Sabi ni Rizal

Ang taong hindi marunong magmahal sa sariling wika ay higit pa sa mabaho at malansang isda sabi ni Rizal. Hindi niya sinabing masamang paghusayin ang sarili sa ibang wika. Siya mismo ay mahusay sa napakaraming lenggwahe. Astig eh, talagang makapangyarihan ang pluma at papel.

Salita

Ikaw ang iyong salita. Kung di mo kayang tuparin ang salita mo, paano ka mapagkakatiwalaan? Paano mo rin mapagkakatiwalan ang sarili mo?

Ang Dios ay ang Kanyang Salita. Kung ano ang ugali mo sa pagtrato sa kanyang Salita o Biblia, yun din ang siguradong trato mo sa Kanya. Kung ayaw mo nun, pwede kang gumawa ng sarili mong Dios sa sarili mong ideya. May problema nga lang, gawa-gawa lang ang Diyos na yun at niloloko mo lang ang sarili mo.

Ginawa tayo ng Diyos at hindi kabaliktaran- hindi tayo ang gumagawa ng Dios sa sarili nating kagustuhan o ideya. Hindi natin kayang baguhin ang katotohanan pero kaya nating baguhin ang ating sarili- at iyon ay higit na mabuti.

Fingerprint

If we were all created as unique as our fingerprints, then we can all make difference in this world as unique as we are. The reason you don't see yourself making it happen is probably because you don't know who you really are.

Our Spirit is greater.

Gather Satan, Beelzebub and all the fallen angels in my room and they still have no chance of touching me because "He who is in me is greater than he who is in the world." (1 John 4:4)

Bodybuilder

Most of us say we want stronger faith in God. That's good, but for what? So we can feel better about ourselves? So we can stand out in the crowd because of our "greatness"?

What good is the beauty and strength of a bodybuilder if you are struggling carrying your grocery and he's not willing to help because he's busy taking care of his "muscle thing"?

What good is your faith and love if you are not willing to help your brother or friend in need? The whole law is summed up in this command: "love your neighbor as yourself."

The dead

The dead does not know he is dead. So is the soul that says he does not need Christ. He does not know that he is dead spiritually. Praise God though for His patience and mercy. God will breathe life to any dead spirit who is willing to confess that Jesus is Lord.

Angel and Deeman

Nangyari na naman ang pinaka ayokong parte ng buhay ng isang tao.-Ang mamatayan.

Ok lang sakin at mas katanggap-tanggap pa ang pakiramdam na mabasted at ilang ulit na sabihan ng “let’s be friends” ng babaeng kinababaliwan ko, murahin ng magulang o ng tatay ko dahil sa paulit-ulit na pagkakamali ko, bumagsak sa quiz kahit na nag-aral ako ng mabuti o mas matindi pa, bumagsak ng isang taon dahil sa hindi pagsunod ng instruction, madapa sa harap ng maraming tao, pagtawanan, laitin, mga ganung klaseng bagay. Ok lang para sakin. Wag lang ang mamatayan. Wala akong kontrol sa ganung bagay, at lahat ng normal na tao, naniniwala ako, ayaw ng ideyang wala silang kontrol.

Sa tingin ko kahit kelan, di ako masasanay sa lungkot na mamatayan. Bawat isang mawala sa buhay mo, may kakaibang kirot. Kasing kakaiba, kasing unique ng buhay nila sa iyo.

Napakatamlay, hinang-hina, di kumakain at umiinom, constipated, nagsusuka ka na at alam ko ng mamamatay ka deeman, pero wala akong ginawa. Alam ko na, wala namang ginawa. Walang kwenta.

Alam kong walang kwentang balikan ang nakaraan at magself- pity dahil di ko naman kayang ibalik yung tapos nang mangyari. Pero sa tingin ko, makakatulong din naman na “pag-aralan” o maging kritikal ako sa bagay na ‘to. Para maiwasang mangyari ulit. Normal ngang mamatayan ng alagang aso pero di ibig sabihin na ok lang yun at basta na lang babale-walain na lang.

Bakit ka nga ba namatay?

Sinong may kasalanan? Ikaw ba? Kasalanan mo ba kung halimbawang isang linggo kitang hindi pinakain ng dogfood? Kasalanan mo bang kainin yung maruming basura na para sayo ay masarap na kahit ganun kabaho eh,... ewan ko ba sa inyong mga aso kung anung marumi yun pa gusto. Wala ka kasing alam eh. Ilang beses na kong naghealth teaching pero di mo maintindihan ang human language namin. O naintindihan mo at sarap na sarap ka lang talaga sa basura? Iww. anu ba lasa nun? Pinapakain ka naman ng maayos. Di talaga mabuti ang labis na pagnanasa ng pagkain (o basura sa kaso mo). Natuto ka ba? Malamang hindi. Di mo nga ata alam na patay ka na eh. May natutunan ka ba sa loob ng 261 days mo dito sa planet earth? Ako may natutunan sayo at salamat.

Ako, na tao ang responsable sayo bilang amo mo, pagpumalpak ako, ikaw ang kawawa. Parang hawak ko ang buhay mo. Parang ako ang Diyos mo. Parang lang. Diyos pa rin naman ang may hawak ng buhay ng lahat ng nilalang. Pero, ipinagkatiwala ka sa akin at namatay ka. Sino ulit ang sisisihin? Ang Diyos dahil pinagkatiwalaan niya ako? Syempre hindi. Mukhang malinaw na na ako ang salarin. Mukhang ang dahilan ng pagkamatay mo eh may malalim na pinag-ugatan. Nagi-guilty na ako. Mukhang ang dahilan ng pagkamatay mo eh may malalim na pinag-ugatan. Nagi-guilty na ako.

(Masyado na akong nagiging kritikal. Baka hanggang dito na lang ang basahin mo dahil di nakakatuwa ang mga pinagsasabi ko. baka lang ah. di kita hinuhusgahan.)

Nag-iwan ka pa ng problema, (o ako ang gumawa ng problema?)

anlaki mong shih tzu (crossbreed kasi ng shih tzu at japanese spitz) di ko lam kung saan ka dapat ilibing. Walang lupa dito sa dapitan na pwede mong paglibingan. Ibinalot ka na lang namin sa plastic bag ng basura. Nagmukha kang letson na nakabalot sa plastic. Nakakatawa pero di ako natawa. Nagrigor mortis ka na. Alam mo yun? Yun yung tawag kapag nanigas na yung patay. Ganun yung nangyari sayo. Ok? Idagdag mo yun sa bokabularyong mga itinuro ko sayo.

Decision-making.

"Itapon na lang yan sa ilog." Sabi ng gwardiya sa baba. Yung kaharutan mo minsan. Siya yun.

'Langya! Seryoso ba siya? Nagpapatawa ba siya? Papayag ka ba nun na itapon ka sa ilog? Malamang di mo alam kung anu ang tama at mali kasi aso ka at wala kayong konsepto nun. Amoral kayo. Kaming tao, kumplikado ang buhay namin. Hayop ka kasi kaya excused ka. Pero siya tao siya, na nag-iisip (Sana lang). Tama bang itapon ka na lang sa ilog ng basta basta lang at mabulok, uurin, maging kalansay? Bad trip. Nanahimik na lang sana siya para napagtakpan niya ang katangahan niya. Nadagdag na naman siya sa listahan ng soooobrang daming tao na tagumpay na naipakita ang kanilang angking talino sa pag-ere ng kanilang palpak na ideya. At dahil di niya alam na palpak siya, proud pa siyang sabihing "Itapon sa ilog." Wow naman pare. Alaga namin yun. Inalagaan ko yun. At di siya dapat itinatapon. Kaya sa mga nagbabasa nito, learn from me. Minsan makakatulong talagang manahimik na lang. Learn to hold your tongue. Kapag di ka sigurado sa ideya mo, wag mo na ipagmalaki pa. Baka mai-blog pa kita.

"Ilagay na lang sa plastic, tapos itapon na lang natin sa truck ng basura mamaya pagdating." Isa pang badtrip na suggestion. Pero mas mukhang yun ang gagawin namin, at yun nga ang ginawa namin. Mabigat sa kalooban ko talagang itapon siya. Itapon. Wahhh.. Mabigat na desisyon talaga yun. Gusto ka sana naming ilibing sa North Cemetery pero kaming mga tao lang daw pwede dun. Saan pa ba pwede? Hmmm.. No choice. sa basurahan na lang talaga. Sa bagay, wag ka na rin mag-inarte. Mas mabaho ka pa kaya sa basura. Alam mo ba kung anu yung amoy mo nun? Nung inurong ko katawan mo, duguan ka. Mas masangsang pa sa bulok na isda. Sobra. basta. Di ako magaling magdescribe pero kung nursing student ka, i-reminisce mo na lang yung mabahong amoy na naamoy mo at yun na yun. ok?

Ayun na nga. Dumating na ang truck ng basura. Ikinwento lang sakin ni ate hyd at ikinukwento ko lang sayo para alam mo kung anu nangyari sa katawan mo. Kunwari buhay ka pa. Kunwari meh kaluluwa ka rin tulad naming mga tao. Ayun.

"Ilang araw ng patay to?"-sabi ng gutom na basurero. gutom kasi..

"Isang araw pa lang"- sabi ni ate hyd na busog naman. kasi.. mukha ng busog ang tiyan niya. hihi

"Pwede pa to." Syempre ang sumagot ay yung basurero.

"Pwede pang ano?" alam mo na kung sino sumagot.

"Dalawa lang naman ang pwedeng puntahan niyan eh. Sa basurahan o kakainin."-yan ang sabi ng gutom ng basurero. Kaya nga nasabi kong gutom siya. O talagang nang-aasar lang siya? Kung iisipin mo nga naman, sobrang naghihirap sila. basurero eh. Di rin naman nila sigurong gugustuhin na kumain ng mga ganung pagkain kung may kaya sila gaya mo na nagfefacebook ngayon. Di nga ata nila alam itong facebook eh.

Kung anuman yung dahilan niya kung bakit gusto niyang kainin, at least honest siya. At nagpaalam pang kakainin niya ang aso namin. Ok eh noh? parang sinabi niyang "Kakainin namin yan mamaya. Wala ka ng magagawa."

Buti na lang, sooobrang baho mo na deeman. Di na nila kinaya. Bwahahahaha!!! Apir! Kahit basurero eh umurong din sayo.

"Ay may amoy na. Di na pwede." Take note sa ginamit na salita: "may amoy na" parang balewala lang.

Sana lang talaga di ka nila kinain. Sana.

Ayun. Di ko na alam kung anung ikukwento. Speaking of kain, kinain mo ang oras ko nung Monday. Monday ng umaga ka namatay. Mas masaya sana ang araw na yun kung di ka namatay. Birthday ni Dotskie nun at Sports Connection ng YLSC nun. Call time 8 am. 7am ako nagising at ang bungad na bati sakin ni ate hyd:

"G, wala na si deeman."

Blanko lang isip ko. Napaisip. Maya-maya naiyak na. Sandali ka lang nabuhay, pero wala naman sa tagal ng pinagsamahan yun. Champion na naman si immortal angel. Alive since December 10, 2000. Magte-10 years na siya. Payat nga siya pero malakas naman. Konti kumain pero matibay. Di tulad mo. Lakas lakas kumain deadz naman agad. wooh. panis ka hehe

(Dalawa aso namin. Si Angel at si Deeman, ako si Dan Brown. hehe)

Nakakalungkot. Akala ko pa naman sabay natin ise-celebrate birthday nating dalawa sa December 13. Naiimagine ko pa naman sarili natin na nagjajamming sa pizza party. Habang may suot na Happy Birthday na cap na pambata. Cute. Di bale, ikakain na lang kita ng pizza at magtitirik ako ng kandila sa birthday natin. Sayang. Di na kita makikita ulit. Kamukha mo sigurado meron, pero iba ka pa rin.

I've just learned another paradox in life. I won't ever get used to this. More of my loved ones will be taken away. I'd be prepared. I'll spend more time with them. I hate to mourn but it's part of life. We are all aware that we are going to die. We just don't know when. That thought makes me cling on to what is good, to do what I believe is right. To take life's decisions seriously yet enjoying every detail of it. Laugh a lot. Don't hold grudges against anyone. Love. Don't give it up. You give up loving, you give up life. And that's even worse than dying. This life is intended by God to be lived with love. Life. Love. Lord. You have no God in your life, you have no love but false love. Cling unto what is true.

So be grateful man. Life is short. Live well. Know your purpose. Your life, if unexamined, is not worth-living.

O God, remind me that my days are fleeting away. I've been living for about 21 years but my memories are all shadows. They're no different from my dreams. You created me, therefore you alone know why you created me. Pour out your thoughts on me. I praise you for coming into me and giving me an abundant life. The Lord gave and the Lord take away. Let the name of the Lord be praised. :)

The truth shall set you free.

"The truth shall set you free."
Free from what? Free from the deceptive thinking that we are correct just because we think we are. Everyone is entitled to have their own opinion but not their "own truths."

(You can read John 8:31-36 for better understanding.)

My friends are atheists.

i admire atheists. Not for not believing in God but by being honest in their belief. By showing that at some point in their life, they thought about God and made a stand for what they believe. Unlike some church goers who say they believe in God but do not act like they do. 

If we can learn to have the kind of attitude to discuss sensitive topics like this, we will all grow to be better thinkers. We will learn more about world and about who we are.

If you are an atheist, I as a Christian would love to discuss this matter with you. Not to point out who's wrong or right or who's better or not. That's not the point and there is no such thing as a better person.

If we talk, it's either i can make you a stronger atheist (which perhaps you will like) or will make you a believer. Whatever faith anyone holds in the end, we deserve to be respected by each other.  Our beliefs are who we are in our core being. I will respect your beliefs and i thank you for respecting mine too.

We can still live in peace and with respect for each other. Let us make that happen not by believing we are better than anyone but by embracing each other's differences (not necessarily agreeing with their belief)

Existence

Human intellect is great but it is not what we need in understanding God. We need the Spirit. In the same way we don't smell the colors or see the taste of food, we need the Spirit to know God. No wonder anyone who tries to know God intellectually fall away from Him and consider it foolishness. That is exactly what the Bible says.

"The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit."- 1 Corinthians 2:14

Therefore a person who does not believe in God and the one who does can be equally mentally skilled and totally opposite in their views of God. Again, we need the Spirit. Makes sense? If you are an unbeliever and this does not make sense to you, again, I understand. Peace!

Nobody is perfect.

"Nobody is perfect. i am not perfect." says everybody. We talk like we sincerely mean this until someone comes up to us and tells us what is right, we are easily offended. We delay learning the truth by doing this. We all have blind spots in our beliefs and perception of things. Nobody sees the whole picture. If you would help me figure out what my blind spot is, i would thank you for that. Nobody is perfect. i am not perfect. 

"For the LORD corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights."- Proverbs 3:12
"The fear of the LORD is he beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction." - Proverbs 1:7

STAT

If we say we are going to do something, we must do it quickly before we forget and become liars. 

"But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation."- James 5:12 

i, myself am guilty of this. If our words can not be trusted, then what good are we? We are quick to condemn others for not doing what they say they will but how about ourselves? We must be always aware of the things that come out from our mouth.

no shame

Oh yes, i am not ashamed of my faith in Christ. Not because I want to make an impression to anyone that i am holier or better in anyway. 

No, the exact opposite is true, I admit that i am a sinner and in need of God the Savior. I admit that my own understanding and wisdom is no good compared to God. I admit that I cannot genuinely love anyone if it was not for God's love Himself flowing through me.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." - 2 Corinthians 5:17
"Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."- 1 John 4:8

I don't need God to do good...

"I don't need God to do good, to be happy, to succeed in life and treat others nicely." says a common man. 

Although I am a Christian, I respectfully agree with that statement. 

We do good because whether you believe in God or not, it doesn't change the truth that we are created in His image. He is good. We can make money without praying if we are determined and do the right thing. The difference is, as a Christian, I understand and acknowledge that it is God who is at work, who gives, whether we acknowledge Him or not.

He does not start to bless us when we start believing Him. He has been blessing us already even before we pay attention to Him. As a Christian, being deeply aware of His works and love even before I commit myself to Him, I can not help but humble myself and praise Him.

NCLEX

i'm a man. i'm tough. i'm not afraid. i won't back down. i won't accept defeat, not even the thought of it. there's nothing i can't conquer. i'm relentless. no mountain can block my way. i can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

The apple exists.

So I finished eating my apple one day, when this girl told me that the apple did not exist at all and I did not eat it. Of course I knew she was wrong because I really experienced eating the apple. Some people were swayed and believed her because her argument seemed to make sense. People nowadays say that Jesus is not real and you cannot experience Him. They have good arguments that seemed to make sense. Of course I knew they were wrong because I really experienced knowing Him.

success to me

After careful thinking, I determined that my definition of success is the continuous loving and deepening relationship I have with God through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Everything else will follow- my financial independence in the future, wisdom, development of my character from a forgiven sinner to a character that reflects God's character, good relationship with friends and families, good health, cool material things that God would entrust me and all those beautiful things that God had always wanted to give us. Then I will die someday then I will finally go Home to where I am adopted. So yeah, either way is a win-win situation for me. It's full of hope if you can relate.

Reaction to the lost gospels

Reaction to ”The Lost Gospels”


Who is Jesus Christ?

This may seem to be a trivial, uninteresting, boring question to some (or most perhaps). But to anyone who made statements like “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” “I and the Father are one.” “Your sins are forgiven.” “Before Abraham, I was.” and all those claims of divinity, one must seriously consider who that person really is. Was he just a liar for making such claims if he knew they weren’t true or a lunatic or was he simply saying the truth and therefore he is the Lord? 

I’ve read the four gospels in the New Testament already and I personally believe it with all my heart. Although I’m not a theologian or anything like that, I’m ready to make a defense of my faith, the very reason of my choice of existence.

The Gospels of Thomas, called Didymus, Peter, Philip and Mary Magdalene as well as the other gospels which were not presented in the documentary like gospel of Judas caught my attention. One thing is certain for those gospels: they existed. Therefore, the question regarding were they really authentic and not plagiarized should be answered truthfully. Of course, I, being a deeply-rooted believer of the Bible am expected to reject anything that is not in accordance with the teachings of the Bible, such as these gospels. 

I surfed through www.gotquestions.org and www.carm.org to have additional insights regarding these lost gospels. As expected, they (or we) regarded it as heretical. From what I’ve read, there weren’t proof that those were really authorized by Thomas, Philip and Mary Magdalene. Its first writings according to scholars were dated within 4th Century unlike the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John which were written between 50 AD and 100 AD, making the four gospels more reliable than the “lost gospels”. In addition to that, it wasn’t new to me to hear such documents for there were heresies from the start of Christianity.

I believe that the gospels in the New Testament are sufficient documents. I believe that the canonization of the books of the New Testament was guided by God and not for selfish gain of any man. Though we may never really know what exactly happened, we can choose which to believe. We are not historians and even if we were, I believe historical facts are not enough to build the foundation of our faith. I believe truth is one but falsehood is manifold. Truth is a mystery. Only those with hearts with dedication of knowing the truth will truly find it. As the LORD promised in Jeremiah 29:13-14 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the LORD, and in Jeremiah 31:33-34 "This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the LORD. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."

It’s encouraging and liberating to know that you can really know the truth but how difficult and confusing the journey of knowing it is so hard. For now, this is my reaction. There is so much I would like to share but little time to do it. As I conclude, I’d like to share my conviction- that I believe in Jesus Christ not because of the compelling reasons or evidences to believe it but because I believe the Spirit testifies to me that it is the truth.

I do pray that all those who want to know the truth will come to know Jesus Christ. For he himself has said, “I am the Truth.” From then on, we will embark the journey of knowing the truth.
-G

"Dinner is ready. Are you gonna eat or what?"

Normally every night, my mom would let me know if dinner is ready. (Aww.. i'm a grown man and still relying on mom's cooking. not cool.)

-Start of the story-

Mom: "Dinner is ready."

Me: "Alright. Thanks mom!" (Then i sing the "thank you mom" song, salamat nanay salamat nanay salamat nanay! lol)

and then we eat together.

-End of story.-

That was a very deep and powerful story wasn't it? Did you get the meaning behind that ordinary scene? Probably not. Let me help you understand:

"Dinner is ready."

A natural man would acknowledge that yes, there is God and he is content with that knowledge alone hoping that he will be saved in the end if ever there really is a judgment day. Maybe he has an idea that God is good and He will save him because after all, he believes he is good in his own standards at least. He kinda believes he is better than the sinners around him. He KNOWS THERE IS GOD AND IS CONTENT WITH THAT KNOWLEDGE ALONE. (No action involved, just knowledge that there is God.)

..and then we eat together...

A natural man, since being content of the knowledge of existence of God (existence of food) will normally not seek God (eat the food)  and understand what the existence of God really means in his day to day life and he's ok with that.  Again, it is because HE IS CONTENT, DOES NOT WANT ANY CHANGE IN HIS LIFE. (You know what i'm saying? He's just chilling.) 

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

Now, what good is the food if we didn't eat it? It's useless. If I keep on being content of the idea that there is food and not eat it all the rest of my life, I will die soon. If I acted like the natural man, how would I get physical nourishment? In the same way, how can we be nourished spiritually if we don't eat the spiritual food? How can we be nourished if we don't seek God and understand Him through His Word? (Yes His Word I said because He talks.)

Aren't all humans from one Creator? Regardless of anyone's belief, it does not change the truth. The Master Jesus Christ Himself said, 

"It is written: 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" (Matthew 4:4,  Deut 8:3)

Through the sense of hearing (mom told me dinner is ready) i believe the food is served. Through the sense of sight, i see the food. Through the sense of taste, I taste it and get nourishment out from it. Similarly,logically or through mental understanding, we see creation everywhere which means there is a Creator. Spiritually, He will help us understand who He is and what nourishment He can bring to us.

This is my prayer to everyone who is reading this:

 "I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may KNOW HIM BETTER. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people," 

-Ephesians 1:17-18

He who has ears to hear, let them hear.

Yes God exists my friend, but that knowledge alone is not enough. Wisdom is supreme, therefore get wisdom. (Proverbs 4:7) 

Eat that food alright? ;)

What shall we do then? Well, the question is simply, "Dinner is ready. Are you gonna eat or what?" 

nice haircut!

"Nice haircut!"
I recently (and finally) got a haircut and some people complimented me for that.
I thanked them and said "Yeah, my barber did a really good job on my hair. He's cool."
I feel good about my haircut but very thankful to my barber for what he's done.

"You're such a good, nice man, Gi." Some people would say.
I thanked them and said, "Yeah, God is doing a really good job fixing my sinful character. He's cool."
People would think I am religious for saying that. That ends our conversation because I mentioned God.

It makes sense to me that eternity is man's choice. It's pretty much the product of our choice here on earth. Don't want God in your life right now? Then that's what you get in eternity.
Want God in your life right now? Then that's what you get in eternity.

"We're gonna have a very bad snow soon."
Great. That's totally inconvenient. So what should I do? Sleep and hope it's not gonna happen? Sleeping won't change the upcoming snow so it is with our meeting with Our Creator when this dreamlike temporal life is over.

Call me Jesus Freak for sharing my faith. I'm cool with that. But please understand that my confidence is not in my own thinking but in Christ alone. I am concerned most deeply with the fate of human soul more than anything physical or temporary. I pray that your understanding will be opened my unbelieving friend. Truth sets us free from the thinking that we are right just because we think we are.

Questions, violent reactions, objections are always welcome. My Master was mocked, ridiculed, laughed at when He walked this earth. It just makes sense to me if the same thing will happen to me if I  follow Him. And hey, I'm cool with that. "Father, forgive them for they don't know what they are doing."
It's not right to hate someone if you really don't know who they are.

Real men read Bible???

I just wanna address the posts saying "Real men read the Bible."
Really? So if I don't read the Bible I am not a real man?

I won't let the focus of reading the Bible be swayed away. We read the Bible or written word of God to know the Living Word, who is Jesus. Our love for God is equal to our love for His Word. Let us not make this fancy just to make ourselves feel better than the nonbelievers.

With all respect my religious brothers, I believe it would be better if we stop saying "Real men read Bible". As adopted children of God, we are to attract all men to Christ and not push them away by saying in our heart that we are better than anyone.

How can we be better than anyone? Did we not receive Jesus free? His salvation, His grace,  His love, His wisdom and all those gifts He is freely giving by grace? How can we boast about it?

We don't follow God to make ourselves feel better than anyone. Instead, we are humbled because we were once under the autthority of our corrupted thinking and now under Christ, who loves us and is willingly sharing His Divine mind with us.

We don't share Christ to make people morally upright. That's cute but we share Christ because all of us are dead spiritually and in need of Savior and again reading the Bible draws us closer to Christ.

So please, simply stay focused in Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.  Don't give room for pride in your heart.

Real lovers of Jesus read the Bible. Period.

OMFG!!!

OMFG! Oh my Father God in Heaven, teach us how to treat your Name with all respect and love we can possibly give because you are more than deserving of that. Thank you for the life you have given us. Thank you for your neverending mercy even though we don't acknowledge You as much as we should.

"You must not misuse the name of the LORD your God. The LORD will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name."- Exodus 20:7

Confidence

I have a friend who built himself a chair from scratch. I was surprised cuz you know, we usually don't build chairs. Right?
So I was impressed cuz it looked well built and sturdy enough just by itself, with no one sitting on it.

So I asked him how he built it and if it's strong enough for me to sit on it. But he told me "Well, you know you can build your own chair." So I asked him if he could sit on it instead because I just want to make sure how strong it is but he said something like "oh well it's just a chair. I don't really sit on it that much."
I was a little confused about the strength of the chair and so it seemed untested and not strong. I'm not confident to sit on it.

What is the story about?

Like what I said, we normally don't make chairs from scratch right? Cuz we just buy them at store and trust  that it is strong enough to hold our weight. We normally don't make chairs and if we do, we might most likely have the tendency of building a weak one.

So it is kinda like the truth. We don't make "our truth". Faith is about putting your trust on what we believe is true. Everyday we exercise faith- we have faith that the alarm clock will wake us up in the morning, faith that our car's engine will work and take us to work even though we don't know how the car's engine operates exactly. Our daily lives are filled with faith, not necessarily religious or faith in God.

Now, faith does not change anything. I mean, it only concentrates on what is already there. We have faith that microwave will warm our food because a microwave is designed to do that. If we have faith that our food will get frozen when we put it in the microwave, no matter how hard you convince yourself that it's going to happen, it's not going to happen.

So what we should do with faith? We should put our faith on what is true, secure, strong and trustworthy and that is the Word of God, which is the Bible, written Word or Jesus Christ who is the Living Word. (John 1:14)

Like the chair, we have no confidence if we build it ourselves, in fact, we don't necessarily have to build our own chair. We can buy a chair and trust that the maker that it's strong and reliable.

We don't have to make our own beliefs or truths. That's dangerous. We just need to focus and trust on what's already there and that is the Word of God.

Having said this, I welcome you to the group "Confidence."

Jeremiah 17:7 says "Blessed is the person who trusts the LORD. The LORD will be his confidence."

Together, we will learn more about God through our Lord Jesus Christ and as we know Him deeper, we become more and more confident in Him.

Please feel free to interact, invite people and encourage other believers in this group. God bless you guys.

I pray that your faith will not fail.

My friends, I pray that your faith will not fail.

Let your thinking be soaked with God's Word. The Word is so powerful that God spoke and everything came into existence. (Scientists call it Big Bang. Fine, but what provoked or started the Big Bang? Science or our study of things answers the question how and our faith and understanding of who God is answers the question why. Science, if understood from the right perspective gives the undeniable evidence of an intelligent Designer. Therefore, science is in the side of God.)

Talk to God endlessly my friends. Pray for one another. We all desperately need the help from one another, unless you are proud and you think you are strong enough by yourself.

"The one concern of the Devil is to keep the saints from praying. He fears nothing from prayer-less studies, prayer-less work, prayer-less religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray.” - Samuel Chadwick

"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,"
-Ephesians 6:18-19

God is not saving the world...

There are a lot of times that i don't want to meditate on the truth.

There are a lot of times that i don't want to hear what God really says because it could be very inconvenient and uncomfortable and scary. I have tried to reject the truth about Hell many times because I don't want, I can't imagine people going to Hell if God really loves us. Then the truth sank deeply in my heart that God Himself does not like that truth as well. So, even though very inconvenient for Him, He stripped off His Majestic robe and became man to carry our sins so that we don't have to be punished of our sins in the judgement day. He is being patient for our sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. (2 Peter 3:9)

He was strong enough to solve the problem of sin, willing enough to face the inconvenience of carrying the weight of the sin of the world into Himself and die for us. He is a God who is stronger than any sin, way more loving than anyone could define love.

Now, one might wonder, why can God just let humans die and face no judgment at all? Like when we die, that's it, like no soul or spirit or anything like that. Like life here in this world is all there is. Why the fuss about Hell and Heaven?

My friend, let me remind you that God created us in His own image. (Genesis 1:27) Of all creatures, it is only us, humans whom God breathed into. (Genesis 2:7) He planted eternity in our human heart (Ecclessiastes 3:11) We are created for eternity. You know it's true. All of us are longing for it. It is no wonder then that EVERYTHING IN THIS LIFE IS JUST LIKE A DREAM IN THE END OF THE DAY. It was not meant to be like that. We were meant to live for so much more. Have we lost ourselves?

"Surely God would not have created such a being as man, with an ability to grasp the infinite, to exist only for a day! No, no, man was made for immortality."- Abraham Lincoln

Now, with all honesty, nobody really likes the thought of Hell. I don't. God doesn't. He is patient for our sake. If keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die. (Galatians 2:21)

Jesus faced the inconvenience with the thought of Hell and He did not back down. He did not compromise with sin. Instead, He took the matters into His own hands and solved it once and for all.

Look at us, humans, we avoid the topic of Hell and quickly judge God that He is evil because Hell exists. Again, it is never His will for anyone to die.

"God is not saving the world, it is done. Our business is to get men and women to realize it."-
Oswald Chambers

Understand that when I speak of Christ,
I do not speak of judgment but of forgiveness.
I do not speak of death but of life.
I do not speak of anger but love.
I do not speak of religion but reconnecting to God Himself.
I do not speak of laws but of grace.
I do not speak of boasting but of humility because I was once under my own thinking, thinking that I was right and so I was proud. Now that I am under Christ's authority, I am humbled because I voluntarily tell myself that I give up. He knows better.

"Where, oh death is your victory, where, oh death is your sting?"- 1 Corinthians 15:5

Praise God. Praise God. Praise God.

orientation

So until now I am still excited with the fact that I moved to MICU (Medical Intensive Care Unit). I felt like a new nurse again. A lot of things are not familiar to me and I am so glad that I have 12 weeks to be personally trained by one of the best ICU nurses on the floor. I am finally a MICU nurse and I still don't know a lot but I'm confident that the learning part will come, what's more important is I am already in.

One day, a doctor asked me a lot of questions and complicated medical stuffs that I was not prepared to answer. He looked at me and his eyes were like saying "you are not a MICU nurse, you shouldn't be here." But my good preceptor defended my side, "He's still on orientation. He's new to the floor. You can ask me your questions." Awesome! It always feels good and humbling when someone helps you out.

Growing up, people have questions about my faith and I was not prepared to answer them. I know I am finally a Christian but I still don't know a lot but I'm confident that the learning part will come, what's important is I am already in Christ, I have no fear of judgment day for I am saved. (John 3:16)

Now, questions, doubts, skeptics will shake our faith. Do not be surprised. Stand firm and let nothing move you. We will hear God Himself saying something like "He's still on orientation. He's newly adopted to my Family. You can ask me your questions." Awesome! It never fails to make me feel secured and feel humbled every time God helps me out. Humbled, because as I learn, I look back to where I came from and remind myself that the might Hand of God took me where I am. That's really cool. I find no room for boasting. Our perspective of life is getting better and better, faith is getting stronger and stronger.

My brothers and sisters in Christ, we are still on orientation. We will always be. The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher. (Lord Jesus; Luke 6:40)

"When you are brought to trial in the synagogues and before rulers and authorities, don't worry about how to defend yourself or what to say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what needs to be said." (Lord Jesus; Luke 12:11-12)

"You must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it."- 1 Peter 3:15

"Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know."- Jeremiah 33:3

(The doctor part was kinda fictitious. I find all people working in the MICU nice. I've heard a lot of negative comments about them but I believe that people would NORMALLY treat you back how you treat them.(See Luke 6:31))

Peace!

"Self improvement is masturbation."- Tyler Durden (Fight Club)

Self improvement or desire to be great in the eyes of people is meaningless if what we really want is to feel good about ourselves. Without love for others, what good are we really? 

The universe is almost infinite in size in our human perspective. The Amazing Creator could have easily given us one planet each to live in if He wanted to. We exist to serve others. This is not a genius idea. This is basic. Only a weak, dependent child does not understand this. 

Now regarding desire to be great, to my brothers and sisters in Christ: Not so with us. Instead, whoever wants to become great among us must be the servant of all, and whoever wants to be first must be the slave— just as Jesus did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Matthew 20:26-28)

"Do everything in love."- 1 Corinthians 16:14

"Whoever does not love does not know God for God is love."- 1John 4:8

Confidence

Growing up in my Christian faith, i was not so confident with my belief, i honestly perceived Christ as weak and i thought i would not be able to defend my faith.. Now that i am grown up and still continuously growing ("The Spirit is given with no limit." John 3:34 Our faith is not sky is the limit but literally has no limits. Boom!)
i realized that i don't have to defend Him, we don't defend a lion, we unleash the Lion and let the Lion defend itself. How we perceive Him shows how strong or weak our faith in Him.

In the same way, we should not worry about defending God's word. We believe because the Holy Spirit in us tells us that is true. It's that unexplainable feeling that you know it's true but you just can't express it. It's like the sense of smell trying to describe what the eye is seeing. Our flesh does not explain it, but the Spirit in us is giving us CONFIDENCE that Jesus whom we believe is true even though we were not there physically 2000 years ago. It doesn't really matter.

"Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”- John 20:29

Now, one of the reasons this group exists is because I want to see my fellow believers in Christ confident in their faith. Yet, humble enough to respect other people's worldview or religion. We are all work in progress. There is always much to learn.

"And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen."- John 21:25 Boom!

Invite people. We all need each other in our relationship with God. We don't have to wait until Sunday to get in touch with other believers. WE can do it all the time especially with our technology.

"Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers."- Galatians 6:10

A patient has the right to refuse medication and treatment.

A patient has the right to refuse medication prescribed by a good doctor to make him healthier. A man has the right to refuse Jesus who will save him from judgment day.


He may refuse maybe because he firmly believes he does not need Him because he has not sinned. The wages of sin is death. (a) God is kinda saying something like:
"If you are good enough for your standard, well that's good for you. That's cute, but you know you will not judge yourself in the end. I will;(b) under my standards and the judgment is entirely the consequence of your choice. (c) You have been warned. Another day, another warning(d) that you are heading the wrong way, further away from Me.

You are not only spiritually sick but the truth is you are spiritually dead because of sin.(e) The condition was so hopeless that I had to take your sins upon Me to make you alive again.(f) This I did all because of my love for you."(g)

My friends, I love you all and that's exactly the reason why I share Jesus. I am not sharing my belief, I am sharing the truth. There is a difference. Truth is inconvenient,yes. But it will set us free from our thinking that we are correct just because it is convenient for us.(h)

Now, tell the world about the medicine and remember, a patient has the right to refuse med. Move on quickly to the next patient and offer the med. We'll not "shove down" the med down their throat. Whether people refuse Jesus or not, we'll keep sharing.(i) With God's patience and the encouragement from one another, we will NOT stop.

"Today, if you will hear His voice: "Do not harden your hearts,"- Psalm 95:7-8




a) Romans 6:23
b) Romans 14:10-12
c) Galatians 6:7
d) Hebrews 3:7-8
e) Ephesians 2:1
f) Ephesians 2:4-9
g) John 3:16-18
h) John 8:31-32, Luke 9:23
i) Matthew 28:19-20

Either or

If Heaven and Hell are real and the only way to get saved is through Christ, by all means  we need people to get saved.

If Heaven and Hell are not real and Jesus is a fraud, by all means let us shut him up and destroy Christianity because it is deceiving countless and hopeless souls.

One cannot overlook the claim of Jesus "I am the Truth." If he is really searching for the truth. Either he is or not.

But as for me, I confess that Jesus is the Truth. Let God be glorified.

i'm not gonna ask you to commit your life to Christ.

i'm not gonna ask anyone to commit their life to Christ;

in the same way i'm not gonna ask you to commit to breathe, drink, and eat. But we all do it anyways.

We have naturally committed our lives to these basic necessities to stay alive.
Now anyone who is in Christ is a new creation, the old has passed, the new has come. How can you go on living this new life if you don't commit your life to Christ?
It's either you are only spectating Christ and not really know Him, or your eyes are open to the understanding that you are forgiven of your sins and therefore needs Christ everyday of your life to stay a "CHRIST-ian."

Christ is invisible. Yes. But I do pray that the so called Christians live up to the standards that Christ has set, by His grace alone and not through own strength. Not because we please God by doing good but because by following Him, we show what character He has, which is loving, holy, wise, forgiving and all other words that we try to describe His character.

Now, i'm not going to ask you to commit your life to Christ. No, that would be burdensome to your part if you don't know Him. Instead, i will help you understand who He is. From there, i will let you decide which way to go- to be in Christ or out.

If ever you decide to believe. I would love to help you understand these things. God bless you, my friend.