This is my first step forward.

Give thanks

"'Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?' Then he said to him, 'Stand up and go; your faith has saved you.'" Luke 17:18-19

How many times do you say "Thank you" in a day? If you say at least once, great; otherwise, I believe we should reexamine our life.

The fact that you're reading this means there's something to be thankful for. The moment you opened our eyes this morning, it's already a reminder to give thanks for another chance of life.

Our life is a gift given by God. Everything that happens to us are also blessings. Even challenges and probles are blessings. If we are given a gift, what do we usually say? Thank you. If the gift given to us was not exactly what we wanted, what do we do? We still give thanks AND appreciate the thoughts of the person who gave it to us. The same with our Father. Whatever it is that's happening in Your life right now, give thanks. These are for a greater purpose.

Father, thank you for the gift of life.

Share |

No more drama

Daily Encounter 12:14 PM

"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; and those who are crushed in spirit He saves.." Psalm 34:19

I've been going on and on how frustrating life can be, especially the one I'm living. There are a lot of "what ifs", "buts" and "could have beens". Then I asked myself, "Is this really the life you want to lead? Do you want the world to dictate how you should live it?" That was when I woke up.

I don't want to be frustrated anymore.

I don't want to be depressed anymore.

I want to live my life the way I wanted it to be.

Yes, I may have been broken. I cried buckets and lost sight of myself. But I'm returning, I'm making a comeback. This time, I'll do it with Him. No longer will I let what others say about me get to me; people have a lot to say anyway. I will hang on to Christ's promise and make my move with Him along the way.

I acknowledge that I have weaknesses. But I also have strengths. God has given me time, this life; talent, the gifts I have; and treasure, what I get to help others more. All these I lift up to Him and I will design my life according to what God has given me.

No more drama. Let's get into action.

Father, You are my strength. Let's enjoy the ride together.

Share |

Pressure

Daily Encounter 12:14 PM

"Things that cause sin will inevitably occur, but woe to the one through whom they occur.." Luke 17:1

It's an everyday struggle to keep a reputation.

As early as 12, I've been exposed to maintain a good image because of my father. My father is a well-known professor in the university where I graduated high school and college. With that, I had this pressure to perform well OR ELSE I will tarnish my father's image.

Until now, I have that pressure; not because of my father but Our Father. This pressure is a reminder that we are His children. We are all called to "perform well" - to follow His actions and will.

It is extremely difficult, especially to me as a servant in our spiritual community. If I sin, it will be a shame not just to me but to the people who believes in me. Most especially to God.

But we are not perfect. We're humans. We will fall a lot of times. We will sin whether big or small. Pressured? A very big YES! Guess what. Even if we feel the pressure, we should not forget to feel the love of Our Father. Papa (my dad) never forced me to be like him or did he cast me away when I sinned. What more with God? If my father on earth loved me for who I am, how much more can our heavenly Father love us?

Friends, let's increase our faith in God.

We are sinners, yes.

We are imperfect, yes.

But with God's love, we are made perfect.

Father, I thank you for the endless acceptance and love even if we sin against You. Embrace us Father and let us lead our lives from now on according to Your will.

Share |

Never enough

Daily Encounter 12:19 AM

"Thus I aspire to proclaim the Gospel not where Christ has already been named..." Romans 15:20

It was until March 2017 where I decided to serve the Lord through worship. A month after, I started to do a Feast Video in our office. For me, it was never enough to feel God's love in my life. The best way to love is to overflow. The more we feel God's presence in our lives, the more we want to share it to others.

Father, thank you for this anointing. Let me be an instrument of Your love to others. Amen.

Share |

The life you deserve

Daily Encounter 10:43 PM

"Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up." John 2:19

Brokenness has been a common thing. It's not like we want it to come. It occurs slowly; through tiny manifestations that we could easily ignore. One day it will pile up and we will just discover ourselves regressing to someone we do not recognize.

Right now, someone reading this may feel like garbage - aimlessly wandering and has lost their purpose. The life he or she is leading may be like a marketplace in our Good News; noisy, rowdy and dirty.

Then Jesus comes passionately reminding us that this is not how God's child should be. This is not the life that we deserve. We should be living a life that is glorifying God because of the love and blessings he has given us.

We do not deserve a noisy life.

We do not deserve a rowdy life.

We do not deserve a dirty life.

All that we don't deserve, God doesn't deserve. We are created in His image and likeness. Therefore, we should be offering our lives to His purpose.

God wants us to have a clean, calm and peaceful life. He granted this to us through the cross. Jesus loves us so much that He gave His life for us. He redeemed this life that we deserve through His death. For our salvation from all the deceiving demands of this world, Jesus won this for us as He died on the cross and rose after three days.

Friend, you're not meant to be broken forever. You have been granted the power to turn things around; to live your life for the One who has won it over for you.

Father, thank you for redeeming me from the lies and mess of this world. Thank you for accepting me to Your family.

Share |

Righteous

Daily Encounter 11:15 PM

Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.
Psalms 34:19 KJV

We do good things, away from the wrongs, yet a lot of challenges come our way. Problems arise as we journey in this life. And they are inevitable. We don't understand most of the time on why these things happen. Some people get stuck in their problems and ended up being miserable. They might say "Ginawa ko naman lahat ng makakabuti sa kanila. Bakit sinisisi pa nila ako?" or can be "Lahat na binigay ko, eto pa mangyayari sa'kin? Ano bang nagawa kong mali?"

Before we say those things, believe that God recognizes all the good and excellent deeds you made. Look at how we are loved by God and let us understand things happen for a reason. Don't listen to the people who mocks us on what we are doing. Please God not the people.

Soon we will be out of that situation without even noticing because God has already saved us and won the battle for us.

But wait there's more! After overcoming these problems, we have become better, we learned something and we improved.

God teaches how to be righteous. God prevents us to get harmed. God molds character.

Share |

The Struggle Is Real

Daily Encounters 11:11 PM

"Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple." Luke 14:27

This week has been full of uncertainties. As we hit our eighth day in doing our 30 day devo, I noticed that all my posts point to struggling and suffering. Even writing this devo now is a struggle. It requires an effort. It's a deviation from our normal plan of having a good night's sleep or series marathon. It is challenging.

But that challenge is a sign of progress. The struggle may be real but it is necessary. We can treat it as a wake up call to things or habits that we want to change.

It may be a different case for you. Perhaps, you have an addiction you want gone and you're trying hard to change your ways. You may have broken relationships that you want to rebuild. Maybe you want to do better in your job or school. We want to live the good life. We want to get back on track.
For that to happen, we need the pain. The struggle. The challenge. If you analyze it closely, it is not just to challenge you; it is to prepare you for greater things. The great life you deserve is on its way to become a reality.

God calls us to carry these crosses not just because he wants to. He is up to something great for you. Trust in Him. Feel the pain so you can taste your sweet victory He prepared for you.

Father, I entrust my life to You. Take my worries and anxieties. Greater things are coming.

Share |

Older
Stories

This is my first step forward.

Give thanks

No more drama

Pressure

Never enough

The life you deserve

Righteous

The Struggle Is Real

Hello!

Categories

Authors

Blog Archive