manna from heaven

"GOD WILL PROVIDE"

I've grown up hearing my Dad utter those words a gazillion times. I was so familiar with it, that I've never really taken it to heart. Yes...God owns everything and I believe that to be true...but for Him to delegate His wealth to someone like me has never really crossed my mind. The money I earn every month is always seen as compensation for my services rendered to the company...nothing more! Therefore, I see it as a right...because even the Bible says that a man should be paid according to his workload.But that kind of perspective got me into a loop of greediness...and when my pay is delayed a day...a violent reaction is acceptable! As I went deeper into this terrible pattern...perspectives were changing and priorities were shifting...everything was going out of control!

Just this morning I was confronted with the reality that what I earn in my current job is just enough to sustain a bachelor. I was making ends meet with a little extra to spare. But once I threw in my future married life into the equation...I always end up lacking...in the red, so to speak! I've tried cutting down on food and other essential things that I can survive less or without...but no luck there! It was inevitable that I was lacking some resources. It irritated me, and started complaining and questioning God in the confines of my heart! "Lord...do you really want me to get married? is this really your plan?" Reality can really be frustrating. Then...I remembered MANNA!

God has set apart a bunch of people from the growing populous of the earth and called them His people! They were a bunch of whiners and complainers...but always shown grace by God. When they were being mistreated by Pharaoh and prayed for deliverance...God pushed through! But once they were on their way to the promise land and their comfort and convenience were taken away, THEY COMPLAINED! Instead of remembering God's grace in their lives...they mocked God with their ungrateful hearts. Just like us...but what I want to point out is this...Their position as the people of God still stood even through the times of their unfaithfulness. God still took care of them...and provided logistical grace. What I liked about the story of the Exodus is how God provided food. Manna rained from heaven...they did not have to do hard work for food...all they have to do is pick it up.

Today...actual manna won't fall from the sky...but in our lives, a different kind of provision overflows. It might be our health, wealth, relationships, happiness, love, etc. Whatever it is...let's not neglect it. God may not allow great wealth but He did promise in His word the He will never leave us nor forsake us. If God can feed the sparrow and clothe the lilies...why worry about rent money, food budget, bill payments and whatever life throws at us! Thank God for your own kind of MANNA!

what's your value?

"A life without purpose, is a life without value"


It's easy to set a daily schedule especially if our work depends on a daily routine. When the clock strikes a certain time, a given task is set to be accomplished. But sometimes, we get caught up with the routine that we don't know why in the world are we investing our time in such a task. They said that it's easier to have the job done if you knew beforehand the reason behind it.

As a newly installed authority of a fairly new department, It's hard to get all of your staff on the same page. I thought that as a manager, you just manage their workloads and let them do magic. In some areas of our job in the multimedia department it does work but most of the time it doesn't. I learned the hard way to give them the bigger picture and from there draw out their part. Explain that without their part in this area of the project, it will simply fail. Emphasize their participation and purpose in the project and they will realize their value as a team player. Same is true in God's kingdom!

The moment we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are automatically installed into the family of God as royal priests and ambassadors. We have been given the written revelation of the Father with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We are part of the ordained workforce who are mandated to GO and into all the world with the gospel of absolute truth! The field of unbelieving souls are ready to receive the Word of God yet the workers are few. In actuality, a lot of us are in the line-up of available workers but only a few are willing to work.

What's your value? What's your participation in the kingdom of God? If you're new to the Christian life then get some sound doctrine and be aligned in God's plan! If you've been a Christian as long as you can remember then go out into the field. I'm not saying force yourself to be a missionary in a foreign field...but in the routine of our jobs, in the decisions that we make, in the words that we say, we should reflect the intended purpose God has for us! The moment we understand God's specific plan for us and the purpose behind it, then will we find our value as a member of the royal family of God.

playing safe

I just realized, after our mid-week service, that I'm a play safe Christian. I know the Truth...I understand the Truth...but somehow I won't proclaim the Truth! When my conversation with a stranger takes a sudden turn towards my faith and belief...my mind goes "hmmmmm.......*OFF*" There's a fear within me of being rejected..."what if?" questions will suddenly flood my mentality...then, I walk off the conversation without even presenting or hinting that I am a follower of Jesus. * sad *

The operative word in the great commission (Matthew 28:16-20) is GO...it indicates an active participation of the believer to move where God wants them to be. Sometimes the fear of GOING indicates a lack of confidence...not in our abilities...but confidence in Jesus! Acts 1:8 also states that "...you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you..." Meaning...the whole "GO" scenario is mainly dependent on our willingness to let the power of the Holy Spirit manifest in us!

The moment we have trusted in Jesus Christ as our Savior, and believed in what John 3:16 has stated...we are automatically new creatures with a different set of standards. The change may not be noticeable, but from within we are guaranteed to be IN CHRIST (2 Corinthians 5:17). In order for us to stand out as Christians, we have to let the Holy Spirit work on us and willingly stop conforming to this world (Romans 12:1 & 2). This world and our flesh does not provide genuine confidence...even the Apostle Paul stated in Philippians 3:1-7 that everything he gained (education, popularity, status, wealth, etc.) cannot compare to what Jesus has provided.

Now...going back to my original point. Once we gain consistency in rejecting the world and gaining absolute truth...once we have prioritize God's Word and make it a point to always assimilate and diligently study the Word of God...then our testimony will be like a city on a hill that can never be hidden (Matthew 5:14-16). Awkwardness about our faith and beliefs during casual conversations won't be an issue anymore...because now, we're through playing safe!

I'm a screw-up

who isn't?

I'm not proud to be a screw-up...but I can't deny the fact that I am a big one! I've made wrong choices that brought pain to myself and others as well. My selfish and arrogant tendencies has even boosted my screwing-up abilities. *deep sigh*

It's hard to have a melancholic personality that thinks a lot and, at the same time, be a major screw-up! It doubles the pain after the act of screwing up...guilt becomes a long haul...a dragging burden! Then...self-pity comes into the picture! *now ain't that great* Instead of quickly recovering from a depressing and self induced state of misery...I let it brew and simmer...wallowing in my own filth...like it would solve anything! *SHEEESH!*

Then after a while...when all hope and dignity has departed my soul...I start putting up a defense mechanism. Trying hard to hide the real condition of my soul with pseudo happiness and false doctrine. Denial becomes a routine that slowly drains reality from my perception! *what a loser*

If you're reading this and somehow, you can relate...I'll be praying for you! I know what it feels like to be cornered by our mistakes with nowhere to run...It's a reality we all have to face and endure at some point. But when we do...I pray that we would not lose hope. Before we reach the point of no return...we have to purposefully undergo a paradigm shift...with whatever strength we have left, we have to divert our perception to a divinely inspired thinking. Understand that being a screw-up is inevitable...it's how we get over that fact that matters most! As a famous saying goes (and I'll reword it a bit) Screw-up seven times, get up eight! *right on!*

In reality...the sinful nature we are innately born with is the source of our screw-ups...It's a predicament that we have to live with...and the only way we can cope is by adhering to someone who was born without this curse. Jesus Christ was sinless...never did sin...never did screw-up...yet gave His life for screw-ups...like me and you!

Don't achieve to be perfect...because you won't and you can't...we'll always be a screw-up! Accept that reality along with the fact that you need someone who is not a screw-up to cover for you...and that's Jesus! Accept Him today as your Lord and Savior...and be a meaningful screw-up! *AMEN...AMEN...AMEN!*

the sinner in me

"anak ng...akala mo kung sino umasta...kristyano kuno...ang galing magkunwari!" says the sinner in me...

This is the moment our emotions exceeds the threshold of responding and starts the destructive trend of reacting. Our capability to think and assimilate is replaced with so much emotional turbulence and distress that the mind simply shuts down and hands over the reigns of our soul to the undependable tyrant - emotion. The tyrannical rule of the emotion pushes the conscience to unload credible truths and principles to make way for selfish and arrogant pseudo truths. This then destroys our perspective to view the reality of life and afterwards, we undergo a paradigm shift that would leave a scar in our heart as reminder of how reckless we have been with our choices in life. This does not happen instantaneously...it's a process that starts from the moment we wallow in our sins and ends either with dying grace or the realization that life is too short to live in sin.

Jesus laid down His life to give us an opportunity to live the life of a winner and conquer the sinner in us. God provided a way for us to always be protected in His everlasting love and grace...He even promised that NOTHING can ever nullify His love for the believer. It's the same love Jesus said that we should operate from to conquer the selfish and arrogant sinner in us. When you consider all these...we have no reason to let the sinner in us reek havoc in our life and in the life of others.

You will always have a reason to unleash the sinner in you...but there's a greater mandate to kill our old self and reflect the grace Jesus has been showing us. It's easy to react but it's wiser to respond. So...I leave you again with a choice...react or respond? but as for me and my soul, I know what to do with the sinner in me.