A Stick to Greatness!

To start and boom a business, we need a large financial source, talented manpower, and other innovative ideas.

Yet… these things don’t matter to God.



Shamgar delivered Israel from 600 Philistines singlehandedly by merely using an oxgoad (a stick sharpened on one end to drive slow-moving animals).

Sounds crazy huh?! :D Find his story from the book of Judges 3:31…



Moses used an ordinary rod stick to convince the people to follow him, to turn the Nile River into blood, to bring plagues in Egypt, to part the Red Sea, and to perform such miracles. [Exodus 4]




Look at the people around you. Some of them are physically challenged, and yet they unstoppably give grace to Him and do great things in their own simple ways.




God is not looking for people with great abilities, but for those who are willing to follow Him.


God can use what little we have (not a stick nor a toothpick). Make use of your God-given talent, skills or special ability. He can turn them to great things if we only believe, surrender and dedicate such for Him.

Sweet Revenge: How sweet are you?

What would you do if any of the following circumstances happened to you?

1. If  you found out your girlfriend/boyfriend cheats on you;
2. If one of your colleague insulted you in front of  other colleagues;
3. If someone took advantage on your generosity; and
4. If someone killed the person you love.



Most of us would probably say, “Wait for the payback time!”, "I shall never forgive you!",

We have a natural tendency to fight back someone who wounded us deeply. We want them to get hurt twice more than they did. We think about getting even, and settling the score, then we forget to forgive.We do this thing because we believe in this old law:


“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”

BUT…


Jesus doesn’t want us to fight back.

There’s a following line omitted to the law. (Matthew 5:39)


“…Do not resist an evil person".


Romans 12:17-21 (NIV) Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.


Don’t do evil just because someone did evil to you. This is lame and childish. Don’t you recall when you used to argue with your brothers or sisters over a toy or a lollipop when mom or dad arrives, we pinpoint at one another and say, "He started it first!

When I tell my old friends about forgiving someone, they would always say...

"If no one stands up to the aggressor, if we don’t give him what he deserves, then he’s just going to keep on doing it!"


Well it sounds heroic and justified but God had answered it already before it happened to you.


“Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.


This policy is not a lack of justice. It is a call not to take personal revenge in order to get justice. Leave justice and revenge to God.



Overcome evil with kindness, as the Lord says.

Jesus has the rights to say this because He sets as the best example. He has been insulted, slapped, tortured,humiliated and crucified on the cross of our sins.Yet, He didn’t move a muscle to fight them back. Not even  a single thought of revenge flashed in His mind. He did not stoop on their level because He knew they didn't know what they were doing. Instead, He gave forgiveness and salvation. Not Vengeance nor Hatred.

So, never let your thirst for justice turn into a quest for revenge. Don’t get even. You’ve been attacked and cheated, forced and taken advantage of. But answer evil with kindness and then leave everything else to God.

Pacify. Endure. Forgive

Forgiveness 

by Mr. Felix Pineda

It is a trait a person must possess
When sins he has to confess
It is easy to utter it
But often times hard to forget.

Man's forgiveness sometimes a lie
For at his back there is a cry
He would then say, " I'm just a man,
The pain it caused still in mind"

In love affair if forgiveness has no treatment
Its ultimate end " cool off " and no again
In a couple once forgiveness is not settled
A broken home; a broken dream are melted.

Forgiveness is quite universal
Positively if followed life is cordial
Negatively if not pursued life is fatal
Which of the two is man's focal?

Guys be reminded forgiveness is from God
Lesson it brings to all of us a real guide
How many times let us forgive to a defiled?
Not seven times but seven times ten as implied.


Vengeance is sweet momentarily and it has a long lasting bitterness.

photo credit: horizontal.integration via photo pin cc

photo credit: DaveAustria.com via photo pin cc

A Focus on Failures

In the verse of Joshua (1:9), it says,

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”


During the last worship service of Ptr. Gordon he said: “ Do not let temporary failures keep you down permanently.”


The ever popular life verses from Proverbs: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.”


Psalm 32:8 says, “ I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.”


As the worship song says, “All the way, My Saviour Leads Me. Jesus Never Fails.


One of my favorite verses – Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts if peace and not of evil, to give you an expected end.



Failures are truly hard felt and yet victorious you become after you conquer them.

Whenever we feel lonely and deserted in the midst of our failures, there’s one Big and everlasting God to lean on, who is ever merciful and faithful.

AMEN. :)

The Amazing Scientific Fact

Science is a systematized body of knowledge. (-from my very old  Oxford dictionary)



Science is being taught since the primary years (most schools) and we do learn a lot of things and find the answers to our questions we encounter in our daily lives.



Through science, man begin to discover and create technology which continually develops sorts of new machines and hi-tech gadgets to suit our satisfaction and needs.



Well, I must admit, I pretty love science (especially the experiments) since my primary years and I just love it how it explains the phenomenon. It’s cool and there’s a way lots of fun things to do.



As I grow older, I became to realize that there’s even greater than science.



And...when I saw this picture for the first time during the Sunday school, I was sitting on one corner, and I was extremely stunned.

This is a protein molecule that glues our body together and there are about trillions of these inside our body. (That’s a massive amount of glue!). That’s how this tinny tiny cell gives a huge function into our body. It’s called Laminin.




Have you realized that no matter how you turn your back to Him, no matter how you let Him go from your life, yet He still never let us go? Still, His arms are spread wide open for us whenever we want to come back to Him.



Yes!He lives in every single cell of our body. Thus, He holds our body together. He holds everything together. (Col. 1:17)


For that reason,no reason is enough for us to quit when we feel like we cannot take a single step further anymore for He is with us and He will never ever keep us down... as HE always promise since the beginning and for sure, He will keep it.


That made me say how Great He is more than science, more than anything on earth, and in the whole wide universe.

A Foolish Prayer

Many people fail to understand on what praying really means.



A vain repetition (Matthew 6:7) though is not the worst case (for my part).

There’s even this extreme case that is firmly forbidden for all mankind (in my opinion).



I have just figured it out recently about this futile praying attitude. (I hope this message could get through to many of you)








Pay heed.

Don’t ever (never ever) pray, unless you are willing to listen to the answer!

Don’t dare ask for something/seek for an answer when you are not ready/if you are soooo tenacious to listen.

Don't be a FOOL.

Metamorphosis

Have you ever come across with a sudden change that has left your jaw dropped wide open?

Why do some people resist change and why do others embrace it?

How do we begin new chapters in our lives?


Change is abundant. We can see it from ourselves as we age up. We can also see it from our surroundings which are mainly brought by technology. Everything does change and it is the only thing here on earth which doesn’t change until apple turns to orange. It is a lifetime process that gradually unfolds in due time.

There are two possible types of change. The first one is driven by us. We choose to make a change in our old routines. On the other hand, it is what I call the unexpected change. This change can have either the two sides of Yin and Yang.



Most people find hard in coping up with the unexpected and unaccepted change for whatever reasons. Truly, it is hard to handle that sort of change because you don’t feel comfortable and you want to get rid of it immediately. New decisions will be soon hard to apply because of that strange feeling. Yet, we don’t want to see ourselves to get stuck in such circumstance and let our whole life be devastated with a single and yet enormous change.




So, how do we start then?

Facing up with an unaccepted change should be started with the ATTITUDE towards it. It is the way on how you look at it in all angles. It’s either you see it positively and call it opportunity or see it threatening and see it as something to be feared and dismayed.


Your attitude toward change plays a big part in how you will deal with it. If you view all change as bad, it sure won’t happen easily for you. If you look at change as opportunity, you will be more open to it and willing to make it work. If you are done with your attitude, the decisions will follow naturally.

We shall accept whatever kind of change that life gives us for what really strikes is the learning that we experience and gain as we come along through the process. We need not to over analyze the situation-change. (Overanalysis leads to paralysis! –Ate Rain) It is a wrong and deadly move. (Checkmate!!!)


Therefore, we need a big plus sign towards any major changes in our lives. We do need to communicate with Him about what’s happening into our lives and surely, he will give us the answers.

If we are confused, by any chance, don’t know how to start making new decisions for which road to take, let’s seek His guidance and infinite wisdom in making our decisions. He would be more than glad to listen for He is our father and we are His children.

Dealing with lemons

Way back in college, we used to edit write ups made by our classmates from our creative writing course with our ever dearest humorous teacher – Mr. F. Right there, we learned how to become decisive and strict in grammar and composition.
I can even look through microscopic errors contained in each section of a certain paragraph.(that’s cool)

From then on, I tried to carry it over in my personal life which in return, has made me vulnerable and weak unexpectedly. I bent over on the negative side of life much more than the positive. I would always think and look for what is wrong (that is absolutely not cool) and failing to see the good things within them.



I admire the undying endurance and faith of Apostle Paul during his suffering in the cell and yet rejoicing and preaching the gospel of Christ. He did not focus on the negative. But instead, he chose to look at the positive and rejoice in it.

Most of us are complaining about the bad things happening into our lives. We always see and even magnify the problems that are placed upon our shoulders failing to notice the good things contained in them.



God wants us to be cool and calm in these circumstances (Chill chill!!!!-Eivan) and not to be critical and discouraged for He is in the driver’s seat. All we have to do is fasten our seat belts and look forward to our point of destination whatever road we take because wherever we go, there would always be bumpy roads lying ahead of us.

One most thing: “If life gives you lemons, make a lemonade.” – Dale Carnegie

...and don't forget to share it!

Cheers!!!!!