SOLOMON

SOLOMON...heir to the throne of David. He was declared to be the wisest and most prosperous ruler ever. His reign was peaceful and uncontested. Surrounding nations fear him and the God who placed him there. But as time progressed, he lost track of God and attributed worth on things under the sun.

Everything he had he called worthless, and everything he knew he regarded as useless. Unhappiness struck this wise king...thus began a downfall of a great nation. The preacher rambles on in the book of Ecclesiastes about how meaningless life can become...at some point I agree with him, but only if we lose track of God.

If you scan through the book of Ecclesiastes, you will notice that there will be times when Solomon would acknowledge God and the BIG part He plays in our daily lives. I think those little nuggets of realizations is a direct result of David teaching his children about God. Proverbs and Psalms can tell you all about it...

So what happened? Solomon failed the prosperity test...but He did recover as stated at the end of Ecclesiastes but the effects of his bad decisions perpetuated even after his death...but that's another topic.

The lesson here is that being wise does not guarantee immunity from failing...as long as you are still here on earth, failing will be part of our lives...the question is: "How will you cope from failing?"

I'm not done with Solomon yet...you will her more bout him in the near future.

bottom line

Bottom line is this...

"What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?" - Matthew 16:26

Reading programs, feeding programs, livelihood, vacation bible school. outreaches, etc. What good can these do if they are not aware of the salvation plan of God for them. Yes, they are given better options for living...but what value can they attribute to their soul once death puts a claim on them?

I've tackled the first book of Corinthians chapter 13 all too often in my blogs, I wonder if we've learn anything from them...are we too caught up with "doing God's work" that we are busy to even make eye contact with the people we are ministering to? If that's the case then maybe we should re-evaluate our motives.

The way I see Matthew 16:26 is this...YOU CAN'T PUT MONETARY VALUE TO ANYBODY'S SOUL...our contribution should exceed the financial aspect. Our ministries should touch the heart and not just feed the body. Our contribution to the souls around us should exceed this temporary life...it should be eternal in value.

Christians...consider the bottom line...

real life missions

I remember surrendering my life to missions a couple of years ago...it was a definite purpose that God had instilled in me. I was excited and very much willing to quit my job and pursue a missionary life somewhere remote! But what followed after surrendering was unexpected...

silence...utter silence

I'm like stuck in a free fall after excitingly jumping from a life of being a commoner Christian. Then I realized I was wrong. I was looking at missions differently...although I know the general implications of being in full time ministry as a Christian, I was still blinded by my preconceived ideas that accepting God's call made it different! I was still engaged in an angelic conflict...God did not put me aside and preserved me for future missionary use, I was still enduring the same struggles I had even before surrendering my life to missions.

so what's the deal? what's happening?

Well...all I can say is that God has been training me from the moment i said "Lord, here I am...use me!" I am not disqualifying the chances of going out and starting a church somewhere in the Philippines but right now, God has been impressing some unique things regarding missions.

Since I'm involved in multimedia, maybe I can use what I know about the trade as leverage in introducing the gospel. Most people these days go for the fast paced, colorful, interactive, flashy things of life...maybe it's time I present the Word of God in a whole new level!

As of now...I'm still waiting for an opportunity...waiting...learning....and hopefully...GROWING!

So if you have the heart for missions, pray about it...take it from me...your already a missionary!

grace and gratitude

A magnificent cause that results into a heart warming effect...

tonight i am overwhelmed with gratitude to see my sisters growing in grace...they now understand how to prioritize things based on the hierarchy of eternity. They have caught the kind of rush doctrine gives a believer. How positive volition towards doctrine has been changing their attitude and outlook in life.

I am proud to be related to them.

They have taught me the importance of grace during hard times...God has been good to us. Despite the pain and hardships we are encountering as a family, God has never turned His back on us. Grace has been the foundation of how we regard each other.

Like my sisters, a dynamic duo in my life...so is grace and gratitude! they stand well separately but go well together!

I love my sisters...but most importantly, i love my God who gave them to me!

accepting reality

unfairness...

the common denominator in every aspect of our lives under the sun is UNFAIRNESS. I second what Solomon said about life being meaningless and conceited...added to that is the everyday injustices we suffer as a follower of what is morally right and spiritually true. The veracity of life falls under the condition of man's soul...FALLEN AND IMPERFECT! If only there was a way around this predicament of life...if there was only a workable solution to the fallen nature of man...

grace...

is the policy of unmerited and undeserved favor. This is God's love in action. This is the reason why we are still alive. Though sometimes I have turned my back on God, His grace has always been consistent. Grace was never withheld from me by God.

hate...

is the evil within a man's soul who has rejected God's grace. Hate is the absence of love and a clear understanding of compassion. hate escalates when we slowly reject the reality of God's word and the principle it holds. diversities turn to hate when it is mocked with indifference. hate will always be present under the sun.


love...

this is the one thing God did not with hold from us despite the condition we are in...filthy and unlovable...compared to the perfect and impeccable nature of God we are like amoebas! A perfect God is the only being capable of releasing such wonderful love to such undeserving race...all sins and acquired evil aside, God loves us!

......

Can we have two conflicting subjects be part of our reality? YES...accepting one without the other is like riding a car without wheels and still believing that it can take you anywhere you wish! Grace exists because our world is unfair...we know what is love because hate is rampant in this world.

My only prayer is that I can accept these realities and not forget the principle of unconditional love...

Lord...don't let me forget...

anong alas mo?

sa paglipas ng maraming araw, linggo, buwan at taon
sa pag dami ng mga kaibigan mo sa facebook
sa pag taas ng mga bilihin sa palengke
sa pag sagot mo ng matamis na "oo" sa masugid mong manliligaw
sa pag daan ng malalakas at kahindik-hindik na mga bagyo
sa pag martsa mo sa pinakahihintay mong engrandeng kasalan
sa pagpapaanak mo ng mga menor de edad na kababaihan
sa padagdag ng padagdag na bilang ng mga taong lugmok sa kahirapan
sa pagkadismaya mo sa dami ng masasamang balita sa talapihitan
sa pagmamalupit ng mga bossing mo sa trabaho
sa paghihimagsik ng mga empleyado sa kumpanya
sa pagbigo sa iyo ng matalik mong kaibigan
sa pagtalikod sa iyo ng mga mahal mo sa buhay
sa pagsapit ng unang paskong hindi kumpleto ang pamilya
sa pagtatampo ng mga tao sa paligid sa dahilang hindi mo matanto
sa pagkawala mo ng pera
sa pagdagdag ng utang dahil sa kawalan ng pera
sa pagdating ng mga balitang hindi nakakatuwa
sa pag-click mo ng post sa facebook na virus pala
sa lahat ng ito...

anong plano mo?

kung akong tatanungin...magisip ka muna ng mabuti...

isipin mo muna kung merong isang bagay sa buhay mo ang hindi apektado ng mga nabanggit...

yun ang ALAS mo sa buhay...

kung wala ka namang maisip...puwes, meron akong matinding suhistyon!

Korny man para sa karamihan, ngunit batid ko na iyo munang pakinggan...

SI KRISTO ANG TANGING SANDIGAN NA HINDI APEKTADO NG TAO, KRISIS O PANAHON!

Siya ang ALAS ko sa buhay...minsan ko nang isinuko ang buhay ko sa kanya, at patuloy kong iaalay ang lahat sa kanya!

oo...di ako perpekto...alam ko yun...pero ang ALAS ko...OO!

ikaw? anong plano mo?