Speak Up

Do you believe in the power of the Cross? Can you trust the power of the Cross?

Sometimes we wait too long for the “right moment” to come before preaching the gospel to people. We pray and pray and pray. But all God was waiting for was for us to SPEAK.

Romans 10:14 (NIV)
How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in?
And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?
And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?

Speak up. And be amazed by how it’s about God’s power, and not whether you’re a good communicator or not. To begin with, it’s about what He has already done. It was finished on the Cross. Just speak up.

 

Reminder for Achievers

We’ve been singing the chorus of this song in church since Sunday, and this really ministers to me. I finally found the time to listen to the whole song, and I can’t help but play it over and over and over, because this has been my prayer the past few weeks – that I become less and He becomes more, and than in every achievement, it’s His glory that is magnified.

I come from a very undramatic past. I was blessed to have been born to a dad who’s workaholic that I didn’t have financial problems. I was born to a mom who’s trained me to excel in every single thing I did. I was an achiever in school. Won so many awards. Even when I didn’t know how to dance, I ended up competing and even teaching and winning a lot of times. I’m so used to the good stuff and so this verse became my prayer recently:

“Give me neither poverty nor riches,
but give me only my daily bread.
Otherwise, I may have too much and disown You and say,
‘Who is the Lord?’”
Or I may become poor and steal,
and so dishonor the name of my God.”
Proverbs 30:8-9

“Lord, don’t give me so many achievements if in turn I will glorify myself and forget You, and help me face seasons with little achievements that I will not do anything foolish just to achieve and dishonor You. Just enough for how ready I am, God, just enough. Stretch me either way, just to know You more.” 

God, Daniel, and Lotions Part 2 – Practical Applications

I shared my God, Daniel, and Lotions experience with my Coaching Network, and asked everyone what they do to continuously “fan the flame”, because as humans, especially in this generation, we can easily get bored.

When we buy a new cellphone, it’s very exciting. You’d use it all the time. You’ll hold it even if you’re not using it. But after a year, or maybe a few months, it’s going to be just another thing in our pocket. We may have that kind of tendency with our bibles.

So I asked them what works for them to purposefully fan the flame. Here’s some practical and helpful ways I’ve collected through our discussion:

• When your bible is full of highlights and underlines and all sorts of markings, buying a new bible may help get fresh revelations.
• Get some resources that will help you understand the Word deeper. For example, a number of us just bought today, “How to Read the Bible: Book by Book” by Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart
• If you’re very excited and passionate about the Word, write down what you currently do. There might come a point when you’ll need to look back and be reminded of “the things you did at first” to renew your passion (Rev. 2:2-5).
• Play praise and worship songs before you read.
• Pray for fresh revelations before you read.
• For those who have “no time” in the morning and are “too tired” at night, when you wake up, play praise and worship songs. Do your quiet time after eating lunch, before doing anything else.

God, Daniel, and Lotions

If you’re like me, after you’ve placed a check mark on that tick box, you don’t want to go back to that again. So if you’ve read a book, there’s a part in you that makes it hard to read it again without just skimming through it… or get new learnings from something you’ve read before (especially if there’s already highlights or underlines when you read it again).

I was praying the other day that my love and hunger for the Word be refreshed. I want to enjoy it again, and that reading it does not just become part of my to-do list, but really get fresh revelations every time.

The past few nights, I was reading through Daniel. It was very interesting how the bible described Daniel – he was a young man without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to teach in the king’s palace.

Then I read the next chapters about the dreams and interpretations – quite hard to follow. So I prayed again for fresh revelations and renewed love for the Word. I continued to read, trusting that every single Word is God-breathed. After a few paragraphs, I found myself just laughing and really enjoying:

Daniel 10:2-3 (NIV)
At that time I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks. I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips; and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over.

“Wow, kaya pala ‘without any physical defect and handsome’ si Daniel. Gumagamit siya ng lotion. Lord, natatawa ako. Hahahaha!”

This is SO NOT a dug-down-deep or life-changing revelation! I don’t even know if I can call it a revelation! But I was thanking God for the humor, and that I was really enjoying my time with Him, “Lord, nakakatawa. Hahahahaha!” It was a personal time with God, not just going through the motions of what I “must” be doing as a Christian.

I remember what a friend said before – “at the end of the day, it’s being more intimate with God that matters“. We can do so much, even read our bibles from cover to cover, but if it does not make us more intimate with God, it’s useless. I’m glad I had this lotion-moment. I’m excited for more!

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Words From A Hospital Bed

At the ER…
Blood Extraction 1: Wag masakit hah?
Blood Extraction 2: Okay, no problem. Magaling ka naman eh.
Blood Extraction 3: Aray, masakit yung ngayon.
Blood Extraction 4: Okay.
Blood Extraction 5: Nanaman?

1st night of my mom with me: God, thank you for my mom.

1st night of my dad with me: God, thank you for my dad.

Night when I got asked if Blue Cross will cover everything: I’m not sure, but kung meron namang hindi covered ng Blue Cross, covered naman ni Daddy. Hehe. Jesus, thank You for birthing me into this family.

Before endoscopy: Gusto ko yung feeling ng papatulugin ako. Na-miss ko yun from my previous endoscopy. Exciting!

After endoscopy: What??? 20-30 corn-sized stones taken out??? At meron pa sa gall bladder? Ang dame!!

Attending Physician: You’ll have to go through laperoscopy, most likely with open surgery. So you can’t dance on Sunday. You’ll be out before Sunday, but you can’t dance. Manood ka na lang. You have to decide already.
Me (in my head): Is there no room for a miracle? My faith tells me I can dance. Everything else tells me to have this bladder taken out! Faith vs Practical. Hmmm…
Me (after 2 hours of thinking and praying and thinking and thinking): Okay, go. Laperoscopy asap. But I will continue to pray for my miracle.
Me (after more hours): I will never again take for granted the days that I can dance.

1st night after they stopped giving me pain killers: I miss Demerol.

Breakfast (after days of no food/drinks followed by days of liquid diet): Woooow! Pancakes and sausage! They never tasted this good!!!

Bored: Feels like another week of vacation… but a forced one. Good enough for me, pero masakit. :-/

Thank You Jesus, I know I needed the rest.

While on dextrose: Ang hirap magtali ng buhok. Sana hindi pa dumating ang bisita.

Hours before the operation: Nakakatakot. Thank You for putting me in a place where I only have You to cling on to.

After the operation: Ano raw? ~50 stones inside the gall bladder? Oh my gosh ang dame!!!

After the dextrose was removed: FREEDOM!!!

Removing the drain without anesthesia: JESUS!!! Araaay ang sakiiiitttt!!!

After the drain was removed: What a glorious feeling! It is finished!

Looking back after everything: Wow, thank You God for the perfect timing. My surgeon just came from Vietnam and studied the procedure he did to me so that I did not need to go through open surgery. Had it been another time or another doctor, I would have gone through open surgery and I would not have been able to dance for weeks! This didn’t happen when I was out of the country (1 week before this happened), and another day later I would not have been able to dance in our 10th year summer anniversary concert. Thank You, Jesus, for giving me a miracle more than the miracle I had in mind. You definitely got the best plans!

Teach Me What Is Mine To Build

1 Kings 8:18-19
It was in David’s heart to build a temple for God. God was pleased that it was in David’s heart, but God said to Nathan, the prophet, that it is not David who will build it but his son (2 Samuel 7:5-16).

God, there are many “good” things in my heart. Teach me which is mine to build, teach me my place in all of these. I want to focus my energy to what You want me to do and not what I want to do… Coz I want to do a lot! But I know I do better when I focus. If there is any area of my life where I am doing too much or too little, please reveal them to me, and help me accept and adjust how You want things to be. I know it’s Your plans that have the best outcome. You know me. You made me. You know best. Ü