Posts

Christians are free

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  I will admit that some Christians are not appealing. Bawat pulgada ng kanilang buhay ay may utos. Nakakasakal kumilos dahil may isang daan lang na tama sa kanila sa kahit anong isyu.  Iisang uri ng damit, iisang uri ng Biblia , iisang uri ng kanta... ang anumang deviation is a sin.  Mas mukha pang korte kaysa simbahan ang ating mga simbahan.  Hindi nakapagtatakang ang ating mga young people ay nagmamadaling tumakas sa ating simbahan. Sa sandaling malayo dahil nagkolehiyo, hindi na sila umaapak sa simbahan.  Sakal na sakal sila sa tindi ng legalismo . Ang sanlibutan with its open arms ay mas appealing kaysa ating legalistic, graceless church.  It doesn't have to be this way. We should make our church grace-oriented . We should show unconditional love to everyone.  We drive people away when we are very exacting in our relationships.  We are saved by grace . We should live by grace .  Manatiling nakapokus sa biyaya . Huwag ninyong hayaang nak...

Pray for me

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  I love gifts. Unfortunately kakaunti lang ang nagbibigay. At madalas sarili ko pang pera (binuking kita loving!). But seriously one of the best gifts you can give to me is to pray for me.  Nahaharap kami sa kaliwa't kanang hamon. May kolehiyo na kami and God willing this year, madadalawahan na. Nai-imagine ko na ang stress ng paghahanap ng pera.  Dagdag pa diyan ang problema sa trabaho, sa nanghihinang katawan nila Tatay at Nanay, at mga personal na problema. Nariyan din ang problema sa simbahan dahil ang paghahanda ng sermons ay hindi kasing simple ng pagkonsulta ng AI .  So we need your prayers. Please pray for us dahil nasa stage kami ng parenthood na magastos at nakakaalala. Nakakaalala rin ang malayo ang iyong anak. Kailangang matutong ipagkatiwala sa Diyos ang kanilang kabutihan.  If you pray for me and mine, I will consider it an act of love.  Manatiling nakapokus sa biyaya. Huwag ninyong hayaang nakawin ng mga huwad na guro ang inyong karapatang ...

There are things I can't control so I live it at Your hands Lord

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  "God, give me grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, Courage to change the things which should be changed, and the Wisdom to distinguish the one from the other." We've all prayed the serenity prayer . I do. Many times. When I am faced with circumstances I cannot control and I entrust it to God.  It scares us to be in a circumstance we can't control. We wanted to be in a safe environment where we can flourish.  But life is not a game. It is a warfare and if you're not strategic and tactical in how you live, this life will swallow you whole.  As a believer in Christ, our enemies are the flesh, the world and the devil . And the devil and the flesh often cooperate with the world which will include people who don't always have our best interests in their hearts.  No matter how careful we try to live (not to mention if you're careless, you can exponentially multiply the dangers), we sometimes find ourselves under the machination of so...

United against the world

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  "The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. Workingmen of all countries, unite!" This has been the rallying cry of the Marxists . And they never forget it while they spy our freedom and by subterfuge undermine our institutions.  The same rallying cry can be really useful for Christians , except we're not trying to win the world. Instead we're forsaking it as we put our sight on something better- a city not created by human hands .  Christians need to be united if we are to win the struggle against the world. The world will always try to pigeonhole us into accepting its ideas and systems. They will squeeze us to shape us but we should resist it. Together. With one another. With Christ .  Unfortunately, there is a lot of amicide inside the church where brothers are shooting each other. Instead of helping each other to make a stand, we're busy playing king of the mountain, building a house of card on other believers' happ...

Choose to find joy

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  If you choose not to find life in the snow gou will have less joy in your life but still the same amount of snow.  That's profound if you ask me.  It is true. Many times what spells the difference between joy and despair is not the amount of snow (the problems we faced) but our attitude towards it.  Gaya ng sinabi ni Jesus, ang pag-aalala ay hindi makadagdag ng tangkad. Pero makataas ito ng blood pressure .  Most of the time, our fears are unfounded. Many times they reflect our lack of trust in God. Other times, we're simply tired and want to give up on everything. But if we have positive attitude towards the pedagogical purpose of suffering , we can choose to find joy in the midst of suffering. After all nakapila ka na nga ng dalawang oras, sisimangot ka pa ba? Just think on the good things that God gave you and I am sure you'll find more good things than bad things in your life.  I know it is not easy. Pain have a way of blinding us to the goodness of...

Choose your friends

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  Proverbs 1:10 [10]My son, if sinners entice you, Do not consent. 1 Corinthians 15:33 [33]Do not be deceived: " Bad company corrupts good morals ." We have to choose our circles. If we are not, we may inadvertently allow someone whose sole purpose in life is to sink your boat.  Contrary to the beliefs of some, sinners and bad company do not necessarily mean unbelievers. Sadly, maraming believers ang matatawag na sinners (they are not living saintly ) and bd company (they're carnal , worldly and legalistic ). Madaling ma-identify ang taong ang personal motto ay " paints the town red ." Hopefully if you have friends like these, you help them but do not let them influence and control your choices. Mas mahirap ma-identify ang mga bad company na may respectable sins. They look so holy on the outside but inside are dry bones. They are legalistic and judgmental. Some hold to wrong doctrine while being affable on the outside. Masaya silang kasama but just as poiso...

God lets it happen for a reason

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  I lift weights for hobby. I don't want to become big. I wanted to become strong. I wanted to become mobile.  Sometimes I don't feel like lifting. Especially when I am overwhelmed by work and by life. But I always tell myself, discipline beats motivation . I may not be motivated but if I keep discipline, I will lift.  Sometimes I questioned if it is worth it. We'll all die anyway. So why bother lifting?  Then I look around and see people who have chronic back, hip, knees and shoulder problems . People who are younger than me. Then I tell myself, it is worth suffering pain now so I will be pain-free when I am old.  Spiritually speaking we question why God lets bad things to happen to good people. Why us? Why now? Why?  But if we put things into perspective, maybe He is trying to improve our strength and our mobility. We have a warfare to engage in. We have a race to run. If we're not trained, we'll be casualties.  So when we are undergoing trials, q...

Jesus saves, Jesus saves

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  We have heard the joyful sound- Jesus saves ! Jesus saves! Spread the tidings all around- Jesus saves! Jesus saves! It is one of my most favorite songs. After all sinong hindi gugustuhing awitin ang pagliligtas ni Jesus? Ngunit kung hindi tayo magiging maingat, maaaring isipin nating may isang uri lang ng pagliligtas sa Biblia . That is not true. The truth is kapag nabasa natin ang salitang kaligtasan (and related word), dapat nating tanungin ang ating mga sarili: niligtas mula saan?  Kahit ang cursory na pagbabasa ng Biblia ay magpapakitang hindi lahat ng kaligtasan ay espirituwal at eternal. Mas marami ang panawagan ng kaligtasan mula sa temporal na sakit, kaaway o panganib. All you need to do is read the Psalms.  Even in NT , may mga kaligtasang walang kinalaman sa pagtungo sa langit. 1 Tim 4 maaaring maligtas ng pastor ang kaniyang sarili at kaniyang tagapakinig kung manghahawak sila sa tamang doktrina. Maliligtas ang mga babae mula sa insignificance sa kanilang pa...

Commit yourself to the Lord

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  What are the desires of your heart? I don’t know but God do. And according to the Bible, God will give it to those who are committed to Him. What it means is instead na ubusin ang oras sa paghabol sa mga bagay na ngayon ay nariyan pero bukas ay wala na, mas maiging ubusin natin ang oras sa paghanap sa kalooban ng Panginoon. Ang kalooban ng Panginoon ay madaling hanapin. In fact nasusulat na sa Biblia. Kailangan lamang basahin, unawain at isapamuhay. Maraming Cristianong mas mahaba ang oras na ginugugol sa paghahanap ng kasiyahan at kaginhawaan. Hinahabol ngunit sa sandaling hawakan ay nadiskubreng hangin lamang. Walang substance. Hindi nagtatagal. Ilan ba ang naghanap ng kayamanan na later on ay hindi maenjoy because it comes at the cost of health? Aanuhin mo ang milyon kung limitado lamang ang pwedeng kainin? O kaya naman ay kapalit ang pamilya. Madalas na sa trabaho o negosyo kaya lumaki ang mga anak na hindi kilala. Ngunit kung uunahin natin ang Diyos, if we commit our w...

Confident because of God

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  Saan mo nilalagay ang iyong confidence ? Karamihan ay nilalagay ito sa kanilang reputasyon . Kaya kapag may damaging information tungkol sa kanlla, they squash it. Sapagkat hindi nila kayang mabuhay na may kasiraan ang kanilang pangalan. Ang iba naman ay natatago sa kanilang gawa kaya kahit gabi o Linggo, wala silang tigil sa paggawa. Their whole sense of worth ay nakatali sa accomplishment. Kaya kapag nakagawa ng kapalpakan, kahit hindi sinasadya o hindi maiiwasan, ito ay bumabasag sa kanilang confidence. Ang iba ay nakatali sa kayamanan . Tiwala silang humarap kahit kanino dahil sa kanilang palagay, ang kahit sino ay may presyo. Sa sandaling umihip ang hangin na nagdadala ng economic problems , sila ay natotorete. Ang mga ito ay karaniwang source of confidence, and none of these will stick when the time comes. To use Biblical language , this is like putting your weight on a broken reed In the end, it will pierce your hands and make you bleed. Since ang source ng confi...