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Last night, as I was watching television (the evening news to be exact)… I saw a segment that featured tips on how to welcome the Chinese new year. And since I was just surfing the channels, I decided to stop for a moment and see what makes this portion “newsworthy”.
Feng shui experts started giving their advice on how to bring in “good luck” and how to fend off negative vibes. Rolling fruits on the floor just before the stroke of midnight and writing your wishes on paper and tucking them inside a small chest (container) wrapped in aluminum foil… posting good luck stickers on doors and displaying a particular type of buddha figurine.
Ok, so maybe the Chinese have a bunch of beliefs in order to attract fortune and prosperity… but what I saw on television were Filipinos… Catholics and renewed Christians alike listening to feng shui experts!
The most common phrase I heard from most of these “so-called” practicing Christians when asked why they follow these Chinese feng shui rituals: “Wala namang mawawala eh” (in english, “There’s nothing to lose”).
On the contrary, MUCH is to be lost! Haven’t they read the Ten Commandments? They need not go through the entire list to figure out that what they’re doing is an abomination to the Lord. The first part of the list states:
Do not have any other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God.
Now tell me, how does believing in superstition, in other religions and beliefs (such as feng shui) and all the rituals that go along with it not equate to idolatry? Doesn’t that clearly violate what God so clearly commands of us Christians?
To put things in perspective… let’s pretend you’re married to someone (assuming you still aren’t)… what you clearly expect from your spouse is that he/she be faithful to you… to not falter or waver but to be steadfast. Then one day you learn that your spouse has started to “play the field” so to speak… and starts dating other people… her reason being that he/she needs a fallback in case you fall short or aren’t able to deliver on your promises. How would that make you feel? Then he/she ultimately justifies it by saying “Wala namang mawawala, eh” (”There’s nothing to lose”)…
Tell me… is there really nothing to lose?
The Lord never said, “Do not have any other gods before me… but just to play it safe, it’s ok to also put your faith on good luck ornaments, crystals, figurines, coins and mystic advice in case I fail to deliver.”
God delivers. Indeed, He most certainly does… to those who are faithful and obedient. You see, His love is unconditional… but His promises aren’t.
You can be the most generous person during offertory… even the most consistent tither, but without obedience… it is all for naught. Without absolute obedience, sacrifice is empty.
In 1 Samuel 15:22 it reads:
“Does the LORD so delight in holocausts and sacrifices as in obedience to the command of the LORD? Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission than the fat of rams.”
Total surrender to our Heavenly Father is not just something that is said… it isn’t just something that comes out of your mouth… it is an everyday decision… a continuous and conscious effort… a daily act that you must carry out every minute of your life.
Remember, we (Christians) aren’t called the “bride” of Christ for nothing. The Lord expects nothing less than absolute and unconditional faithfulness to Him.
To be recognized as a Christian is not simply in being tagged or labeled as one… it is in how you live your life.
There is no such thing as a pseudo-Christian… or a semi-Christian. Either we’re Christians or we aren’t. There is NO middle ground. No compromise. No “playing it safe”
Try as they may, there is no possible justification to these acts. Nothing. Only complete and total repentance.
Because if they, as Christians, believe in life everlasting…
…there is EVERYTHING to lose.
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Yesterday (Saturday), I left around 8:30AM from the Elim Global Headquarters and headed off to Famy, Quezon with some of my Elim friends. We headed there to do an ocular and at the same time shoot a testimonial by a couple who are regular Elim dwellers that live there.
The trip was fun… being that I enjoyed long trips, the travel to our destination was something I was eagerly looking forward to even the day before our departure. On our way there, it was just me, Jayp, Maricar and Sis. Lory Lina (wife of Joey Lina).
We took the Antipolo route… the roads were paved… the path was winding… and the view was just wonderful. Lots of green fields and open space… mountains and vast plains of grass and trees.
We finished the shoot, exchanged pleasantries with other Elimites and had some really tasting “ginataan” (I had 3 servings!) and chicharon before heading to Siniloan.
Lunch was spent eating at a Jollibee branch in the same province with Elim friends as well. We headed back at around 2PM and arrived in Manila at roughly 4:30PM.
It was a pretty long trip but spent fruitfully as everything we did was for the Lord and for His glory.
And though the travel back and forth was pretty tiring… I wouldn’t have traded it for any of my favorite pastimes.
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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!
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This particular Christmas of 2007 was probably one the least spent on in terms of money as far as I could remember. Not by choice but by circumstance… and yet, it was THE best Christmas we, as a family, have ever had!
It gave us an opportunity to truly focus our hearts and minds to the true essence of this season… to reflect on the sole reason why we all celebrate this joyous occasion. We went to our around 6pm and had our Christmas Mass there. Wonderful presentation! The 1st and 2nd “readings” were performed… not just read aloud. The Gospel and all the other parts of the mass were spectacularly executed…! I’ll bet nowhere else in the metro could have probably topped the Christmas mass Elim prepared for us dwellers and family.
It provided for an air of hope and love for the coming of the Savior that evening. The choir (music ministry) and their instruments (complete with timpani, strings… the works!) helped lift the spirits of everyone in the Auditorium… it gave me goosebumps all throughout the event.
And even though we didn’t really have much… it seemed as if there was actually more for all of us! More gifts under the tree… blessings of food… provisions from the Lord who is never late.
Indeed… only when we are truly empty can the Lord our God fill us up entirely. That is what exactly happened this Christmas… everything was made unto good once we surrendered everything to Him.
A little before Christmas eve, we went back to our center since we were invited to celebrate with close friends and dwellers. We had our “Noche Buena” (Midnight Dinner) there and a small program was prepared to the delight of everyone who attended.
Christmas never felt this good. Christmas never had such real and deep meaning to me till this year when I renewed my faith.
I have a whole lot to be thankful for… and it’s all because of the Lord. This new found personal relationship I have with Him has made me truly realize what is and isn’t important in life… what aspects of my life should take a backseat and which He desires that I put more importance to.
We may all know the Nativity story wherein Jesus was born in a manger during this most glorious night… and though I may have celebrated Christmas every single year of my entire existence… only this year has Christmas been truly born in my heart for Christ to rule and reign absolutely over my life.
May you experience the same revelations that the Lord has opened up to me…
May you develop a deep and personal relationship with our God… the kind of relationship that Jesus has so very much longed for from us…
And may everyone realize that the Christmas spirit is experienced not just in December, but each and everyday by those who truly embrace the Lord’s unconditional love.
May Christmas happen in your hearts now and for all eternity.
“Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”
