...oh well, its been a while.

i thank the LORD for His strength.

He is really amazing. One year again of His goodness and faithfulness to me, my ministry, my work, and my family. so amazing!

so thankful for all the blessings LORD..

i have faith there's more to come..

Thank you dear GOD.

 Patience in God's Timing

Psalm 27:11-14
"Teach me your way, O LORD; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors.
 Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,
 for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence.
 I am still confident of this:
 I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
 Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD."

Recently, a high school band at Connellsville, Pennsylvania ate some laxative-loaded cookies which gave the song, "Band on the Run," new meaning. The current members of the band became ill after eating cookies given to them by former band members, who now face criminal charges. None of the band members required medical attention, but a Thursday practice was hastily ended. The school superintendent said, "We know who did it. It's in the hands of the school security department now, and the people responsible will be charged when all is said and done."

Sometimes it is hard to be patient. Lines are annoying anywhere. Sitting and waiting at a doctors office is never a good way to spend an afternoon. Waiting on God can be even more difficult. When we don't know what to do, it is often in our interests to wait on God's perfect timing. We are prone to try to influence things with quick "fix-its," but we all know how successful that can be. In things of a spiritual nature, as well life in general, we must learn to listen to the Lord. If we develop an ear that is deaf toward God we will often miss His providence. When His voice is inaudible, we all know that we are listening to other voices. It is all too common that we will not hear the Lord speak until, speaking loudly, He showers us with His thunderings and lightnings.

Patience means listening to the Lord. Jesus was well known for getting away for times alone in prayer. Prayer is the act of spiritual inhaling and exhaling. We accomplish our exhales (petitions) much better if we have first breathed in from Him. Do we frequently enough get alone with God in the study of His Word or commune with Him in a quite place of solitude to pray? It is much to our advantage to cultivate this in all our dealings with the Lord. We must pray, but we must be patient in waiting upon and seeking the Lord. Let us often seek to have a patient attitude in our dealings with the Lord, waiting for His perfect timing in all things, and seeking His leading as we wait to hear His voice, and discern His Spirit.

How often, how all too often, do we go to the Lord in prayer not seeking His voice and direction, but with our minds already staid upon what we feel His answer should be, or will is? How often do we pray, with the answers already, as to what God's will should be, set in our hearts? If we would seek to really serve God, and hear answers to our prayers, we must be patient in our waiting upon the Lord showing us His way. He must be our guide and pilot, and we must be unwearied, and uncomplaining as we seek His direction and lead.

Loosening The Bow

Mark 6:30-32
"The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest." So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place."

"According to a Greek legend, in ancient Athens a man noticed the great storyteller Aesop playing childish games with some little boys. He laughed and jeered at Aesop, asking him why he wasted his time in such frivolous activity.

"Aesop responded by picking up a bow, loosening its string, and placing it on the ground. Then he said to the critical Athenian, 'Now, answer the riddle, if you can. Tell us what the unstrung bows imply.'

"The man looked at it for several moments but had no idea what point Aesop was trying to make. Aesop explained, 'If you keep a bow always bent, it will break eventually; but if you let it go slack, it will be more fit for use when you want it.'"1

So many of us today are bogged down with being too busy. Much of life seems to be controlled by the tyranny of the urgent—unforeseen crises or needs that daily pop up unexpectedly— all of  which are a vivid reminder that I, too, need to "come apart and rest a while—before I come apart." Even Jesus and his disciples, in the midst of their busy ministry, needed to take time out to get some rest. Dare we do less? There are times when we, too, need to loosen the bow.

Psalm 91:1-2
"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."

Prayer:
"Dear God, thank you for the reminder that I need, not only to be diligent in my work and service, but also to take time to get needed rest every day. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus name, amen."

Search For Wisdom

Proverbs 3:13-18
"Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding,
 for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold.
 She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her.
 Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor.
 Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace.
 She is a tree of life to those who embrace her;
 those who lay hold of her will be blessed."

Being called a fool or stupid seems to promote a comical humor when we hear it around us. Be it from the TV cartoon, the radio commentator, the "tambay" at the convenience store, or your officemates or classmates, we laugh when such words are incorporated in our daily conversations. Whether we make fun of the government, our supervisors, or each other, being called a fool seems to be taken lightly these days.

Of course sometimes we don't mean it, or intentionally do it to attract attention. But to be seriously labeled as a fool is no laughing matter. I have seen friendships break over and fights broke out when people call each other fools. We don't like such remarks; it's derogatory. It hurts our pride. We banner the fact that we came from smart families, studied in prestigious schools, and graduated with degrees and even honors, that we never want to be labeled as fools. We think if we are smart enough, if we know enough, we will never be foolish.

Or so the world says. We see smart-brained people with high achievements being promoted everywhere. But what is it that the Bible calls wisdom? How do we genuinely classify one as wise? Jesus called he Pharisees and Teachers of the Law, one of the smartest people of his time, as foolish. They speak of truth, yet their actions do not confirm their words, and they work with selfish motives. It is not that they know less; but the knowledge they have they do not put to good action, which makes Jesus call them fools.

Wisdom is the ability of, AFTER knowing what is true and right, we translate it to ACTION. We do it. We don't just talk the talk; we walk the walk. We know we have to forgive our enemies. Wise people are those who will forgive. We know we need to obey God's laws anywhere and anytime. Wise people are those who will obey. We know we need to pray and read the Bible and evangelize. Wise people are those who will go. We know we need to love one another. Wise people are those who will actually take the effort to love. Foolish people will be those who knows it all, yet never does it. Sure they will have their excuses and blames on others. But the Bible makes no exceptions. If you know the right thing and do not do it, not only will you be sinning, but the Bible classifies you as a fool.

God is not looking for people who are smart and knows a lot. He knows anything and everything enough already. But He is looking for people who, after being revealed of His truths and will, are willing to obey and execute and cooperate with Him. That is the wisdom God seeks. The question then arises: Are you a wise person?

The consequences of being wisdom can be troublesome. People might mistreat, ridicule, persecute, and insult you. Just like they did Jesus. But our passage today reveals the benefits of being wise. And you need not even go beyond Matthew 5 for Jesus' own admonishment why those persecuted for His sake are blessed.

Think of your actions and decisions this past week: were you wise? Did you do the right thing? Did you do anything at all? Or did you rationalize and squeeze yourself out of each responsibility? Wisdom is not an issue of how much you know or what is your IQ. It is an issue of doing that which you already know is right. We make fun of teachers who do not teach right, programmers who do not program right, and lawyers not knowing the laws. But as Christians, do we know God's laws and Words? Better still, are we obeying and doing what we know?

Strive for wisdom today. Pray that God would guide your feelings, thoughts, and actions that He would give you wisdom, enough to think, say, and do the right thing always.

Matthew 7:24-27
"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."

Seize the Day

Joshua 1:1-5
"After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses' aide: "Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Great Sea [a] on the west. No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you."

When God told Joshua and the ancient Israelites that he had given them the Promised Land, he didn't hand it to them on a silver platter. To claim God's promise, they had to battle every inch of the way. They still had to go, conquer, and possess it.

The reality is, however, that had God not given the Promised Land to them, they never would have been able to conquer and possess it.

God also has a work for you and me to do. He will give us opportunities every day to serve him but it's up to us to take advantage of every one of these as they will come to pass—not to pause!

With God's help, let us "seize the day" and take advantage of every one of these opportunities, and claim every promise he has for us.

 
"Dear God, please help me to be ready to 'seize' every opportunity you give me to serve you and claim every promise you have made to me. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus' name, amen."

Favorite Sins

Psalm 4
"Answer me when I call to you, O my righteous God.
 Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my prayer.
 How long, O men, will you turn my glory into shame?
 How long will you love delusions and seek false gods (Selah)
 Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself;
 the LORD will hear when I call to him.
 In your anger do not sin;  when you are on your beds,
 search your hearts and be silent. (Selah)
 Offer right sacrifices and trust in the LORD.
 Many are asking, "Who can show us any good?"
 Let the light of your face shine upon us, O LORD.
 You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound.
 I will lie down and sleep in peace,
 for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety."

Everyone will admit that they have a favorite color, or number, or season of the year. How many of us, however, will do real business in our souls, and admit that we have a favorite sin? Is there a sin into which you know you are most prone? Is there a propensity, a drift, that your inclinations tend to wander toward, and that you know is not pleasing to the Lord? We can all admit that we have those frightful weaknesses, and if we can't, well, we have identified it already: pride. Some of us seem even resolved in our foolish favorite sins. We determine that it is not as bad, after all, as some of the other things that other people do. It is a favorite vice, or worse - a favorite secret vice. Maybe it is a spirit of unforgiveness, laziness, lying, envy - and the list can grow quickly. If the secret sin is a favorite sin, the sinner will not acknowledge it, or give it up easily. But if we would experience deep, true and meaningful communion with the Lord, our secret, our favorite sins must part company with us. We must progress in the way of the Lord, and those sins only slow, impede and halt our journey.

Who for the sake of some worthless, miserable sin would give up communion with the Lord? The wonder is that we even despise the sin itself. It leaves our conscience accusing us. Sin strips us naked of the very thing we crave: fellowship with the Almighty. Let us give up this foolishness. It is our wisdom to do so, because it is our spiritual life that is at stake. It is our very comfort that we sacrifice, when we indulge ourselves in ourselves, because the stinger that remains is not worth the honey that we think we are getting. Favorite sins are never easy to cast aside, but they never leave us without leaving us better for leaving.

Has the love of Christ changed you? If it has, then you know the frustration of lingering sin. You can say with Paul, “The good that I wish to do, I do not do,” Romans 7:19. It is our present reality, but we know we are changed in the core of who we are, if our desires have been changed. There may be a conflict within us between sin and our new inward principle, but at least there is a conflict - whereas before Christ got hold of us, there was no conflict at all. We just gave into sin.

The Christian is dissatisfied with sin, and with himself/herself when they yield to sin. It is common for us to become sleepy in our Christian profession and practice, and to lose that warlike, "soldier of the cross" mentality, but we must not. When we fall asleep spiritually, sin is wide-awake. We must be ever-vigilant, and in that vigilance, we must guard most carefully against our private, favorite sins, which only demean our profession of being children of the risen, living God.

Romans 6:11-14
"In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace."

God Knows Best

I John 5:13-15
"I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us-whatever we ask-we know that we have what we asked of him."

A friend told me about her minister whose five-year-old son told his father that he was praying for him. Excitedly his dad asked him, "And what did you ask God for?"

"Dear God," I prayed, "I don't want my dad to be a minister. Will you please make him the ice-cream man because he makes all children happy?"

We are amused by this child's prayer but I wonder sometimes if God doesn't laugh at some of my childish (not child-like) self-centered prayers. As someone else has said, God always answers prayer. Sometimes the answer is "Yes," sometimes it's "No," sometimes it's "Wait a while," and sometimes it's "You've got to be kidding."

Like a loving father, God knows what is best for us and answers accordingly. Of one thing we can be sure, when we come to him through Jesus Christ our Lord with a sincere heart, God always hears and answers our prayers one way or another. One of the keys for getting prayers answered the way we request them is, as the Bible says, to pray in harmony with God's will.

 Prayer:
"Dear God, please help me to know your Word and always pray in harmony with your will and always trust that the answer you give is what is best for me and all others concerned. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus' name, amen."

Where is Our Gratitude?

Luke 17:11-19
"Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!" When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him - and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well.""

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

THANK YOU.

THANKS.

TNX.

TY.

:)

It is amazing to see how a simple phrase has degenerated through the years. Thanks largely to the advent of greeting cards, SMS messaging, Internet chatting, and PDA keypads, it now takes a few characters to convey thoughts such as expressing our gratitude. Unfortunately, not only the quantity, but also the quality of these expressions have suffered. Sometimes we are not always giving thanks properly to the people in our lives that deserve it, even though our heritage is one that values "utang na loob", and we have been taught this by our teachers and parents since we were young.

Indeed, gratitude is something we have not mastered. And as much as we know how to say "thank you" or any of its related phrases above, sometimes we tend to forget to appreciate the special people in our lives that largely deserve our thanks. Here are some of them:

- Our parents. Sure they might be annoying, old-fashioned, and a bit rude at times, but we are where we are now thanks to them. They provided for all our financial and academic needs;. They gave us our necessities, our needs, and even our wants. They endured our stubbornness, disobedience and laziness, and loved us nevertheless. They trusted us when no else would, and forgave us our mistakes time and time again. And they will keep doing these for the rest of their lives. We can be selfish and proclaim all these are simply their duties as "parents" OR we can turn around and see their love and sacrifice, and express our gratitude more than just a few words of thanks.

- Our teachers. Prolonged work hours; inconsistent travel; uncomfortable environment; no growth in career path; low pay; So why did our teachers became teachers then? Well, its because of you and me. They want to teach. they want us to learn. And midst all their differences, mannerisms, and attitudes, they chose this profession in our favor. The hard assignments, exams, scoldings, and research they constantly give benefits us more than it does them. In the long run the lessons and characteristics we learn in school are the ones we needs to survive in society. And our teachers dedicated their lives to instruct us in these. Instead of always complaining, have we ever thanked our profs and teachers for their hard work and dedication in us?

- Our brothers and sisters in Christ. Those "ate" and "kuyas" who have been encouraging, leading and praying for you. Those people who will pat your back and challenge you to go on. Those people who rebuke you when you make wrong decisions. Those people who remind you the importance of dwelling in God's Words. Those people who laughs, cries, and struggles with you. Those who invested time, money and effort in us, so that we can know of God and His will for our lives. Have we ever thanked them?

- GOD. Ah here is where we need a lot of reminder. Thought the people I mentioned above did a lot for us, nothing could ever come close to what God did for us. And even though we know of these things, we rarely express our gratitude for all of these blessings. And at the risk of stating the obvious, I like to remind us some of these things again:

  - He sent His ONLY Son to die on the cross for our sins.
  - He took the liberty to love us though we don't deserve His love.
  - He constantly forgives our stubborn sins, and washes us perfectly clean.
  - He blessed us with the people above to guide and instruct our lives.
  - He gave us food, clothing, shelter, and the comforts of life not everyone enjoys.
  - He gave us LIFE.
  - He gave us our bodies, abilities, talents and skills.
  - he has a plan specific for our life, that He always has our best in mind.

Though the first reason is already good enough, the rest are also give to us. Have we been expressing our gratitude to God? How much? Have we reduced this to simple short words of thanks in our prayers? What have we been doing, in response to the great things God has done for us? Will we be like the nine lepers in the story, who were given undeserved blessings and never returned to say thank you, or will we be like the Samaritan leper, who found it in his heart to thank our Lord and bow and worship Him for who He is?

We can read the story to find out whom of the two did God bless. And we know our Lord is more than happy when we are living in gratitude for all that He has done for us. This keeps us in the right perspective of things, knowing we always have more than what we need, and we have God who deserves utmost praise and thanksgiving for giving, and promising to give this to us.

Examine your heart of gratitude, and spend more time thanking God for all the things He has give you.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

 Beata Culpa

John 21:15-17
"When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?" "Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my lambs." Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?" He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep." The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you."

The above Latin phrase is from Augustine, and he used the expression in reference to the fall into sin of Adam, and the subsequent wonder of grace that came from his fall into sin. He said that it was a beata culpa, a happy fault. The fall into sin has given opportunities for the grace of God to be displayed in Christ. How would we ever really know the love of God, if we did not know His forgiveness in Christ? How could we know God's mercy, if we were never in need of it? How could we understand, as well as we do, the compassion, tenderness, longsuffering, kindness, and all such enduring characteristics that reveal God's benevolent love usward, if there had not been that beata culpa in the Garden of Eden?

Surely we would have know of God's love, had sin never entered into the world, but since it did we know it in a manner that we could not have were not our position so desperate. We know His love most fully in that Christ has died for sinners. We also know this in our experience of God's love to us in manifold ways on a daily basis in our lives. It is our sin that reveals the amazing love of God toward us because we are so unlovable in our sin. We see God's love witnessed over and over again in Scripture when someone falls into sin, and receives mercy instead of wrath.

This can be seen in Peter's denying Christ three times and then Christ asking him three times if he loved Him - in the book of John (18:25-27; 21:15-17). Peter must have been in a depressed condition before, and while Jesus asked him, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” Jesus then proceeded to ask him two more times if he loved Him. We know the story, but look at the results in the life of Peter, following his experience of God's grace and mercy in Christ's questions to him. Look at Acts 2, and the boldness and power with which Peter spoke as one having authority and commission from above. The sin of denying Christ was still sin, but beata culpa, happy fault, when forgiveness is experienced, known, and turned into service for the Master.

It is a lesson to us. We all have sins and afflictions that make us miserable. We also all have forgiveness, for the seeking and receiving, in Christ. Knowing forgiveness from our errant ways is a great motivation to boldness in Christ's cause and for His name, in our lives and actions. That sin is a happy fault when it becomes a motivation and impetus to our greater service unto Christ. Jesus Christ is not only worthy of our faithfulness (I don't wish to suggest that we should sin, that we might have a motivation to be bold for Jesus - that would be foolish), but Jesus Christ is also worthy of our learning from our sins, and turning our experience of His forgiveness into inspiration towards our greater, bolder, service of Christ.

God In Control

Genesis 50:15-21
"When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?" So they sent word to Joseph, saying, "Your father left these instructions before he died: 'This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.' Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father."

When their message came to him, Joseph wept. His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. "We are your slaves," they said. But Joseph said to them, "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children." And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them."


Genesis 37 begins the story of Joseph. We are told of the boy's dream supposedly from God of his brothers and even parents bowing down to him. Joseph appears to be quite proud of this God-inspired vision he has had. His brothers aren't as pleased. In fact, Genesis 37:5 says it made them hate him even more. He was already the favored son but now he also expects to rule over them. Joseph was the clearly favored son and felt like he was going to be somebody very important. Later in that same chapter, evil comes and his story goes in a much different direction. Some of those brothers really hated him and decided to kill him but one brother who only maybe disliked him strongly managed to talk them in to just throwing him into a pit. When slave traders come along, they all see a way of getting rid of him for good without any blood shed.

Wow! That's harsh - to be hated by your brothers and sold into slavery. But here's how Joseph sums it up for his brothers later. He says, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives."

The same can be said of Jesus. The religious leaders wanted him silenced. They hated him. They thought the people favored him so they plotted against him. The people also turned on him and Jesus was crucified. But what they meant for evil, God meant for good. As Isaiah wrote, "But He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5) God could have come up with some other way to save mankind but he chose to let evil run its course and triumph through it to show that he is bigger than all things.

This is a valuable lesson that we all can learn from. Evil happens but God works thru the evil. God is in control even when bad things happen. That seems somewhat counterintuitive. But listen to what I am saying; God does not cause the evil to happen; he works in it to bring about something better. He is bigger than all the evil of humanity, the world, and all the demonic forces combined. James and Paul tell us that trials bring us patience; some good comes out of some evil. (James 1:2 and Romans 5:3)

In the movie Evan Almighty, where Evan was tasked by God to build an ark, his wife tought Evan was goingcrazy with this plan. In one scene, she takes their children to her parents to stay until he can get his head on straight. While they're stopped at a small diner to eat, God disguised as a waiter strikes up a conversation with the woman and they begin talking about prayers and how God answers them. God says, "When you pray for patience, does God just give you patience? Or does He give you opportunity to be patient? When you pray for courage, does He give you courage or opportunity to be courageous? And, when you pray for your family to become closer, does God just zap you with warm fuzzy feelings or does He give you opportunity to become close?"

God has always used the bad to bring about good. If you saw a man hacking away at a log with a chainsaw, you might see the destruction of a tree but he may see some great eagle in that tree just waiting to be carved out. You may see a guy beating away at a big rock but that guy is chiseling off everything that's not part of the beautiful statue he has envisioned. He can use the world's evil to build his people.

Jesus let God be in control. The night before his death he prayed, "Not my will, but thine be done". Joseph let God control his actions. He stayed honest as a slave and as prisoner. I don't know what your situation is, but God does. Will you let him be in control?