was taken from Genesis 32:22-32 when Jacob was wrestling with God. Pastor Jo reminded us that although Jacob was chosen by God to receive the blessing which was originally intended for Esau, Jacob was self-consumed, and his heart was not right with the Lord. When he struggled with God, he obviously lost, and received a broken hip. Pastor Jo reminded us that the first step to brokenness is admitting our failures, and that God is always right. If we struggle against God, insisting our way of the flesh, we WILL lose! There's no point in standing firm on something which God points out as wrong. After the session, we prayed for each other, and then had lunch, then we had our free time, which i spent on taking an extra long, relaxing, nap.

After i woke up, we were about to start our group activity, Core version of the Amazing Race! We were distributed to three groups. I was on the Orange Team! I tell you, the tasks weren't easy, and all had to be done in teams, like skiing with wood with teammates across the entire yard, filling up a bucket with water using nothing but the clothes on your back, passing two bicycle tires in a group circle, crabwalking across the sand. It was EXHAUSTING! Fun, but exhausting. Our team won because even though we finished second, we were the only team which stuck our flag in the correct place! Out of breath, we were called by KJ so he could tell us the purpose for the game. Not only was it for team building, but it meant a lot more than that. Reading the clues, we scanned through the paper like lightning, afterwards, just remembering the words, we took off to do the task, even though the task wasn't done pretty well. Though this was a game, the same thing shouldn't be done in our time with God, when we read our Bibles, afterwards, saying, "That was great!", and then taking off to face the challenges of the world. It needs time spent to understand what was written. When we were told to do the task again, most if not all of us took the instruction like sport. We shouldn't be like that when we receive rebuke from God, or a bro or sis, even if it means we have to go through the same task again. Some of us weren't exactly a good encouragement to our teammates when we did the race, even. In our walk, our bros and sis are there to encourage us! Last but not the least, not one of us started the game with a group prayer. It was all about winning. In our relationship with the Lord, are we more focused on God, or ourselves? Or rather, do we even have an intimate relationship with God where God is large and in charge, and have we ever considered His supremacy? The message really spoke to me. I was, yet again, SWEETLY BROKEN!

After the activity, we were given free time. While the servant leaders were preparing for the activity later that night, some of us played Si Maria, and Cat and Dog in the water, others (KJ included) played the great Sand Ball Tournament, while others did their usual. We then had dinner, and then Session 3, the last session of the camp. The teaching was taken from Psalm 51. God washed in over us that night. It was (yet again,) AWESOME!!! He revealed a lot to us like the way He breaks us, the way He comforts us, and the way He always restores us willingly. We then had our afterglow wherein we did nothing but worship with songs, and pray for one another. A lot of us (me included) had tears streaming down our eyes. God was there!

After the afterglow, we (the ones who were willing to take part in the last activity) were given index cards. We tasked to write our masks, the things we cover up and pretend about on one half, and on the other, the sins we still hold on to, so we wrote.

On the sand, we lit up the bonfire and burned the first half of our index cards in it. Near the campfire was a cross that was put up earlier, and we nailed the second half (the one with the sins) on it. Now, the activity didn't mean anything significant in a life-changing way, but it was just a symbol of our willingness to let go of our dishonesties and insecurities, and nailing in our sins with Jesus as a sign of lifting it all up to Him. We continued to sing praises around the campfire, until i accidentally slept on the sand. Ate Mich had to wake me up for midnight snacks, where we roased marshmallows and hotdogs over the open campfire. It was fun and delicious, but the only problem was that the sticks were too short, and the fire was too hot, so it took some trouble to get the food cooked, but i know none of us wanted it any other way. We then got ready for bed. Ate M had to scold us (the guys) a few times before we actually decided to go to sleep. We eventually did.

The next morning, i, again, woke up at 5, and did my devotion. I also got a few shots of the sunrise, and the other guys sleeping. We later did our group devotion, then b-fast, then the last encouragement in Deuteronomy 8:2. After that, we were given free time. For a video that Hillsong needed, those of us who were interested got a good clip of what broke us. I then went to the sea by myself to just goof around in the water. Then the most awesome thing happened. God later told me to sit where the sand and the water touched, and just look around and meditate on what i saw. I tell you, it was really cool.

What God showed me during those moments at the water's edge was that we are as powerless and insignificant as the sand that stood under the mercy of the waters. Our time here on earth is as limited as the time each grain of sand spent on staying put at where the waves crashed. It was the sea that decided for the stilness and the demise of the sand. God was the sea. As vast, and as powerful as the ocean was, compared to the sand, so is He compared to us, times an eternity.

After that, i spent time reflecting, then played cards, packed my bags, and then we went back home. The brokenness i discovered during the stay there at camp was life-changing. God has revealed Himself more beautiful than ever!!!

Great Way to End the Schoolyear

2009-03-25T06:00:00.000-07:00

Whoa.. it's been a while since i've posted. Now, i'm a fresh graduate from Silliman high, and i'm just having some mixed emotions. God's really been great throughout the year. He always has, always is, and always will be!

High school really was the best four years of my life. Ups and downs filled up the days, but that's what makes the experience worthwile.

I will forever remember my four years within the classroom walls. I mean, high school's when i accepted God into my life (well, near the end of my junior year, i mean). He's been gracious and compassionate throughout my walk. I was a bit nervous about not being able to march because my Filipino grades have been (regrettably) near-failing. But hey, that's the power of prayer and perseverance. Graciously, my grades escalated, and i'm in awe.

Okay, so i'll spare you of my highlights, my heartaches (hahah.. no, nothing about relationships), and all other experiences. Ending this schoolyear was really memorable, and that's what i intend to discuss about.

After the final exams, i had to train and pray pretty hard for the upcoming graduation and 2009 Regional meet. Turns out, both events were happening on the same week, although not at the same time (whew!). It's just that i had to both compete, and practice for graduation at the same time, so me and the other fourth year delegates were working extra hard!

Finally, the meet came. I was able to meet up with archers from other delegations and catch up. By God's grace, i was able to meet up with a friend from Mandaue whom i reached out to the previous year. He's doing better. He's already reading his Bible! Major praises to Jesus!!! However, he needs praying over due to much family problems, but moreover, his walk is the major priority.

I'm so blessed this year because i was able to reach out to a girl from Bohol i met last year. She's convicted, but i can't say anything major went on. However, God will prove Himself faithful, so i'm praying over more light to be shown to her.

I also got a chance to catch up with two fellow believers, a guy and a girl from Cebu Province. I'm also blessed to know they're dowing better in their walks (RIGHT ON GUYS!!!).

Hard work also pays off. Five of us from Dumaguete (Roxy, Gelene, Crissa, Ken and me) are going to compete in nationals!! PRAISE THE LORD!!!

After the last day of competition was our graduation day. I was also blessed because my dad came to attend my graduation. I mean, i really didn't expect him to come visit us!

But during graduation day, since i missed out big time on the practices, that i had to be real observant of my seatmates to be able to know what to do! But the experience and the occasion was so cool. Many of my batchmates were starting to cry (especially during the graduation song), some were already saying their goodbyes in the middle of the ceremony, and others were just a bundle of nerves. The most (let's say,) dramatic moment of the occasion was when we transferred our tassels from the left of our caps to the right, as a sign that we've graduated. After transferring the tassels, everyone wanted time to rewind itself and start back to our freshman year! It just goes to show that no matter how bad or good our time in high school was, we would always wish we had more of it on the last day. But we had to move on.

After the graduation, i took as many pictures as i can with my batchmates, even if their mascara was already running with their tears, or if they already took off their toga, or if their faces are covered by the graduation gifts they received. God is awesome!

Before the night was over (and yes, we reached nighttime), me and the family ate at Shakeys. I love the food there.

Anyway, God will never leave us nor forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6). He knows what's best for us, and will prove Himself faithful. Now, i'm not saying this just because of the way He's recently moved in my life, but also because when He wills for me to be broken and contrite, He always shows Himself to be stronger, wiser, more knowledgeable, and much greater than i am, or anything i can ever come up with. He's always there, and He's always waiting for us to rely fully on Him.

http://tiew2.multiply.com/photos/album/37/2009_CViRAA#

http://tiew2.multiply.com/photos/album/38/Bacalauriat_and_Graduation_Day

Little Soldier Boy

2009-01-12T02:07:00.000-08:00

Every morning when I wake up, I can't help but wonder about a few things. About why I'm still alive, about why God chooses to keep me in this wretched, empty world; about why He can't just choose to take me to safety in heaven now, since I'm already going there, anyway. Truth is, I just want to leave this all behind. These thoughts might sound selfish, but they're honest. I refuse to deny and lie about these thoughts in front of anyone, especially God. In fact, I don't believe that being honest and respectful with Him is a sin, because it simply is not. Jesus even brought His deepest sorrows to the Father in Gethsemane.

In the Bible, it says, "to live is Christ, and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21)." Such words are so overpowering and edifying that they break me to pieces. The apostle Paul stated here that while he was still alive, his purpose was to serve the Lord, and if he died, that would mean entering heaven's gates. Either way, Paul was joyous. Though he was tried at many, many, different points, he pursued in faith. He "considered his present sufferings were not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in him (Romans 8:18)." "In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (2ndTimothy 3:12)."

Therefore, I'm not anymore surprised with how those who refuse to believe will treat me. "Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil (John 3:19)." I just hate this world and the evil it brings! I'm sure that every believer has had their times wishing God would just take them at this very moment, whether it be because of worship, because of emptiness, because of despair, because of brokenness. I personally wish at times to enter heaven and be with my Creator than to spend any more time in this vile place, knowing I'll keep falling or even diving into sin, disappointing Him, or to have to face the stubborness of my persecutors. However, every true believer would just put his/her full trust in God, for He knows best. Besides, "the Lord gives, and the Lord takes away, but blessed be the name of the Lord! (Job 1:21b)." Though at times I wish so much for paradise, I just can't help but smile at the fact that God's still going to use me to glorify His holy name! His will always be done.

Every believer is a warrior fighting for the cause of God's name. Within every believer is a raging battle that is decided with how much faith one puts in God. Believing in Christ, I tell you, will not render total victory over all present or future battles. These battles will be even more real and difficult once one starts believing. Choosing to believe in Christ's salvation, rather reduces the number of battles lost. God never said it was easy, only that we won't be lonely when we step up for His name. We must "put on the full armor of God so that we can take our stand against the devil's schemes (Ephesians 6:11)." These battles are against the devil himself, so it will be difficult. Putting on this spiritual armor and pcking up "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Ephesians 6:17)" also means knowing that God's already overcome it all, that all that's left is to trust Him with whatever outcome a battle may be, knowing that in the end, the war will be over, where we are on the winning side, and "the old order of things will pass away (Revelation 21:4b)."

Yes, I am encouraged to face the fight, but my hatred toward the things the world offers, and the fact that most of the people on earth are abiding with these things is still present. However, God's so good, He's constantly reminding me He's overcome it all, that nothing is because of anything I've ever done, but because I choose to be on God's side, and that my trust and faith in Him means I'm going to be part of something colossal which will bring further glory to His name!

My battles are far from over. God's light will keep on shining in me. I'm a little soldier boy, standing with my Father, learning from Him the way of the sword before, during, and after a struggle. I'm loved by the Lord, and I will fight until the end. Then when the end of my stay here on earth finally comes for me, I will be one of the little warriors marching home after our last battle's been won, running into Daddy's arms unharmed, and hearing Him say as He cradles me in His hands, "You fought well, brave one."

Christians in Danger of God

2008-12-31T09:07:00.000-08:00

this entry was written by a good friend of mine. now i won't promise that your reading this will be easy, but hopefully, i pray that God will reveal something to you.. i also pray for your sensitivity to His truth, the only truth.. God bless

link to the original blog: http://micahdagaerag.multiply.com/journal/item/14/Christians_in_Danger_of_God

Christians in Danger of God

Matthew 7:13-27

It is a great privilege to be here before all of you this morning. I am deeply humbled and honored for this sacred opportunity to preach the Word of God to this church. But this morning I’m going to share with you a warning from Scripture.

Now let me say this before I begin. There are issues lying deep under our church’s spirituality that must be addressed and brought to the light. There is so much at stake this morning that many of you don’t understand. So let me tell you where I’m coming from as I preach to you. I will preach as a dying man, to a dying people. I will preach as though I will never preach again. I will tell you things that have been misunderstood. I will tell you things that have caused so much anger against me. I will tell you things that have been denied. And I will tell you things that you say I don’t have a right to tell you about.

You see, preaching is a very dangerous thing. It’s dangerous for me, because Scripture says that false teachers will undergo a much greater condemnation. And so if what I’m teaching you is not true, I am in a great deal of trouble and have every right to do this with fear and trembling. But if what I tell you is true, then you’re the one with cause for fear and trembling. Because if I interpret this Scripture correctly, it will be as though God was truly speaking through a man, and your problem will not be with me. It will be with God and His Word.

Now, it may be true that you can accuse me of arrogance, or that you will not like my delivery. I have many times been arrogant, and I have many times delivered God’s Word in a wrong way. But don’t use that as an excuse for you. The question is: what I am saying, is it true? And if you don’t like what I am saying, is it because I am offending God’s thoughts, or your personal thoughts? Because if I do this right, my friends, I will not be preaching my own thoughts, but God’s. So that if you find yourself offended by my preaching, I will be the least of your problems. Because it will show that you are in rebellion to God’s Word, and are answerable, not to me, but to Him.

But there are some of you who will listen to this, and you will say Amen, and think “Yeah, these people need this kind of bashing from the pulpit.” I advise you to be careful about your heart, my friend. Though you may have certain grievances against this church, you have to realize that all of us bear a measure of blame and guilt for the current spiritual condition of our church. And it is not good at all. So if you have attained to some spiritual maturity, what do you have that you didn’t receive from God, and if you have received it, why do you boast? That’s what the apostle Paul advises us.

Post-Intro

This past year God has carried me through the hardest struggles I have ever had to go through, in my heart and in my mind. And now I realize that all of them have been in preparation for the great burden that He has given me to preach today, which is this: in the Philippines, the great majority of the so-called Christian population is in danger of God. Many, if not all of us who are members of a church, believe ourselves to be in a right relationship with God, and we actually believe we will go to Heaven with the Lord when we die.

But herein lies the burden and the heaviness of what I am about to preach: the alarming reality that we need to face as Christians is that when we study the Scriptures, it will show that there is an overwhelmingly great number of us whom the Lord will say to in the Day of Judgment, “'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” Do you see what Jesus is saying? We owe it to ourselves to check whether or not we are part of those the Lord will dismiss on the last day. Our eternal security depends on this.

Now, at this point, some of you will think, “What right does this guy have to question salvation and bring doubt into the faith of his church mates?” “You shouldn’t judge anyone’s salvation. It’s between them and the Lord.” My friend, I would like to submit to you that the Bible actually demands this very act of checking personal salvation. In 2 Corinthians 13: 5 the Apostle Paul commands the church in Corinth, saying, “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” Why does Paul write this? Because of Jesus’ warning in Matthew 7!

Verses 13-14

Let’s start in verses 13 and 14. Jesus says, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few."

First observation: Jesus says that for each and every person alive in the world today, that person can walk in only one of two gates: one narrow, and one wide. He says that the majority of people go through the wide gate, and it has an easy way, or path. If you take a good look around you, this means that most people in this church, most people in your office, most people in your school, are all on the wide gate leading to destruction, probably including yourself. It would seem that our general direction in life is through that wide gate. Every single person is born by default heading into that wide gate of destruction.

Now, you need to understand, and see that the wide gate, is what is easy. The wide gate is what is natural. The wide gate is what is worldly popular. The wide gate doesn’t want you to suffer, if in your suffering you end up drawing closer to God. The wide gate wants to give you your best life now, if that’s what it takes to get your mind off of God and on your material success and prosperity. The wide gate is what is theologically liberal, meaning it accepts that you can believe in any god or gods, but as long you are sincere and religious enough you can still make it to Heaven. I just recently discovered that Oprah herself believes in a unified idea of religion, the belief that Jesus is just a way, but not the way, and that Christ didn’t come to bring salvation, but a higher state of Christ-consciousness, which is based more on Indian mysticism than the Bible. And millions of people subscribe to her brand of religion all over the world, which doesn’t believe that Jesus is God and that salvation in the next life is possible only in Him.

The wide gate doesn’t want to offend anyone, but seeks to equate all religions as the same, and it means denying Christ as He claimed to be. It is often politically correct. The wide gate dismisses true spirituality as burdensome and unnecessary. It doesn’t like the idea of being serious enough in our spiritual life, because it thinks it’s too corny. The wide gate can also be false religiosity, trying to earn points for Heaven, and hypocritical and dishonest ways of being a Christian. And because it is wide and many enter through it, it is seductive. The wide gate doesn’t want you to leave it. It knows that it leads into destruction and it wants to trap and ensnare and devour as many souls as it can. If anyone tries to leave the wide gate, that wide gate will try to ensnare him back. It will fight to keep you. And it uses many ways of deception, just to keep you in what is popular, keep you in what is easy, and you don’t have to worry about how God thinks about your life and the true status of your eternal destiny.

But Jesus says it is a gate and it is a way that leads to destruction. People who live lives like these are going to Hell, whether they believe it or not. And this is not my word, this is Jesus’. We would do well to believe Jesus because He alone is called Faithful and True in Revelation. He is the perfect witness of the Father, and if He says so, then it is so. What keeps true preachers on their knees in prayer is the fact that in a hundred years, the great majority of the people in their church will most probably end up in Hell, unless he challenges them to make their calling and election sure, as the apostle Peter warned us.

Now, about the narrow way. Jesus says we ought to enter by the narrow gate. Now, by experience we know that a narrow gate is harder to spot, than a wide gate. A wide gate can just sit idly at the side and still be noticed by anyone passing by. But a narrow gate necessitates a search. A careful search. Anyone who is not looking for the narrow gate will never find it, nor even see it. So the question is, when was the last time you seriously, earnestly sought Christ? Because if you have no memory of ever wanting to seek Christ to believe in Him, you have never strived to get out of the wide gate looking for the narrow one, and therefore still are on the wide gate and are in danger of Hell. If there is no desire within you to seek and thirst after God, my friend, you better start mourning over yourself and seek God’s mercy. That He give it to you.

Let me ask you another question. We are all here as church members, and we identify ourselves as Christian in almost everywhere we go: birth certificates, application letters, résumés, clubs, and so on. You confess Christ, most likely because you were born into a Christian background, and born into a church background, and you confess Christ as of now. The question is, if you had been born a muslim, or a hindu, or a Buddhist, would you have made any effort at all to see and check for yourself whether the god you believe in is the real true living God, so that you will end up where you are right now, a Christian? And if you are here as a “Christian” and yet have made no real and serious inquiry as to whether or not the God you believe in is the one true God, you are in danger of being in the wide gate yourself.

Are you seeking Him? Before coming here to church, were you seeking Him? Yesterday, were you seeking Him? The day before that, were you seeking Him? Today, did you already have it set that you will be seeking after Him? Tomorrow, do you know that you are going to be seeking Him? Seek Him, find the narrow gate, for the narrow gate is Christ Himself. In John 10:7-9 it says, “Jesus again said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.’” When we truly seek to know and obey and live for Christ, by faith in Him and repentance of our sins, we escape the wide gate, and enter through the narrow gate, which is Christ. And few, Jesus said, will find it. Few will want to seek Him in truth. Few will want to truly obey Him. Only a few will leave the wide gate of destruction, to seek after the narrow one. And few will be saved.

And Jesus doesn’t just say that the gate is narrow, He also says that the way is hard. Acts 14:22 says, “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” Let me ask you something, do you have difficulties and hardships as a direct result of your faith in Christ? Do people ridicule and mock you behind your back because you are someone who sincerely wants to obey the Lord and live your life for Him? Have people slandered and maligned you because you couldn’t compromise the truth? Have you ever been made fun of, or lost opportunities or wealth or respect because you wanted to be a faithful witness to God? Or do people speak ill of you rather because you actually blatantly sin and do wrong?

Suffering and hardship are validations of a legitimate and true relationship with God through Christ. Obedience to God will always be hard because we live in a world that hates the God we want to obey. Just look at all those TV programs, those popular music bands, liberal teachers in your schools that make a mockery out of God. Jesus said if the world persecuted and killed Him, how much more will the world hate and persecute us, who are His servants? So that if you are not suffering or persecuted in some way by the world, something is wrong, and you need to check whether you are still a true believer or already a compromising one. If there is nothing wrong with your life because of your faith, something is wrong with your faith.

Hebrews 12: 3-8 says, “Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? ‘My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. Forthe Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.’ It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.” If you’re suffering as a Christian, rejoice. Don’t be surprised by it. But if your Christianity right now doesn’t achieve the slightest opposition from people who don’t know God, you’re probably still in the wide gate, and you need to repent, turn back and seek Christ and His mercy. Get to the right gate. Before it’s too late.

Verses 15-23

"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.”

"Not everyone whosays to me, 'Lord, Lord,' willenter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'

In this next set of verses, Jesus addresses two kinds of people, both of them false, and it is implied that these people will find the biggest shock of all eternity: that of being found to being not a true Christian, and told by Jesus Himself to depart from Him. The two groups of people Christ rejects are these: false prophets, and false professors.

Let’s discuss these false prophets first, and I would like to use this as an opportunity to bring into light all the various ways our denomination as the UCCP should be afraid of this warning. Jesus says they come in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. And the apostle Peter in his second letter clearly lays down what these false teachers, preachers and prophets do, and how they will be destroyed. I don’t have time to do another study of the whole chapter but here’s what I want you to see: wolves can come in many different forms, but all of them have this one thing in common: they care nothing for the sheep. And because they care nothing for the sheep, the sheep are never fed, or if ever they are it is so that those wolves can have a bigger feast on them. A pastor who doesn’t exercise church discipline, and doesn’t obey Scripture when it says in 1 Timothy 4:6 to point out the sins of the people, that pastor is going against the work of the Holy Spirit, and is among the wolves, whether they know it or not. Some pastors brag about not mentioning sin in their sermons, not realizing that Jesus said in John 16:8 that the Holy Spirit’s work is to convict the world of sin. So that a pastor who neglects church discipline actually goes against the work of the Holy Spirit, when he forfeits his flock from being convicted by the Holy Spirit so that they could mourn over their sinfulness and come before the cross weeping in humility and brokenness.

We in the UCCP have become too thin-skinned to be able to rebuke anyone of anything. Sometimes it’s because we leaders fear men more than we fear God. Sometimes it’s because pastors themselves are in sin, and their sins remain unconfessed and unrepented of, that they cannot possibly pray for the Holy Spirit’s conviction to fall on the congregation. And so you have this culture of “don’t ask, don’t tell” going on in the congregation with regard to what the Scriptures say about sin, and people get used to their sin. Sin becomes acceptable, immorality becomes acceptable, lying becomes acceptable, gossip in the church becomes acceptable, prayerlessness becomes acceptable, pride becomes tolerable in the church, because no one has the moral highground and the spiritual anointing to speak against all of the sins that the people are entangled in, when you see in the New Testament that this was the first ministry of the apostles and elders in the church: to point people and themselves to Scripture and bring each other to continued repentance and growing holiness. Look at Paul’s letters. Peter’s epistles. We need to know how God thinks of us. Hebrews 4:12-13 says,“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

There are also pastors in the UCCP who use God for their own popular and material gain. They are relatively worse than those are just afraid of pointing out sin. These are those pastors (not real pastors, by the way) who twist Scripture to play a guilt trip on the sheep and manipulate the people so that the offering will increase. They mangle God’s Word so that it fits their own ideas, distorting the real meaning of Scripture, for more money. You see many of these kinds of pastors (though may of them aren’t from the UCCP) on television. They make promises of prosperity and healing, if you give this much to their ministry. And yet these are people who have lawsuits filed against them because of unaccountable assets and questionable sources of wealth. They have the biggest mansions, and they never fly below first class. You see them on TV, but just because they appear on Christian TV, my friends, doesn’t mean they are from God. They take advantage of the sick, the elderly, the young, the newly saved, to intimidate them into sending money or whatever, making empty, boastful promises, that never do anything except lead people astray into hell. Many are turned atheists this way.

There are also those pastors whose thirst for more of the praises of men outweighs their thirst for more of God. They strive so much to look and sound good before people that they get in the way of God. The people see the preacher, but not Christ. The people hear the preacher and are in awe of the preacher, but not Christ. These wolves use psychology, sociology, anthropology, philosophy and the latest Wall Street self-help church gurus more than God’s Word. These pastors don’t believe that the Word of God is sufficient to know how to run a church. They use surveys and the latest tools and trends to make the Gospel more “relevant” to this generation. They want to be more “seeker-sensitive”. But my friends, we have to realize that Scripture says in John 4 and 1 Chronicles 16 that there’s only one Seeker, His name is God, and if you want to be sensitive and friendly to anyone, be sensitive and friendly to Him. It takes God to run His church. Nothing more, nothing less.

There are many pastors in the UCCP who fail this way. And I can say that because I am in the UCCP and have no intention of leaving it unless the General Secretary himself kicks me out. But I love this church, and would love to see it experience a revival and a reformation from within, according to God’s Word.

Now let me say just one more thing. Many, if not the great majority of UCCP pastors don’t like to be rebuked. And I say that with no ounce of pleasure at all. I say that with much bitterness and sorrow of heart. While many UCCP pastors squabble and quarrel over who gets the bigger church, who gets to preach to the bigger crowd, who gets to have the bigger position, who gets to be paid more, the sheep are neglected and left without a shepherd and they are dying. And pastors will be judged for this. They are hurting sheep whose owner is God and God will by no means leave that sin unpunished. These sheep are God’s beloved, this is His bride, and I’d be really careful how I treat His bride and His beloved if I were you.

But we have a lot of wolves hiding under the pastor’s cloak. Wolves who turn a blind eye to sin, wolves who steal from the sheep, wolves that want to popularize themselves and make a whole ministry empire with their names on it. But my dear brothers and sisters, we are not called to build empires. We are called to obey God, and be faithful to Him. We are called to glorify God. We must decrease, that He may increase. As spiritual leaders, we are called to be nameless and faceless before Him, so that if the people at the end the service remember you more than they remember God, you have stood in the way of God, and need to repent before Him.

Next set of verses. After talking the false prophets, Jesus then turns His discussion into something about false professors. Jesus Himself, knowing the events of the future, says that not everyone who names Him Lord will actually make it on the last day. It is not that these people were Satanists or atheists, these people were “Christians”, church people, and yet Jesus never knew them at all.

At this point, some of you will object and demand what right have I to judge anyone? You will even tell me that Jesus Himself said not to judge anyone. But my friend, when Jesus said that, He didn’t say don’t judge at all. Read that entire chapter where He says that and you will find that in context He said in Matthew 7:1-5, "Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” He was actually talking more about hypocrisy, because He says later, “First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” We are commanded to call each other accountable God’s Word.

Again, Paul even commands us in 2 Corinthians 13:5, “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!”

My friend, when was the last time you actually went and sought to check whether or not you are a real Christian, according to how the Bible says. Scripture says one of the signs of a true believer is that he will actually seek to make his calling and election sure. If you are not caring about the real status of your salvation, you are one among those on the wide gate!

Let’s go ahead and try and do some checking right now. If I were to ask you how you can know that you are truly saved, what would you tell me? Some people say, “Oh, I’m saved because I believe in Jesus Christ.” That’s good, and that’s what Scripture says, but it doesn’t end there. The question is, my friend, how do you know that you believe? How do you know that you truly believe, and are a true believer? Because if all you have is mere intellectual or verbal confession of Christ, you will be rejected by Him on the last day. Jonathan Edwards wrote about the culture in his day that the people were all baptized, they were all churchgoers, they were confirmed, but they lived like devils.

Now, the verses we just read provide this clue: by their fruit you will know them.

By their fruit! Let me ask you something, and here I would like to focus a little bit on the youth. Young man, young woman, you may be part of a youth group in church. But what kind of fruit are you producing? What makes you so different from unbelieving youth? I’ll say this with much love, that the great majority of youth in our Christian Youth Fellowship are not real believers. You know why? Let’s take a look at the kinds of fruit they are producing: Many of them are there “just to have some fun.” And we can’t totally blame them for that because that’s what their leaders tell them, that they’re there “just for fun.” Many people question me on this asking what’s so bad about fun, and I say nothing is wrong with that. But if fun is all you’re after, you can go get fun anywhere else. In fact, you can honestly find so much more fun outside of the church youth activity. Youths come into our youth camps, they go through all of the creative and fun stuff we prepare for them but they are no closer to God at the end of it than they were before going there.

In fact, they usually end up getting closer to someone else. They develop relationships with someone they meet at camp, and their relationship with God is completely forgotten and sidetracked. Their reward is not a more intimate relationship with God, and they have used God as an excuse. And what fruit do they produce? Nothing. Except worldliness and deceit. And yet they would describe themselves as Christians. Why? Not because they bear the fruits of being a Christian, but because they simply believe themselves to be Christian.

My fellow youth, when people look at you, can they honestly see Christ? I’ll make this simple for you: if your life bears more of the fruits of an unbeliever’s, rather than the life of a believer’s, you are a so-called Christian in danger of God. Look around you. Do you do the same things as the world does? Do you dress like someone who doesn’t know the Lord? Do you talk and use words like someone who doesn’t know the Lord? Do you entertain yourself and live your life like someone who doesn’t know the Lord? Galatians gives a clearer list of clues as to how to know a bad tree that will be thrown into the fire. Paul says that the fruit of an unbeliever are these. Galatians 5:19, “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.”

Now, 1 John says that real Christians still sin. 1 John 1: 8 says, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” But does it say that Christians still habitually practice sin? No. Chapter 3: 6-10 says, “No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’sseed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.”

If there are any sins in your life that you are deliberately allowing or just letting happen, not confronting it and not getting spiritually mature people to help you against it, John says you’re not a child of God. You’re a child of the devil. Christians make mistakes, and sometimes some really big ones. But they by no means let it remain unconfronted, unconfessed, unrepented of. The child of the devil either just doesn’t care about sin, or knows the sin and yet does nothing because he or she is just having too much fun in it. Are you one of them, brother and sister in the Lord? What sin are you cherishing in your heart? Forsake it, repent from it and turn to God for mercy, and He will give it. There is no hope except to turn to Him in repentance and faith.

Some people say the Cross is proof of how much we are worth. No, my friend, the Cross is proof how wretched we are, that it took the violent butchering death of the Son of God Himself to remove it. There is Grace offered now unto anyone who truly repents from his sin, and surrender himself to Christ. Surrender his total self, no holding back. God brings relief to the guilty, and is close to the brokenhearted. God's conviction is bitter and painful, and yet His comfort is sweet and beautiful. There is precious hope, amazing grace. There is forgiveness available to those whose hearts and souls are troubled by their sin. 1 John also says in chapter 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Confess before Him, repent, and seek His forgiveness. And He WILL forgive you. God is not greedy about forgiveness. 1 Timothy 2: 4-6 says that He is a God “who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.”

The fruits we ought to produce are in Luke 3:8-9, “Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." Your life should reflect Christ, bearing fruits of righteousness, purity, holiness, obedience and discipleship. When people look at you, they shouldn’t see you anymore, but Christ’s power changing who you are, more and more into who He is. Jesus said, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” How often do you end up talking about God with people around you? What abounds in your heart? Is it Christ, or something or someone else? But we are called to bear fruit in repentance, reflecting Him, pointing people to Him. How is your life in regard to that? How much of your life is dedicated to reflecting Him? Your answer will determine the kind of fruit you produce, and what kind of tree you are, and whether you will be thrown into the fire or not.

Conclusion

If you find yourself to be a false believer, it ought to be a most bitter revelation. But here is His promise: Final set of verses, Matthew 7:24-27, "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it."

Sadly, after preaching all of the things I’ve preached there will still be those whose hearts are hardened and will turn even further away from Christ. On these people is the Scripture fulfilled in 2 Corinthians 2:15-17 that “we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.”

Preaching, for me, is the most important vocation in the world. For upon the words of a faithful preacher, the eternal destinies of men are determined. That Scripture says that to those who are repenting from their sin after this message, they will be given life. But those who hear the message and the call to repent, and yet reject the Gospel and keep rejecting it all their lives, they are already dead. I pray, don’t be among those who are dead. Examine yourselves, if it be well with your soul. Which gate are you in? Are you a bad tree? What kind of fruit are you producing? Examine yourselves.

Don’t be like the foolish who hears His Word and completely disregards it, ignores it, does not nothing about it, forgets all about it. But if you obey His Word, that is when you truly make a foundation for yourself, so that at the end of your life, you will have had set yourself on the Rock, and are therefore saved from the great crash on Judgment Day.

New Year Devotion XD~

2008-12-31T03:39:00.000-08:00

"Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings becausewe know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us."

-Romans 5:3-5

This year (2008) has been a very memorable year for all of us. God's hand has been seen by many of us, doin His great works, and many of us just fell flat on our faces in awe of the GREAT I AM for His grace!

But surely no one can say that this past year has been perfect. We've all had our trials, our breakdowns, our moments of emptiness, and our walk through the valley of the shadow of death throughout this 366 day journey through year 2008A.D. Everyone's had their share of inescapable darkness. However, the fact that you're reading this very message, the fact that you're living and breathing this very moment, and the fact that you've reached this chapter of your life only proves that somehow, something got you through that darkness. That force that guided you out of the shadows is the Lord God Himself.

You're very existence only proves that He loves you oh so much! I'm not just saying this because I've read and been taught of this lesson, but because I too had my share of hopeless moments, I've seen the grace of God, and I've seen the very fruits of such trials.

God gives joy to those who seek Him. Now, joy isn't the same as happiness, which is the opposite of sadness. Rather, it's that peace you get amidst (and not despite) the trials. The verse above is very clear about the fruits of suffering, and the fruits thereafter. Suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. We suffer, then we persevere through the suffering. Perseverance shapes our character for the better with new lessons learned, and that godly character gives us hope through such suffering. Truth to say, I'm not sure if anyone's ever given the perfect definition of hope, except God Himself through the crucifiction of His beloved Son. The hope that the cross represents is that faith that in the very end, God will justify that darkness, vindicating you.

Now, going back to trials, walking through the valley of the shadow of death is never easy, and fact is, grief, depression, darkness, brokenness -- all of it is real. The question is, what are you going to do about it? It even crushes us to have to go through it, and moreover, God knows that it does! But sometimes, God wants us to go through the valley, and not around it. Question is, are we going through it alone? Walking through the valley with God doesn't just mean coming out of it alive and in one piece, because sometimes we may come out of it in shattered pieces. Remember, a life in Christ isn't easy. It's just not lonely. What it means to walk through pain (and not around it) with God, means coming out a new person for the better. Such trials are never without fruits. Because you walked through it with God, sustainable fruits are going to bear, and all will be lifted up for His glory! God loves you so much, He wants to mold and shape you more and more into His Son, and sometimes, it just can't be done without you going through trials. Remember, you can't sharpen a sword with cotton. It has to be something rough and hard.

Trust in the Lord always, oh flock!

A Sweet Christmas Eve

2008-12-24T04:52:00.000-08:00

So far, none of the holidays I've been waiting for were dull. In fact, dull was what they were anything but of! Okay, so this Christmas Eve, I've received the best gift I've ever had from (guess who?) God Himself! I just LOVE how the big GUY works! So here's what happened.

Weeks before today (December 24, 2008), we've been preparing for our Living Stone's Christmas Outreach so we can minister to the kids in the children's ward of NOPH (Negros Oriental Provincial Hospital). The kids who were taken in were the less fortunate ones, and they came from every part of Negros just to have their precious one(s) be put in a hospital. It just breaks my heart to know that this Christmas time, which is supposed to be the most joyous part of the year because we remember the day of Jesus' birth, the kids were stuck in a crummy hospital with dextros attatched to their wrists, and I'm sure everyone who went in the outreach felt the same.

Okay, so while we were preparing, Kuya Glen said that our means of preaching would be to share the real Christmas story through a skit. The cast composed of Angel Gabriel (Cole and Miguel [who were active all throughout the outreach and didn't get a break]), Mary (Kori, Abby and Ate Rochelle), Joseph (Champy, Aaron and David), Shepherd 1 (me, Ate Carylle and Benzi [the worship leaders with their oh so trusty guitars]), Shepherd 2 (Bryna, Melanie and Karen), and last but definitely not the least, Shepherd 3 (Ate Kim and Ate Karen [who didn't get breaks as well]). The team would never be complete without the guys who took care watching over and helped with the gifts: Kuya Jerry, Kuya Glen, and Kuya Izzy. We had to practice and get our lines right, especially for the Angel Gabriels coz they had the most lines, Aaron, who struggled a bit with the lines coz it was in (medyo) heavy visayan, and the guitarists (us) weren't used to playing Christmas carols, so we had to learn three songs we were familiar with singing, but not with the guitar, and Kuya Glen and Kuya Cole were (somewhat) perfectionistic about everyone's acting skills. We had to be real kids, and flexible for the outreach, and it was fun learning to be so.

When the day finally came, we had to come to church early (at 7:00am), so we had to have a good night's rest the night before. When we all came (and almost surprisingly early), some of us were still sleepy, some tired, some restless, and some just plain excited. We then had a quick devotion led by Kuya Jerry.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And He committed to us the message of Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God."

- 2Corinthians 5:17-21

KJ inplied that you can never find it in the bible that Jesus was too tired to minister to anyone. He was always always willing to share truth to the world around Him. He preached to the sick, the blind, the crippled, the isolated, and even the thousands who were interested in listening to Him. Most of all, He did not turn His back on the children who just wanted to jump on Him! We could just imagine how many times His beard could've been pulled, or how many kids hung onto Him from each arm, nonetheless, He said, "Let the children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these (Luke 18:16)." KJ reminded us that we need to be like Jesus, who gave His undivided attention to the kids, and do the same to the children and their families and just give them Jesus! The goal wasn't to evangelize, but rather to remind the families the true meaning of Christmas and why we celebrate it, wherever we may be, and to just pray for the families and their precious ones.

Okay, so the mission was set, and we put on our costumes when we arrived. The gifts were brought by KJ, KG and Izzy, and we all prepared our hearts. There were only two teams of six who could do the skit to the rooms at a time, so the rest had to take a break (except for the Gabriels and Shepherd) while the skits were done. I was especially blessed by a mother and her five month-old son, John Carlo (who had pneumonia), whom was really touched by our visit when ministering time came. She cried when we shared Jesus, and cried even more when me and Abby prayed for her. She wanted us to know that she reads the bible, and that she was really blessed by our coming. PRAISE THE LORD! The child had been in and out of the hospital for a while, so they really needed prayer. I'm glad we met them. God is just sweeter than anything coz He used all of us to be a blessing to the families who were stuck there for Christmas (and imagine, on CHRISTMAS!). After all the rooms were done, one room asked if we would do some caroling in their room, so KJ and KG called me, Cole, Miguel, Izzy and Champy to sing carols in that very room and be as noisy (and in tune) as we possibly can, coz that's exactly what the people there really wanted. I tell you, being noisy carolers was AMAZINGLY FUN!!! Not only did we make as much (proper) racket as we wanted, but the guys (excluding me coz I was carrying the guitar) made a hilarious dance on the spot which made all the kids in the room laugh! It was awesome!! KJ and KG told us it wasn't over yet after we went out of the room, coz the Nurse's lounge needed some cheer as well, so we surrounded the place from all two corners and everyone sang a carol to the nurses just to make their day.

Afterwards, we got out, prayed thanks to God for using us, and decided to call it a day. Everyone was sweaty, especially the angels, who's wings were already wet with back sweat, and all of us were just blessed! We then had a few group pictures, then some of us went for lunch in the nearest kiosk, while others headed straight for home.

All I can say is that I'm blessed to be a part of something as special as this. God just continues to fill my heart to the brim. GOD BLESS THE WORLD!!! (no exceptions)

God's plans on my birthday

2008-12-20T04:31:00.000-08:00

"...My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused." - Hosea 11:8

This has to be one of my favorite verses. In other versions, it says "for my love for you is too strong." God has demonstrated His great love in so many countless ways, that it would take a lifetime to ennumerate them all, even if you exclude every breath you're taking this very moment. The greatest of all is that He sent His only Son to become the sin of the world, and die on the cross, then defeat death by rising back to life on the third day!

God just keeps on keeping me in awe of the things He keeps preparing for me. Yesterday, I celebrated my birthday. God had much in store for that day. December 19, 2008 had to be the second-best day of my life (second to January 21, 2008, which is the very day when I accepted God into my life), and it was anything but dull!

Okay, so let me start with the day before. I already knew I would be mostly out of the house on my birthday, so we ate out at Shakey's the day before. Mom brought with her a light blue gift bag to give to me after dinner. I was excited, but my stomach was already rumbling so I was more excited about eating (!). I was the first to finish my meal, coz I couldn't wait to open the gift ('~'). When I finally opened it, I got a brand new *****. I was astonished to be given a really new one coz I didn't think my mom had enough money for one! She explained that my previous one was so pitiful, it broke her heart to know I never complained. This put my heart in awe. It reminded me of what God would do with someone who is contented with what He has given.

Ecclesiastes 2:24-25, "A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without Him, who can eat or find enjoyment?" 1Timothy 6:6, "But godliness with contentment is great gain." Thanks mom.

On the 'big day,' I was excited. I asked God to bless the day, and I asked Him for a gift. I had lots of fun throughout the day. Being dragged to a few games the teachers arranged (like pass the message, and the headdress competition). It was really fun, I admit, but it had already taken much out of me, seeing that I was already tired before lunch. I thanked God because I (and the rest of the class) didn't have to worry about spending for lunch! Apparently, the class already had extra cash because of our numerous chip-ins and earnings during High School Day. We were grouped by five/six during lunch because a group was assigned to a lechon manok, a plate's-worth of bam-i in a plastic bag, a bundle of puso (the best way to cook kanin), and a liter of coke. I sat with my friends, and was touched coz we toasted to a lot of things, but mostly (daw) because it was my day! hahah.. Okay, during the exchange-gift, I got a bottle of perfume (real nice!) and was happy that my manita was happy with my gift for her (she laughed hysterically when I gave her the smallest gift in the classroom, but was happy when she discovered that I gave her a necklace with matching bracelet =D).

After such, we (me and my friends) heard that our classmate, Ashley, was sick with dengue, and had to be in her hospital bed for a few days, so we decided to pay a visit to room 327. When we arrived, we weren't the first ones there coz most of Ashley's close friends were there before us. I'm sure, and glad that we made her day. We all had our pictures taken with her, and teased that she should be thankful for dengue coz it made her famous. We all had a good chat, and I'm glad we paid a visit.

For the night, my mom decided to buy an extra cake for the Living Stones Youth group. She made sure I got my favorite cake for home. After a tasty dinner, I blew out sixteen candles (which, needed a lot of wind, and patience in lighting), and left my cake with sixteen scars on.

After getting a cool new shirt, and hat, my mom and bro drove me all the way to Calvary Chapel for the Christmas party, and for the first time in a long time, I WAS EARLY, which was exactly how I wanted to be whenever I go. When I got in, carrying the rather large cake, Ate Karen got excited about it, and told me she'd talk to me later, coz she was busy talking to someone else. When she got off the conversation, she told me that I'm God-sent, and explained that during the previous Christmas party, no one brought a cake, and instead, had a limited supply of cupcakes. She was thrilled to see me bring the cake, because she, herself, bought the same kind of cake as mine for the night, and knew it wasn't enough for everyone and feared that many would have to sacrifice, particularly the servant leaders. Nevertheless, God wouldn't have any of it! Amen.

During the party, we all had real fun with the games, and the presentations. It was all God-filled! During the devotion, I was melted in awe that God presented me the gift I asked from Him earlier. Earlier, I told Him that the best gift He would give me this day was to know of, if not be part of a revival for even just one of His children. Low and behold, several people raised their hands to accept Jesus into their lives! PRAISE THE LORD!!! After of which, they all sang a happy birthday to both Jesus, and me. HAPPY BIRTHDAY LORD! When it was snack time, we were all happy to know that everyone had enough to eat! Praise the Lord again!!!

After a good heart-to-heart talk with Kuya Jerry, we finally called it a night and headed home. When I got home, I was still in awe, and will always be of how GREAT, POWERFUL, KIND, GENEROUS, and MIGHTY our God is!!! By the time I laid myself to sleep, it was an automatic shut down. God gave me the best on my birthday, and I will continue to give Him the best everyday of my life!

If you want to view the pics, here's the link:

http://tiew2.multiply.com/photos/album/29#

GOD BLESS YOU OH DEAR CHILD OF THE LORD!

From C.S. Lewis' book, The Four Loves (you'll love this one)

2008-12-10T03:42:00.000-08:00

In reality, a few year's difference in the dates of our births, a few more miles between certain houses, the choice of one university instead of another, posting to different regiments, the accident of a topic being raised or not raised at a first meeting -- any of these chances might have kept us apart. But, for a Christian, there are, strictly speaking, no chances. A secret Master of the Ceremonies has been at work. Christ, who said to the disciples "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you," can truly say to every group of Christian friends "You have not chosen one another but I have chosen you for one another." The Friendship is not a reward for our discrimination and good taste in finding one another out. It is the instrument by which God reveals to each the beauties of all the others. They are no greater than the beauties, derived from Him, and then, in a good Friendship, increased by Him through the Friendship itself, so that it is His instrument for creating as well as for revealing. At this feast it is He who has spread the board and it is He who has chosen the guests. It is He, we may dare to hope, who sometimes does, and always should, preside. Let us not reckon without our Host.

God Smiles at Us!

2008-12-01T03:14:00.000-08:00

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands."

- Psalm 19:1

Today, when I got on the pedicab after a trip to the dentist, I looked up to the dark-blue sky and saw one of the most eye-popping, breath-taking thing I've ever seen in my life which can only be done through the hands of the Lord. Last week, my brother warned me that during this month, the planets Jupiter and Venus will be seen clearly in the sky. Tonight, they are arranged in such a way that they form a smiley face with the crescent moon as the mouth! Heres a picture I took a few minutes ago:

My brother and I were both overwhelmed with the sight of the three heavenly bodies arranged by God to smile at us. However, we both forgot to take a picture for about half an hour later, until Kuya Ed texted me about the rare (and possibly once in a lifetime) event (thanks so much Kuya), we finally remembered, but had to go through great lengths to take the pic without having the image getting blurred. We had to be on our toes on some rocks because the face had already started to set behind the trees, not to mention we broke the tripod (which, in fact, is older than I am) while doing so. After a few terrible takes, we were finally able to take a good shot at the face.

Here's an edited version of the pic:

We have that great tendency to forget that God is indeed GOD, and that nothing's impossible for Him! Yaweh, Jirah, Ginoo's tanang Ginoo, the GREAT I AM!!! I can honestly imagine God laughing as He proclaims His greatness upon the world, showing us that He is as great as the heavens are above the earth! This Yuletide Season, God wants us to remember the true Spirit of Christmas. It's that Christmas isn't just about presents, Noche Buena, Christmas bonus or quality time at home, but it's when God decided to give His Son to the world to save it. The heavens rejoiced! The night was calm! The Savior was born! But how ironic it is that the town where He was to be born had no room for Him, that He'd have to humble Himself to be born in a manger. Nevertheless, He endured life all the way to the cross, dying, and rising again!

He is the reason why we're still taking our undeserved breaths. He is the reason why we're saved. Now it's up to us to accept Him into our lives, not just this Christmas season, but throughout our lives.

I started my real, unempty smiles the moment I received Him into my life. Earlier tonight, I actually saw my Savior smile back at me, pleased of my openness to His constant tugging on my heart. Right now, since it's my first Christmas as a believer, I'm sure it'll be the best Christmas I'll have (so far, at least).

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests."

- Luke 2:14

I'll Praise You in this Storm

2008-11-19T06:13:00.000-08:00

Lately, it's been raining here in my humble home town (city actually, but town sounded a lot better), Dumaguete. Oh, and it's not just the ordinary rain we're experiencing here. It's constant weather changes throughout the day, like it would be scorching hot at 8am, and then at 11am, it would be real cloudy, and then it will eventually rain at noon, and sometimes at night, we experience heavy thunderstorms. It kinda reminds me of a vision God gave me not too long ago, along with a great lesson from what has become my life verse.

Okay, so it was like this. I was just browsing around youtube, trying to find cool videos, when I stumbled upon a vid from a Casting Crowns concert of the song Praise You in this Storm. Mark Hall (lead vocals) told this story about the band meeting this young little girl whom was later discovered to have lung tumors. She eventually died. The miracle in this tale was that all the mother could say about her loss was that her little girl was God's gift, and that God had every right to take that precious gift away. I've had my share of great struggles and pains, and God just wanted me to know something. Here's my vision:

I was placed in a small rowboat

I was in the middle of the ocean with no land in sight

Everywhere led to nowhere

I was lost

Just when I thought things couldn't get much worse,

Storm clouds came in and turned the whole sky gray

I was terrified

I knew paddling out of the way of the storm was just useless

The rain poured down,

The wind blew hard,

The waves crashed,

Lightning flashed across the sky,

And the roar of thunder drowned out all sounds

I was just about to give up when I noticed someone

It was God!

And He was with me!

I looked at Him, and He looked right back

Things were vague as ever

He didn't seem like He was doing anything

The storm seemed to grow worse and worse

I was holding onto the boat for dear life

I then dared to ask,

"God, I know You're here

And I know You're doing something,

But what is it?"

God just looked at me

His eyes just filled with love and compassion

He said nothing

Hours passed

And the terrible storm continued

My arms were weary

And just when I was just about to let go,

The storm stopped

The sun began to shower its warm beams at the earth again

With just one swipe of God's hand,

I was instantly warm and dry

I turned around, and low and behold,

I was on land, sweet land

I then turned to thank God,

But He disappeared

Still I knew He never left

The vision ends here, and I realized what God tried to tell me. It's that He may choose to put us in either fine weather, or something a lot more challenging, or He could take away something dear and precious to us. You can ask Him a thousand questions about what He's doing, when it seems like He's not doing anything at all. But He will never leave you. Yes, He may choose to reveal to us why we're experiencing such storms, or what He's doing while we're in them when it seems like nothing's happening, but when He chooses not to reveal such reasons, it's because He wants us to know that we have our faith to count on that He's actually doing something while we're in trouble, and that He will never lead us in a situation we can't handle. He may choose to calm the storms in our lives, or He might choose to just ride 'em with us, but either way, blessed be the name of the Lord.

"The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away, but blessed be the name of the Lord."

- Job 1:21b

Can't Handle the Dead

2008-11-08T22:59:00.000-08:00

Truth be told, I love animals. I hopelessly fall under the spell of any puppydog eye (given that it actually came from a dog), and I just can't seem to get away from any species, except spiders, because I'm super arachnophobic. I can handle snakes, lizards, praying mantises, dogs, cats, turtles, doves, fish, rodents, and the like. But something that involved and animal, our home and the dead opened my eyes to two verses that I like.

Here at home, we have had a serious rodent problem for a while. The rat's been chewing off some of our things and hoarding pencils, batteries, and other small objects behind the microwave oven, not to mention the occasional food robbery.

Last night, I (finally) decided to set up the mouse trap for little Whiskers (the mouse’s nick). It was a real conflicting experience for me coz I knew I was going to kill something that had a face, but if I had to choose between having my closet raided and demolished by a mouse and setting up the trap, then setting up the trap wins hands down. Besides, God gave humans authority over animals ("whew!").

So last night, I set up the trap and placed it near the microwave oven, and just left it there. At midnight, while watching TV, we (the family), heard a loud snap in the kitchen. I knew exactly what the sound was, and the three of us (me, mom, and brother) rushed toward the kitchen and saw what got caught in the miniature bear trap. I tell you, it wasn't a mouse that got caught, but a big, fat, R.A.T. (rodent accountable for turmoil)! I have no problems whatsoever with rats (except ones with rabies), but when I saw the thing, squirming around with all that is left of its strength to free its head from the trap, I honestly didn't know how to react. All I knew that there was a vermin in on the counter, dying. We all just decided to wait until Whiskers finally laid down his life.

So a few minutes passed, and we finally decided to take the little (and by little, I mean freakishly huge rat) guy out. When we approached the dead thing, it turns out that none of us wanted to do the job. I had no idea what was in my family's minds, but all I knew was that someone had to do it, but nobody wanted to. I can honestly handle most anything BUT spiders and the dead! I really hate it if I'm made to bury or throw away a dead animal (e.g. cat, chicken, toad) that died in our yard, especially if the carcass was swarming with flies and smelled like rotting flesh.

Anyway, going back to the subject, we took turns using the garden tongs to relocate the trap and the mouse. My mom went first, and was only able to move it a few inches closer to the edge of the counter. I took my turn, but I noticed that the moment I tried to do the job, I couldn't move my arm. Only my hands were alive at that moment, so I suggested that I would be the one to control my hands, while she was to one to control my arm, and it worked! We placed Whiskers in an orange plastic and decided to throw him out the next day and placed him somewhere outside the house.

Okay, so on the next day, when my mom headed out the door with two other plastic bags covering her hands, I knew exactly what was on her mind. We had to separate the dead rat from the trap before we had to throw him out. My mom tried to separate Whiskers from the trap but was unable to because when she opened the hinged part of the trap, it took the rat's face along with it, so she panicked! So that neither of us would be able to see the dead rat, we placed it back in the plastic. My mom would open up the trap while I held the dead rat from outside the plastic. Everything felt numb. To top it off, I got a glance at his blood! Maybe I just watch a little too much horror movies, or sci-fi, I just don't know. All I knew a while ago was the situation freaked me out.

I asked help from God, thinking, "God, please help us with this!" After that, nothing felt different, and I felt like I didn't have any access to God's presence, but I had to believe that He was there. I even thought, "Oh sure, leave us alone while we handle the dead rat. Thanks for the help!" (hahahah), but I knew He never left.

Eventually, we got his bloody head out of the trap, and placed him in three plastic bags and placed him somewhere where we will never have to see him again. Bye bye Whiskers!

The little shenanigan taught me a little something. It's that "for the sake of His great name the Lord will not reject His people, because the Lord was pleased to make you His own (1Sam12:22)." God "loves us too much (Hosea11:8b)" to leave us in fear.

('~')v