One foot in front

May 16th, 2012 2 Comments | Iris

I have never joined a fun run or a marathon so I didn’t know what I was in for last Saturday when I joined our church’s activity. It was a 3km (I think it was more than that) stretch that tested my endurance, both physically and spiritually.

To put one foot in front of the other, to keep going, is one thing that we humans cannot do without any struggle — especially when the going gets tough. But, we have been implanted with eternity in our hearts, so to move forward is just as natural.

So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless. -1 Corinthians 15:58, NLT

I kept running, even though my lungs felt like exploding off my chest, even though my heart pumped extra harder and felt like it was going to give way. I put one foot in front of the other. One step at a time.

I realized my relationship with God is so much like a marathon. It’s not about how fast you get to the finish line, but the process of getting to the finish line. Do I cheat? Do I take a shortcut? Do I just hitch a ride when the going gets uphill?

God would ever be so concerned with how I deal with the peaks and valleys of my life, more than the victory that comes after it. Really? Really. The disciple James even said to count it a joy to suffer for your faith in God.

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. -James 1:2-3, NLT

…In this way, you imitated both us and the Lord. -1 Thessalonians 1:6, NLT

That was it. That’s the punch line. We need to be more like Christ —who endured the long road to Calvary, the hours of pain on the cross, the entire time not sinning  (and even forgiving!).

I am at a crossroads in my relationship with my God now. I have asked something whose future I know completely nothing about. Even though I have the capability to do something about it, I choose to do it His way. Even if that means standing in the dark for a while or getting hurt in the process. I know my God has my world in His hands.

Do I trust Him further into the unknown? Do I continue to claim His promises? Or do I just give up because this is exhausting? Maybe hitch a ride with whatever comes along the way?

I choose to put one foot in front of the other. Will you run with me?

 

 

 

Posted in And God, What's it like to be me
Read More »

When the line is drawn, which one are you?

April 26th, 2012 2 Comments | Iris

Today’s photo

 

—————

This morning I went off in a huff. The car got a good scrape while driving out of the garage, and I felt like blaming everyone within a 5-mile radius. I blamed my mom, who was also backing out the other car, that she didn’t give me enough clearance. I blamed the other car, that was sitting defenselessly outside, that it didn’t give me enough clearance. If I could even blame Thursday, I would have. It was an ugly morning.

After an hour later, I realized what I have just done. I have inadvertently made my mom feel bad and to top it off, some of our neighbors who saw the whole thing, also witnessed how I drove off like I was in the movie Fast and Furious. I felt more ashamed than concerned about the damage on the car (nothing that a good pounding and scrub off can’t fix). It was also at this point that I was questioned about my Christianity.

I found this link via Stef, about the “brand” Christian. The term is very broad, honestly. If you hear about God and you go to church, you’re a Christian. If you dutifully do all Christian duties, you are a Christian. If you praise and worship in church, you are a Christian. In whatever varying degree that you are involved with God or the church, you can be called a Christian. When you’re a Christian, you can believe anything you want, live however you want. (If you want to know where the term came from, I encourage you to listen to the 1st part of the message by Andy Stanley)

Broad. But we’ve completely missed the point. All this time, we knew and believed that Jesus wanted everyone to be “Christians”. I did, until about an hour ago. I realize now that we are called to know Him deeper and to know how He loved us, so that we can be His Disciples.

Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples. -John 13:35, NLT

Not just someone who is in the fold of Christianity. That could mean anything. Disciples, on the other hand, have specific tasks. They deliberately take the time to know how God loves and they demonstrate that love to others. That love is so central in following Christ that it took a special chapter just to enumerate the things it does and does not do (and it wasn’t just 1 chapter in 1 book that talked about love).

“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”

Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” -Matthew 22:36-40, NLT

Disciples take that commandment to heart so much that because of their actions they dare people to look at this kind of life — a life that is lived unselfishly and in love of God. It is so radical and contagious that people will begin to ask, “why is this person so forgiving of others?” or, “how can this person be so at peace at the face of such a problem?”, or “how can this person love such a stubborn person!?”, or “how can this person help when he has nothing?”.

That, my friends, is the effect that Jesus wanted from His disciples. So that others will know about Him. Not because you are good, or inherently patient, or that it contributes to the balance of your well-being, your karma, or your “chakra”.

My behavior this morning probably didn’t have that effect on my neighbors or my mom, unfortunately. I feel ashamed for it that I’m asking God’s forgiveness — and texting my mom to say I’m sorry.

As for my neighbors, I will probably see them again tomorrow as they watch me pull away from the garage. Then I will smile at them, and in case they ask me how that scrape is coming, I’ll just tell them it’s nothing that a good pounding and scrub off can’t fix.

When the line is drawn, which one are you? And I’m not even talking about the labels.

 

Posted in And God
Read More »

The earth will move

April 19th, 2012 No Comments | Iris

For I will shake the heavens.
    The earth will move from its place
when the Lord of Heaven’s Armies displays his wrath
    in the day of his fierce anger. -Isaiah 13:13, NLT

 

I don’t want to be all doom-and-gloom now, but the message of this video is just hard to ignore. More than being scared, I am actually in awe at how the world coincides with everything the Bible says. I mean, I’ve read about them, believe in them, but to actually see it happening, wow.

I am no expert in the theologies of the Bible or the Christian faith, but with conviction I know that He has also not left us clueless. He’s left us the Bible, those who can understand and preach it, those who go forth and spread the gospel of Christ. Many people write about it, blog about it, even sing about it. We just choose to ignore. For most, ignorance is bliss.

Ignorance is such bliss in fact, that we choose not to relate our worldly existence to the Divine. It’s science vs the godly. We think we exist in a bubble. One that relies heavily on science to explain itself, a to-see-is-to-believe kind of belief system, and a deeply pragmatic behavior to survive. We’ve lost all the desire to be awed, swept off our feet, or even surprised by a God who might actually be out there, somewhere.

We think that earthquakes and hurricanes and diseases are simply events of the world in itself. Nothing more, nothing less. Are they, really?

The events showed in that video are all evidence of something bigger, that’s what I think. Whether it’s global warming, or the melting of polar icecaps, or tectonic plates moving, there ‘s just something more going on here. They’re wake up calls.

Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires. They will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created.” - 2Peter 3:3-4, NLT

Right. There will be those who say that it’s been more than a thousand years and yet none of those prophecies have come to pass. A century more and they might even say the Bible is just a hoax.

But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. – 2 Peter 3:8, NLT

Simply put, our timetable does not work the same as God’s. Did you really think the universe was created in 7 days? Open your eyes, even the simplest of organisms is an amazing system of life. These things don’t happen overnight, nor do they exist just because.

Humanity is so comfortable in being able to explain everything that goes about them. Science and God have no connection whatsoever because science is pragmatic, God cannot be contained — He is detached, a mere spectator (or judge, or some Guy in the heavens). Oh why do we even believe that?

Science is God’s way of letting us understand! His ways are unfathomable and His wisdom is nothing compared to ours. And yet we attribute these things to the world and nothing more. Bliss. We don’t want to acknowledge anything more than that because that means an end to your usual beliefs, your ways, the way things have been for the past century.

But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment. -2 Peter 3:10, NLT

No one knows when the end will come for sure, but there’s also a wise advice for us who live in the here and now:

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.”[e] Jew and Gentile[f] are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” -Romans 10:9-13, NLT

Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live,

And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight. -2 Peter 3:11,14, NLT

We don’t have to exist in a bubble, you know. And if you’re already outside of that bubble, why not share the good news?

 

—-

If you have comments, suggestions, or violent reactions, do leave a message either thru the contact form below or here. I will try my best to answer. And in case you’re curious, I am a pastor’s kid (but only recently), I believe in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, and if you really really have to put a label on it, I’m a born again Christian.

 

Posted in And God
Read More »

A very small box

April 10th, 2012 2 Comments | Iris

This walk of faith, someone should have told me that it meant a daily giving up of my self. I know it’s already in the Bible, but still, someone should have warned me.

If I had known earlier, would I still have continued?

Yes.

Crazy, you.

My penance

My Penance - By Morks via Flickr

Just last week it dawned on me, that God is (or has been for a while) asking me to give up something very dear to me. I said, “Lord ang dami naman. Hindi pa ba enough yung mga na-give up ko na?”*

  I am giving up shallow happiness and gaining deep joy. -You Can Give Up

Believe it or not, there’s still so much to chip off your old self. Just when you think you’ve done it — changed for the better, given up some thing, learned to forgive — God reminds you there’s more. More changes to be made, more giving up to do, and beyond forgiving, to love more.

God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us. -Ephesians 3:20, The Message

I’ve been asking why I was put in this situation. I assumed I knew better with the change in environment that I embraced. The disappointment that came after is definitely unexpected. But do you know what I realize now? I’ve been feeling the walls of a very small box. One that I thought contained God’s plans for me and I was mistaken to have assumed that.

When you’re in a relationship with a Person who’s ultimately wiser than you are, you are bound to be disappointed. Because your assumptions and expectations of that Person and your relationship are very awfully miscalculated and small. Miniscule. Tiny. Microscopically undervalued. He is so much more than that. How could we think otherwise?

 

 

—-

* (Lord, that’s too much. Aren’t all the things I’ve given up enough?”

 

Posted in And God, Photoblogging
Read More »

Watch this: Tanikala 4 by CBN Asia

April 3rd, 2012 2 Comments | Iris

Here’s a plug for CBN Asia’s Tanikala, an annual TV Holy Week special recounting different people’s lives and how they were changed by God. There’s something for everyone, even teens. Here, watch:

Alden Richards plays a troubled young boy in Gapos

 

Amy Austria-Ventura portrays the life of Lupe in Unos, a mother who is bound by the chains of witchcraft and unforgiveness

*shivers down my spine*

 

Wasak is about a gospel singer whose dark past involves being hooked up with sex and drug addiction. Jonaver Luklukan is played by actor/host Icko Gonzalez

 

—-

This year, the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) Asia, producer of the weeknight inspirational TV program The 700 Club Asia, presents TANIKALA: ANG IKAAPAT NA YUGTO, another must-see Holy Week special airing April 5 to 7, 5:00 p.m. on GMA.

TANIKALA: ANG IKAAPAT NA YUGTO brings another batch of eye-opening films – Unos, Gapos and Wasak. On Maundy Thursday, veteran actress Amy Austria-Ventura will portray the life of Lupe in Unos, a mother who is bound by the chains of witchcraft and unforgiveness.

She shares, “I play the role of Lupe here, a loving mother to her children. But since her husband is unable to support the family, she also does witchcraft which she learned from her ancestors so she could earn money…but she is a good person. For the family, for her children…she’ll do anything whatever it takes.”

Meanwhile, on Good Friday, Gapos, introducing indie actor Junjun Quintana, recounts the life of Elmer Anibigno, a policeman and former leader of a notorious syndicate “Bulate Gang” in the 70s. Junjun considers Gapos his major acting break for TV, and he hopes to penetrate mainstream through this project.

The third story, Wasak, airing on Black Saturday, stars actor/host Icko Gonzalez. He will play the life of gospel singer Jonaver Luklukan, whose view of love became distorted when he was sexually-abused as a child, making him a sex and drug addict.

According to lead actor Icko, “Pastor Jonaver’s story can be an inspiration to many people who have been abused, whose lives have been broken, including mine, who need to hear that God wants to set people free and restore broken lives.”

TANIKALA: ANG IKAAPAT NA YUGTO also features one of GMA’s fast-rising stars Alden Richards, actors Bembol Roco, John Arcilla, Mike Lloren, Gerard Pizarras and Roselyn Perez, with Sonjia Calit and newcomer Christine Serrano.

TANIKALA: ANG IKAAPAT NA YUGTO is the fourth installment in the Tanikala series which started in 2009. Gapos and Unos are both written by Gin Sardea and directed by John Tan, while Wasak is written by Don and Icko Gonzalez, from the direction of Derrek Adapon.

Don’t miss TANIKALA: ANG IKAAPAT NA YUGTO on April 5-7, 5:00 p.m. on GMA. “LIKE” its official Facebook Fanpage www.facebook.com/tanikala4 for regular updates on Tanikala. •

For more information, please call:
Corporate Communications | (02) 812-4747
Local 424 (Edwin Arceo, edwin.arceo@cbnasia.org)

Local 408 (Len Tienzo, len.tienzo@cbnasia.org)

Posted in Movies, TV, Music
Read More »
« Older Entries
Premium WordPress Themes