“Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” Proverbs 22:6

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” Psalm 139:13

For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks. Luke 6:45

DEAREST FRIENDS! :-D just wanna share a portion of my devotions from the book, “The Purpose-Driven Life”. This is by far one of the revelations that really made a great impact on me. Can’t help sharing this with you all! :-)

“The closer you grow to God, the more Satan will try to tempt you. The moment you became God’s child, Satan, like a mobster hit man, put out a ‘contract’ on you. You are his enemy, and he’s plotting your downfall.

Sometimes while you are praying, Satan will suggest a bizarre or evil thought just to distract you and shame you. (haha, so true. especially when you are at the peak of your prayer. Satan, you’re busted! :D)  Don’t be alarmed or ashamed by this, but realize that Satan fears your prayers and will try anything to stop them. Instead of condemning yourself with ‘How could I think such a thought?’ treat it as a distraction from Satan and immediately refocus on God.”

Ok friends??? :)) Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. 1 Peter 5:8 (The Message Translation)

And this one also blew me away:

“In one sense you can consider temptation a compliment. Satan does not have to tempt those who are already doing his evil will; they are already his. Temptation is a sign that Satan hates you, not a sign of weakness or worldliness. It is also a normal part of being human and living in a fallen world. Don’t be surprised or shocked or discouraged by it. Be realistic about the inevitability of temptation; you will never be able to avoid it completely. The Bible says, “When you’re tempted,…” not if…

It is not a sin to be tempted. Jesus was tempted, yet he never sinned. Temptation only becomes a sin when you give in to it. Martin Luther said, ‘You cannot keep birds from flying over your head but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair.’ You can’t keep the devil from suggesting thoughts, but you can choose not to dwell or act on them.” :)

:)) just kept me excited. haha! so gOoood to dwell on His Words! Remember, the real battle is not outside you, but actually within you. Temptation always starts in your mind, not in circumstances. So whenever the temptation to get angry, sad, impatient, depressed, stressed or pressured, confused, to hate, be in doubt, to curse, to fulfill a desire in a wrong way or at the wrong time, or to give in or give up arises, PRAY. Heaven has a twenty-four-hour emergency hotline. :)

GOD BLESS!!!!! :)

July 28, 2011

It was morning. I just came from my hospital night duty and was heading home for a restful sleep. As I told the driver, “Para!”, the jeepney didn’t halt at once. So I repeated, “Para!”, this time, louder. I was already meters away from where it was supposed to stop. It actually didn’t come to a full stop; it was still slowly moving. Right at the moment I was stepping out of it, the jeepney suddenly accelerated which caused me to lose my balance and drove me out of the jeep. I wasn’t able to control the momentum of falling off from it, and I wasn’t even able to land my feet onto the next step, causing me to drop myself directly to the ground and left me moving a bit forward because of that inertia. My sleepiness still didn’t lose hold of me. But as I lifted my head up, it disappeared, for my two eyes couldn’t believe what they were seeing. A bus was running toward me. In a split second, as if I had the power of speed, and as I resisted that forward motion that was driving me, I managed to step sideward RIGHT AWAY to my left to avoid the bus which was approximately inches from me. That moment lasted for half a second that my human impulse was just to ultimately AVOID that bus, and I did! That portion of a second of astonishment, nervousness, amazement, and thankfulness had passed. Despite the fatigue and sleepiness because of my lack of sleep in the laboratory, my senses were alert and I felt adrenaline rush within me. I didn’t look at the people behind me and bother myself to see their expected reactions, no, I was in a state of a timeless awe and wonder, “THAT WAS CLOSE!!!!!!!!!!!!”

I breathed with a breath of relief. I walked as if nothing happened. But in my mind, many words were speaking. One of them was “Thank You, Lord.”

He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me. Psalm 18:19

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1

:-)

A whole new revelation from God to me (June 16, 2011):

Simplicity is true. It does not deceive, it does not boast. Simplicity is our real nature.

Simplicity is not about being dull or being left behind by others. It is about being the real you, for we are made naturally out of humility and perfection.

Parallelize simplicity with the idea of a tree. A tiny seed that is barely appreciated at all, a speck as it seems, as simple as it is- that’s where a tree springs up. But behind the mere impression towards it is its genuine nature of having the visualization of a tree; that somehow and sometime, it will grow into a full-bloomed creation that only the Creator can make. Its beauty can be appreciated if we direct our eyes not on its beginning, but on the ends as it amazingly transforms into something it is supposed to be.

Simplicity has no standards at all for it is the standard in itself. Fleeting beauty has standards for which the competing pride obliges ornateness, and so does not give contentment. You’ll always be wanting more and more to be “beautiful” and “presentable” before people’s eyes. And so, you deceive yourself.

Anything that is outside simplicity is pride… pride that eats your true beauty. It deceives, it kills. Consume it before it consumes you. Unknowingly, we are depleted by varied constraints that our physical and rational nature compel. We are constrained by competitions, who-is-better-than-whom, or who is the ‘superlative’. And behind these concepts, we unconsciously totally forget about the truth that is written all over our faces. :-)

Be blessed because God loves you (so much) for who you are! :-D

Nung una, RH Bill. Ngayon naman, divorce bill. Seriously, do they even think of the gravepossibilities and consequences that can happen if those bills are passed? Filipinos, wake up! RH Bill simply proposes immorality and (sentiments aside) the hardness and coldness of people’s conscience. Right from its most basic and obvious effect, it mutilates the physical body of women and what’s more, it entails serious illnesses that can possibly end in death. What is so good about that? Yes, it came into existence as an idea of alleviating poverty and miserable economical status of many Filipinos; but did it also cross their mind that whatever their good intentions may be, heavy consequences may arise? The end doesn’t justify the means. Stop corruption, not population.

Now regarding divorce, is it really the RIGHT solution for today’s Filipino families? Of course, we’re not ignorant of the present dilemma of abused and abandoned wives, the hurts that a spouse gets due to infidelity and adultery. However, everything can be fixed if only the two persons involved are open-minded and humble enough to admit their mistakes. Yes, if there really is no apparent solution to a critical problem, the best way is to just surrender. Take note, surrendering not your commitment but rather your pride and and your grudge. BUT divorce is, in any way, not used for the advantage of wanting another spouse and fulfilling their earthly desire of just looking for some-one/thing new. How about those families who are on the verge of giving up, of giving up their commitment and responsibilities that they’ve promised? Just because divorce is legalized, it is so much easier for couples to just throw away the pactthat they’ve made, the family that they’ve built together, the lovethat they’ve received as a divine gift. Take a look at this conversation of Jesus with Pharisees in Mark 10:

Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”

“What did Moses command you?” he replied.

They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.”

 ”It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied. ”But at the beginning of creation God made them male and female. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this. He answered, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.”

Then it is clear. Let’s open our hearts to these Words. No one can defy what God has decreed- not even the earthly bills that human beings make.

NO TO RH BILL! “Harapan” debate on abs pointed out: “The RH Bill proposes abortive fashion!” I’m not despising opinions from the pro but they just can’t get the meaning of “life” that starts at conception. Being a pro-life means protecting it even from the most minute form, and intervention of contraceptives basically destroys it! *sigh.. Whatever the decision of anyone may be, rely on the Scriptures because only through it that we can know what is and is not a sin. I stand on Hisconviction!

If I had eyes to see what’s beyond time, do I still have to see what’s in the present? If I had hands to feel what’s out of reach, do I still need to touch the reality? Yet my heart seems to understand more, lest I guard it well…

What do you feel right now? Are you happy or sad? Are you lonely or enjoying the company of others? Are you enthusiastic or frustrated about life? Are you at peace or distracted? Or are you emotionless or having a blank mind that you can’t define what you really feel, what you really want? Or maybe are you even passionate about attaining a certain goal or are you feeling hopeless and helpless for something that you desire? Whatever it is, it is your mind that’s telling you to feel that way.

Feelings are a person’s immediate response to certain circumstance. It is brought about by human compulsion. It comes as it is, and it gushes out from your inner self, the way our Creator has made you: a sensitive being. But feelings are different from rationality. He created you not only to be sensible and emotional but also to be rational, to be intellectual, to be wise, to being able to make your own choices and weigh things based on the foundations of TRUTH.

Your conviction and your stronghold define your rationality. Your feelings are dependent on your unconsciousness and irrational motive but your choices are woven by the active mind and are always built on your consciousness; thus, you cannot rely on your feelings alone for they can deceive you. Our mind is the playground of the enemy. But you can always depend on your decisions, for they are being made with a strong belief about something. However, not all choices are beneficial and right. Again, you decide based on your faith and your stand.

If the time comes that your feeling and choice disagree with each other, don’t be confused. Search for the right thing to do. Put away selfishness, doubt, and pride. They can do you no good. Jesus said, “Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.” CHOOSE the good thing, CHOOSE the right thing. Love is not about having feelings toward someone, but by choosing the real one through sacrificing. Love is not rude, it is not self-seeking. By being in-love, you learn how to be patient, to be kind, to be humble, to be trusting, hopeful, persevering. By being in-love, you learn how to embrace the real calling instructed to you even before you were born. By being in-love, you learn how to see the unseen, how to be broken in things that breaks His heart, you understand the LOVE that Jesus had showed us- by Him dying on the cross because of our sins.

By then, as you choose to love, He will keep you strong until the end, for He is faithful.

“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” Proverbs 4:23

(I got this story from a very close friend of mine and I never hesitated to share this with you. May God bless you as you read this. :-)

There once was a man named George Thomas, pastor in a small New England town. One Easter Sunday morning he came to the Church carrying a rusty, bent, old bird cage, and set it by the pulpit. Eyebrows were raised and, as if in response, Pastor Thomas began to speak…’I was walking through town yesterday when I saw a young boy coming toward me swinging this bird cage. On the bottom of the cage were three little wild birds, shivering with cold and fright. I stopped the lad and asked, ‘What you got there, son?’ ‘Just some old birds,’ came the reply.

‘What are you gonna do with them?’ I asked.

‘Take ‘em home and have fun with ‘em,’ he answered ‘I’m gonna tease ‘em and pull out their feathers to make ‘em fight. I’m gonna have a real good time’ ‘But you’ll get tired of those birds sooner or later. What will you do?’

‘Oh, I got some cats,’ said the little boy. ‘They like birds. I’ll take ‘em to them.’

The pastor was silent for a moment. ‘How much do you want for those birds, son?’

‘Huh??!!! Why, you don’t want them birds, mister. They’re just plain old field birds. They don’t sing. They ain’t even pretty!’

‘How much?’ the pastor asked again.

The boy sized up the pastor as if he were crazy and said, ‘$10?’

The pastor reached in his pocket and took out a ten dollar bill. He placed it in the boy’s hand. In a flash, the boy was gone.

The pastor picked up the cage and gently carried it to the end of the alley where there was a tree and a grassy spot. Setting the cage down, he opened the door, and by softly tapping the bars persuaded the birds out, setting them free.

Well, that explained the empty bird cage on the pulpit, and then the pastor began to tell this story.

One day Satan and Jesus were having a conversation. Satan had just come from the Garden of Eden, and he was gloating and boasting. ‘Yes, sir, I just caught the world full of people down there. Set me a trap, used bait I knew they couldn’t resist. Got ‘em all!’

‘What are you going to do with them?’ Jesus asked.

Satan replied, ‘Oh, I’m gonna have fun! I’m gonna teach them how to marry and divorce each other, how to hate and abuse each other, how to drink and smoke and curse. I’m gonna teach them how to invent guns and bombs and kill each other. I’m really gonna have fun!’

‘And what will you do when you get done with them?’ Jesus asked. ‘Oh, I’ll kill ‘em,’ Satan glared proudly. ‘How much do you want for them?’ Jesus asked.

‘Oh, you don’t want those people. They ain’t no good. Why, you’ll take them and they’ll just hate you. They’ll spit on you, curse you and kill you. You don’t want those people!!’

‘How much?’ He asked again.

Satan looked at Jesus and sneered, ‘All your blood, tears and your life.’

Jesus said, ‘IT IS DONE.’

And the price is paid.

The pastor picked up the cage he opened the door and he walked from the pulpit.

———————————————————————————————————————-

Isn’t it funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world’s going to hell?

Isn’t it funny how someone can say ‘I believe in God’ but still follow Satan (who, by the way, also ‘believes’ in God)?

Isn’t it funny how you can send a thousand jokes through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing?

Isn’t it funny how when you go to forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you’re not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it to them?

Isn’t it funny how I can be more worried about what other people think of me than what God thinks of me?

Why is it so hard to tell the truth but yet so easy to tell a lie?

Why are we so sleepy in church but right when the sermon is over we suddenly wake up?

Why is it so hard to talk about God but yet so easy to talk about nasty stuff?

Why is it so boring to look at a Christian magazine, but yet so easy to look at a nasty one?

Why is it so easy to delete a Godly e-mail, but yet we forward all of the nasty ones?

Why are the churches getting smaller but yet the bars and dance clubs are getting larger?

———————————————————————————————————————-

You are not nothing. JESUS paid a price for your life. Don’t waste it for the world. You are a treasured possession. YOU belong to Him.

Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. John 15:13

Why do I want to do bad?” my daughter asked me, unknowingly posing a question asked by many seekers of truth. “Why do I do the thing I hate? What is this ape that gibbers within?” Or, perhaps a more basic question is being asked. “If sin separates me from God, why doesn’t God separate me from sin? Why doesn’t he remove from me the option to sin?”

To answer that, let’s go to the beginning.

Let’s go to the Garden and see the seed that both blessed and cursed. Let’s see why God gave man … the choice.

Behind it all was a choice. A deliberate decision. An informed move. He didn’t have to do it. But he chose to. He knew the price. He saw the implications. He was aware of the consequences.

We don’t know when he decided to do it. We can’t know. Not just because we weren’t there. Because time was not there. When did not exist. Nor did tomorrow or yesterday or next time. For there was no time.

We don’t know when he thought about making the choice. But we do know that he made it. He didn’t have to do it. He chose to.

He chose to create.

“In the beginning God created … ”

With one decision, history began. Existence became measurable.

Out of nothing came light.

Out of light came day.

Then came sky … and earth.

And on this earth? A mighty hand went to work.

Canyons were carved. Oceans were dug. Mountains erupted out of flatlands. Stars were flung. A universe sparkled.

Our sun became just one of millions. Our galaxy became just one of thousands. Planets invisibly tethered to suns roared through space at breakneck speeds. Stars blazed with heat that could melt our planet in seconds.

The hand behind it was mighty. He is mighty.

And with this might, he created. As naturally as a bird sings and a fish swims, he created. Just as an artist can’t not paint and a runner can’t not run, he couldn’t not create. He was the Creator. Through and through, he was the Creator. A tireless dreamer and designer.

From the pallet of the Ageless Artist came inimitable splendors. Before there was a person to see it, his creation was pregnant with wonder. Flowers didn’t just grow; they blossomed. Chicks weren’t just born; they hatched. Salmons didn’t just swim; they leaped.

Mundaneness found no home in his universe.

He must have loved it. Creators relish creating. I’m sure his commands were delightful! “Hippo, you won’t walk … you’ll waddle!” “Hyena, a bark is too plain. Let me show you how to laugh!” “Look, raccoon, I’ve made you a mask!” “Come here, giraffe, let’s stretch that neck a bit.” And on and on he went. Giving the clouds their puff. Giving the oceans their blue. Giving the trees their sway. Giving the frogs their leap and croak. The mighty wed with the creative, and creation was born.

He was mighty. He was creative.

And he was love. Even greater than his might and deeper than his creativity was one all-consuming characteristic:

Love.

Water must be wet. A fire must be hot. You can’t take the wet out of water and still have water. You can’t take the heat out of fire and still have fire.

In the same way, you can’t take the love out of this One who lived before time and still have him exist. For he was … and is … Love.

Probe deep within him. Explore every corner. Search every angle. Love is all you find. Go to the beginning of every decision he has made and you’ll find it. Go to the end of every story he has told and you’ll see it.

Love.

No bitterness. No evil. No cruelty. Just love. Flawless love. Passionate love. Vast and pure love. He is love.

As a result, an elephant has a trunk with which to drink. A kitten has a mother from which to nurse. A bird has a nest in which to sleep. The same God who was mighty enough to carve out the canyon is tender enough to put hair on the legs of the Matterhorn Fly to keep it warm. The same force that provides symmetry to the planets guides the baby kangaroo to its mother’s pouch before the mother knows it is born.

And because of who he was, he did what he did.

He created a paradise. A sinless sanctuary. A haven before fear. A home before there was a human dweller. No time. No death. No hurt. A gift built by God for his ultimate creation. And when he was through, he knew “it was very good.”

But it wasn’t enough.

His greatest work hadn’t been completed. One final masterpiece was needed before he would stop.

Look to the canyons to see the Creator’s splendor. Touch the flowers and see his delicacy. Listen to the thunder and hear his power. But gaze on this—the zenith—and witness all three … and more.

Imagine with me what may have taken place on that day.

He placed one scoop of clay upon another until a form lay lifeless on the ground.

All of the Garden’s inhabitants paused to witness the event. Hawks hovered. Giraffes stretched. Trees bowed. Butterflies paused on petals and watched.

“You will love me, nature,” God said. “I made you that way. You will obey me, universe. For you were designed to do so. You will reflect my glory, skies, for that is how you were created. But this one will be like me. This one will be able to choose.”

All were silent as the Creator reached into himself and removed something yet unseen. A seed. “It’s called ‘choice.’ The seed of choice.”

Creation stood in silence and gazed upon the lifeless form.

An angel spoke, “But what if he … ”

“What if he chooses not to love?” the Creator finished. “Come, I will show you.”

Unbound by today, God and the angel walked into the realm of tomorrow.

“There, see the fruit of the seed of choice, both the sweet and the bitter.”

The angel gasped at what he saw. Spontaneous love. Voluntary devotion. Chosen tenderness. Never had he seen anything like these. He felt the love of the Adams. He heard the joy of Eve and her daughters. He saw the food and the burdens shared. He absorbed the kindness and marveled at the warmth.

“Heaven has never seen such beauty, my Lord. Truly, this is your greatest creation.”

“Ah, but you’ve only seen the sweet. Now witness the bitter.”

A stench enveloped the pair. The angel turned in horror and proclaimed, “What is it?”

The Creator spoke only one word: “Selfishness.”

The angel stood speechless as they passed through centuries of repugnance. Never had he seen such filth. Rotten hearts. Ruptured promises. Forgotten loyalties. Children of the creation wandering blindly in lonely labyrinths.

“This is the result of choice?” the angel asked.

“Yes.”

“They will forget you?”

“Yes.”

“They will reject you?”

“Yes.”

“They will never come back?”

“Some will. Most won’t.”

“What will it take to make them listen?”

The Creator walked on in time, further and further into the future, until he stood by a tree. A tree that would be fashioned into a cradle. Even then he could smell the hay that would surround him.

With another step into the future, he paused before another tree. It stood alone, a stubborn ruler of a bald hill. The trunk was thick, and the wood was strong. Soon it would be cut. Soon it would be trimmed. Soon it would be mounted on the stony brow of another hill. And soon he would be hung on it.

He felt the wood rub against a back he did not yet wear.

“Will you go down there?” the angel asked.

“I will.”

“Is there no other way?”

“There is not.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier to not plant the seed? Wouldn’t it be easier to not give the choice?”

“It would,” the Creator spoke slowly. “But to remove the choice is to remove the love.”

He looked around the hill and foresaw a scene. Three figures hung on three crosses. Arms spread. Heads fallen forward. They moaned with the wind.

Men clad in soldiers’ garb sat on the ground near the trio. They played games in the dirt and laughed.

Men clad in religion stood off to one side. They smiled. Arrogant, cocky. They had protected God, they thought, by killing this false one.

Women clad in sorrow huddled at the foot of the hill. Speechless. Faces tear streaked. Eyes downward. One put her arm around another and tried to lead her away. She wouldn’t leave. “I will stay,” she said softly. “I will stay.”

All heaven stood to fight. All nature rose to rescue. All eternity poised to protect. But the Creator gave no command.

“It must be done … ,” he said, and withdrew.

But as he stepped back in time, he heard the cry that he would someday scream: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” He wrenched at tomorrow’s agony.

The angel spoke again. “It would be less painful … ”

The Creator interrupted softly. “But it wouldn’t be love.”

They stepped into the Garden again. The Maker looked earnestly at the clay creation. A monsoon of love swelled up within him. He had died for the creation before he had made him. God’s form bent over the sculptured face and breathed. Dust stirred on the lips of the new one. The chest rose, cracking the red mud. The cheeks fleshened. A finger moved. And an eye opened.

But more incredible than the moving of the flesh was the stirring of the spirit. Those who could see the unseen gasped.

Perhaps it was the wind who said it first. Perhaps what the star saw that moment is what has made it blink ever since. Maybe it was left to an angel to whisper it:

“It looks like … it appears so much like … it is him!”

The angel wasn’t speaking of the face, the features, or the body. He was looking inside—at the soul.

“It’s eternal!” gasped another.

Within the man, God had placed a divine seed. A seed of his self. The God of might had created earth’s mightiest. The Creator had created, not a creature, but another creator. And the One who had chosen to love had created one who could love in return.

Now it’s our choice.