so be it

Lesson from a flower

2009-05-12T22:42:00.000-07:00

Look at the structure of and growth of a flower. First, the calyx or flower cup tightly clasps the enfolding petals, refusing to let go. But the gradually these fingers relax, these folds unclasp and the petals burst open in all the fragrance and beauty. But still the calyx holds them tightly as if it would never let go, but hour by hour, as the flower-life advances, those petals have to be relinquished from the grasp; and in a little while the blossom floats away on the summer winds and seems to perish. "The flowers fall." (Isaiah 40:7), the beauty of nature dies. But observe that after death comes a richer life. Behind the flower, you will notice a seed pod. It also is held for a time by the grasp of another cup. But as the seeds ripen, even they must let go this grasp adn gradually the seed pod relaxes and at length bursts open and the seeds are scattered and sink into the ground and die. But from the burried seed comes forth a new resurrection of plants and trees and flowers and fruits. The whole process id one dying and living, one life giving place to a higher, and all moving steadily on the reproduction of the plant and the stage of fruit bearing.

So marked is this principle in the natural world that botanists tell us that when a flower gives too much attention to the blossom and develops a double flower , which is the most beautiful from the blossom, it becomes barren or fruitless. Nature puts its ban upon self-life even in a flower. It must die and pass away if it would bear much fruit. A beatiful double petunia is no good; but a single-petalled blossom has in it the life of another generation. And so our spiritual life must pass down to deeper deaths and on and up to the higher experiences of life, or we shall lose even what we have. We cannot cling to the sweetest spiritual experiences, the fondest object of our highest joy, without ceasing to grow and ceasing to to bear the fruit which is the very essence of our salvation.

An excerpt from A. B. Simpson's "The Brand of the Cross"

2009-04-20T06:20:00.000-07:00

Igniting the Passion for the Lost

Few days past, we have just held the outpouring conference which themed “Igniting the Passion for the Lost.” Now if you are a new addition to the family of Christ, you might not understand what the theme is actually all about.
What does the theme really mean anyway?
Today, if you ask someone about the word passion, he will probably give these words; lust, sexual desire; as definition, but back in the early days, the word passion meant deep, terrible suffering and the very first thing to come into our minds when we talk about passion is the “Passion of Christ.” It is the suffering of Jesus when He offered Himself as the ultimate sacrifice and redeemed us through His blood.
Christ, Himself, came to find and save the lost (Luke 19:10). And He commissioned us to go to the world and save the lost. They are the ones who lost their freedom, authority and life.
For the sake of the lost, Christ, who took off all His riches and glory that was in heaven, became meek and lowly, scourged and crowned with thorns, bore a cross and was nailed on it; all these for the sake of the lost. Just as Jesus said in Matthew 16:24 “If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.” This is what the passion for the lost really stands for, that if anyone wants to be like Jesus, he has to deny himself and take whatever pain there has to be, because Jesus, too, had passion for the lost and suffered greatly to save them.

to read more of this post, please click this

Shhhh....

2009-02-02T03:24:00.000-08:00

For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile

1Peter 3:10

We Are Family.. here!!

2008-11-21T08:53:00.000-08:00

This was taken on the last day of the outpouring conference last november.
It took so long to have it uploaded..hehe.. Thank God i got it..
Cool!! Isn't it..?

With Pstr Moloy as our father, ate Maris as our mother and the rest of the gang as their children. Perfect, isn't it? It's a masterpiece any excellent painter can't portray. God puts all those smiles in their faces. And no one can ever take those smiles away, not even pain and sickness, not even lies and chismiss not even satan himself.

I'm so blessed to have found a family in them.

Remember,

...GoD LoVeS YoU...

Camp Meeting

2008-10-27T02:39:00.000-07:00

Kadali ra jud noh? Our church conducts camp meetings twice a year. It seemed just a month after the former camp. But the truth is, it has been, i guess 6 months ago. Time is really running quiet so fast.
A camp meeting is done in our church to revive the draining ones, to save the unsaved, to find the lost, to make whole the broken, heal the sick and most specially to Glorify the Almighty Father. Because if not for Him, we wouln't be able to provide everything that's needed to make this event successful.

In fact, last Friday, we had our general over-night prayer meeting. General, because almost all of the workers in the church joined the said prayer meeting. Thanks to Him who was responsible for everything that happened that night. His Spirit moved greatly during that night. God really blessed that night.

We've been through a lot of preparations, from the physical to the very most important part of being a Christian, the spiritual part. And so far, God is still doing great.
In conducting such events, the Host must always be ready. Ready to face a battle and ready to get hurt in a battle. And of course, it wouldn't be easy to conduct such an event, but for God, everything is possible. Our sole sponsor for every event we do is no other than God alone.. We cannot expect any support from anyone or from someone but from God alone.
No wonder, every celebration we do, every activity we conduct and every thing we make is sucessfully done because the One that supports us is the One who owns everything, as in ALL.. The God of all things showers us blessings everytime we pray for it. Prayers mean a lot. God provides all our needs everytime we pray.

This coming Oct.29, I am inviting everyone who has read this post, to join our Spirit-filled camp meeting.
Wherein God can freely move in our lives and wherein He can transform us into someone we never expected to be. It is a 4-day camp meeting. This will be held at LDHMF Soong Mission Center, Soong Lapu-lapu City.
See you there, let's all be filled with the Holy Spirit and be blessed.
Godbless us all.. God deserves all the glory and honor...

Soul Winners' Smiles

2008-10-22T23:20:00.000-07:00

Keep up the good work guys!!

God really is blessing the church with a lot of talents and assets. Indeed these men above are just some of the blessings God has showered upon our church. They did great in the works of God and they're gonna do more greater things because God is still blessing them. All glory and honor is for God alone.

So glad...

2008-10-22T23:10:00.000-07:00

Youth Of The Ministry

It's so nice to see my friends here.. It was taken during a youth fellowship and unfortunately i wasn't there. I just grabbed this picture from a friend. Thanks to her i got a copy of this one in a million shot..

Forgive Yourself

2008-10-22T22:37:00.000-07:00

You keep laying down $100 bills
On the counter of your untamed guilt
And you keep paying out from your empty purse
Until you feel you've satisfied your curse
No one here is throwing stones
But you have got to drop your own

Forgive yourself, forgive yourself
Anyone who bears a scar wants to forget it
Forgive yourself, forgive yourself
Nothing ever frees you more than just believing
That you've been forgiven
Come out of the prison

Can you tell me how you spend everyday
Facing in the mirror of your shame
Staring like a judge, you are ruling for yourself
You tied a stone around your neck
Drowning in a past regret

Don't believe it's okay to be like this
Don't believe you deserve to live like this
'Coz every part of you wants to know
Just one reason why you should let go....

....at the right time

2008-04-03T03:44:00.000-07:00

After having been born again, after one's spirit has been indwelt by the Holy Spirit, after having been baptized by the Holy Ghost, one's life is about to begin a new beginning. As a young Christian, one must wait for a certain time for him to grow. Like a butterfly, a new life cycle is about to take place.
It takes time to grow. If the silk of the cocoon that wraps the young butterfly while waiting for its time to fly is forcedly peeled off, or if the young butterfly inside the cocoon is taken away while its time has not come yet, it will only kill the butterfly and waste the beauty that's waiting to unravel.
But it really pays to be patient. Believing that the right time will come, learning that everything has to undergo a process will teach one to be patient.
Everything is set with a purpose. While the time has not come yet for a butterfly to fly, the purpose is to make it ready and equipped, as well as a young Christian, he must wait his time to grow. And when he is fully grown and ready and equipped, he must go and fulfill the scripture saying, "And as you go, preach, saying, 'the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons, freely you have received, freely give." (Matthew10:7-8)
One must be strong in facing his life. There's always time for everything. A right time will always come.

He Loves You.

2008-04-01T04:55:00.000-07:00

All through out the years, the love of the Father never altered nor decreased. He has always been good to all who believe in Him, and to those who don't believe, He still waits for them to come to Him.
Though time's getting tougher and harder, there is a God. A God who has everything in control. A God who always searches deeper things than a naked eye can find. A God always ready to love your worst, and a God who can make a gold out of a miry clay.
He never stops watching over all of us. He sees our griefs, catches our tears, and even carries us when everything's getting too hard.
Is there anything too hard for the Lord? Absolutely, nothing's impossible to Him. He knows everything. Man's insensitivity and unbelief may be the reason why God seem to be absent in their lives. God is searching for a heart that's desperately seeking for His help. I mean, if only everybody's seeking God with all they can and with everything they have, will it be to hard for Him to do miracles in one's life? In fact, it took me so long to have myself a sacrifice, meaning, offering everything I do to Him, as in all, everything.
Let me tell you this, there was once in my life I thought I'll never change. I thought, I can't get through it. I always thought that "what I was is what I will be forever." Though I wanted to change, life without a God is too difficult. I kept struggling to get something I want. I worked hard to please them that feed me, to have good grades and of course to have myself a good life. Those reasons why I struggled so hard may be the noblest in my entire life.
But everything suddenly changed when a great man I once knew came. His name is Jesus. I knew Him through lectures but not as much as I know Him as I take closer walks with Him. He did great things and still He's doing great. I never imagined this kind of life. I wished for this but I did not know that it will come to reality. Nothing really is impossible to God. In Him, amazing becomes ordinary, and with Him, mercy overflows.
Life without Jesus is really not life. You live because you breathe. You live because you eat. And certainly, you live because you are in this world. But the question is that is the real man within you alive? You only can breakthrough this world and beyond that, there's nothing. Nothing but just a hardly-struggled life.
Some say, only those who are rich has the capacity to live life abundantly. But the book of Isaiah 61:1-2 clearly stresses out that, "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me (Jesus), because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn."
Isn't it great to know that a God came for me? for us? Isn't it great to know that we are secured in the name of Jesus? Jesus came for us, to free us from the bondage of sin and of death. Is it really hard to accept Him. What I mean is that, making Him as your personal God of salvation, the Lord of your life and your Father. Is it that hard to confess with your heart that Jesus is Lord, that life is nothing without Him?
If all the miseries of life makes it too hard to accept God, then I would tell you, God is greater than all of those miseries. Jesus said, "Come to me all you who labor and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matt. 11:28) This rest is greater than a day-off from a job and even greater than a week leave.
Christ, the giver of life, never stop loving us. We are always in His heart. He came to have us a life that's abundantly lived. Why would you think of all the sufferings you encounter? You alone can't take all of them away. Our strength is not enough to battle every circumstance we face.
Yes, life is too hard. Too hard for those who think it is. But in Christ Jesus, everything's possible. Life in Christ Jesus is like being in an eye of a storm. The world around you is trembling down while you are at peace. That's how great our God is.
Why would you hesitate believing that there is a God that is able to take away miseries from our lives. Offer everything to Him. Every pain you bear, every shame you have, every sorrow you feel and every sickness you have will become nothing if you just believe that Christ is able to take away all of them.
Trust Him. Give Him your life, your everything, and all you desire will be in your hands. Offer Him all that you can be. None will you lose if you just try it. He is a God of chances. If you think you had become the worst, try changing it, offer it to Him. And you'll see how you'll become after you put your trust on Him.

How Many Kings

2008-03-30T20:21:00.000-07:00

Follow the star to a place unexpected
Would you believe after all we’ve projected
A child in a manger

Lowly and small, the weakest of all
Unlikeliest hero, wrapped in his mothers shawl
Just a child
Is this who we’ve waited for?

Cause how many kings, stepped down from their thrones?
How many lords have abandoned their homes?
How many greats have become the least for me?
How many Gods have poured out their hearts
To romance a world that has torn all apart?
How many fathers gave up their sons for me?

Bringing our gifts for the newborn savior
All that we have whether costly or meek
Because we believe
Gold for his honor and frankincense for his pleasure
And myrrh for the cross he’ll suffer
Do you believe, is this who we’ve waited for?
(It’s who we’ve waited for)

How many kings, stepped down from their thrones?
How many lords have abandoned their homes?
How many greats have become the least for me?
How many Gods have poured out their hearts
To romance a world that has torn all apart?
How many fathers gave up their sons for me?
Only one did that for me

All for me
All for you
All for me
All for you

by: DOWNHERE

Can Men Live Without God?

2008-03-27T06:04:00.000-07:00

Answer: Man can have a mortal existence without acknowledging God, but not without the fact of God.

As the Creator, God originated human life. To say that man can exist apart from God is to say that a watch can exist without a watchmaker or a story can exist without a storyteller. We owe our being to the God in Whose image we are made (Genesis 1:27). Our existence depends on God, whether we acknowledge His existence or not.

As the Sustainer, God continuously confers life (Psalm 104:10-32). He is Life (John 14:6), and all creation is held together by the power of Christ (Colossians 1:17). Even those who reject God receive their sustenance from Him: “He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45). To think that man can live without God is to suppose a sunflower can live without light or a rose without water.

As the Savior, God gives eternal life to those who believe. In Christ is life, which is the light of men (John 1:4). Jesus came that we may have life “more abundantly” (John 10:10). All who place their trust in Him are promised eternity with Him (John 3:15-16). For man to live—truly live—he must know Christ (John 17:3).

Without God, man has physical life only. God warned Adam and Eve that on the day that they rejected Him they would “surely die” (Genesis 2:17). As we know, they did disobey, but they did not die physically that day; rather, they died spiritually. Something inside them died—the spiritual life they had known, the communion with God, the freedom to enjoy Him, the innocence and purity of their soul—it was all gone.

Adam, who had been created to live and fellowship with God, was cursed with a completely carnal existence. What God had intended to go from dust to glory now was to go from dust to dust. Just like Adam, the man without God today still functions in an earthly existence. Such a one may seem to be happy; after all, there is enjoyment to be had in this life, and pleasure.

There are some who reject God who live lives of diversion and merriment. Their fleshly pursuits seem to yield a carefree and gratified existence. The Bible says there is a certain measure of delight to be had in sin (Hebrews 11:25). The problem is, it’s temporary; life in this world is short (Psalm 90:3-12). Sooner or later, the hedonist, like prodigal son in the parable, finds that worldly pleasure is unsustainable (Luke 15:13-15).

Not everyone who rejects God is a profligate, however. There are many unsaved people who live disciplined, sober lives—happy and fulfilled lives, even. The Bible presents certain moral principles which will benefit anyone in this world—fidelity, honesty, self-control, etc. Proverbs 22:3 is an example of one such general truth. But, again, the problem is that, without God, man has only this world. Getting smoothly through this life is no guarantee that we’re ready for the afterlife. See the parable of the rich farmer in Luke 12:16-21, and Jesus’ exchange with the rich (but very moral) young man in Matthew 19:16-23.

Without God, man is unfulfilled, even in his mortal life. Thomas Merton remarked that man is not at peace with his fellow man because he is not at peace with himself, and that he is restless with himself because he has no peace with God.

The pursuit of pleasure for pleasure’s sake is a sign of inner turmoil, the epicurean’s façade of felicity notwithstanding. Pleasure-seekers throughout history have found over and over that the temporary diversions of life give way to a deeper despair. The nagging feeling that “something is wrong” is hard to shake off. King Solomon gave himself to a pursuit of all this world has to offer, and he recorded his findings in the book of Ecclesiastes.

Solomon discovered that knowledge, in and of itself, is futile (Ecclesiastes 1:12-18). He found that pleasure and wealth are futile (2:1-11), materialism is folly (2:12-23), and riches are fleeting (chapter 6).

Solomon concludes that life is God’s gift (3:12-13) and the only wise way to live is to fear God: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil” (12:13-14).

In other words, there is more to life than the physical dimension. Jesus stresses this point when He says, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). Not bread (the physical) but God’s Word (the spiritual) keeps us alive. Blaise Pascal put it this way: “It is in vain, oh men, that you seek within yourselves the cure for all your miseries.” Man can only find life and fulfillment when he acknowledges God.

Without God, man’s destiny is death. The man without God is spiritually dead; when his physical life is over, he faces continued death—eternal separation from God. In Jesus’ narrative of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31), the rich man lives a sumptuous life of ease without a thought of God, while Lazarus suffers through his life but knows God. It is after their deaths that both men truly comprehend the gravity of the choices they made in life. The rich man “lift up his eyes,” being in hell’s torments. He realized, too late, that there is more to life than meets the eye. Meanwhile, Lazarus is comforted in paradise. For both men, the short duration of their earthly existence paled in comparison to the permanent state of their souls.

Man is a unique creation. God has set a sense of eternity in our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11), and that sense of timeless destiny can only find its fulfillment in God Himself.

My Redeemer

2008-03-25T05:11:00.000-07:00

Who taught the sun
Where to stand in the morning.
And who told the ocean,
"You can only come far."

And who showed the moon
Where to hide till evening
Whose words alone can
Catch a falling star.

Now I know,
My redeemer lives.
I know my redeemer lives.
All of creation testifies
That this life within me cries
I know my redeemer lives.

The very same God
That spins things in orbit
Runs to the weary,
The worn and the weak

And the same gentle hands
That holds me when I'm broken
Who conquered death to bring me victory.

He lives to take away my shame
And He live forever I proclaim
That the payment for my sin
Was the precious life He gave
But now He's alive
And there's an empty grave.

by: Nicole Mullens

From protest to praise

2008-03-25T03:14:00.000-07:00

I knew the times would come.
And now the times have landed,
With stinging abrasion.
As ready as I seem to be,
It's never like I planned it.

I'm wrestling my thoughts,
I'm overcome.
Would You give me up
I'm asking Lord.
There's no where I sense
Your presence here.
So I will cry out,

From protest to praise,
You're always amazing me.
You're changing me slow but surely,
And You're gonna see me to the end.

How long will I be
Forgotten by You forever.
'Coz You're not making sense here.
It seems like eternity
Has made a home between us