Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Convenient and Comfortable


In mission we serve not out of convenience because if it is then it’s no mission at all. We go were others dare not go, we go even if it’s inconvenient with our time and when faced with difficult situations we make others convenient first instead of ourselves. We only take convenience in the thought that God is with us. So if we are serious about mission, we need to give our time to this.  The best gauge of commitment is time.

Mission will sometimes bring us to uncomfortable places or situations. So if we are looking for something else, then we are not looking for mission but vacation.  As missionaries we are the first to see the positive in the negative situations. We are the last to complain and the first to affirm.

Sometimes what makes us uncomfortable is obedience. A good brother pointed it out fittingly, “Obedience is not submission; obedience is trust.” We obey because we trust in the goodness of our God.

Teach us O God to take comfort in You so when faced with uncomfortable and inconvenient situation we can still find grace and love. Amen. 

by aats

Monday, April 29, 2013

We Cannot


Father Jerry Orbos SVD in his column at the Philippine Daily Inquirer wrote, “One must really decide, and not just wish; commit and not just try; take responsibility, and not just hope. At some moment of our lives, we must really make a choice and not vacillate between being good and being good somehow.”

We cannot just be blowing in the wind and allow nature to decide for us. We must decide, commit and stand up for something. We cannot go on in life uncommitted, irresponsible and unaccountable. 

by aats

Friday, April 26, 2013

Mercy and Love Endures


I always love this song that usually sung in the church, it goes like this, “Steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning, new every morning, great is Thy faithfulness O Lord, great is They Faithfulness.”

We will wake up in the morning always assured that His love is constant, consistent, and as sure as the sunrise. We may be down with failures, lost in pain and burdened of sins yet every morning His mercy and love endures. We can always start anew, stand up again and be refreshed by His Spirit. 

by aats

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Seriously


I have time to facebook, twitter, tumblr, text, chat, calls and more except for prayer and service? Seriously, if we are a confessed and practicing Christian, is this the right thing? Let’s think about this, if we have the copyright of a published book or the license of a certain product, isn’t it we expect royalty from those who are using them? Our God does not just hold copyright nor license for us because we are His creation. Good thing is, God does not ask for royalty. He wants us to give back freely. Is giving a little time too much to give? 

by aats

God Always Gets the Blame


I can’t understand why when everything goes wrong with school God is the first to go. When everything is not well, God gets the blame. “I failed at school because I serve too much in YFC.” And the parents of course not knowing fully well the reasons will say, “No more YFC, you study!” Is YFC really the reason, or our messed up priorities? Maybe we can look at other things that these students are doing.

“I can’t attend prayer meetings anymore because I have to study.” Asks if how’s there prayer time, the answer is “Honestly, I don’t have much time, I’m so tired from school that I just sleep right away.” What if it’s God that says I’m too busy, I have no time to listen and answer to your prayers? Oh my, we are missing the point. We need more God if we are not doing well in school. Others say, because they have very limited time to study. Are we hearing it right? Really? I think it’s a matter of time management. Look at what probably we are doing when we are not in service. We have actually so many free times, only that we failed to manage it right. Taking away God because of studies is a missed opportunity and wrong priority.

Serving God on our ideal time is serving God out of convenience. 

 
*There are of course situations as students were we need to have more time spend on school however it should not take our time away from God.  


by aats

Monday, April 22, 2013

Who Was I To Stand In God’s Way?


The first reading today from Acts 11:1-18 narrates the story on the disciples criticizing Peter why he visited and ate with the pagans. Peter told them his vision and how he saw the Spirit descended upon the pagans as well just like with them at the beginning.  He said, “Who was I to stand in God’s way?” They then gave glory to God saying, “God can evidently grant even the pagans the repentance that leads to life.”

When someone else, other groups, or communities are proclaiming God and are doing Gods work, we sometimes have the tendency to judge them adversarially just because they are not one of us, not with our group or with our community. Sometimes we unknowingly believe that it is just us, our community, our group can proclaim and do Gods work when in fact there are so many ways to proclaim and do Gods work. If others are used by God and are doing His work, who are we to stand in Gods way?

by aats

Thursday, April 18, 2013

There Is Still God


We have heard some people say, “Pagod na akong maniwalang may Diyos. (I am tired already of believing that there is God.) In a world full of Godlessness we cannot fault them of saying so. However despite of chaos and pains, mercy and love abounds. God does exist.

Huwag mapagod maniwala sa Panginoon. Walang hindi kapani-paniwala sa Kanya. (Do not get tired believing in Christ. Nothing is unbelievable in Him.) 

by aats

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Beyond Sin


Gods plan is beyond sin. No amount of sin can hinder the fulfillment of Gods plan for us, as long as we acknowledge Him and repent from sins. Nothing can separate us from the love of God as the letters to the Hebrews says. Where sin thrives grace abounds. 

by aats

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Romans 11:33


How great are God's riches! How deep are his wisdom and knowledge! Who can explain his decisions? Who can understand his ways? – Romans 11:33

We tend to have a very limited definition of riches. Most of the time, we think of properties, gold and money for riches, however for God it is but little. Riches comprises more than those things. God wants us to be richer with knowledge, wisdom and relationships. He wants us to understand deeper His ways so we can appreciate more fully His creation that He intended for us to use for good and enjoy for life. He wants us to be rich in relationships because He knows happiness is fully experienced with others. We can never be but richer with God, after all He is the source of all riches. 

So with limitations that sometimes we put on ourselves we find it hard to understand why things are not happening according to our plans. But God decides and we may not understand everything but we are assured that it is always for the greater good. 

by aats

Gods Goodness


I had a conversation with a brother who told me that I must have so many realizations and learnings coming from the Philippines. I replied, for sure, tons of realizations, learnings and affirmations. After 9 years of Fulltime Work there is still more. I can never exhaust Gods goodness and surprises.  I can only bow down to Him in thanksgiving, worship and adoration.

As the song goes, “Steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercy never comes to an end. They are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness O Lord.”

by aats

Saturday, April 13, 2013

On Friendship


There are friendships that make us closer to God and there are also friendships that keep us away from Him. Friendships anchored on God can last a lifetime because it is anchored on solid ground. So it is good to be on the look out for friends who can lead us to Christ and if not, then let it be our goal to win friends for Him. 

It is a blessing to have Godly friends they are gifts from God. Are we a Godly friend?

by aats

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Of Heart and Mind


Mission belongs to the intelligence of the heart more than the intelligence of the mind because mission requires taking risks that a calculating mind cannot do. In order for us to see the things we only see in our dreams, we need to go beyond what we think and do what our hearts desires. I am talking of course here of holy desires, a heart anchored on God. Only a heart anchored on Christ can see beyond what the mind is still calculating.

Lord, grant us a heart that is willing to take risks for You and a mind that is align to your holy will. Amen.

by aats

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Nothing is Impossible


I am forever grateful to God for allowing me to experience the 20th year anniversary of YFC. It was never planned and never expected. I really thought I will never be able to attend an ILC anymore because based on reality it was not possible, probable and feasible. My visa processing was taking so long, my schedule was piling up and the timeline to ILC was getting closer. I was resigned to the fact that I may be able to go back to Philippines but not in time for ILC, but God has His own plan, He makes the impossible possible.

To borrow the words of the prophets, “Great is Thy faithfulness O God my Father… Thou changes not, Thy compassion the fail not. Great is Thy faithfulness Lord unto me.”

For nothing is impossible with God. -Luke 1:37


by aats

Of Light and Truth


The gospel reading from John 3:16-21 tells us how God loves us so much that he gave his only begotten Son. He is the light who has come and yet men still choose darkness.

When we are faced with choices between good and evil, sometimes it’s really mind-boggling why we still choose the evil. Do we choose the evil and the dark because we are used to it and that we are not capable of risking beyond it and seeing the good, the light and the beautiful?

The gospel continues, “And indeed, everybody who does wrong hates the light and avoids it, for fear his actions should be exposed; but the man who lives by the truth comes out into the light, so that it may be plainly seen that what he does is done in God.”

Truth cannot be but beautiful because it belongs to the light. If we are telling the truth then we have nothing to be afraid of. It is always good to express ourselves in truth. On the other hand, if we are the receiver of truth, how do we respond to it? 


by aats