Faithful one

December 26, 2007
I am just so amazed on how God is faithful to His servants (even though His servants are often times unfaithful).

If by chance you are like me, you might get what i'll be saying in this blog entry.

Many times i get in a situation that can compromise my witness and my stand for the truth. But many times God rescues me through them to preserve me and to answer my prayers.

Just a few weeks ago we had our Engineering dept. Christmas party in a private pool. My boss and his coleague were talking of getting a customer to sponsor the party with plenty of booze, clowns (the kinds that roam in the night), and food. It troubled me so much to find out that there will be these things in the party. I wanted to have that bonding moment with my coworkers (as i still have lots to learn from them), but i want to stay away from those things that they are talking about (except for the food part).

The day came and everything was "set" and i was thinking to myself 
Me: i have to come up with a good excuse. come on aria think!
Evil Me: Oh come on! it's just for one night. and no one from the church will know.
Me: But it will ruin my witness...
Evil Me: it's OK, they don't deserve to be saved anyway
Me: i love my God and i don't want to hurt him
Evil Me: so what are you gonna do now? Stand up for your faith and forever be alone? You hate being alone.... YOU FEAR BEING ALONE.

and the battle went on and on...

Then for whatever reason, the customers that was suppose to come to the party where not available that night and begged off to come. Which meant that there will be no Clowns in the party! WHHHEEEWWW!
The only problem now is the booze... i was amazed to find out that my coworkers in that department are not heavy drinkers (most of them do not drink either). I was so blessed to know this. Some of our workers in the plant (who loves to drink their guts out) came to the party, and they where the ones who finished off the barrel of booze.

I was thanking God that night for saving me during my weakest time. It's not always that I am UP and HIGH in my faith, many times I am down in my face and barely crawling my way out of the mud. But my God is faithful and Just to keep my head up in times where the only thing that i can do is bow down.

Heart surgery

September 23, 2009

Sin will always sneak up in the Darkest corner of the heart.
It is a plague or a disease that remains hidden until it has fully grown,
to devour and destroy the flesh of the one that nurtured it.

I will forever thank the Lord, for He has saved me numerous times
from every kind of sin that i kept hidden, nurtured, and grew.
It is only by the Lord's abounding grace that I am breathing, walking, and talking.
It is only by the Lord's grace that I was saved from the sin that I inherited, which could have sent me to the depths of Hell.
It is only by the Lord's grace that I was saved from the sins which I have willfully kept in my heart,
which could have caused my destruction and the destruction of everything that I hold dear.

Jesus you are forever faithful to your servants, though your servants are not as faithful.
You never turn a deaf ear on their prayers. 
You always pick them up when they crash themselves to the ground.
You are forever delighted in the smallest things that they do for your glory.

Teach me Lord to be more like you.
Teach me to love others the way you do.
Guide me that I may not lose my way.
Lead me according to your will,
that I may put a smile on your face.

The Door Mat

December 28, 2010

The other day during a Sunday service the pastor made a very beautiful analogy about selflessness. Selflessness is like a Door Mat.

Often times we are taught in the world that in order for you to get what you want you should step up the ladder or success. If needed, step on others before they step on you. This is true in the world. Just look at the advertisements, in order for products to be sold they have to make a bad reputation of the other competitor and comparing that they are better than the other. Look at the campaigns during election periods, as the ''Big day" approaches the competition becomes more and more vicious and they start throwing dirt at one another. Isn't it funny that the very same people that do these things are also the ones that claim to be Believers of the Faith. Yes, even us Christians are guilty of this.

We all know that Jesus taught his disciples that in order to be the greatest in his Kingdom we should be the least (Matt 18:4). He gave the best example of selflessness when He came to earth, took the form of a man, grew up like every one else, went through adolescence like us, worked for his daily food like every one else. Let me throw the question at you; If you had the ability, would you be willing to turn into a cockroach just to warn these insects that the humans have invented Baygon which can kill them in just a spray? No, I don't think so. Because we are proud sinful creatures.

However, if we claim to have Christ in our hearts we should have the same kind of selflessness radiating within us. If you are like me you would be wondering "how on earth can i come close to what Jesus did for me?" He is God! I'm just a man. Yes and yes. But do not forget that Jesus walked this earth depriving himself of the privilege of being a God. He faced everything as a man. Going back to the question...how?

Have you ever taken into consideration the Door Mat in the front of your house main entrance, office lobby door, school entrance, mall entrance? I bet you barely take the time to even notice them. But have you ever heard of a doormat grumble because people step at them, rub the dirt of their shoes in the doormat's face, pass by without thanking them for what they did? No! Because they are set apart for that purpose. Make sure that they are there to clean the feet of the people before they enter into whatever establishment they are entering, as to keep their filth outside. Take note of the word printed in most doormats...."WELCOME". Despite the treatment it receives everyday it still greets the next person and invites them to enter in. Because that is what it is made for.

What does this make of us? We are created to radiate God's glory. We are the doormats in heaven's gate inviting people to come and see what God has in-store for them. Even if that meant people will approach us, step on us, and rub their filth on us. If that is what it will take to get them to enter into His presence then by all means we should let them. I have not understood the meaning of what Jesus said when he taught "when someone hits you in the cheek, give him the other cheek" (Matt 5:39), if you know me and have seen me in person you would agree that i am not the type of person that will let someone hit me and let them get the other cheek as well. I would probably be breaking a bone or two before they even land the first hit. BUT THAT IS NOT RIGHT! If it would mean that getting hit on both cheek would mean leading a person to Christ then so be it. I'm not saying that we all become martyrs and give ourselves to ruin and destruction, what i am trying to point out here is: how far can you swallow your pride in order to reach out to the worst of the people around you?

So the next time we step on that doormat as we enter a building or a house i hope we remember the height of which God stooped down just to reach our level and reach out to us...and hope we do the same for others.

"Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he pured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him."

John 13:3-5

Trustworthy

April 9, 2011

This morning I was reading my devotion (Zephaniah 2) and I barely understood anything from the scriptural passage, because it talked about doom and other disaster stuff that would fall on other nations for bullying Israel and Judah. But then something caught my eye. At the bottom of the page was a very long foot note for the Amplified Version of verse 6. I was wondering why is the foot note for just one verse this long? And as I studied the foot note and the verse, I saw that this particular passage was one of the prophesies that was given to us regarding Jesus and his visit in Israel. The foot note said that there are about twenty three prophesies made with regards to this event ALONE. There are also other prophesies amounting to twenty or more with regards to the birth, location, life style, suffering, and death in the whole of the old testament. The foot note said that there is only one out of three million chances that all twenty three prophesies will come to pass if it was by chance. This exemplifies the omniscience of the one that wrote the bible. Take note: this is a foot note, not a commentary! No one would dare write an opinion as a foot note, this statement is a fact. This short but very meaningful passage blew me away. Are God's promises trustworthy? YES! Are his words final? YES!

 

This served as an encouragement and warning to me. Encouragement: that his promises for those He love and loves Him as well will come in proper time. Warning: for the penalties of sin done.

The Future

April 27,2011

A month ago I was dead broke. A week after that my online sidelines were failing - sinking. A few days after that my fiancé lost her grandfather. A few weeks ago I gave a ring to the one I love. Just yesterday I got promoted.  Today i am in a business trip in Cebu with all expenses paid and staying in a 5-star hotel. In six months time I will be married to the woman I've been praying for.

The bible speaks that God has prepared great things for those who seek after His kingdom (Matt 6:33). I am blessed and thankful that He has heard my prayers and has lifted my head up from the pit. Sometimes (if not always), God allows us to go through the valley, over rocky roads, in the dessert, through the fire, in raging waters, in the darkest night (yup i got that from an old worship song)…but he never leaves us there alone - better yet, he never leaves us there (Deut 31:8). These places are the most painful places for us to be, but these are the most beautiful places for us to go. Because it is in this places that we are kept in check. Our hearts are tested and refined over and over again. Just as a gold loses its luster and shine overtime, so do we Christians. And since we are too precious in God's eyes a moments loss of shine worries him, just as a jeweler worries over the loss of shine of one of his gems. For this reason, God shines us again and again, gives us a little buff, runs us through the refinery again. If we caught some dust in us or a blemish is seen inside us He works on it immediately. He works on our lives every day until he fulfills his promise "the good work that I began in you I will bring it to completion" (Phil 1:6). 

May we grow to be more and more Christ-like everyday. Keeping in mind that God is more concerned with our character than our comfort.

Serve God, not men… even in the workplace

“You cannot serve two masters. You will love one and hate the other. (Matt. 6:24)”

 I have been long torn between being at work and ministering in a church, but I have no choice except to work in a secular company rather than in a ministry because being in the ministry cannot help me support my family. The verse above made me feel like I am serving two masters—work (which equates to money in some sense) and God.

Through the book “A Man’s Guide To Work”  I learned that the Christians who are working in the market place (business field) is as equally called as those who are working full time in the church like pastors, deacons, and ministers. This boosted my morale over what I am doing as I have been long torn between being at work and working in a church. It is through this book that I learned that what ever work a person is given (be it in a secular or Christian environment) it is God who appointed them in that position to be used for His glory.

The book also tackles the biblical truth on how to minister in your workplace ethically. This book broke my belief that as a Christian I should be radical in sharing my faith to my coworkers during office time or while I am in the office, but it is unethical. It is not right to use the time that the company is demanding from me to be able to do my job and use it for something else. Jesus said, “give to Cesar what is Cesar’s and give to God what is God’s.” Do not get me wrong, I’m not saying that as Christians we should not share the word in the work place. What I am trying to say is that we put it in the right place and time. We can share our faith to a co-worker during lunch breaks, coffee breaks, or even after office hours. But not during the time of work. This way, the people around us will have a good impression over Christians in the workplace. Always bear in mind that we are called to be “Good witnesses”, in view of that we must be careful not to soil our witness by being unethical with our actions.

Another point that this book taught me is to always aspire for excellence, Christians must be known in their workplace as someone who is reliable, trust worthy, and disciplined. Paul said in one of his epistles, “Slaves, serve your master as though you are serving God himself.” As an employee (slave) I cannot afford to settle for second best since I am serving not man, but God. My bosses are just figure heads. They are not really the ones that I am striving to do my best for in this workplace. It is God.

I can go on and on sharing what I have learned from that book, but as one pastor would remind us, “It must be every Christian’s desire to know God more and more personally and in an intimate way – Epiginosko”. It’s for others to find out more Biblical truths that “A Man’s Guide to Work” has cited to inspire and encourage them to know God and live for Him… even in the workplace.

“A Man’s Guide to Work” by Patrick Morley is published in the Philippines by  Church Strengthening Ministry, Inc. and is available for P260.

July 26, 2011