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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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Last Wednesday… we headed back to Rosario, Cavite to resume our regular weekly Team Revival Nights. We didn’t hold one the previous Wednesday since it was Holy Week.
Well, I’m glad (and relieved) to see that a good amount of kids have started coming back to attend service. Seems like the “body organ snatching syndicate” (for lack of a better name) have died down a bit. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t around… they just probably wanted to lay low for the moment.
The syndicate have not been caught yet… but how could they if the authorities themselves are the ones who are first to ignore the cries of the helpless victims? The police and government agencies have quickly dismissed the issue as rumors and make believe.
I have already delved on that issue “in depth” on one of my previous posts so I won’t go another round at it for now… my story is about the kids who have come back.
It was like a breath of fresh air… seeing the little children playing all around the Marian Hall before the start of service. The noise that we were used to… the laughter and tiny happy shrieks of boys and girls all around the venue gave renewed hope to the dwellers of our that love ever abounds and that the Lord always triumphs over evil.
We pray that the horrible incidents of the past weeks are now over and behind us. And though some people may say that since our authorities have discounted these reports as nonsense… there is nothing we can do, I would be quick to disagree.
There is something we can do. Pray. True and effective prayer. In fact, it is the only effective means of battling and overcoming every form of affliction and adversity. It is something most people have taken for granted… a way of life that has now been degraded to some sort of ritual… a personal relationship with our Almighty God that has been traded for a life of uncertainty.
This is our wake up call. God is our first resort… not our last. If he isn’t first in your lives… then a reevaluation is in order.
Be like the kids in Rosario… learn from them… See their faith. Feel their faith.
It is what brings them back to service… back to the Lord… again and again. No matter what the cost…
…even their lives.
“The best place any Christian can ever be in is to be totally destitute and totally dependent upon God, and know it.” - Alan Redpath
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My wife is going through a tough time at work. I just found out earlier this evening when she phoned me.
I feel for her… but what can we REALLY do, right? The only thing we have total control over is OURSELVES. Everything else that we don’t have dominance over should be turned over to the Lord through prayer.
I immediately told my wife to pray. To pray and to praise the Lord like she’s never done before. These are the best times to surrender everything to God and to prove to the Lord how faithful we are to Him.
Always and in all ways, we should praise the Lord. Not just in times of victories and triumphs… but all the more so during moments of despair and uncertainty.
Give thanks and praise to God for dire times such as these, for we are given another opportunity to demonstrate our strong faith.
No trial has come to you but what is human. God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with the trial he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it.
- 1 Corinthians 10:13
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It recently was the first Saturday of December and my kids are well aware that every first Saturday of the month means that it’s “Kidz Life” time! The gathering started a bit earlier than the previous months (about an hour ahead).
Kidz Life, for those wondering what it is, is actually a praise and worship assembly made just for kids. They sing songs, dance, participate in different activities and learn more about God.
Earlier, they sang a few joyous Christmas songs, they created cute paper candles with a birthday greeting to Jesus which they pasted to a big paper cake.
Here are some pics and videos of my kids during the recent event…
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Yesterday, I had the most pleasant surprise from my little boy, Ralph. It wasn’t so much what he did, but what he said.
During one of our usual simple family conversations in the living room, he excused himself and announced that he was about to commence his private prayer with the Lord and asked that we don’t disturb him for the time being…
Then he continued on to say that the day before that, he already offered 2 songs to God. I asked him, “2 songs?”… “Yes”, he replied. I inquired again, “What do you mean you offered 2 songs to the Lord?”… “I sung 2 songs by myself during my private prayer time yesterday and offered it to Him.”, he smartly answered.
Wow! That was all I could say during that moment. Imagine that… a little boy offering 2 songs to the Lord, which I never taught him to do. I never thought he’d actually think of doing something like that… but I’m very pleased with how he has seriously engaged on his prayer time.
The Lord delights in worship… in song and dance… very much, in fact.
My little kid has made me very proud of what he has done… imagine how much more the Lord in heaven listening to every tune that his breath lets out which comes from his pure heart. This is a child who knows nothing about quietly singing to God and yet he thought of offering 2 songs to Him.
My wife actually snuck up on him during his prayer time to actually see how he does it… Ralph sits on the bed and prays intently, eyes closed, starts with thanksgiving and talks to the Lord about his concerns and shortcomings and asks for forgiveness… then he starts singing… it has been a regular thing for him already. He offers songs everyday during his time with God.
I’m so proud of my boy! Praise God for Ralph… May God bless him forever…
A psalm of thanksgiving. Shout joyfully to the LORD, all you lands; worship the LORD with cries of gladness; come before him with joyful song. Know that the LORD is God, our maker to whom we belong, whosepeople we are, God’s well-tended flock. Enter the temple gates with praise, its courts with thanksgiving. Give thanks to God, bless his name; good indeed is the LORD, Whose love endures forever, whose faithfulness lasts through every age.
- Psalms 100 : 1 - 5
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Yesterday, during my private time with the Lord in the prayer room, I distinctly heard Him instruct me to bring my wife inside and ask her to join me…
So that’s just what I did. As soon as I finished, I called her in and asked her to pray with me. It was one of those times when you hear God and you just follow without asking any questions… I’m sure the Lord knew that my wife needed prayer during that particular moment.
I guided her all throughout… we started with praise and worship, then proceeded in thanksgiving and supplication.
I led the prayer aloud and a few short minutes later, as I was talking to the Lord, she started crying… and crying… I could hear her sniffles again and again…
Something struck her. The Holy Spirit must’ve overwhelmed her… tears were just flowing out non-stop. So I started praying in tongues and laid my hand on her. It just felt so surreal.
God knows. He just does. Isn’t it great?!
Praise God for opening my heart and allowing me to hear him clearly now more than ever.
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Just a short post… I’m still experiencing a “spiritual high”, so to speak… Why you ask? Well, because my prayer time has considerably improved… in terms of quantity and quality.
When I first started out before, I used to spend some 5 minutes in prayer when I wake up and a few short prayers here and there throughout the day whenever possible.
Now, I still have some prayers spread out through the day… some are more intimate than others… there are moments when I also go into simple silent public prayers…
But what has really improved the most is my private time with the Lord. Whenever I wake up… I make sure that I’m totally up and about so as to be confident that I won’t accidentally doze off during prayer. Then I spend quality time praying and meditating in a specially designated room…
Surprisingly, I noticed that the duration of my prayers recently have lasted a good 30 minutes per session. At times, I pray out loud… on other occasions, it’s a mix of prayer and silently listening for the Lord to speak to my heart.
It’s such a wonderful feeling. Refreshing and overwhelming. I pray for daily anointment. This is very important, indeed. It’s one thing to live and speak the Good News to others and share your personal spiritual victories… but it’s another thing to speak it with the “anointing” of the Holy Spirit within you. It makes all the difference.
(Hmmm… this turned out to be a longer post than I thought…! Hehe!)
