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Whoa! What better place to celebrate Pentecost Revival than in Baguio City, an area known for its wonderful ambience and refreshing atmosphere… ! The overwhelming success of bringing revival to the Summer Capital of the Philippines last May 10, 2008, and how it was embraced by the crowd there is something that we can only credit to the Holy Spirit and the power He has poured forth to the droves and droves who came to the venue to open-heartedly receive.
Praise God…! Revival has arrived to Baguio City!
We could already feel the Spirit during rehearsals in the venue… it was unmistakable! Praise and worship run-throughs were already powerful and the entire production crew could already feel the intense atmosphere during setup and preparations.
Though we only had the chance to stay for about 3 days… the climb up was well worth it. May revival spread all over northern Luzon because of this empowerment by the Lord.
But you will receive power when the holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” -Acts 1:8
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I was used!!! Yes… indeed, I was. But this particular phrase is more commonly associated with deception and opportunistic agendas conjured by conniving individuals, right? You hear it time and time again… on television, in the movies, all over… ” I was used!”. In fact, it’s even so common that the phrase sounds so cliche!
Okay, let me elaborate on how I was actually “used”…
We Christians (Catholics and otherwise) believe that God constantly presents opportunities for us to be a blessing to others… we just have to be conscious about these chances.
When you ask something of God, provisions or blessings, the Lord will ask of us to be all the more giving. This is totally opposite from what a worldly person would say. Material thinking would tell your better judgement to hold on to what you have and tighten up the pocket.
Just read the bible… Jesus teaches us all throughout the Gospels to do the opposite… “give in order to receive”… “love your enemies”… “when you’re hit on the left cheek, give your right cheek”… it goes on and on… yet the lot of us still refuse to follow.
Why am I talking about this? What has this got to do with me being used?
Well… on our way home late last night, as I was driving, my wife started speaking to the Lord… I just heard her saying, “I love you, Lord…” like a little girl being sweet to a daddy. I asked her why… she said she was asking for provisions since our wallets were almost running on empty. So, I myself engaged in an informal prayer… more like a simple conversation with God. Remember, this was all happening as I was driving home looking for a place to stop by to have a quick dinner.
We passed by a lot of pretty decent fast food restaurants but somehow weren’t attracted to any of them. We were led to a simple open-air restaurant for no reason… so we parked and went in.
As we were eating… we noticed a couple by the corner of the counter near where we were seated. They were blind and drinking sodas. I realized… “Hey, these are the blind beggars that I always encounter on the same street I pass by whenever I head to my headquarters.
My wife and I were so crushed as we saw them obviously hungry and settling for a soda and water. It was all they could afford. We decided to order food for them… it didn’t matter that they didn’t know who it came from as long as they understood that it was a blessing from the Lord and NOT from us. Then we ordered a plate of beef and rice for them… and it touched us all the more when we saw the beggar give thanks to the Lord and prayed before eating. It dawned on me immediately that we were led to that particular place by the Lord to become channels of blessing from God to these needy individuals. We were used by God to bless others.
Truly, the Lord is great! He blesses those in need and at the same time opens our hearts to Him. We ask for blessings so He asks us to be giving to others… and in that way the Lord blesses us back as well.
By ministering to them, we are ministered back by realizing that whatever little we considered to have is still a whole lot when compared to others who have practically nothing… not even their sights.
“Whatever you did for the least of My brothers and sisters, you did for Me.” - Matthew 25:40
It feels great to be used. Praise be to God forever!
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For those who may have hurt us in any way, past or present… I forgive you.
For those who may have spoken ill of us at any given time… I forgive you.
For those whom we once thought to be friends… I forgive you.
For those who indirectly inflicted pain to us… I forgive you.
For those who hold grudges and cannot let go… I forgive you.
For those who have selfishly placed themselves ahead of others… I forgive you.
For those who are consciously inconsiderate to every concern… I forgive you.
For those who refuse to understand… I forgive you.
For those who take pleasure in other people’s suffering… I forgive you.
For those who just simply refuse to cooperate… I forgive you.
For those who can make a difference but refuse to do so… I forgive you.
For those who won’t take responsibility… I forgive you.
For those who simply point at others… I forgive you.
For those who find it difficult to look in the mirror… I forgive you.
For those who simply won’t do anything… I forgive you.
For those who won’t forgive… I forgive you.
For those whose lives are riddled with compromise… I forgive you.
For those who politicize everything… I forgive you.
For those who always expect something in return… I forgive you.
For those who deceive others… I forgive you.
For those who just don’t care… I forgive you.
In forgiveness there is peace.
In forgiving… I, too, am forgiven by my Lord.
May those whom I have forgiven be able to find inner and spiritual peace as well as they ultimately learn to forgive themselves as well as others.
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Having a personal relationship with God is great… it’s probably the best feeling there is… but you shouldn’t think that your life serving God stops there. Praying to the Lord and cultivating a productive and effective prayer time IS NOT enough… remember, it isn’t ever about YOU… it never should be. It’s all about HIM. What does He desire for all of us? It is for us to strive hard to become disciples… followers… to become instruments of blessing and to be fishers of men.
Our mission here on Earth is not just to know God… not just to understand His word… not just to connect with our Creator… it is to be a part of something far far greater than ourselves… to be able to spread the Good News to every corner of the world. To let Christ be known everywhere. In our own little way, we can minister and share God’s love to others… be it your neighbor, your classmate, your friend, officemates, even your enemy.
Has God touched you in a special way? Has he performed miracles in your life? Perhaps, a blessing or provisions that he has showered upon you? If so, don’t keep it to yourself… share your story, chronicle it and testify as to how the Lord has changed your life… let every event in your life serve as a means to glorify God… every event… everything. Yes, everything… including your struggles.
How you may ask?
By overcoming these difficulties through God’s grace and power, people can see how the Lord works in your life… ultimately, it is the Lord who is lifted up and glorified. Through every achievement, every recognition… praise Him. Praise God for everything that comes your way… fade into the shadows and let Him be the one to take center stage.
Serve Him with all your heart. Put Him ahead of everything else… regardless of how important other matters may be to you… nothing but nothing comes first BUT the Lord. Especially when he calls upon you to serve… or to act upon something. You’ll never know when He’ll seek to use you but when He does… we should all be ready to drop everything and respond faithfully. This is where we are tested. Can you actually do it? Really? What if you’re supposed to work on something that client requires which is supposed to merit you a substantial financial gain in return? Can you forego something like that to heed God’s call?
Worldly thinking would consider this to be stupid. What if I desperately need the cash? What if client gets mad? What if my boss doesn’t understand? What if…? What if…?
Don’t expect them to understand… just simply follow the Lord. Blind faith. Total surrender. Godly surrender. Respond.
As the Good News says, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all else shall be given you besides”. Nothing… nothing else comes first. Do not allow anyone to tell you otherwise. Individuals inclined to worldly thinking would be quick to disagree… naturally. Worldly ideals… matters and crooked morals that have been embedded into our culture and materialistic way of life would be quick to question how one can sustain a life of true discipleship.
But it IS more than possible. It is life’s best reality. And it is only ultimately comprehended once you actually engage in the practice of this kind of surrender.
The first step is always the hardest… but the Lord asks this of us all.
To blindly surrender all worldly norms… and live under the norms of true Godly spirituality.
The norm under which the Lord intended for all of us to live by.
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Ama… a tagalog word meaning “Father” in English. This was the title of the song I wrote just a few days ago for the Lord and which I performed for my community () just this evening.
It was a Valentine’s celebration for the Lord and the theme of the entire show was “Love for God”. So I composed a song just a few days ago which spoke of my awe and devotion to my Heavenly Father.
I prayed that through my song, God would bless each and everyone seated and listening… that they would feel the lyrics and relate to the emotions conveyed by the music.
The musical work talks about surrender… it speaks of overwhelming love… of following God’s will and his divine plan… of trusting the Father at all times.
I praise the Lord for he has blessed me with the gift of song… that he has entrusted to me a voice that can sing out loud to Him… to glorify, praise and worship Him.
My achievements are not for me… they are a testament to how the Lord works through people and individuals in order to bless others. May the Lord be glorified all the more through my music. For I am merely a willing instrument to be used by my Saviour anytime he so chooses.
Praise be to God forever.
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My faith is being tested. So many trials the past few days… I try not to have it affect me but the “enemy” has a twisted way constantly reminding me of my current predicament.
I take comfort in the fact that I can tell when I am trying to be manipulated by the evil one. And I battle him with a barrage of prayers.
My problems have not gone away yet… but my prayers and my Saviour are much stronger than my struggles. I just thank the Lord for these tests and obstacles for it is in these times that I can fully prove to God how much faith I have in Him to single-handedly help me overcome my worldly troubles.
May the Lord be glorified through my trials and afflictions.
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I just remembered a few lines from the song, “Hosanna”, performed by Hillsong which affects me greatly everytime I listen to it.
“Heal my heart and make it clean,
Open up my eyes to the things unseen,
Show me how to love like You have loved me…
Break my heart for what breaks Yours,
Everything I am for Your kingdom’s cause,
As I walk from earth into eternity…”
Such powerful words… very meaningful… and the essence of what every Christian’s desire should be.
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My wife and I decided to do our fasting today. As you might probably know, there are different kinds of fasting… of course the most common of them all and the first that comes to mind is the practice of either (1) not eating meat; or (2) abstaining from food altogether.
But what if the individual who is to fast doesn’t really eat meat? Or probably is a vegetarian…? Then that particular mode of fasting would be all for naught. Fasting is a form of “self-death” and that death to self would be impossible to achieve for someone who engages in a manner of fasting that is ALREADY his/her way of life.
So, there are other ways to fast… television fast, water fast, sleep fast, and more… I’m sure you could think of other ways to sacrifice.
As for me and my wife, we decided not to eat from morning till late in the evening. Just one single day… and that’s saying a lot about my wife since she’s one to start shaking and turning pale just a few hours past her regular mealtime.
Of course, our fasting day is laced with regular, interspersed prayer times… intimate times… private times with the Lord. Surprisingly, my wife was able to endure 1 whole hour of prayer without her noticing it! Praise God for that! She was surprised herself… I am happy for her.
Months ago, I never thought I’d see her become this deep in her faith… but true enough, in God’s time, everything is made unto good.
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Tonight, I thank the Lord for another opportunity for me to prove my faith and trust in Him.
Earlier, I gave up and surrendered ALL of my pirated DVD and VCD movies. You might think that “all” means a few of ‘em sitting amongst a collection of original copies. But in reality, it’s the other way around…! There are merely a few originals (about a handful) sitting amongst close to a thousand pirated DVDs in a dedicated cabinet for it.
I took all of them out and was suddenly at awe as to how many bootleg (but very good) copies I was actually able to gather in 4-5 years.
And it’s NO joke… I loved adored my collection… I used to scour the entire metropolis just to look for the highest quality (DVD copy; 5.1 audio) pirated movies. Ask my wife… she can attest as to how obsessed I was with my illegal library. I’d rather buy discs than spend money on important clothing or food. That was then.
Anyway, I packed these discs in big plastic bags (I wasn’t able to obtain cardboard boxes)… and soon after, my wife started scouring her stuff for fake clothing and accessories which she also wanted to give up.
My kids soon followed… and to my amazement, they happily surrendered their China-made fake toys and other stuff.
I packed them all in the car and took it to our home base for proper disposal. The bootlegged discs will be destroyed and the bags, clothing and accessories will most likely be given to indigents and the needy.
This is a very BIG step for our family towards being totally and unconditionally righteous.
We vowed that from now on, we shall NEVER EVER patronize anything fake…!
Praise God for giving my family the courage to follow through and do what is right in order to be pleasing in the sight of the Lord. I thank Him for making my children understand the purpose of it all.
I’m pretty certain that I’ll be able to find a few more unwanted stuff sitting around the house which I might’ve overlooked during earlier’s cleanup but I’ll be sure to gather all of what’s left and have them disposed of properly.
We are finally FREE of these things… All praise and glory to God!
