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I Have A Surprise!

1 Corinthians 2:9— But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,  nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”

“I have a surprise for you!” 

That line somehow excites me with the anticipation that that surprise will be an extraordinary, jaw-dropping, out-of-this-world surprise. 

I once watched a video of a man who had a dream car. It was his dream car for so long that his wife blindfolded him. So she brought him at their parking lot because she said “I have a surprise for you!” And as I was watching the viral video, the man walked up in front of the dream car blindfolded. When the wife took off his blindfold, the reaction was priceless. Speechless joy! So overjoyed that he asked, he was making sure, “is this a joke?” “Will we return this or something?” “No way!” And you know that a person is truly surprised when the surprise leads him to sob. Tears of joy.

Now, God has a surprise for those who love Him and for those anticipating His return. Paul reminds us, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.”

And this is something no human has seen, nor human ear has heard. This is a surprise not of this world. And I am sure, this is not just jaw-dropping, nor can be described as extraordinary. This is God’s kind of surprise and I believe it’s more than just jaw-dropping or more than just tears of joy. This is a surprise no one can replicate in this fallen world. Are you getting excited? Because while reading this again and again I’m realizing that I’ll be missing out on this “outstanding, awesome, amazing thing” if I don’t prepare for it.

That’s why my question is, "Do you love Him?”

Not really a weird question right? We’re talking of a surprise, and the surprise is for whom? “For those who love him.”

How much do you love Him? I just want to end this blog with that question because many of us really want that surprise, but in the we need to think if we truly love Him.

(Will see you at the next blog. I’ll continue to talk about how do we show our love for God. But if you already want to know, I highly suggest reading the Bible and you can start reading the Book of John.)

God bless!

[yuklid]

Hope Amidst Waiting Longer

Scripture: Isaiah 40:31 — But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

As I shared on my last blog, WAITING is connected with hoping in the Lord. And we can hope in God because we know His amazing character. He is loving, gracious, merciful, etc.

Last blog, I shared that I waited for my girlfriend. And that didn’t do me good because I was not hoping at her character that’s why I got frustrated. I knew she was really a good person and was helpful. And she helped her sister a lot that’s why she forgot we had a date.

We must anchor our waiting in the hope of WHO GOD IS and WHO HE SAYS HE IS.

And if we do, we will reap amazing benefits from waiting. Isaiah says we “shall renew our strength”, we “shall run and not be weary” and “walk and not faint”. Because waiting in the Lord will never fail us based on His standards or expectations. Waiting on the Lord is far better than doing things our way. He knows our future, and we don’t.

We grow tired and weary when we do things on our own, alone. If what we do is anchored on WHO HE IS, our response will be different. It’s 1 + 1, not just “1″ and the other one we hope for is trustworthy, is purposeful, is someone we can really hope for.

That’s why Isaiah says we “shall renew our strength”.

Especially as we thread through the dangers of a pandemic, our only hope is not in man, but in God. A God who already prepared heaven for us. A God who gave His only begotten Son for us. Now, who will not hope in a God who has done everything for His children (even giving up His life for our sake).

The question is, “where do you anchor your hope?”

[yuklid]

Hope Amidst Waiting

Scripture: Isaiah 40:31 — But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Waiting is not exciting. I believe only a few people love waiting. Or maybe no one loves waiting. I tried waiting for my girlfriend a lot, and you know what, I didn’t like it. There was this one time, I was waiting in a restaurant for a date with her. We had an agreed time. I ordered food already. I kept on texting her to come, but she was actually far away. In the end, I had a date alone. Sad right?

The waiting we know has this negative connotation that is not anchored on the idea of hope. The word used here is connected with “hoping in the Lord.” Now that brings a different definition for us right? That’s why as you study God’s word, I would suggest for you to have a Wordstudy Reference material or just to share with you, I use biblehub.com.

Waiting is “hoping in the Lord”. 

And we only hope if we know the person deeply. If I know my girlfriend is purposeful, kind, loving— I believe I would have had a different response to her not being able to come to our date. That if she is purposeful, maybe she was late for a good reason? If she is loving, I know she wouldn’t do that for nothing because I know she loves me.

My point is, waiting for the Lord is hoping and anchoring on His character, His grace, love, mercy, justice, etc. And we can’t say He is not like that, because that’s permanently who He is. We can hope in God because He is the same: yesterday, today and forever. We can hope in the Lord because He will not disappoint us like other people do.

The question is, do you really know who God really is? Are you responding right when God wants you to wait on Him? On His answer? On His direction?

[yuklid]

Hope Amidst God’s Judgment

Scripture: Jeremiah 29:11 ESV — For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

What we should understand:

The context: Israelites are going to be invaded by the ruthless Babylonians.

This was God's judgment to His chosen people who have worshipped other idols, have sacrificed their children to other gods and have done evil in the sight of God.

God disciplines His people because of their sin.

God's discipline is God's love in action, not wanting everyone to perish, and not wanting everyone to turn away from worshipping the one true God.

Out of all the judgements of God is a great hope for a future better than what they will experience in the hands of different invaders.

God's plan is good and brings prosperity to the chosen nation, Israel.

How we should apply it:

God disciplines those who are His. Those who are not His suffer because of sins consequences.

God's plans are better than ours, which brings us hope and a future.

In times of discipline, we should hold on to this promise— Jer. 29:11. And His promises never fail.

In Jeremiah's time, although they were invaded and exiled to Babylon, Jeremiah's reminder was to obey the conquering nation and then God will bring them back to their land. We must yield to God's plans even if you don't see His purpose. We must understand His heart.

The more you resist, the more it is painful. We must accept the judgment and pray for God's grace and mercy in our situation.

We are sinners unworthy of God's love and salvation. But we were still chosen and given the chance to worship Him amidst COVID19.

What we should ask God:

Lord, we ask for forgiveness for not trusting in what you allow in our lives. We have forgotten what your heart is for us that it is true love. We ask for your mercy and grace that we may stand back up again as a country and as part of this world. May we be used mightily to share the good news of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, so that we may find peace which is eternal in your presence. In Jesus' name, Amen.

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Fear of the Lord leads to blessing

Malachi 3:16-18 — 16 Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord gave attention and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who esteem His name. 17 “They will be Mine,” says the Lord of hosts, “on the day that I prepare My own possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.” 18 So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.

Those who feared the Lord, God gave attention to, that’s something that you will notice in this passage. God notices and knows who fear Him and they are blessed.

They are blessed because everyone who fears Him will be written in the book of remembrance and be His possession. 

Now, how is it a blessing? Because when God makes you His own, He will protect you, will provide for every need, will guide you, etc. And we need that, especially in a world where it is truly uncertain. God and His promises are the only things that are certain.

The world can promise you pleasure, riches, success, etc. But all of these things are temporary and will perish. God is eternal and will not fade away, therefore His promises will remain and His words will always be truth.

How much do you fear the Lord?

[yuklid]

God provides enough

Exodus 16:18

But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat. When God gives, God gives enough. Even if others or you say it's little, it is always enough for the day. God knows your needs and knows how much you should have of it. He never lacks anything.

My first baby's delivery was worth 180k. It was a big amount, almost $3500. Only had around 100k to pay for it and I had to look for money to be able to pay it asap. Good thing my aunt was willing to give. Did God give less? Yes and No.

My second baby's delivery was worth 78k. Now that's less than 180k, right? Only had to pay 30k, to be able to pay full because the rest was paid by work benefits of me and my wife. Did God give more? Yes and No.

My third baby's delivery was worth 83k. He was just born this June 3, and I only had to pay 40k, the rest the work benefits provided. Did God give more or less? Yes and No.

Why Yes and No? Because when God gives there will always be something left for you to generate faith on. But that's a case to case thing for each one of us. Some gets to be provided full and others a part of it. It would look nice if 80k, 30k and 40k would have been paid in full. But I have been going through a lot of faith challenges and I realized God just wants to build my faith. I am happy that there was 80k, 30k and 40k. I would be complacent if I always had it all. I would not even notice Him giving it if it was full.

The only thing that matters is the faith I have in God.

The Israelites grumbled, 3 days after the parting of the sea, they already grumbled because there was no water. Remember the place called Marah where they found water and yet it was bitter? After that the Israelites grumbled. Where's the faith in grumbling? Shouldn't they have practiced faith through praying for their needs?

Grumbling wouldn't give them more, wouldn't even shorten the time of giving. In front of a king, grumbling is death. So why grumble? Why complain?

Practice faith, PRAY!

THINGS WE SHOULD AVOID, THINGS THAT DOESN'T PRACTICE FAITH:

1. Complaining and grumbling

2. Get pssted off your situation, mumbling it to friends or self

3. Posting on social media your rants about something (course thru direct channels to the person involved)

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Matthew 5:5—“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Holy Bible, English Standard Version

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Please Lord, help me get one more. Help me get one more.

Desmond Doss, played by Andrew Garfield in the movie HACKSAW RIDGE

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Nature has a way of telling us what's wrong and what's right. If the ice caps are melting, somethings wrong—Climate Change is happening. If a certain process is hindered, somethings wrong. Let's learn from nature.

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...

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.—Romans 5:8

God didn't wait for you to be the most righteous and perfect human being before He could bless you. That would be impossible for naturally selfish beings like mankind. The saying, which goes—"Magpakabait ka para i-bless ka ni Lord" is all the more a falling short of what we understand of what God has done and who He really is. The point of the matter is—God blessed us even while we were still sinners. You know what that means—GRACE— undeserved favor. To be biblical, all our good works are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). To be more biblical, all our good works were prepared in advance by GOD (not by us) for us to do (Ephesians 2:10).

I'm not saying 'huwag magpakabait', but let's put it in the right context. Magpakabait tayo dahil yun ang ayon sa turo at kagustuhan nang Dios. Ang blessing ni Lord, hindi nakabase sa kabaitan ng isang tao kundi sa grasya ng Dios. Do it for the Lord, not because you’ll receive something in return. In the first place, we don’t deserve anything. Di ba?

[yuklid]

#37 Stable Word

10 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there without watering the earth and making it bear and sprout, and furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; 11 So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it."—Isaiah 55:10-11

Before I got married, stability was so important to me. I want everything sure, I don't want to live in a surprise—I just want a stable income, plans, etc. But when God led me to marry, then that stability began to wither away because it's really hard for finances and plans to be stable in a family setting. There will just be problems, uncalled for incidents or even sicknesses that will take away the stable life I want. Especially, when I went full time in the ministry. But one promise God reminded me was "trust in Me." After long hours of prayer, wrestling with the Lord about what to do next with life—His encouragement was "when was I not with you in your life?" "When did I not bless you?"

A promise from the Lord is sure and true. It is the most stable foundation you can lean on. And those wonderful promises was proven through the death of His only begotten Son. He already made sure that whoever believes in Christ will be with Him in paradise.

"For as the rain come down... So will My word be... It will not return to Me empty." Whatever He said already—is sure and true. It is a stable fact. And His promise goes beyond what we desire. Some of us might desire the healing of a loved one, or help going through the bankruptcy or financial debt, or even other trials/problems that's going on in life. His promise has gone beyond our expectation because He is giving us the ultimate answer to all our trials and problems: to spend eternity with Him in heaven. But even now, we can just continue to "trust in Him" and experience His grace in our lives, which I am experiencing each day.

Whatever you're going through right now, "trust in Him."

[yuklid]

#37 You're right unless proven otherwise

“1 Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, Who seek the Lord: Look to the rock from which you were hewn And to the quarry from which you were dug... 7 “Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, A people in whose heart is My law; Do not fear the reproach of man, Nor be dismayed at their revilings."—Isaiah 51:1, 7

I remember a pastor say, "I eat criticism day and night." At first I didn't completely understand why people would criticize an anointed one of God, shouldn't we be more careful to judge someone who is called by God? Or shouldn't we not judge because that's what's written in the bible in the first place? (Matthew 7:1) But it happens in the church anyway. Why? People are sinners. We are sinners and it's our nature.

I also have my share of experiences of being judged and criticized, but I praise God for these things because God has helped me be patient and loving, which are the two things I don't usually do when someone's judging me.

But if you look at the passage there's a description of the believer that is repeated, which what I believe is most important, "you who pursue righteousness." A person whose living a righteous life should not fear or dismay because if he truly is pursuing righteousness—GOD is with Him.

How would you know that you're pursuing righteousness? If your heart is in God's law (Isaiah 51:7). If your priority or passion is obeying the commands of God—do not fear or dismay. God is for you.

I believe some qualifications for this should be laid out for guidance. First, NO ONE should criticize or judge anyone—it's a command. Especially, in church, we should practice really loving one another doing the right thing for one another—and that's how we are called disciples if we love one another. Second, if you're being judged for doing what's right (pursuing God's righteousness) then do not fear because God is for you. Third, if you're being judged for doing something not in accordance to God's will, for example, you lied about something—then confess to God you lied and turn away from unrighteousness because God hates sin.

You're may be judged or criticized for what you have done for the Lord. You're may be criticized for the (right) decisions you have made. But one thing is for sure, if you're pursuing righteousness, God is for you, don't fear or dismay because God will be your avenger and will take the matter to His own hands. (Isaiah 51:23)

[yuklid]

#36 Waiting (not) in vain

"...And you will know that I am the LORD; Those who hopefully wait for Me will not be put to shame.—Isaiah‬ ‭49‬:‭23‬b

Waiting is not easy.

I would usually wait for my crush until she finishes what she is doing, until I can spend time with her. The joy is after the waiting, waiting is no joy for me. I have to find something to do to enjoy the time I wait.

But why is it not easy? For one thing, people can be hard to trust. I can't trust my crush to be there with me having the same mindset of spending time with me. For all I know, I may be forcing it on her and it's not her main objective at all. And second, people will disappoint me or fail me. And that's a proven fact.

So waiting on The Lord is hard to do. Wait. Is The Lord the same as human beings? Is He like a shifting shadow? Is His word/promises ever changing?

It's not. Waiting on humans maybe disappointing. But waiting on God is not. You can trust in the promises of God, it will surely come to pass. It is signed, sealed and delivered. That's why God says, "Those who hopefully wait for Me will not be put to shame." (Hindi tayo mapapahiya)

It is God's unwavering commitment to us. You maybe disappointed of God because of something that you were praying for yet it's still not answered. But that doesn't mean He failed. For all we know, God maybe saying to wait or it maybe a big NO to your request. And who knows what will happen in the future? Only God knows. And if He knows the future, He knows what's best for us. He will know the right answer to every situation. It's a win-win for us.

Are you tired of waiting? God is not. He will wait a long time just to save all to give them what they don't deserve, which is salvation. Let's not grow tired, let's wait on a trustworthy God.

What are you having a hard time trusting God with?

[yuklid]

#35 Solid Food vs Milk

1 Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in Christ. 2 I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready, 3 for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world?—1 Corinthians 3:1-3

A partner in ministry gave us toddler (formula) milk for my son, Psalm. It was truly a blessing to have gotten a gift like that since in the Philippines, formula milk is quite expensive.

Have you ever tasted formula milk? For those of you who were breastfed, well you wouldn't understand. But the taste is quite different and weird. To be honest, I can't imagine that I drank formula milk—it doesn't taste good. Maybe before but not anymore.

One time, my son didn't finish his formula milk powder that was on a dispenser. So my wife had an idea, so as to not waste any drop, she put it in our adult milk and she told me about it. The next day, I created my Milo + Milk concoction, only to find out after sipping that it tasted like Psalm's milk. I didn't like it, but I finished it because I don't want to waste money. But it was totally yucky! And until now, I still drink that adult milk with the formula mix just not to waste it.

My point is this, at some point in our Christian life, we have to grow up and be mature in the faith. Again, we have to GROW UP! Don't drink infant milk!

What is the expectation? That every believer who have received the gospel, should continue knowing who Christ is and live out the Christian life in surrender to Him. That way, the believer will grow up to be mature believers. If we continue living in our old sinful ways, forgetting the message of the gospel and living for this world—that means, we are going back to infancy. Maybe your knowledge of the gospel and the learning you had in past was not lost, but by your actions it will be proved if you're drinking infant milk or eating solid food. And that's the gauge Paul gave us to remind us: GROW UP! Don't drink infant milk!

What does it mean to eat solid food? I don't want to give you a complex application but a very simple one: CHRISTLIKENESS. What is the goal of being a Christian? CHRISTLIKENESS. How do you become Christlike? By the grace and power of God through the Holy Spirit, following Him 24/7. In under simple terms, "complete surrender."

Have you experienced real maturity as a follower of Christ? Have you completely surrendered your life to Christ?

[yuklid]

#33 Blurred Vision

"11 The entire vision will be to you like the words of a sealed book, which when they give it to the one who is literate, saying, “Please read this,” he will say, “I cannot, for it is sealed.” 12 Then the book will be given to the one who is illiterate, saying, “Please read this.” And he will say, “I cannot read.” 13 Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their words and honor Me with their lip service, but they remove their hearts far from Me, and their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,"—Isaiah 29:11-13 NASB

I would always chance upon getting my eyes checked either on a physical exam or renewal of my drivers license (even though I don't have a car, hahaha that's faith!). And every time that happens I'm careful to see if my eyes are still okay. I really want to know if its now blurry or not, if I need to have eye glasses and start looking like Clark Kent or not. It's a big deal because it would be hard to look at my beautiful wife or my handsome son, it would be difficult to glance at the beauty of God's creation (which I really love doing when I'm traveling). Isn't it hard to not have a 20/20 vision?

But what are the reasons for our eyes to become blurry or not have a 20/20 vision? Overuse? You might be taking too long on your laptop or television, another reason would be reading books and the lighting that you choose while doing it and other things.

In the same way, God has a 20/20 vision, but no one understands or can comprehend what it is. "The entire vision will be to you like the words of a sealed book..." It is sealed and hidden to the people. But what is the reason? "Because this people draw near with their words and honor Me with their lip service, but they remove their hearts far from Me, and their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote," No one understands God's vision because their hearts are not right. They act as though they are, but the moment God looks at their hearts—it's not.

My question for us today is, "how's your heart?" Is God really the one you're pursuing or someone/something else?

Let's fix our eyes on Jesus and not on temporal things that we may see God's vision and know what He is calling us to do.

[yuklid]

#32 With fear and trembling

"It is the LORD of hosts whom you should regard as holy. And He shall be your fear, And He shall be your dread. "Then He shall become a sanctuary; But to both the houses of Israel, a stone to strike and a rock to stumble over, And a snare and a trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem. (‭Isaiah‬ ‭8‬:‭13-14‬ NASB)

Living in this forsaken earth is such a bittersweet experience. Joy and problems come like brothers playing around and through it our inner man manifest. We live unconsciously in this earth responding to every situation with our own natural instinct. It may be a good or bad instinct, yet it is totally our natural instinct.

What is the natural instinct of man? Self. We are living in a generation where SELF is above OTHERS. The church is not exempted from that. You have selfish sinners like all of us and self-righteous people who critic the believers life who don’t even look at the log in his own eyes (which I’m guilty as well). The world is no exemption, we were all wired to the “YOLO” thinking, which can be used for good, but was meant for self. Dangerous mindsets that were in-grained in us.

For example, in my case, a little blessing can spell a big spiritual problem. A little vacation can turn to a self-focused affair than an affair with the one who gave the blessing. What took the attention away from God? What if the blessing wasn’t given, wouldn’t it be better—you’ll not lose focused on the one who gave the blessing?

Another example, being a leader can be a humbling thing. But too much focus on the position can turn you into a proud, self-centered monster—demanding your right because of the position. Honestly, I’m guilty of this especially when impatience puts my humble disposition aside and thinks highly of myself. And excuses will be made, saying “it is my right,” or “we’re just thinking of what’s best”—will the end justify the means? Who are we to be proud of ourselves? Aren’t we nothing in the first place? But made something by grace?

Last example, when we are experiencing immense progression in our lives, both spiritually and mentally. Most of the time, pride kicks in and says, “I can do this, I’m no longer the same person the last time.” Then reality slaps you on the face and makes you realize, you’re too proud to think that you have reached your pinnacle. Who are we to know we have reached the ultimate? Are we gods to know we have arrived? What if the moment you thought you have arrived is the time, God humbles you and reminds you—”Don’t be proud?”

All of these are musings in life that I realized. If we have come to a dead end, a wrong turn, it’s time to ask God to lead the way again. There are times that we forget, but God is the only blessing, God doesn’t take it easy with pride and that no one will know when we’ve reached our destination, only God knows. But the failure to see these things, are all because of just one complex emotion—selfishness. And we all have the capability to be self-centered than God-centered. Reality is, we turn to self-centeredness when we think we can do something or we already think we already know everything. Then when all of self fails, we turn to God-centeredness by praying, realizing “I can’t do it. I’ll ask God for help.” It’s a terrible cycle.

God is totally holy—He is the tri-HOLY God. And our response to that, in living our lives is to learn to fear Him. He is not just a friend, a father, (which we already know that’s who He is), but just like what the bible teaches, He is also someone whom we should really fear. We should be careful what we say, how we act, in the presence of the Almighty and Holy God. And just like the kings of old, we should revere Him as one—even more because He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

Another thing, we are only servants doing our duty, that’s what Jesus reminded us. Meaning, we are only slaves with no rights, and are owned by God through His sacrifice on the cross for us. Now who are we to be proud? Even the good deeds we do were already prepared in advance for us to do, which means you didn’t plan the good work, He did. So I encourage you, let’s humble ourselves amidst an Almighty and Holy God.

[yuklid]

#31 First and Only Option

"9 and the head of Ephraim is Samaria and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you will not believe, you surely shall not last." (Isaiah 7:9 NASB)

Psalm just got sick last week and it was not just hard for us (parents), but also for him because he needed to take some bittersweet medicine, which he didn't like. We were trying to explain to him how good it is to take that medicine, but to no avail. We found ourselves trying to be creative in how to ask him to drink the medicine like telling we're going to buy him toys, or go to the mall. It's very hard since you, as the parent, knows that if he takes his medicine it will immediately help him improve his condition. But to Psalm, who doesn't understand yet what we understood, his resolve was to resist our every explanation. We were telling him the truth, but he didn't believe it.

The same with all of us (including me) that God tells us the truth, but we don't believe it. When God says don't lie, because we want to save face/name, we lie to cover up the wrong that we did. When God should be first priority, we put Him last—and when things get wrong, prayer is our last resort.

If we will not believe, truly we shall not last. Believe in God.