Do Not Frown, Talk To God!

We often see ourselves frowning in different situations, like when we are facing heavy problems, or maybe because we just can’t find a reason to be happy. I believe that the fact that everyone of us are facing our own problems is the main reason why most people are wearing serious faces! Well, we see these people everywhere. They could be in your workplace, or in your school, or in your own home, or it could even be you!

But we also know that there are also those times where we could feel happiness even though we have huge problems. Like when you are hanging out with your friends, or your family, or maybe when you are playing a video game. But I want to tell this: Yes, these things can make you happy, but only for a short time. You can only feel happiness in that moment.

“Is there a way where we can feel happiness for a long time?”

I say yes. Let us just look at Moses in this verse:

“When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD.”
-Exodus 34:29, NIV

Now I believe that this is the only way: You have to talk to God! After Moses had spoken to God, his face was so radiant that he need to hide it with a veil. The radiance on his face lasted for a long time, even after he talked to the Lord and went down to the Israelites (Exodus 34:30). Unlike hanging out with your friends, or your family (I am not saying that you must stop doing these things), or playing with your video games, talking to God has a longer lasting effect of happiness which could be seen with the radiance on your face.

“So how can I talk to God?”

I can give you these three advices on how you can talk to God.:

1. Hear His Word

- Go to the church, or your cell group and listen to your pastor’s or leader’s preaching.

2. Read His Word

- Read your bible and do your devotions regularly.

3. Pray

- When you talk to Him, do it with an honest and humble heart. Tell to Him everything you wanted to say.

Now I believe that if you do these things, you will have the most radiant face among all your friends. Good day and God bless.

Original link for the photo: http://bizchaplainreflections.blogspot.com/2010/02/moses-radiant-face.html

David and the Stone

The story of David and Goliath has become a classic story that almost everyone knows, where the small guy, David, put down the giant Goliath with just a sling and a single stone. This story has become an ordinary story to me for almost all my years, but when I became a Christian, I have found out that this story is not just like the fairy tales we know. I have found out the deeper meaning of the story and the message that God wants to say to us, and I have to say that this has become a great revelation for me. I have also found out that the stone that David used to put down Goliath is not just an ordinary stone, because it is “GRACE”.

Most people look at “GRACE” as something small, like the stone that David used. But what these people don’t know is that this small thing, this “GRACE” is the only thing they need to put down all the giants (all kinds of problems and troubles) that are standing against them in their lives! Yes, “GRACE” is all you need to overcome.

Now, I want to make my point strong by showing you this verse, which happened before David faced Goliath.

“Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd's bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine”
-1 Samuel 17:40, NIV

If you observed the verse very carefully, I believe that you will have this question in your mind:

"If the stone is “GRACE”, then why did David took FIVE stones if ONE stone is enough to put down Goliath?"

Yes, I have told you that the stone is "GRACE", but I want you to know this: "GRACE" does not pertain only to that one stone that David used, but to these 5 stones that David picked! I want to tell you that in Bible numerology, 5 IS THE NUMBER OF GRACE.

"Now, if the “GRACE” is pertaining to the FIVE STONES, then why did David use only ONE?"

It is because “GRACE” is MORE THAN ENOUGH to put down Goliath. The “GRACE” is MORE THAN ENOUGH for you to overcome your struggles in life! The “GRACE” that God embedded inside of you is MORE THAN ENOUGH for you to overcome life! The only reason why you feel like you cannot overcome is that you are not putting your confidence in that “GRACE”. Imitate David, he put all his confidence to that stone, that is why he just needed one shot to put down that Goliath.

Now, do you want to be an overcomer? God has already given us the stone, His grace, which is Christ Jesus! All we have to do is to put all our confidence in His grace, in Christ Jesus. Jesus is our stone, and with Him nothing can stand against us.

And now, I want you to say this with all your heart: Jesus is in me. He is more than enough for me. He is greater than all of my troubles, and in Him, I will become an overcomer of my life.

If you believe in that with all your heart, then congratulations, you are an overcomer!


Original link for the photo: http://kingsenglish.info/2011/04/06/david-and-goliath/

Grace, Obedience and Salvation

Salvation exists because of God’s grace. We all know that it is because of the grace that we have been saved. It is an unmerited favor, something that is given to us that we do not deserve to get, but because of this, it was made known to us that it is not by our human efforts that we would be saved. But does that mean that we shouldn’t obey the Lord anymore? I believe, not. Let’s look at this verse:

Then the LORD said to Moses, "I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions.

-Exodus 16:4, NIV

This was said by the Lord at the time the Israelites were grumbling against Moses. At that time, they do not have any food to eat, but the Lord provided bread for them. If we look at the deeper meaning of this, then we would know that it is “GRACE”. Why did I say that this is “GRACE”? Well, the Israelites didn’t work to get the food, but it is the Lord who provided the food for them, that is why it is “GRACE”.

I want you to know that God has also given us the bread, which is His grace that I believe all of us have already taken. This bread is not just any ordinary bread, because it is the Bread of Life, which is Jesus Christ! At the time we received Christ in our lives, we know that we are already saved, but we must also know that we should still continue to obey even though salvation has been granted to us.

“We are already saved, why should we still obey?”

It is because Christian life is a continuous process, a long test given to us by God. Like what is stated in the verse written above:

“In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions”.

Therefore, we shouldn’t slack off in our lives even though we know that we are already saved. We shouldn’t continue on our sinful living. The Lord is still testing us if we would become obedient, and I believe that when the time of judgment comes, He will only grant the eternal life to those who had passed the test that He had given. I believe that eternal life would only be given to those who didn’t abuse the Bread of Life and become obedient the Lord.

Original link for the photo: http://susanbailey.org/tag/jesus-as-the-bread-of-life/

Stand Firm and Move Forward

Many of us people are like the Israelites at the time of Moses. How? Well, I’m going to start with this: The Israelites at that time were very afraid with the Egyptians, especially at the time where they were being chased by the Pharoah with his army near the Red Sea. We all know that the Egyptians only brings trouble to the Israelites, and we know that if the Egyptians get near to them, they would be killed. I want you to know that we are like the Israelites who are being chased. Well, not by the Egyptians, but by the troubles in life. We are afraid like the Israelites because we know that when trouble comes, it could ruin our lives. These troubles could even choke us and lead us into our own death. But do not be afraid! I tell you, we still have this chance for us to get out of these troubles.

Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.

-Exodus 14:13, NIV

If we look at the verse above, it is Moses who spoke to the people, not God. But the Lord talked to me in this verse, and told me that I could be Moses to you. And this is what the Lord wants me to say to you:

“Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The TROUBLES you see today you will never see again.”

I am encouraging you to stand firm with your faith to the Lord. It is all you need so that the troubles that would come into your life will never harm you. Keep the faith, the Lord will provide the deliverance. He will fight for you, like what Moses said in Exodus 14:14: “The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.

-Exodus 14:15, NIV

But of course, you must not slack off! You don’t want to be caught up by the troubles that would come, don't you? Then walk forward and away from it! Yes, the Lord will fight for you, but still, you need to do your part! Like what the Lord did to the Israelites, He made a way for them through the Red Sea, but still, the Israelites needs to walk through the path He created in order for them to go to the other side. Get my point? The Lord will provide a way for you if you stand firm with your faith to Him, but you must know that you need to move forward to the way He created for you. I want you to know that relationship with God is a partnership, He will do His part, but you must also do your part. Did I make any sense?

Oh wait, I also want you to know this: The troubles are afraid to the Lord! Yes! It says in the bible:

And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The LORD is fighting for them against Egypt.”

-Exodus 14:25, NIV

If the troubles see that the Lord is with you and is fighting for you, they would just stumble in fear because they know that the Lord will destroy them. You must know by now that our God is greater that any of all the things, even than these troubles. Our God is a warrior, and He is willing to fight for you. That is how God loves you. He will fight for you and destroy all of your worries. All you need to do is do your part, stand firm with your faith and move forward, away from these troubles.

Good day and God bless. :)

Original link for the photo: http://anniekatec.blogspot.com/2010/09/wind-could-have-parted-red-sea-for.html

How to become Christ’s follower?

What does it take to become a follower of Christ? I believe that following Christ does not do something with the religion, though I think many would say it is just as simple as that. Being a follower is not also about that label when you are called a “Christian”, because I believe that being a follower is about dying from your old self for the sake of Jesus Christ.

Then He called the crowd to Him along with His disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

-Mark 8:34, NIV

As Jesus said on the verse above, it is all about losing yourself. It is all about dying from your past, your old self in order to live for Christ’s sake! It is about leaving everything that is of worth for you behind in order that you would be given a new life, a life where Christ would be your ruler. For in Christ, there is life.

Jesus also said that we should take up our own cross along the way, until the very end. We would suffer many things in our lives because we choose to follow Christ. It is hard to do because we would go against the flow of the world! But only in this that we would rightfully be called a follower of Christ.

“For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.”

-Mark 8:35, NIV

It is very visible in our generation that many people are living for themselves. Studying to gain personal knowledge and working in order to gain money. I am not saying that it is bad to do these things, but I wish that they do these not for their own personal gain. If I look at the world right now, I could say that everything is all about “I”. Everything that these people do, it is all for themselves! Even in what they think, their worries, etc, it is still all about themselves.  But I believe that when the time come, probably when they are near the end of their lives, they would just end up saying: “I didn’t notice, I have wasted so much time in my life for all these temporary things”. And yes, that’s true. They would regret everything when that time comes, because they have invested so much on the things that are not eternal. All they can do at that time is to wait for their death.

But Jesus said that those people who will lose their lives for His sake will save it. If we live by His commands, go against the flow of the world, take up our own cross, preach the gospel in order to save souls, and follow Him all the way, we will never regret anything even when our time of death comes. Why? Because that death will only be the “physical death”! Jesus promised that those who can do these will be rewarded with eternal life!

Now, I want to ask you this question: Are you a follower of Christ?


Original link for the photo: http://www.turnbacktogod.com/10-signs-of-a-jesus-follower/

The Lord’s calling to His people

You must be asking at the back of your mind how God calls His people. Well, this is what the Lord revealed to me, step by step, about how He is calling His people.

1. God will first reveal Himself to you

“There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up.”

-Exodus 3:2, NIV

God revealed Himself to Moses in an extra-ordinary way, and that is through His angel in the burning bush. You must know that God also revealed Himself to you in an extra-ordinary way! God doesn’t reveal Himself to His people in just one way, but in many different extra-ordinary ways, though some thinks it’s just ordinary. It could be that He revealed Himself to you while you are walking down the street and then you saw a banner with a Bible verse written on it, or it could be a Godly phrase written on a jeep, or maybe a Godly message on your phone sent to you by your friend. These are just some examples of how God can reveal Himself, but you must know that there are still a lot, lot more ways that God can use to reveal Himself.

2. Your curiosity will draw you near to Him

So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”

-Exodus 3:3, NIV

Just like Moses, it is your curiosity that draws you near to the Lord! It is your curiosity that sparked the start of your relationship with Him. Why did I say that it is because of your curiosity? Well, in the point number 1, God revealed Himself to everyone in many different ways, but the problem is that most of these people does not even care! And those people will never, I say NEVER go near to Him, and the Lord will never call them.

3. The Lord will call you

When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”

-Exodus 3:4, NIV

You must know that the Lord only call those people whom he revealed Himself that are curious. So I am glad to say to you that the Lord called you! Yes, your curiosity about the Lord, it is just what He was waiting for so that He can call you! But for those who does not care about the Lord, then I’m sorry to say that they wouldn’t be called by the Lord UNLESS they become curious about Him at the time the Lord reveals Himself again to them.

4. The Lord will ask you to remove your dirt/filth

“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”

-Exodus 3:5, NIV

The Lord is holy, and he hates what is not pure. When the Lord called you, He wants you to remove first all your dirt, because He wants all those whom He called to be cleansed.

5. The Lord will give you His purpose for you

And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”

-Exodus 3:9-10, NIV

God has a purpose for you, and you will never be able to fulfill it unless you clean yourself. The Lord did not just call you for nothing, He called you so that He could reveal His purpose for you just like Moses! And I believe that the Lord’s purpose is for you to win the world and bring it back to Him. Now, it is up to you if you are going to accept His purpose for you or just waste what He is offering to you.

THE LORD’S PROMISE: "THE LORD WILL BE WITH YOU"

And God said, “I will be with you.

-Exodus 3:12, NIV

But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him. So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go.

-Exodus 3:19-20, NIV

The Lord will be with you! So don’t be afraid now and just accept His purpose for you! He has already declared victory to Moses when He revealed His purpose, and the same would be done to you! Receive the victory! Receive His purpose for you! WIN THE WORLD FOR THE LORD!

Good day and God bless.


Original link for the photo: http://threeminutebiblestudy.blogspot.com/2011/04/burning-bush.html

How GOD Promotes

Each and everyone of us wants to be promoted on the things we do, in our job, in the school, and etc. Most of us think that the only way that we would be promoted is if we stand-out among our co-workers, by exerting more work than all of them. Well, it is true that we must stand-out among our co-workers, but there was this guy in the Bible who stands-out without him exerting any too much effort.

The guy I was talking about was Joseph, one of the 12 sons of Jacob. At the time Joseph was living in Egypt, the Pharoah promoted him as the man who is in charge of the whole land of Egypt, the man next to the Pharoah. Earlier, I said that Joseph did not make any effort to get the promotion, but how did he make it to that very high position? The position he gained isn’t just an ordinary position at that time, because the position he got is equal or almost equal to the Pharoah. What did he do to gain it? Well, when I was reading my Bible, this verse caught me and gave me the answer. This is what Joseph said when the Pharoah asked him to interpret his dreams:

“I cannot do it,” Joseph replied to Pharoah, “but God will give Pharoah the answer he desires.”

-Genesis 41:16, NIV

With what Joseph said in the verse above, I could give you these facts:

1. It was GOD who did the job, but He has done it through Joseph.

-It was not Joseph who interpreted the dreams for the Pharoah, because it was God! Joseph knows that he was just used as an instrument of God for His purpose, and he just let God do the job through him!

2. Joseph was promoted because of the job that GOD has done through him.

-Because of God’s work through Joseph, Joseph was promoted as someone at the same level with the Pharoah. Joseph really did not do anything, he just let God use him!

With these things, I could say that God promotes those people who are letting themselves be used by Him. So, if you want to be promoted, then let God use you! You can never do everything on your own and by your own, but if you are with God, never worry, because it is God who will do the job for you and through you!

GREAT PROMOTION COMES FROM GOD’S WORK THROUGH YOU, SO LET HIM USE YOU!

Good day and God bless.


Original link for the photo: http://www.askmen.com/money/keywords/promotion.html

An Overcomer

Because of our faith in Christ Jesus, we have now gained our redemption and we are reconciled again with God. We have also gained access of God’s grace because of this faith we have. And because we already have access of God’s grace, we can now live our lives without any worries and become great overcomers. We can be happy in whatever we do! Even if we fall sometimes, because of God’s grace, we can still find the strength to rise.

“Not only so, but we also rejoice in our suffering, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”

-Romans 5:3-4, NIV

We don’t need to live a life of defeat again. Our faith in Christ will make us overcome every hardship that would come into our lives. We can now face any challenge with confidence because we know that we have God’s grace with us. The faith we put in Him will make us stand strong even when facing the heaviest storm.

“And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.”

-Romans 5:6, NIV

Our faith in Christ will help us build on our character when it comes into facing life here on earth. It gives us hope, that even in the most impossible situation, we can still find our way out. God also did not give the Holy Spirit to us for nothing. It serves as our guide as we live here on earth. It gives us wisdom, in which we need to use in every situation we would face, either easy or hard. It is the wisdom that comes from the Holy Spirit helps us build our Christ-like character.

“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we are still sinners, Christ died for us.”

-Romans 5:8, NIV

Being an overcomer is up for grabs for anyone. Christ has already died for everyone, so that anyone who believes in Him would experience the grace of God that would make us overcome. Gaining this is easy, just receive and have faith in Christ Jesus.


Original link for the photo: http://mcmnetwork.org/index.php?id=52

One Vision: One in Christ

It would be hard for a church and its members to grow if there is no unity. Of course, we know that every person in the church have their own lives, but we also know that they must be united when it comes to living their lives for Christ.

If the church has no clear vision, there would be divisions, and if there are divisions, how can the church move as one? First, the church must have its clear vision so that it could grow, and second, the members of the church must do their part for the success of the church’s vision, the vision of winning the world for Christ. If we want the church and its members to be united for this purpose, then they must share ONE VISION.

“I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.”

-1 Corinthians 1:10, NIV

What do you think will happen if the members of the church are divided? Of course, there would be conflicts inside, and that is because the church has no clear vision. The divisions inside the church could cause its people to walk separate paths, fighting for different goals. This is the reason why it’s not healthy for a church to have no clear vision. So what’s the solution to this problem of division?

In Philippians 2:2(NIV), Paul said:

“then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.”

There's the answer in that verse, we must be “like-minded”. What the vision of the church is must be the vision of its people. If we really want to win the world for Christ, then we must have the same turn of mind. The church, which is the body of Christ, is not just dependent to the pastor, but to its members too. The body will not move without us. Get my point? :)

WE MUST MOVE WITH ONE PURPOSE.

WE MUST WALK AHEAD TOWARDS ONE GOAL WITH ONE VISION.

Good day and God bless. :)

"I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
-Philippians 3:14 , NIV

Original link for the photo: http://andregwebdesign.com/oneinchrist

NOAH’S ARK: The Story of My Friends' and Family’s Salvation

In Noah’s time, the world was filled with men who were living for their own pleasure and evil desires. The Lord’s heart was filled with pain as He was looking at what had happened to the world and the men He created, and because of this, the Lord decided to wipe everything that lives on the face of the earth. BUT there was this one man, whose name was Noah, who has found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

Noah is a man who is unlike any other man who lives in his time. He did not follow the men’s wicked ways and was found blameless among them, and because of this, the Lord favored him. The Lord commanded Noah to build an ark so that he and his family would be spared from His coming wrath. Now, Noah, without any complaint, obeyed the command and built an ark. After Noah has finished building the ark, the Lord commanded him to enter it together with his family and the pairs of animals of every kind, both clean and unclean. Noah obeyed again without any complaint. After Noah has done everything the Lord told him to do, the great flood came and washed every living creature on the face of the earth, leaving no one alive. The flood lasted for 150 days, and only Noah and those who were inside the ark were saved.

I was amazed when I read this story of Noah in my bible. Why? Well, he and his family were the only ones who survived the wrath of God in their time! So what did Noah do that he was spared from the wrath of God?

1. Noah didn’t follow the wicked ways of men

“…Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.”

-Genesis 6:9, NIV

Noah is unlike any other men who lived in his time. He didn’t go with the flow and follow their wicked ways, but instead, he went against it and walked faithfully with God. This is the reason why Noah has found favor in the eyes of the Lord. (Genesis 6:8)

2. Noah obeyed the Lord

“And Noah did all that the LORD commanded him.”

-Genesis 6:22, NIV

Without any complaint, Noah obeyed everything that the Lord has commanded Him to do. He followed all of the Lord’s instructions on how he should build the ark and finished it. If he had not been obedient to the Lord, he would have shared the wrath of God together with the wicked men of his time.

With just these two things that Noah did, he was spared from the wrath of God. Wow. And not just that! The Lord also revealed to me what the ark, the animals, and Noah’s family means in my life! And these are the things the Lord told me:

Ø      The ARK is MY LIFE IN CHRIST

-Noah built the ark with full obedience and without any complaint, and the ark he built spared him from the wrath of God. Now, the Lord told me that if I build my life with full obedience to Him and His Son’s commands, He guarantees my salvation from His wrath that is about to come.

Ø      NOAH’S FAMILY is MY FAMILY

-It was just Noah who had found favor in the eyes of God. But because of this favor, the Lord told Noah that his family must also enter the ark with him so that they would also be spared from His wrath. The Lord told me that if I win my family and make them join me in my life in Christ, my family would also be spared from His coming wrath.

Ø      The ANIMALS are the people who will enter and will be a part my life.

-Every animal, both clean and unclean, that entered the ark of Noah was spared from the wrath of God. The Lord told me that every person, both good and not so good people whom I would win and would join me in my life in Christ would also be spared from His coming wrath.

Wow, wow, wow. This revelation and the promise that the Lord gave me made my heart pound very fast! These things that had been revealed to me gave me this great motivation to become more obedient to the Lord’s commands! Oh, yes Lord! I RECEIVE!

I WANT TO BE SAVED! I WANT MY FAMILY TO BE SAVED! I WANT EVERYONE WHO ENTERS MY LIFE TO BE SAVED!

Original link for the photo: http://www.garvandwane.com/religion/noah.html

What the Lord revealed to me about SIN

Before we commit sin:

Ø      WE FEEL NO SHAME

“The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.”

-Genesis 2:25, NIV

It was described in this verse that Adam and Eve felt no shame even though they were naked. Well, they were like this before they ate the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Now, at the time I’ve read this verse, the Lord told me that we are like them. He said to me that before we commit any sin, we feel no shame in ourselves, which is true. Well, how could we feel shame if we did not do anything wrong? Makes sense right? Hehe.

After we commit sin:

Ø      WE FEEL SHAME

“The eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.”

-Genesis 3:7, NIV

Now this is the part where we feel shame. Just like Adam and Eve in the verse written above, we would feel shame in ourselves after we realized that we committed a sin. We would try to cover up ourselves from this mistake, just like what Adam and Eve did.

Ø      LIFE BECOMES HARDER

To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”

-Genesis 3:17-19, NIV

In the verses written above, it was shown that God made the life harder for Adam because of the sin he committed. It is still very true for me until now because base on what I had experienced, it was harder for me to face the world and the Lord after I commit a sin. And also, The Lord revealed to me these things: Because of sin, we would carry burdens inside us that would make us suffer in our daily life, AND because of the sin we committed against our neighbor, we would make enemies that would do everything to make us suffer in our lives.

QUESTION: But what made us commit sin?

ANSWER: Because of the devil. The devil deceives us.

“…The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.””

-Genesis 3:13, NIV

In the verse written above, Eve said that she ate the fruit because she was deceived by the serpent. Now for us, it is also the same reason why we commit sin. We did not commit sin because it is what we want, but because the devil has deceived us.

QUESTION: What does the devil do to deceive us?

ANSWER: By making us believe that committing sin is good.

“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

-Genesis 3:4-5, NIV

The tactic that the serpent used to deceive Eve is that he used words that are sweet and pleasing to her ears. Now, we must know that it is also the same tactic that the devil is using deceive us. The devil is speaking in our thoughts saying that is good to do what is forbidden, or in Tagalog, “masarap ang bawal”.  The devil will say all of his sweet promises just to deceive us and making us fall into sin, not saying what the consequences would be. Now, we foolish people, without knowing the consequence of our actions, would follow what the devil says, making ourselves fall into sin and into our own sufferings. And this is how the devil attacks.

QUESTION: What should we do so that we would not be deceived by the devil?

ANSWER: Always remember and obey the Lord’s commands.

And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

-Genesis 2:16-17, NIV

The only reason why Adam and Eve fell into sin is because they did not obey the Lord’s command. They were easily deceived by the serpent because they forgot what the Lord has commanded to them.

Now, this is what the Lord told me so that I would not be deceived:

1. Always remember the Lord’s commands.

By this, we could easily identify if the devil is already trying to deceive us.

2. Obey the Lord’s commands

By obeying the Lord’s commands, we would not fall into sin.

This has been a great revelation to me, and because of this, I could easily identify sin and prevent myself from committing it. Now what are you waiting for? TRY IT if you don't want to fall into sin!

God bless. :)


Original link for the photo: http://www.artbible.info/art/large/515.html

Eternal life comes from PERSEVERANCE!

THE LORD’S PROMISE:

“… To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.”

-Revelation 2:7, NIV

The Lord promised me that I would gain eternal life if I overcome life. He also revealed to me these two points on what I should do to overcome.

WHAT SHOULD I DO TO OVERCOME?

1. Persevere on being obedient

“I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.”

-Revelation 2:3-4, NIV

The Lord spoke to me through these verses and gave me an encouragement to persevere more on following His commands. The Lord wants me to double my effort and become more consistent on my work for Him. Also, the Lord has promised me that all of the works I’ve done and will do for Him would not be useless, for He will remember all of them in the last days.

2. If I fall…

“Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.”

-Revelation 2:5, NIV

a.      REPENT!

The Lord told me that when the time I fall again into sin comes, I must go back to Him and repent. He told me that if I don’t repent, the lampstand(which represents the salvation that was already given to me) will be taken away. And I don’t want that to happen, I want to inherit eternal life!

b.      Get back up and CONTINUE THE WORK!

The Lord told me that after my repentance, I should get back up and continue with my work for Him. The Lord wants to get my perseverance on working for Him back, the perseverance I have left when I fell into sin. This is the reason why the Lord wants me to remember all of the works I have done for Him before.

All in all, I could say that only my perseverance can make me become an overcomer of life. I must always remember that if I want to inherit eternal life, I must first overcome my mortal life.

Imitate what is good!

“Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God."

-3 John 1:11, NIV

I was struck deeply when I read this because I believe that it is the Lord who talked to me in this verse.

The Lord told me that I should not be corrupted be the things of the world. He said that I must be zealous and continue on serving Him more. He wants me to be still with my faith even at the times I am surrounded by evil things.

Instead of letting myself be corrupted by these evil things and imitate them, the Lord told me to just imitate what is good. He told me this so that even though I am surrounded by evil things, I would know how to stand against them and rebuke them from corrupting my soul. With this, I realized that it is a great thing that I have been a part of a church which is consisted of good people who are living with the right doctrine. It is great that I am with them because it is through them that I know what I should imitate. The Lord also told me that by this way, by imitating what is good, I would be recognized as a man that comes from Him.

I do not want to imitate what is evil because I do not want to be categorized as someone who has not seen God. I do not want to become a Christian with a blind soul. I want to be recognized as a man that is from Him!

The Lord’s Command: TO LOVE

“And this is love: that we walk in obedience to His commands. As you have heard from the beginning, His command is that you walk in love.”

-2 John 1:6, NIV

All of the Lord’s commandments, both from the Old and New Testaments stresses out one point, and that is to love. I’ll use the Ten Commandments as an example. If we really understand the meaning of these Commandments given by God, then we know that it teaches us how to love God and other people.

WHAT THE COMMANDMENTS TEACHES ABOUT LOVING GOD:

The first four commandments:

-> The First Commandment tells us to love the ONLY ONE AND LIVING GOD. Just like a man who is loyal to his wife, same thing must be applied in our relationship with God.

(Exodus 20:2-3)

-> The Second Commandment tells us to love the nature of God of being unseen. This is the reason why God does not want to make images of Him.

(Exodus 20:4-6)

-> The Third Commandment tells us to respect the name of God. Well, how can we say that we love God if we blaspheme His name?

(Exodus 20:7)

-> The Fourth Commandment tells us to keep the Sabbath day holy. This is a special day made by God for us to get closer to Him. This day is our weekly date with God.

(Exodus 20:8-12)

WHAT THE COMMANDMENTS TEACHES ABOUT LOVING OTHER PEOPLE:

The last six commandments:

-> The Fifth Commandment tells us to respect our parents. Showing our respect to them, I believe, is the only way we could do in exchange of all the things that they did to us.

(Exodus 20:12)

-> The Sixth Commandment tells us to respect the lives of other people. Hurting other people is not an action done out of love.

(Exodus 20:13)

-> The Seventh Commandment tells us to give respect to the people from the opposite sex. God wants us to be sexually moral, both in our thoughts and in our actions.

(Exodus 20:14)

-> The Eighth Commandment tells us to respect other people’s belongings.

(Exodus 20:15)

-> The Ninth Commandment tells us to respect other people’s personal life. God wants us to live in the truth. He does not want us to destroy other people with slanders.

(Exodus 20:16)

-> The Tenth Commandment tells us to be contented with the things that we have. Being contented with what we have in our lives shows that we love and respect ourselves.

(Exodus 20:17)

With this, I could say that the Lord’s Commandments are not just law like many are thinking, but also are instructions to us on how to love.

Christianity: A Fellowship with God

“This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all.”

-1 John 1:5, NIV

Like what has been taught to us ever since in our childhood, we have known that God is good, pure and holy. We know that God, being the light, loves the righteous and hates the wicked. It was made known to us through the bible that God blesses those people who obey His commands and punishes those who does otherwise, like what had happened in Sodom and Gomorrah. And through the bible, the real nature of God was revealed to us.

“If we claim to have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.”

-1 John 1:6, NIV

Now for us who call ourselves “Christians” and are claiming to have fellowship with God, I think it is just right to say that we have no right to continue this fellowship if we are still living a life driven by sin. Why? Because Christianity is not just a religion or label we could just play with, for we are carrying the name of Christ. The problem today is that there are many people who claim that they are Christians, but are living against the will of God. The actions of these people are just bringing disgrace to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The word “Christian” means "a follower of Christ". Now I am confident to say that it is better for those people who are living against the will of God to stop calling themselves "Christians". Why? What do you think other people would now think about Christ if they saw a Christian living a life driven by sin? Of course they would think that Christ is also sinful, which He isn’t. We must remember that we are representatives of Christ here on earth, and Christ does not deserve such disgrace. I say that it is better for such men to stop claiming that they are "Christians", that is if they still choose to continue their sinful lives, for even though they are “Christians” by label, their “Christian life” is just a big lie.

“But if we walk in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.”

-1 John 1:7, NIV

So if we really want to have fellowship with God, then we must walk in the light. We must make every effort and strive to become holy. Yes, I know that it is hard to do this and we may fail in the middle of this journey. Even though we say that we are doing everything for the sake of holiness, there is still a possibility that we may commit a small, small sin. We must remember that a sin is still a sin, and man who sinned is considered unrighteous. But even though we have fallen into sin while we are in the middle of this journey, if we choose to rise and continue walking for the sake of holiness, we would be purified by the blood of Christ from these. And in this, we would experience the real fellowship with God.


Original link for the photo: https://rudyvrodriguez.wordpress.com/author/rudyvrodriguez/page/4/

Why the second coming of Christ does not come right away?

In 2 Peter Chapter 3, Peter described what it would be like in the last days, in the second coming of Christ. He said that there would be scoffers who will say, “Where is this coming’ He promised?”, denying Christ who saved them. They also forgot that the world was created by the word of God, and it is also by the word of God that the world will be destroyed, together with the ungodly men.

But even though the day of judgment is set for the destruction of the ungodly men, the mercy of God still remains. This mercy is the reason why the end does not come instantly.

“The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

-2 Peter 3:9, NIV

Now we can see how patient the Lord is to everyone, for He is still waiting for the repentance of the ungodly men. The Lord does not want anyone to perish! Now we can see how much the Lord loves us, even though all of us had become disobedient at least once in our lives. It is so overwhelming that the Lord remains faithful to every man, even though there are men who denies and blasphemes against Him. It is also very embarrassing for Him to see that there are people who repay His kindness with disobedience.

So what could we do to repay the Lord’s kindness?

“So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with Him.”

-2 Peter 3:14, NIV

All we have to do is to make every effort to become holy at His sight. Some say it is hard, and for most, impossible. But that is not the case for those who knew Christ, His mercy, His patience and His love for us. We accepted Him as our Lord for Him to take the wheel of our lives, and with Him we strive to become holy people. This is the reason why many people who were ungodly before was changed at the time they encountered Him.

It would not be hard for us to give our every effort into becoming holy, that is if we truly love Him and treasure His love within our hearts and minds.

“Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom that God gave him.”

-2 Peter 3:15, NIV

The Lord is just waiting for us, especially those people who went astray in their lives to go back to Him. So for those who haven’t accepted Christ in their lives, please don’t let this opportunity just pass away. Salvation only comes to those people who surrendered their lives to the Lord. And for us who were already in Christ, let us remain still until His second coming and not get caught by the currents of the world. The Lord is patient, so we must remain patient too.

The new generation's Timothy

“Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage – with great patience and careful instruction.”

-2 Timothy 4:2, NIV

In this verse, Paul instructed Timothy to preach the Word, and I believe that the youth of this generation are the new Timothy’s. As the new Timothy’s of this generation, we are instructed to preach with “great patience” and “careful instruction”.

Question: Why do we need to preach the Word?

1. To “CORRECT” the people’s way of living

-There are a lot of corrections needed to be done specifically on the people’s way of living nowadays. We can see that many people are selfish and worldly. Many are attached to the things of the world, but we must let them know that having expensive things or gaining success is not what life is all about. This is where we must jump in. We must preach about what life is really all about. That life is not all about working hard in order to get something and to become successful, but about having a relationship with God.

2. To “REBUKE” people from doing evil

-Old selfish desires and sins need to be stopped in order for people to change. Some of the people believes that what they normally do like smoking, drinking alcohol, having sex and taking drugs are not bad, but we must teach them that things like these will never do good in their lives. We must preach about immorality and its consequences so that they will know what they need to stop.

3. To “ENCOURAGE” people

-In our preaching, we must not just end up on giving the people knowledge about what is wrong, because if we do this we could just lower their confidence. Correcting and rebuking people from their mistakes are good, but in doing these, the people become more conscious of the mistakes they have done. Now this is where encouragement kicks in. We must encourage them so that they will have the fire to stop themselves from doing the wrong thing and do the right thing. We could not just see them walking with sad face after our preaching. Of course, we want to change them by encouraging them to do the right thing!

Question: Why should we have great patience and why should we give careful instructions?

Ø      We need to have great patience because we cannot change people instantly.

Ø      We need to give careful instructions because we could lead them into doing the wrong thing with our words.

So let me end up in this question. Do you think that you are the new Timothy of this generation? If you think you are, then go preach the Word! Good day and God bless.

In CHRIST there is a CHANCE!

“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst.”

-1 Timothy 1:15, NIV

If we look at the past life of Paul, we could really say that he is the worst of all the sinners. He waged war against God by persecuting everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ. But instead of being condemned by God in everything he did, Paul received forgiveness and was used to show the saving power of Christ. The power of God in which no one can run from. The power of God’s love that can forgive even the worst.

And this is a fact that many should know, that even if you think that you are the worst person in the world, you can still have your second chance if only you accept Christ in your life. We don’t need to be born again in the flesh so that we could change the way we live. We just need to be born again with the Spirit, baptized in Jesus name, so that we can have a new life. Just like what ate Faythe, our youth pastor said: “Christ is like our birthday, because in Christ there is always a CHANCE.”

“But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display His unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on Him and receive eternal life.”

-1 Timothy 1:16, NIV

I tell you this: You can NEVER run from the love of Christ! You can NEVER even hide from it! Whatever you do, the love of Christ will always be there running behind you. His forgiveness is always available. If you have committed a sin, you don’t have to backslide! Just face Christ, repent, and you can gain your redemption again. Christ is patient. Even if you are trying to run from His love for almost all of your life, He is just there waiting, until the time you are ready to face Him.

It is not Christ who is not ready to accept you, it is you who don’t want to accept Christ. Christ wants you to have a new life, but it is you who wants to be chained on your old life. Christ is giving you a second chance, but it is you who don’t want to give yourself a chance. BUT remember this, THERE IS NO CONDEMNATION IN CHRIST. Just face Him and make Him your Lord and Saviour. Christ gave up His whole life just for you to have a new life. All you have to do is to live the remaining time of your life for Him. Trust me that if you do that, you will never be the same again.

STAND FIRM!

“So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.”

-2 Thessalonians 2:15, NIV

All of Paul’s teachings were passed to everyone who believes in Christ from different generations through the bible and the church. Now for us believers, we must stand firm and hold on to the gospel and the teachings of Paul.

Question: We are already in Christ, so why do we need to stand firm and hold on to these teachings?

Yes, we were already saved at the time we received Christ in our lives, but Christian life does not just end in that. The question after receiving Christ must be “What’s next?”. Of course, our life does not just end in that. We know that when we go back to the world outside, temptations, pressures and struggles would be there trying to get us back to where we are before. They will try to put us back into our failures. BUT if we stand firm, we wouldn’t fall just like that. Why? Because we hold on to the teachings!

“May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who loved us and by His grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope.”

2 Thessalonians 2:16, NIV

All of the teachings that Paul passed to us is all about the grace of God, which is Christ Jesus. And if we stand firm in his teachings and the grace, we would have:

1. Eternal Encouragement

Ø      Encouragement that comes from our friends and family are not bad, but we must remember that they would not be there with us forever. Humans have limitations and we die, but encouragement that comes from the word of God is eternal, meaning, it will always be there. With the word of God, we would never be discouraged because we know that God is with us. Even if we fall sometimes, we know how to get back up. If we stand firm in the word of God, nothing can stand against us.

2. Good Hope

Ø      Before, when we don’t know God yet, we are just hopeless people. We would just cry out and have low self-esteem when we fail in something we do. But now that we know God, if we just hold on to all the teachings taught to us about Him and His Son, we wouldn’t be like that anymore. We would never lose hope because of His promises to us. Well of course, all we need to do is to fully believe in them. PLUS, our hope will not lead us to nothing because we know that our God is the God of truth, and He will do everything that He says. If we stand firm in His word, we would never be shaken by any struggles that come to our lives.

So brothers, stand firm with the word of God! Even if the largest storm enters in your life, just hold on to God and believe in Him. He will never fail you.

THREE TREES

I got this story from an email of my friend. That time, I was in office worrying a lot about lots of things inside and outside of work. But after I've read this story, it changed my entire mindset about life. This story is so powerful, that it changed my entire life. I hope you get inspired by reading this story too. :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once there were three trees on a hill in the woods. They were discussing their hopes and dreams when the first tree said, "Someday I hope to be a treasure chest. I could be filled with gold, silver and precious gems. I could be decorated with intricate carving and everyone would see the beauty."

Then the second tree said, "Someday I will be a  mighty ship. I will take Kings and Queens across the waters and sail to the corners of the world.  Everyone will feel safe in me because of the strength of my hull.

Finally the third tree said, "I want to grow to be the tallest and straightest tree in the forest. People will see me on top of the hill and look up to my branches, and think of the heavens and God and how close to them I am reaching. I will be the greatest tree of all time and people will always remember me."

After a few years of praying that their dreams would come true, a group of woodsmen came upon the trees. When one came to the first tree he said, "This looks like a strong tree, I think I should be able to sell the wood to a Carpenter, "and he began cutting it down. The tree was happy, because he knew that the carpenter would make

him into a treasure chest.

At the second tree the woodsman said, "This looks like a strong tree. I should be able to sell it to the shipyard." The second tree was happy because he knew he was on his way to becoming a mighty ship.

When the woodsmen came upon the third tree, the tree was frightened because he knew that if they cut him down his dreams would not come true. One of the woodsmen said, "I don't need anything special from my tree, I'll take this one," and he cut it down.

When the first tree arrived at the carpenters, he was made into a feed box for animals.

He was then placed in a barn and filled with hay. This was not at all what he had prayed for.

The second tree was cut and made into a small fishing boat. His dreams of being a mighty ship and carrying kings had come to an end.

The third tree was cut into large pieces, and left alone in the dark.

The years went by, and the trees forgot about their dreams.

Then one day, a man and woman came to the barn. She gave birth and they placed the baby in the hay in the feed box that was made from the first tree. The man wished that he could have made a crib for the baby, but this manger would have to do. The tree could feel the importance of this event and knew that it had held the greatest treasure of all time.

Years later, a group of men got in the fishing boat made from the second tree. One of them was tired and went to sleep. While they were out on the water, a great storm arose and the tree didn't think it was strong enough to keep the men safe. The men woke the sleeping man, and He stood and Said "Peace" and the storm stopped. At this time, the tree knew that it had carried the King of Kings in its boat.

Finally, someone came and got the third tree. It was carried through the streets as the people mocked the man who was carrying it. When they came to a stop, the man was nailed to the tree and raised in the air to die at the top of a hill. When Sunday came, the tree came to realize that it was strong enough to stand at the top of the hill and be as close to God as was possible, because Jesus had been crucified on it.

The moral of this story is that when things don't seem to be going your way, always know that God has a

plan for you. If you place your trust in Him, God will give you great gifts.

Each of the trees got what they wanted, just not in the way they had imagined.

We don't always know what God's plans are for us. We just know that His Ways are not our ways, but His ways are always best.

Are you blessed? Good day! :)

Original link for the photo: http://marcellapurnama.wordpress.com/2011/10/08/saturdays-story-a-tale-of-three-trees/