Daily Archives: November 17, 2015

Appreciation, Submission and Humility

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Do you believe in God?

With all the local and international unrest that is going on around us, I know it is hard to believe that there is a God. And even more, the title of this article: appreciation, submission and humility.

Can we appreciate, submit and humble ourselves even when we feel that we have been totally crushed, inside and out, and we do not know who is to blame with the many things that oppress us?

It is hard to believe in a God when chaos and sadness are at its extreme and the soul is tested to its brink.

And yet what God says is this, a bible verse from one of my devotions a few days ago:

“The LORD, Himself, will fight for you. Just stay calm.” – Exodus 14:14

Personally, I just got out of a battle that led to a more serious form of violence – one which attacks not just the soul but that of your mortal state. I know it is the enemy’s way of destroying my faith and the commandments that the Lord has set for us to follow by using the persons closest and dear to me like my spouse through our weaknesses.

I have experienced first-hand the repercussions of what the bible has warned not to do which involves these – doubts, resentment, revenge and anger. I felt it, in all essence of the word “feel.” 

It took me days to recover from the battle. I had to reach out to people who could help me recover from the attack. It was an assault in everything that I am as a woman and everything that I am as a woman of God.

And yet prayers and more prayers will never go unanswered. For it is in the bible:

Each time He said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. – 2 Corinthians 12:9

God sees everything. God has answers for everything which He gives in His time.

It was all written in the bible, God knows we will go through things such as these and that history will repeat itself. That is the purpose why we have the bible now as our source of hope and as our guide in the calamities that will befall upon us either caused by nature or by man.

I don’t know the reason why I was urged to write this article at the beginning of this year:

A Prayerful 2015

But all I know is that this moment calls for us to appreciate what God has already done for us, accept what cannot be changed, submit to His almighty power and sovereignty and be humble in times of peril. Cry your heart out if you must in utmost anguish, but never let your heart be overtaken by grief, sorrow and strife. For these are the mighty powers of the darkness.

What we need is LIGHT.

Jesus suffered worse than we could have ever fathomed even in today’s time. And yet He took it all in – blow by blow, cut by cut, teardrop by teardrop, blood by blood from the Roman soldiers. Jesus symbolizes the church to stand firm against its oppressors and all its assaults because Jesus believed and trusted God with everything.

This is the time to be strong in our faith, to call out to God and work towards a life with Him in eternity. As it has been said, do not worry about the things of this world and in this world nor even your own life. For it was written in the bible that time will come this world we live in now will be gone including our mortal bodies and the second coming will take place to make the harvest.

God is the ultimate judge. He will take what is rightfully His in the same way that He is the one who governs this world and the world beyond. 

But we have a God-given free will and a choice to make – that of proclaiming we need a Savior and that only God can send that Savior. We need saving by someone who conquered even death. For not even a country’s best artillery can defend us from the attacks within and around us.

God offers PEACE – peace within and peace on the outside. What we only need to do is accept His LOVE through His son Jesus Christ – repent and proclaim. That is the only way we can be saved, be secure and be at peace.

Lastly, my brothers and sisters, PRAY. ❤

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PRAY FOR THE WORLD (Photo credit: http://www.pinterest.com)

The Greatest Anomaly

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A thought prodded me to come up with a lot of questions – an anomaly.

Far too often, my being inquisitive, and vocal about my opinions brought me more trouble than I expected. But I see it in a good way. 🙂

It has been taught in the bible to obey your leaders.

But what if your leader asks you to kill someone else, would you do it?

It has been said to accept differences.

But what if in your peers they were all selling drugs and they pressure you to do the same, will you tolerate it?

You know that stealing is bad and you saw someone stealing the bag of another person, will you let the person get away and just pray that God will give that person justice in His time?

Or will you act and stop the person from successfully stealing someone else’s stuff?

What about a rapist whom you caught molesting a child? Will you stop the perpetrator and report to the officials or just pray to God that He will bring justice to the child in His time?

I have a very adamant attitude when it comes to violations especially those that are crime-related. I do not want to be a bystander while a violation is going on right before my eyes. Same way that I do not give in to peer pressure even if it means I am the odd man out from the group because everyone else is doing it.

I worked in the BPO industry here in the Philippines as a communications assistant to the deaf and mute community in America for almost 2 years. I could still very well remember my first day of training. After our first session we had our breaks. I was astonished to see myself having my snacks at the food lounge all by myself and one elderly co-trainee. I wondered where all the other co-trainees have gone – they were all outside the building smoking cigarettes. Yes, out of 20 trainees only 2 of us are non smokers and are fine with it.

Many were heavy drinkers but I refused to take part in any after-work drinking sessions during broad daylight. Thus, I was jokingly tagged by my peers as an ingrate, an outcast. But I am fine with it and I really can live like an outcast. I love being different, anyway. 😉

I have my own ideals and principles and I defend them when it is necessary. Especially now that I have been saved and a Christian by faith. For I believe how the anomaly per se was done is not really important but by giving in to what is not right, it becomes disobedience – denying God’s presence in that situation by allowing someone to sin and stumble instead of rebuking or helping the other person be saved and worse when we, ourselves, fall into the trap that the enemy has set before us. This is the greatest anomaly one can commit – causing the others to stumble because of our own failure to stand true to our faith.

It is not just easy though to stand firm against the many who would want to see us sway in. The idea of compromising their “fun,” breaking traditions, putting a close relationship with someone at risk and a whole lot of other cases are what we will encounter when tests of faith come. Situations will call us to react in either an unGodly manner or display a Christlike attitude.

I cannot claim that there is not a day that passes by that I do not sin. In fact, with utmost humility, I claim that I sin every single day, big or small. As much as I want to blame myself, but because I was already brought to the LIGHT, I already know that the reason why it was easier to sin than to do good was because of man’s fallen nature. We may be living in a curse that our forefathers have brought upon us, and yet the Cross says, we were declared free from that bondage.

It is a fallen world that we live in, thus, falling along with the world may seem too inevitable. But God made it possible to overcome everything through His son, Jesus Christ, who overcame the world that not even death can conquer Him. This will be our guiding force to not keep on sinning – for it symbolizes the love that God has for us and our love for God.

So the next time they ask you to drink more than what you can take in, and smoke a couple of puffs, or try some “cool” stuff, I know you know better how to answer. 🙂