Tag Archives: resurrection

An Easter Like No Other

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This year’s Holy Week reflection was nothing I have ever experienced and done before. It was a moment of deep contemplation and fervent prayers. 🙏

It was also a week of immense joy, but insurmountable sadness. I am so happy that my husband passed the nursing licensure exam in the country where he applied to work as a nurse, but I am also sad that this also means my husband and I are separating.

The decision wasn’t easy. This is one of those moments in your life wherein you can’t sleep at night and your stomach churns every time you think about it. And yet you know that there is no other easy way to go about it but to go through it courageously, mustering all the strength you’ve got.

I am overjoyed that my husband finally gets to fulfill his dream of working abroad. God answered my husband’s prayer, and I am just completely in awe having witnessed how God orchestrated things in a manner that I can attest to as something sort of a miracle.

My husband and I are both at peace with our decision, and I only have 2 requests from him if he plans to come back to me. First, he should be a born-again Christian (went through an altar call, water baptism, baptism of the Holy Spirit, and connected to a Bible study group) in Victory church. And second, he must be ready to stay with me in my hometown for good. And starting today, these are going to be non-negotiables for me.

Even if this happens how many decades from now, I will gladly take him back. But if not, then I trust God that He has other better plans for me and my husband. We will keep the communication lines open, but what I can only offer to my husband now is friendship as a sister in Christ unless he’s able to satisfy both of the requests I mentioned above. I have my own valid reasons for asking these requests, which I will no longer explain further.

I was actually having second thoughts if I should still share this here because it is too personal. But after praying to God about it, His instruction was to share it since it is a major part of my life’s journey. Thus, it’s also a part of this blog’s journey where I testify about God’s saving grace and faithfulness in every season of my life.

Again, my husband and I are both at peace though the acceptance didn’t come right away. We both struggled and haggled – God saw the pain. But, I am grateful that God still gave us both an opportunity to settle everything peacefully. He has prepared greater things for me and my husband to conquer and accomplish, albeit separately. On my end, I have a lot of pending tasks and opportunities to explore when I get back home – advocacies, farm projects, graduate study, and other work opportunities, just to name a few.

I can’t think of any other goodbye that’s better than this. And yet it is also that kind of goodbye that still remains hopeful for the things to come. I accept all of these as part of God’s sanctification for us to grow spiritually because my husband and I are still both a work in progress. It isn’t a coincidence that this took place during Holy Week 2024.

“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you (us), will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” – Philippians 1:6

Easter Sunday now has an even deeper meaning to me. The message of the Cross and Christ’s resurrection has never been more accurate and appropriate to what my husband and I are going through right now – sacrifice, freedom, transformation, new beginnings, and lastly, hope.

It is a testament to God’s profound love for the church that He is willing to sacrifice His own Son on the Cross so He can show that no power here on Earth, not even death, can separate us from the love of God. So in the end, we can all confidently say what Jesus said on the Cross, “Father, if You are willing, take this cup of suffering from me; yet not my will, but Yours be done” (Luke 22: 42-44).

And so Christ has risen. And so shall we. 🙏♥️

“The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” – 2 Peter 3:9

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” – Jeremiah 29:11

“We wait in hope for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name. May Your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in You.” – Psalm 33:20-22

Where Do Souls Go? | Allhallowtide 2018 Special

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This was a topic that I already thought about when I was making my personal editorial calendar last July. I had no idea what to write for this topic back then but I just thought the title is suitable for the occasion. So methinks I’ll allow the Spirit’s leading. Little did I know God has already prepared the contents of this article beforehand. 😀

Last Sunday’s preaching was where I got the idea for this content. It was the part where Pastor Rev (as in Rev from “revelation?” I’d better ask him next time. :-D) explained the events in Revelation 21. He shared that when judgment day arrives, our souls will no longer go to heaven because there will be a new heaven and a new earth when God brings heaven here on earth.

But then, a question popped in my head and prompted me to ask hubby dear who’s seated beside me, “So, if souls don’t go to heaven, where do souls go when a person dies now?” My husband just smiled at me and I knew what he was thinking, “You need to ask God that because I can’t answer you.” 😀

Do Souls Really Linger in this World?

I searched the web all about where souls stay or go. I ended up reading the entire chapter of Revelation 21 yet again and all other sources I could find over the internet. Indeed, it was all a “revelation” to me.

Ah yes, 5 years of being a Christian and yet there are still a lot of things in the Bible that aren’t clear to me or have to be revealed to me yet. I guess this is part of every Christian’s walk and spiritual journey – wisdom is given not in one, single bulk, but through a series of learning.

So here are 3 ideas I have discovered today while doing my research on this topic:

1. Souls don’t go to heaven. Not yet.

So we have been believing in a misconception that when a person dies, his/her soul goes to heaven right away. There are verses in the Bible which explain that when our mortal bodies die, so do our souls. Our souls lie dormant waiting for Christ’s second coming, so to speak.

“The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.” – Ecclesiastes 12:7

The Return of the Lord

“And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.

We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God.

First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words.”

– 1 Thessalonians 4:13‭-‬18

2. Our souls aren’t immortal.

This supports idea #1. According to Bible Info, if we think of our souls as two separate entities, then that means our souls are immortal. But we all know that God is the only one who is immortal. This article continued explaining that this is the reason why Paul said that “the righteous seek for honor, glory, and immortality.” It means, immortality is something that is yet to be granted to us once Jesus resurrects us from the dead, gives us a new body, and we become a new creation living in the new heaven and earth along with Him.

The New Jerusalem

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End.

To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.

“But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

– Revelation 21:1‭-8

3. Not all souls will go to heaven.

Both evil and righteous souls lie dormant waiting for the resurrection during judgment day. According to the sources I have found, there are two places where people will go during judgment day: resurrection in the new heaven and earth or eternal life and resurrection in eternal condemnation or hell.

Indeed, heaven is God’s home and we can never go home yet without settling our “accountability” first in this present earth. 😉 But for now, let’s remember those who are with our Creator already during this 3-day observance of Allhallowtide. ❤

Feeling soulful today,