To My Generation

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To my generation,

You will not pass away until you have known the Lord!

To my generation,

I may be small to the world and may mean nothing to the world, but I will be a mighty warrior of the Lord.

To my generation,

I will not leave this earth, not until I have served the Lord and accomplished His assignment for me.

Whom Shall I Fear?

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Psalm 27


1 The Lord is my light and my salvation—
    whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
    of whom shall I be afraid?

2 When the wicked advance against me
    to devour me,
it is my enemies and my foes
    who will stumble and fall.
3 Though an army besiege me,
    my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
    even then I will be confident.

Happy 5th Birthday, Mom!

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Dear mom,

I was looking at the sky today while sitting in front of my window. Then, I thought of you. I smiled. :) Imagine how time flies so fast! How is Home? I'm pretty sure you are enjoying every minute of being at Home. I bet you are busy tending your garden hehe! Oh wait...what is it like to attend Concerts in our City? And the King? How Beautiful is His face? I want to see too!

Morning Praise and Prayer on Psalm 5

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Psalm 5

1 Listen to my words, Lord,
    consider my lament.
2 Hear my cry for help,
    my King and my God,
    for to you I pray.

3 In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice;
    in the morning I lay my requests before you
    and wait expectantly.
4 For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness;
    with you, evil people are not welcome.
5 The arrogant cannot stand
    in your presence.
You hate all who do wrong;
6     you destroy those who tell lies.
The bloodthirsty and deceitful
    you, Lord, detest.
7 But I, by your great love,
    can come into your house;
in reverence I bow down
    toward your holy temple.

Turning Stones Into Bread

3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” 4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’” 5 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 If you worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’” 9 The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. 10 For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully;11 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” 12 Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 13 When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

- Luke 4:3-13

 

The devil tempted Jesus three times during His forty days fasting; it was when Jesus was physically weak that the devil grabbed the chance.  Jesus, the Son of God, was tempted.  And why was Jesus tempted by the devil? “Temptation is part of the human experience.”  Jesus was fully human and fully God.  Jesus had to experience temptation as well for Him to be able to understand us fully.

Only Inheritance

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"I am to be the only inheritance the priests have.  You are to give them no possession in Israel; I will be their possession."

- Ezekiel 44:28

This verso also applies to my life, Lord. When I read this, it penetrated even to my bones.  Yes Father God, You are to be my only inheritance! You will be my possession.  You are the greatest possession that anyone could ever have.

You are matchless! God, whatever thing or idol that steals Your place in my heart remove them all.  I desire that You are the Only One who takes the place in my heart.

Father God, reveal to me through Your Holy Spirit whatever idols that still stay in the areas of my life; may it be relationships, dreams, ambitions, feelings, way of thinking, finances, and any other else.

I have no any other inheritance that could satisfy me except You, God!

I need more of You! I want more of You! I desire more of You! Teach me to hunger for Your Presence! Teach me to hunger for more of You!

[Journal entry: October 2, 2011]

Waging War: Me versus I

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I do not understand what I do.  For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.

- Romans 7:15

So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me.  For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.  What a wretched man I am!  Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord!

- Romans 7:21-25

 

Paul, even when he became a Christian, still struggled with sin.  What he did not want to do, he did; what he wanted to do, he didn’t do: a struggle with sin in the flesh.  He wanted to do, and he did desire to do God’s law, but seemed he was a prisoner (still) of sin.  A Christian has still struggles with sin indeed.

Do Not Be Afraid

Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.  When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear.  But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard.  Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.

- Luke 1: 11-13

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.  But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favour with God”

- Luke 1:29-30

That night the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham.  Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.”

- Genesis 26:24

See, the Lord your God has given you the land.  Go up and take possession of it as the Lord, the God of your fathers, told you.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.

- Deuteronomy 1:21

God always has four words for His people: DO NOT BE AFRAID.  When He speaks to His people, His introductory address is “Do not afraid.” When He calls His people, He commands them, “Do not be afraid.” Even His angels, the messengers, tell His people to not be afraid.   So I ask myself, “Is God that frightening to His chosen people for them to be in a fearful state? Why their first reaction would be to get frightened? What is there to be afraid of?”

“Do not be afraid” – a command from God; a comfort to those who fear; an assurance of God.  I guess those whom God called in the Bible were afraid of the unknown.  Same goes with us.  We are afraid of the uncertainty.  We are afraid of whom we do not know.  We are afraid of the big, overwhelming things.  We are afraid we might not handle things well.  We are afraid to believe in the promise; that it might not be fulfilled. There are many reasons to be afraid, but God commands us not to.  God comforts us not to be afraid, for He always brings good news, and He always fulfills good promises.

Personally, I have a confession to make.  Sometimes, I find it hard to believe when God says not to be afraid.  Why? That is because I haven’t known God fully yet.  And to me, trusting someone whom you haven’t really known is not a good idea.  I admit that I still lack knowledge of who God really is, for I know there is something more about Him to discover every time I open the Bible.  But praise God! Praise God! He has not called me to be afraid, but to trust Him for He has proven Himself faithful.  I thank God for being patient with me, drawing me near to His Presence, wooing me towards His love, revealing Himself to me.  He whispers, “Do not be afraid, Sheslley, My child. You are mine, and I am with you. Trust in Me.”

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Great men and women of the Bible had surely experienced fear at one point in their lives.  As they have come to know more and more about God, their fear turned into faith!  God knows them inside out including their fears.  God knows every bit of our fears as well.

So why is it so hard to trust the God whom He had given His all for us?  Why is it that we are afraid of an unknown future when God holds the future? Why is it sometimes when God speaks, we are afraid to listen?

Why? For we haven’t fully known God Himself.  That is why Jesus had to come down from heaven to reveal who God really is.  And more of that, Jesus had to come down to earth to save mankind from death eternal.

[Journal entry: April 15, 2012]

Impacting Through Prayer

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I will impact the world through PRAYER.

I will fight the battle with other saints through PRAYER.

I will reach places through PRAYER.

I will seek God through PRAYER.

Father God, in Your Sovereignty, You are at work.  You are making history. Everything is under Your control. Nothing shocks You. Nothing happens without You knowing it. Nothing happens beyond Your permission. You determine the world affairs, and You direct the minute details of our lives.

Jesus, let Your name be known to all nations. Beautiful God and Wonderful Savior! Jesus! Be exalted up high! Jesus! You have overcome the world! I praise Your Name! You are worthy to be praised!

Every nation will bow down in worship to Jesus, the King of Glory!

Let Your Holy Spirit rain down upon all nations! Holy Spirit rain down on us!

[October 4, 2011]

Seven and a Few

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[SCRIPTURE]

32 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.”

33 His disciples answered, “Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?”

34 “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.

“Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”

35 He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. 36 Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people. 37 They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 38 The number of those who ate was four thousand men, besides women and children. 39 After Jesus had sent the crowd away, he got into the boat and went to the vicinity of Magadan.

- Matthew 15:32-39

[OBSERVATION]

Compassion: That was what Jesus uttered to His disciples to what He felt for the crowd.  He had compassion on them. Three days. The crowd stuck with Jesus for three whole days and with nothing to eat. It was quite a long sermon and medical mission, I guess. So then Jesus aired His concern to the disciples: feed the four thousand (exclusive of women and children from the count, by the way).

Going Solo (Part 2 of 2)

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Back when I was in elementary, I can still remember telling Katrina, my classmate, that when I grow old I want to remain single for life.  And I was even proud to say that.  I can even recall what Katrina said, “If I were to become single for the rest of my life, I would rather become a nun.”  Hehehe!  A funny idea to me.  Becoming single for life does not mean you have to become a nun.

I have never envisioned myself being married and having kids.  Never. Never in my wildest dreams have I longed for a husband and children of my own.  And, never have I considered myself an ‘abnormal’ person for having no thoughts and no plans of getting married.  Whenever my friends tease me, “Ga lina-on ka naman” (You are acting like a spinster again) or “Daw laon ka” (You’re like an old maid), I never got offended.  Ever!  I even take it as a compliment, and I am proud to say that! :D

I have even prayed to God to give me that desire to remain single for the rest of my life.  I could remember praying and asking God to hear my petition, crying hard (literally), when I was still in college (or early years after graduation).

Going Solo (Part 1 of 2)

Monday… Work… It’s the start of the work week to welcome another bulk of transactions, and another day to entertain this one “kulit” (stubborn) client.  Weeks before, this client of mine kept on proposing to introduce to me her nephew. In our dialect, we call it, “pakilala.” She kept on asking me if I have a boyfriend every time she transacts at my counter.  And she said, there is this nephew of hers she would like me to get introduced to.  I know her motives, “basi pa lang may potensyal nga maging close kag magkadevelopan” (maybe there is a potential between us to get close and be more than friends).  And so, I was being polite to her but I wasn’t serious in taking her proposal.

You're The Last In Line

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They came to Capernaum.  When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?”  But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.  Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.”  He took a little child and had him stand among them.  Taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”

- Mark 9:33-37

Applying Rick Warren’s 40DITW (40 Days in the Word), Probe It with S.P.A.C.E.P.E.T.S. for this study verse is a challenge and a good exercise.

Is there a SIN to confess?

Like the disciples, most of us are focused on attaining personal success, becoming to be always at the top.  Pride keeps us having selfish ambition. Wrong motives arise for wanting to be always the first or the greatest.

Is there a PROMISE to claim?

In this verse, Jesus said that whoever welcomes one of these little children, welcomes Him; and whoever welcomes Him welcomes God.