New Year's Resolution: How to Make it Happen?

Beautiful fireworks display once again painted the night skies as we welcomed 2013 with feast and drinks together with our family and friends.

Before 2013 stepped into our calendar, many of us both young and old had already made their new year’s resolution.

But what does New Year’s resolution exactly mean? Are we able to do them successfully throughout the year?

A New Year's resolution simply means a change for better living.

 And by the way, why do we celebrate New Year on the month of January?

Julius Caesar is the one who proposed January 1 as the first day of the year because it was named after the Roman God, Janus, which is believed to be the God of doors and gates. This, then, symbolized the transition from one year to the other.


The top ten mostly overused resolutions are:

1. Save money.
2. Quit smoking.
3. Lose weight.
4. Quit drinking.
5. Get out of debt.
6. Work harder.
7. Be more patient.
8. Spend more time with family and friends.
9. Get a better job.
10. Help more.

These resolutions are frequently used by most of us and mostly we never get to fulfill them because we don’t monitor them consistently. We only have the courage to make a promise for the sake of celebrating New Year, not for our own sake. Making promises on this celebration has just become a habit not considering that it has a far greater meaning on us.

We tend to fail in accomplishing our goals because we do them alone selfishly. We need somebody to help us fulfill them accurately. We need our Lord as the center of our resolution for without Him all things are not possible. Ask Him to give us the strength that can hold us up during the painful process of changing ourselves into better people. (Philippians 4:13). Then, we ask our family and friends to help us in doing our goal for the whole year.

Making a resolution before and during the New Year doesn't end just like that. Fulfillment is the hardest process that many people fail to achieve because of several reasons. A resolution should bubble up from the heart of a true disciple of Christ, not on our selfish desires. As we embark into this New Year, let us embrace it with everlasting gladness, love, faith, hope, endurance and gentleness.(1 Timothy 6:11)

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When things seem like impossible for us to do...

  A couple of weeks ago, I had my third graders to make up and write their own story based from the single picture shown on the LCD projector.

As what I had expected, twenty two of them out of twenty five whined up because they said that it's a complicated task for them to make and there's nothing but only a single picture. All that I heard from that moment is the phrase, "It's so hard, it's impossible to do it." Others even said like, "It will take forever to finish this story!".

What would you expect? Writing is such a laborious task for most of them especially it's their first time to write a story.

Well, the good thing is I am ten miles ahead of them.  I was already expecting these feedback so I called their attention.

Right away, I made my own story based from the given picture on the spot. I used their names and a few places they know.

I kept on talking and telling the story, putting each strand from one to another until I came up with a beautiful ending. To their amazement, they didn't notice that I stood and spoke for about five minutes.

Then, one of them sitting at the back said,

 "Oh! That's nice! I also have my own funny story!" That's easy!"

Then, the child sitting in front said, "Ahhh! I know what my story is going to look like!"
After that, another child and the rest  kept on muttering, "I have got a good idea!".

Everyone was able to finish their own stories.When I got back to my desk, I was giggling with the stories they came up. And of course, I felt very satisfied with their work.

The following day came and I have picked the best stories in each class.
All of them could not believe that they could write stories of their own just like their favorite authors.
There were several of them who said, "I want to make another story and I will do my best this time."

Five minutes before the bell rang, I told them that they should not put their mouth first in doing a given task not only from a teacher, but also from other people especially their parents.

We must learn from the story of Gideon bringing only three hundred soldiers with him and their pitchers of water, torches and trumpets against more than a hundred thousand  trained and experienced Midianites and Amalekites.

Also, don't forget the Israelites who brought down the great walls of Jericho by means of marching around with and blowing their trumpets.

These were lesser persons and they don't have much money and authority but they were able to succeed because of only one thing, and that is faith. They did whine up like what we always do, but I think that's the way God wants to show us up that we must always put our trust and faith in him first, and not our tongues.

When things seem like impossible for us to do, be not afraid nor discouraged, because His ways are not our ways. He does things in mysterious ways. He does great things more than what we can imagine.


Have you ever felt that God was calling you to do a task for Him and yet you didn't listen because you believe you don't have the ability and resources to do such?

Well, be glad and you are blessed!

Water of Life

Water!!!

Everyone in the house was calling out for a stable supply of water. We haven’t been getting normal supply of water for the recent two weeks. I just wondered our neighbors told us that they don’t have any problems regarding that. Well, I am pretty sure that we pay our water bills regularly. We didn’t call the directory because we were still patient and hoping that the next days the water will soon flow smoothly through our water pipes. When we cannot tolerate the situation anymore, we immediately phoned the water service directory to ask about such inconvenience. Unexpectedly, they were not aware about the problem we have been enduring for weeks; then they reported about installing the machine that enables to create stronger water pressure in order to reach our area.

Well, the lesson we learned was to quickly alert the water station about the problem so as to be able to fix the inconvenience immediately.

It was pretty challenging during the days of slight suffering about the water shortage. We cannot move much when there’s no water. We cannot cook,bathe,wash clothes and everything. Thus, water is vital to man’s everyday living for without it, he will not survive.

The water on earth is like the word of God. The absence of it is totally nothing while its presence springs up life. Without the word of God, life could be meaningless for man will be like a rolling stone without any specific direction. Man may not be able to understand the mysteries in life. He will be left confused and clueless about the circumstances in his life. He won’t be able to understand why happiness and sadness exist, why there’s suffering and healing, grief and joy. If all these things he doesn’t comprehend mixed up in his mind, he might as well commit suicide for everything seems pointless and insignificant to him.

But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:14

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Read the manual first!

Whenever I buy a new gadget, I have this very bad habit of not reading the manual because of over excitement to use it. As soon as I purchase it, I would normally explore it with my stubborn hands and then all of a sudden, a problem occurs, then followed by another until I get so anxious about it. When I reached that point, that’s the time when I will  have to find where I put the manual so that I can try to fix it. Well, after a few episodes of stubbornness and ignorance, I learned that the manual should always be kept and read first to enjoy using my gadget and keep it always in its best working condition.

The word of God is also like the manual of every gadgets, or appliances we buy in malls or stores telling us the procedure on how to use it, the dos and don’ts, what to do when certain problems occur, and how to maintain its good function for a long time. It has always been there since Adam and Eve first set their feet on the Earth.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. (Psalms 119:105)

That’s how important Bible is in our life. It must be kept handy so that we may always decipher the mysteries of life in our daily living. We must leaf through its pages especially when such problems arise so that we can fix it. We must be fully aware of the dos and don’ts in life so that we will be saved. Memorize and apply the procedure on how to live a happy and decent life filled with compassion. Maintain reading the bible so that you will grow and bear good fruits through your actions. Most importantly, have a strong faith that everything written on the Bible will work out on you.

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Why do bad things happen to good people?

Why do bad things happen to good people?

It is so easy for a person to accept a consequence out of his misdeeds for he is guilty; but how can he accept a consequence out of upright and decent living?

This is one of the most celebrated questions of many people worldwide. Yet is one of the hardest mystery of life where people sometimes are being misled by their limited human perspective.

Some people answer this question with good and bad karma belief. Others have a thought that suffering is a normal portion of our daily routine on earth while the rest still continue to ask God why such suffering strikes them with no fair reason because they believe they are good people.

Well, the story of Job about his long-term suffering might not totally answer the question but it shows us the right and wrong ideas and feelings of people about suffering. Also, it paves the way for everyone on how we should certainly react when such circumstances caught us by surprise.

Job is a wise, rich, honorable man living decently and faithfully in the name of God. But then one day, God took his ten children and all his wealth plus he bore a painful skin disease. He shove his head off in mourning and yet still he praised Him, and for a fraction of second never had he dared ask God about his excruciating suffering. Three of his friends came by to see him and gave interpretations about his suffering. They told him that God is punishing him for his sins. Job insisted that it is not true and he became so discouraged but he still believed that God cares about him, though he didn’t know the answer why he must suffer so.

Well, in the end, God gave his answer about everything that happened to him. He told him that people don’t know how great God is. His three friends surely lack understanding about God.  Finally, God restored his health and wealth twice as rich as he had been before plus another ten children. Job realized that no obstacle should hinder his trust in Him.

This is a reminder that God is in control of our life. No matter what happens to us, we must not stumble nor shake our trust and faith in Him. We must believe that everything will be alright because God knows more about His plan for us. God may allow Satan to intervene us but, we must understand that we are born of God, who is indestructible and powerful. If God is stronger than Satan, then we must bear that inheritance in our DNA. It’s in our blood, all over our body. We must prove that we are sons and daughters of God by neither being strong in the midst of every neither trial nor suffering.

Nothing should separate us from His love!

Live by faith, not by what we see (2 Cor. 5:7) for God is bigger and far greater more than what we can ever imagine. All we have to do is trust Him and ask for his everlasting strength, wisdom and comfort so we may not be shaken in whatever we go through for God loves and cares for us more than what we think, more than what we feel, and more than everything else. Thus His love is beyond our human understanding.

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Divine Calling: Do you have it?

A: So, how is your plan for putting up an orphanage?

B: I can't tell, but it is really hard to put it up here. 

   You know the government, don't you?

A: Well, I don't. Please tell me everything you have to say.

This was a part of our long conversation with Pa Asmat, a counselor from Cimahi, Indonesia

Recently, I met Pa Asmat who is planning to put up an orphanage along with his beloved wife. In our first meeting with him, we were discouraged with so many obstacles that will go along with  the process of building the foundation of the orphanage. There were no orphans yet for the building is physically undone. So much to be done in the second floor especially the roofing and the wall. The building is struggling to be put up because of the lack of money and they do really need a huge amount of money to finish the entire building.  Both of them have been sweating blood to earn money for the construction of the house. We were so much discouraged when we heard about the government's harshness in the procedure of having the orphanage legally registered. The government's corruption  on this matter is intoxicating for they play cruel to those people who wants to put up an orphanage. It's is so damn ridiculous!

I thought putting up an orphanage would be that easy. It's not only the money that you need to consider, most especially the sharp eyes of the government. The corruption of the government is unmistakably discouraging. Totally discouraging.

Yet, Pa Asmat is not stumbled. His high hopes that people will soon realize the need to help him pursue the orphanage is untainted. His size is as huge as his hope and faith that God will send those people he needs in the most precise time.

He is a very good example of  a man who lives by faith despite the discouraging situations. A man who willingly fulfills his call to help the orphans with everything that he has.

If he is already on his way to manifest his divine calling, what could be yours?

Sin and its powerful remedy

I have been so sick for two days. I have been suffering body ache, headache, burning eyes,stuffed nose, body chills,dry cough that brought me sleepless nights. Probably it is the worst illness I have ever had in my entire life.

I have been drinking  several paracetamols to tone down my fever especially every night when I get chills but then it seems nothing keeps my health better the next morning.  I almost finish a gallon of mineral water a day that makes me get in and out of the bathroom. I have been putting pain reliever to alleviate my body pain temporarily. I have been drinking syrups for my unstoppable coughing throat for two days already.

It seems that I have done all the things  I need but then here I am still wearing pajamas all day.

If the symptoms still persist  on the third day, whether you like it or not, you should go with me and see the doctor for your diagnosis.(This is Anna's inexorable comment a day ago. )

Well, this circumstance is somewhat similar with man's dealing with sin. The illness is like a sin which makes a person locked up in a cell who cannot find his way out of it. Sin has many symptoms as well which makes a man branches out a lot more sins. Sin is hard to cure because of man's vulnerability against it. Once he is infected by sin, there's a fat chance to get rid of it unless he severs the roots.

Most of us tend to only cut off the symptoms, and not the roots, which makes the sin grow back every now and then. The roots are what keep the tree from living. So, let us cut off the roots to stop ourselves from the illness of sin.

How can we fight off the root of sin then?

Like me who really needs to see the doctor to end my suffering...

We  need the prescription of our Heavenly Father: the Bible.

 Not after three days, nor later, but NOW!

He has the potion, the remedy and the medical kit to bring down sin. You only have to believe in Him so that You will be healed and be freed from such illness.

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Pressing through the crowd for the Miracles of God

Yesterday morning, as I was scanning the verses of the New Testament in random order, I was struck  down by the message that appeared from Luke 8:40.

The story is about the woman suffered an incurable blood disease for twelve long years. She spent so many years seeking help from doctors and no one was able to cure her.
  

If you were in her shoes, would you still have the same hope that someone would heal you after several years? Would you still believe that someone like Jesus whom you barely know will take you out from your suffering?

Or would you accept the fact that no one is capable of curing your disease and wait for your demise? Or maybe not prolong your life by ending it so you may escape the curse of suffering?

After   a few moments of pondering about these verses, I have realized how deep the message of God is for His people.

You see that as Jesus was walking, the woman put her faith that He can heal her disease. She believed that by merely touching Jesus, her disease that caused most of her life’s tremendous suffering would finally end. 

But something stood up between the woman and Jesus – the crowd. The crowd was so busy pressing one another towards Jesus. So, there’s a hindrance towards the woman’s goal of touching the Messiah at that very moment. But the woman didn’t pay heed to the busy crowd before her. Instead, she patiently pressed through the crowd. She is a woman and fragile and weak because of her disease. She was pushed hardly, stumbled down the ground and yet she continued on her way to Jesus.  The crowd is so excited to see Jesus face to face and the people might not see her on the ground crawling under them so they might have stepped on her body, from head to toe and yet she was determined gearing towards Jesus. Never had she thought about going back where she was standing before the crowd because of her great desperation and faith that Jesus would really heal her.

Out of her sturdy willpower, she was only able to touch the cloak of Jesus from behind and something incredible happened to her. Yes! She was healed from her disease!  She stopped bleeding the moment she had touched the cloak of Jesus Christ!

This particular woman in the bible shows us a great example of her profound faith to the Savior. 

Sometimes we have big issues or problems in our lives. Life gets even tougher if a problem is followed by another and then the other one which makes our life wrap up with seemingly endless chain of problems that causes many people to give up. Sometimes these problems take a very long time before we can find the solution and fix it. Worse comes to worst, we end up peddling in the middle of uncertainty searching for answers we cannot find. Truly, man is very limited; there are diseases in life that we cannot cure. There are questions in life that we cannot give answers. These circumstances most of the time have caused thousands of people to give up.

The story of the woman teaches us to take hold of the difficulties of any scales in life. We are surrounded and get so impacted by a range of problems as we walk each day and we tend to give up; but we must remember that Jesus is always on the other side of the crowd. We must break through the crowd, press through it and fixate our eyes towards reaching Jesus.  Don’t care about what people might say and do to you. We must not be intimidated by the big crowd because our God is bigger than anybody/anything else in this universe. 


Don’t let the crowd stand between you and the miracles of God.

He is our healer! Our portion! And mighty redeemer!

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Why does God test us?

Whenever I recall my high school and college days, I couldn’t help but giggle in my room.  I am talking about the days of endless quizzes, exams and other tests. Some were really quiet and serious whiles others were quiet and cheating to their seatmates.Those were the quietest days I had in my teenage life and I just hated them because I had no choice but to burn the midnight oil each day before the test.

After I graduated from the university, I thought that would be the end of the tests in life. I was wrong.

The tests now are even more complicated and challenging more than I had ever imagined.

We all have our own tests from Him who made and brought us here on this world. 

Just like our beloved teachers back in elementary through tertiary, they were so quiet during the exams. God is also quiet in our tests in life but it doesn’t mean that He is far from us nor forsakes us. We need to remind ourselves that whenever we are in trials or tribulations, God is just putting exams on us to build and to develop our faith and character towards Him and towards other people.

So why worry with these tests? 

Rather, let us be glad and welcome them in our lives for they give us opportunities to grow in all aspects especially our spiritual growth. 

More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance. (Romans 5:3)

Remember that we don’t belong to this world, but to Him so let’s be prepared and be still on these tests until the day He comes to deliver us to the place where we really belong.

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.  (James 1:2)

Would you dare cheat in God's exams for you?

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The Cost of Following Jesus

Why is it hard to follow Jesus?

What is our reward from following Him?

Truly following Jesus is not an easy task to do.  It needs courage, dedication and consistency of faith inspite of all the temptations of the world.

No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God. (Luke 9:62)

Words are easily spoken than done.

Let’s take Peter as an example. He couldn’t stop professing his love and loyalty to Jesus and yet He disowned his master in the end.

In the same way, faith by itself if it is not accompanied by action is dead. (James 2:17)

It’s hard to follow Jesus because it shows man’s imperfection from his Lord. But this doesn’t mean that we must lose hope in imitating Him for it is the right thing to do so as to enter His kingdom.

Thus…

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with your entire mind. This is the first and the greatest commandment. (Matthew 22:37-38)

When you genuinely fulfill this commandment, the rest will fall into its own place.

The cost of following Jesus may be a difficult task to do and yet the reward is more than plentiful.

Eternal life is waiting in heaven where endless joy resides and where there are no more tears to shed.

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.

Rejoice and be glad because great is your reward in heaven for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

                                                                             (Matthew 5:11-12)



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L.E.T his will be done!

L.E.T. result spreads over the internet.

Some felt extremely happy while others, depressed.

I still remember when I was in that shoe. I felt the blood rushing through my veins as the days walk near to the exam’s date release. I was really depressed and had uncountable sleepless nights right after taking the exam because my mind keeps on reflecting on the test. Daily routine had changed, some meals were skipped.

My point of view about the exam was enormous. I thought that if I fail it, I would be a total loser of the community. That’s why I was so afraid of the result’s coming.

Now, I realized that I was wrong. I got so much attachment to my emotions and to what people might say to me if I fail the test.

After you took the test, if you know that you have given so much effort to its fullest, you lay down your burden to the cross of Christ.

So….

"Worrying is a useless emotion". [Dr. Dyer]

 Optimism is not enough in facing these circumstances. Instead, you must believe that God’s Will shall always be done whether you pass or fail.

L.E.T  His will be done. =)

The problem is we perceive things based on what we see.  Don’t think that God hates you if you fail. Don’t also think that God loves them because they pass.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. [Prov. 3:5]

There are many surprises in our lives and some of them are struggles and pains. They are just part and parcel of your character development here on earth.

Believe because He is at work

Trust Him for He is the history maker

Be thankful cause He gives you breath

Never lose hope for He is never at rest.

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To the LET Passers:

Your life doesn’t end after you pass the exam. Remember to keep your feet on the ground and don’t be overconfident for it doesn’t mean you have achieved enough in your career. It’s just the start of your real journey in the world of chalk and chalkboard. There are a lot of things to learn much more than what you have presently. God speed!