Monthly Archives: June 2015

Free and Forgiven

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“God breaks us apart so we can be whole in Him.”

Far too often read and said in any faith-motivating speech or article. And yet I only got to take in the gist of it all now in this season.

God breaks our hearts open so we could become vulnerable. It is through our vulnerability that we become aware of our weaknesses. In our weaknesses we then become aware that we need a God who will help us overcome them weaknesses.

In this moment of vulnerability we are put in a crucial spot of choosing whether to let the enemy deceive us and win or choose God and be guided.

Oftentimes the enemy’s powerful weapon is deception and his perfect tool to accomplish it is your past. Sometimes your past will come again just before your eyes. And you have two things in your hand:

1. You let it destroy your present by feeling guilty and shameful once again.

OR.

2. You can choose to dismiss it because you are now free and forgiven – if you have been saved already.

I must say I was bordering number 1 to the point that my faith began to slacken. Fear overtook and then it just dawned on me that I haven’t attended church for a while now due to commitments, a busy schedule and  a lot of intervening factors that I didn’t see them coming including the conflicts in my personal relationships that aggravated the disconnect in faith.

But God is faithful. He doesn’t give you something wherein that something will be of no good use to you. He sometimes uses them in circumstances that you least likely expect. I shared to my fiance the feeling of disconnection I have lately and that I feel I am not entitled to be in church anymore because my old self is coming back and he was also a witness of that. He has seen the kind of rage I used to have and the old bad habits overtaking me for the most part.

Yet it was him that I least expect to say that “the more that we have to go to church.” And I was shocked to hear it coming from him. Definitely not him whom I am urging to join a bible study group and a one to one discipleship so he would be born again but he declined saying it is not yet the perfect time. Not him whom I consider as not yet a devoted believer based on my own standards.

And yet again, God made me realize at that moment that my fiance is also my brother in Christ because he is His precious child too. It is not for me to judge why he has been given to me or whether he is the 1 or from the 99.

We went to church and once again I felt refreshed and renewed. But came more pressing issues, the wedding. Ideally, the engagement period should last for 6 months utmost according to the Marriage Preparation Seminar we attended in church. And this month is our 6th month as a couple. The temptation is getting strong but we cannot pull off a church wedding this year. Came another option – have a civil wedding.

But my constant question came out of fear – “Will I forever be unequally yoked?” There is no more turning back after the wedding – it is the real deal. They say that a husband/wife can make or break you. He wasn’t able to join a group in church whom he can consider as his spiritual family through his fellow brothers in Christ before we get married.

I was beginning to lose hope in connecting him with a spiritual family who would help him foster a deeper relationship with the Lord. Because I know I can never change Him and all God can through a spiritual family. It will never be enough that we attend church.

And while I was brooding over the options we have, asking God, praying to God, came a thought that never ever crossed my mind until now. When we get married, I will no longer be attending my bible study group with fellow single sisters in Christ but will be joining a couples’ bible study group. Chances are high that he will be attending it with me. Because he knows how vital it is for me to attend a bible study group and I plan to have it before our usual church service. And that answers my question.

There is still hope that he will be saved. 

And having this in mind, I can only shout praises of honor and glory to Him. Indeed, my little, human mind will never ever grasp God’s bigger plans and what is to come. I can only wait when He instructs and reveals all in His perfect time. I asked him a couple days ago if he is interested to join a couple’s bible study group and he said, “yes.” And for now, what I can only do is continue praying that God will keep His beautiful promises for us both as a couple and that we may grow spiritually together along and through other fellow couples in Christ. 🙂

Indeed, the way that every person is saved is very different from the other. I was so clueless before and so focused on the problem that I never noticed God is showing me there is ALWAYS hope through Jesus Christ who is the way, the truth and the light. And now I understand too why when I had my bible study group for fellow single sisters in Christ, I have a co leader. She will be taking in charge of the group when the right time comes for me to leave the group. It will be heartbreaking but I am also praying I get to keep my fellowship with them even if I’m in a new season already.

I was in utmost humility as I suddenly remembered this verse all through this:

Matthew 8:26

” Jesus responded, “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” Then He got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm.”

Indeed, I have so little faith and yet I am always and forever will be grateful God is faithful, He gives me PEACE, He provides me EVERYTHING and never fails in keeping His promises. His LOVE endures forever though I do not deserve it. It is time I grow my faith bigger in this season. I have read in Rick Warren’s book that we have to set aside our own personal agenda and focus on loving other people more not looking on who they were and who they are now but rather on who they can be.

I cannot tell for certain what I know is what will happen. For I cannot see the plans of God. And yet it is just comforting to know that God is and will be with me along the way. He just not give me signs and verses from the Scripture but importantly, I can feel that the Spirit is leading the way. I know that like how Jesus completed His mission, so too are we going to carry our own “cross.” And what I have shared may be what I have to carry for now. The following verses reminded me that:

Matthew 16:24 NLT

“Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.”

Matthew 7:14 NLT

“But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.”

And an even GREATER reminder – OBEDIENCE:

1 Samuel 15:22 NLT

“But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the Lord : your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to His voice?

Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.”

I believe this is what God meant to be really free and forgiven. And I can only pray that I’d be successful in completing the mission of glorifying Him, making Him known until the time comes I can also say that “it is finished.” 🙂

The Seed

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Tin Ginete

Calamansi Seed

A commitment is like a seed.

When a gardener plants a seed, he waters and cares for it so it’ll grow. And then when it becomes a plant, the gardener still tends for it.

But like any plant, it will go through certain seasons of storm and drought. And just like a commitment, you will do everything to protect that plant. You will not allow a storm to uproot it. Nor you let the drought take away its life.

The gardener protects it – lovingly, carefully and joyfully. Regardless if a storm or a drought passes by.

The gardener wants only one thing – that when he plants the seed in the soil, it’ll grow steady and strong that even if the mightiest of storms and the longest of droughts come, it’ll survive. He wants it to lay grounded, both striving and thriving.

A commitment is like a relationship. God is like the gardener. The seed is like a husband and the soil is like a wife. God knows what kind of seed thrives in what kind of soil and vice versa.

And just like a seed planted in the ground that cannot survive well for a long period of time without a gardener, so is a relationship without God. 🙂

Basic GMRC

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I was inspired to write this blog post after reading Pastor Joey’s article entitled “Hardwired for Values.” And I am staying in tune for his next article explaining more about the importance of values.

For now I’d like to share how reading the article made me do a self check with the kind of values I uphold to – my basic GMRC (good moral values and right conduct) so to speak. I can say that 80% of them will be coming from the set of values that me and my siblings were brought up with – family background and upbringing. But I should say more of the latter which, I believe, would zero in on my parents’ values as well and their character traits.

I grew up in a family wherein God is acknowledged by praying together before every meal but we do not go to church as a family. It was my parents’ choice and yet I was grateful we were given the chance to exhibit our own free will – my siblings and I can attend services in our mother Protestant church with our grandma and grandpa. We grew up with that setting and I wondered why other kids go to church with the rest of their families.

I was too young to understand back then and when I was born again and got saved now in my late 20s, I still cannot find the answers but I already have a very different regard towards it. Thus, it became one of my constant prayers to the Lord.

When I did my self evaluation of the current values I have and compared them to what was written in the Scripture, I can only be grateful to God and my parents that majority of what I was taught when I was a kid are all in accordance to what the Scripture says to be right, correct and true. Although there are some that the bible says to be inappropriate which is what I have to unlearn.

We were taught that God exists and though I grew up spiritually in an unusual setup, I know now that He was there all along guiding me and my family. It was all part of His bigger plans essential in our spiritual growth and understanding now. The “why” questions are the trap questions that put us in a moment of uncertainty making way for doubts. But sometimes God uses them in a way that it makes us delve deeper towards the Truth – a way for us to be enlightened.

If there is one thing I have realized in my almost 30 years of human existence, it is the fact that we need to accept things the way that they really are. To seek God should be our only objective and the rest is up to Him.

If we were given people that do not have the same values that we do, we cannot change them but God can. We were given these people so God can use us as an instrument, a vessel, in making that change. We have to know too that all of us are being transformed and renewed by God every single day.

Let’s say for example that not being able to put the toothpaste cover back annoys you and you let the person who does that be aware of that. Now that person now knows that the toothpaste cover has to be placed back to how it is before you opened it. If usually you get irritated by it and it easily makes you flare up, now you know that nagging won’t do both of you good either. For this is where God will come in. He will make the other person realize what is right through you – that there is a reason why a toothpaste was designed to have a cover. And God will make you realize too that being gentle and patient always is a game changer and always calls for a positive outcome.

And as the Scripture says:

“Colossians 4:5-6 NLT

Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.”

Now if the change didn’t happen then consider it still a moment of gratitude for either your future children or the other people around you, that may even not be closely related to you, are the ones who will benefit from the good influence and the change. And these people, in turn, will also be pivotal in making others follow the same way.

I guess it is not a matter of who it is in particular that the lives have been changed but how many are being influenced to make that change through the people God has given each of us.

Values are laws unwritten but embedded in our very being. It is only right that we know which values are the good ones to retain and uphold to and which ones are bad and we should dismiss.

The Scripture is the number one source to develop good values and an upright, moral character. I know of no other law that covers all laws by our current judicial system and the non written rules other than those found in the bible. Read the bible everyday and values wise, you can never go wrong. 😉

2 Timothy 3:16-17 NLT

“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives.

It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip His people to do every good work.”

In Season: What Is An Altar Call

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Apple Mangoes

In season. Tropical fruits are all in season ready for harvest during the month of May. As a month-ender, I decided to write this article for they reminded me of only one thing: the altar call. What is an altar call? Contrary to popular belief, it is not just reserved for pastors or priests. Oftentimes it is referred in the most common term which is “a calling.”

As I was reading my devotion, came the idea that not all are called to do certain missions based on our spiritual gifts but all were called to bring God glory by sharing the Gospel. Sharing the Gospel always follows after a public declaration of your acceptance of Jesus Christ as your Savior and a commitment to obey the Word. Sharing your testimony, so to speak.

For it was written:

2 Timothy 1:7 NLT

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”

This happens after being born again through the water baptism and baptism of the Holy Spirit. But this only follows after the altar call. I do not really consider myself as part of any religious organization or fellowship but just to give honor to the spiritual family who made my salvation possible, I’d be discussing my own experience how I got saved in our church. I have already shared in my previous articles how I got saved but not in particular the first step I did towards that salvation.

Speaking from my own experience, one reason why an unbeliever goes to church is because you are seeking for answers. Probably you are in a very low situation in your life and problems simply just took its toll and gained full control of your life – a state of chaos and confusion. Emotionally you are hopeless, helpless, depressed and in a lot of pain. That was what I am before the altar call.

The altar call is yes, a calling. It is that time during church service and everyone is worshipping that you will feel the tugging in your heart of the Spirit. It is something that is unexplainable for it can only be felt. During the worship while everyone was singing, I had this strong urge to let all my sorrows out and pass on the burden to someone. Later did I realize that that someone was the Spirit who lifted them for me, made me walk towards the altar when asked who wanted to surrender their life to Christ, crying my heart out and feeling every single word in the worship song that we were singing at that time along with fellow believers.

The worship song that we were singing was Unending Love and it was the right song at the right moment. A swarm of fellow believers followed suit and only a few remained in their tables. We were all there crying and it was not because we were all emotionally unstable but because the Spirit led us there and all of us were feeling burdened at that time and at the point of losing all hope – a state of sincere repentance and absolute surrender. We were blessed at that moment right in front of the altar and the church leaders prayed for us.

Bit by bit, the load begun to get lighter and lighter until almost after the praying was done, I felt as if my heart was already whole, complete, light and burden-free – complete freedom, a renewed self. I was having my One to One Discipleship with my bible study group leader at that time which is a more focused approach in preparing you for your water baptism and baptism of the Holy Spirit. The last two will culminate your salvation and your transformation. It is more like counseling and therapy. Except that you are discussing everything spiritually and the transformation comes from the person’s own free will to change guided by the Spirit’s leading.

Salvation is always an act of surrender. Repentance is the key followed by acceptance of a Savior in your life. No one else can lift your burden for you; otherwise, you wouldn’t be in church in the first place if you have found the solution to your problems and the answers to your questions someplace else. But then, God will not give you right away the answers you have been needing nor the solution to your problems but He will give you PEACE.

It is only through peace that you will be able to hear His instructions well which contain the answers you are looking for and the solution to your problems. Sometimes it comes through trust, patience, discipline and a whole lot of values and character traits that He wanted us to acquire first. One thing that an altar call makes possible is opening a door to establishing a firm and personal relationship with our God, the Father, through His Son Jesus Christ. Achieving peace during the altar call though you felt you have been burdened to death will give you the peace in every burden that you will carry in the future.

Because you now know that there is a God who hears, who loves and who saves. With Him, nothing is impossible. That is the assurance that an altar call, that God and what Jesus did for us on the Cross represent – HOPE.

And only when you are in season will you know the real essence of an altar call. For it is only then that the Lord will call you to make a lasting commitment with Him by accepting the gift of salvation – this is a personal encounter with the Lord.

The right time will come to make the harvest – when it is in season, ripe and ready to be caught when it falls. 🙂

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Tropical Fruits