His Words

On our post-Valentine lifegroup, we discussed about second chances; on how we can get our second chance and why should we give second chance to others. When I was doing my devotion and creating the lifegroup teaching points, Matthew 18:21-35 (²¹ Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times) really spoke to me. This verse is part of "The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant", below video describes what this parable is:

Most of us, for sure, had that one thought “If only I had a second chance, I could…” Our Father grants us second chances, third chances, fourth chances, etc. But we must remember and put in our hearts that we should use those priceless opportunities in good and truthful ways.

We sometimes stumble and we all commit mistakes and after that moment, we inevitably ask our Creator for another chance. God believes and always give us second chances but there are strings attached to those who are doing these opportunities – repentance and change.

Now after we have received and earned that second chance, He also teaches us to give second chance to others. Probably “love your neighbor” is His hardest reminder to us.

1. Our OWN Second Chance
God is not only the God of second chances; He is the God of another chance. This is good news because most of us mess up the second chance fairly quickly. One of the amazing facets of God's character is His incredible patience with us. Psalm 86:15 says it well: "But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness." The Bible is full of people who received second chances, and even third and fourth chances: Peter, Jonah, Mark, Samson, David, and others. All trophies of God’s grace.

• Repent First. Repentance is one of the first principles of the gospel and is essential to our temporal and eternal happiness. It is much more than just acknowledging wrongdoings. It is a change of mind and heart that gives us a fresh view about God, about ourselves, and about the world. It includes turning away from sin and turning to God for forgiveness. It is motivated by love for God and the sincere desire to obey His commandments. Luke 5:31-32 (31 Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”)
• Ask for Forgiveness. Forgiveness is always available! The good news is that, no matter how serious the sin, God is always seeking us out and is willing to forgive and forget our sins and give us a fresh start. As long as we live, it is never too late to ask for forgiveness and make a new start! So Jesus used this illustration: (Luke 15:3-7) 3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.  When we have sinned, we can ask God for forgiveness, as in the Lord's Prayer: (Matthew 6:12) "And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors."
• Visible and Invisible Change. After having the second chance, it is now in our hands the responsibilities to show others and to Him that we have changed genuinely. Remember, people will see our outward personalities and actions to verify our changes. But God sees everything and He sees our heart if we made a pure repentance. 1 Peter 1:7 "These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed."

2. Giving Second Chance to OTHERS

God is patient and forgiving, He wants His children to be patient with and forgiving of others. "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience" (Colossians 3:12). He gives us second chances, and we must give the same to others. Jesus gives a stern warning to those who refuse to forgive, saying that if we will not forgive others, God will not forgive us (Matthew 6:15; see also Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13; and Proverbs 19:11). If someone is truly repentant, then we are obligated to forgive (Matthew 18:21-22)

• Guard & Check your Heart. Forgiving others is sometimes very hard, but it is essential if you want to break out of the bondage that it's brought you under. Forgiving others opens you up for the Lord to begin healing your soul and heart (inner healing). Since unforgiveness blocks us from receiving God's forgiveness of our sins (Matthew 6:15), it puts up a wall between us and the source of our healing.
• Forgive & Forget. Of course, it is impossible to truly forget sins that have been committed against us. We cannot selectively “delete” events from our memory. The Bible states that God does not “remember” our wickedness (Hebrews 8:12). But God is still all-knowing. God remembers that we have “sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). But, having been forgiven, we are positionally (or judicially) justified. Heaven is ours, as if our sin had never occurred. If we belong to Him through faith in Christ, God does not condemn us for our sins (Romans 8:1). In that sense God “forgives and forgets.”

When we have wronged someone, we have no right to demand another chance. But we should work to earn another chance by continued demonstration of repentance and change.

Do you sometimes feel that you are very passionate into something from the beginning but suddenly the interest is becoming less and less? As Christians, we sometimes drift away from the burning fire of passion in serving Him? Am I right? I am not saying that this is normal but this happens to a lot of believers. There could be many reasons but the most important thing is that we always have a chance to rekindle the fire.

As we progress in life, most of the times, the priorities will change and we aim to a better and more convenient nature of living. Other reasons could be that we are distracted and very complacent that in time of "service", we are pouring out a lot of reasons and excuses. Let's also remember that "serving without substance" is as bad as ignoring His call. He wants "us" and not our "empty service".

To have a better passion in service for God, we must remember that loving Him and putting Him on the top of our priority list is the greatest commandment. And if we enjoy serving Him in any way that we can, it is also an excellent sign of our love to Him. (Matthew 22:36-38 '³⁶ “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” ³⁷ Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment.') 

Don't limit ourselves in a state where we become comfortable in serving Him. Try to find other ways to improve it and get out of your comfort zone. If you are shy to encourage and share His words, start now to change that attitude. Returning to a life of passionate service for God begins with repentance. If we gradually releasing our hands from the sphere of commitment, it also means that we are waving goodbye from our first love. We can always reconnect to Him and put Him in our hearts by regular prayer and meditation on His words. We should have an intimate relationship with Him and that makes Him happy. Be excited everytime there is an opportunity to serve Him. Make your devotion a daily habit and put it in your routine and give way to an amount of time to have a "personal date" with Him and rekindle the flame of your first love.

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Prayer is one of the most powerful tools that we have in our life. It is an essential part of being a Christian and be ensured that our walk with Christ is in a progressive and correct path. The best thing we can do is to put prayer in our priority list and include it in our daily routine. We should spend some time alone with Him not just in times of need but also for comfort and guidance.

I admit that for the past few weeks, I've been lazy about my daily morning devotions and my prayer time was slowly diminishing. Because of this, I snapped that resulted to discomfort and a tiring environment for me. My OCD things were becoming a hindrance in my "regular" routine. For no reason, I had to close and open the every door for five times. During my sleep, I woke up every two hours just to wash my hands and ensure that it is clean. I even cleaned my room at midnight and didn't care even if it takes me until early morning to finish. I also bought a handy vacuum cleaner just to be sure that every dust in my room will be cleaned instantly. It was so tiring but when I asked myself, "What is going on with me? Why is this happening again?" I assessed myself and found out that I haven't been talking to Him for quite some time because I became busy with work and other stuffs. I started to pray hard again and my devotion is now on track and I have recovered from these nasty OCD things.

I realized that prayers really help that it can lift your burden and reveal to you the wonderful things around you. It also helps us to make a wiser decision and have a clear mind in every step we take. In Matthew 11:28-30 (28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”) states that He is just waiting and He is always ready to lift us up and find rest in His presence. Without prayers will make us very weak and can leave us confused about everything.

Also, be reminded that if we are lacking of intimate communications with Him, we become a primary target of the enemy. They have several stages on how to feel us unworthy. First, they will discourage us that will lead to losing our hope that will result to doubt. Then if we are doubting, we can be in the state of disillusionment and they will whisper to us, "where is your God?", "you are unworthy", "stop being a Christian" and if we listen to these lines, we have no other way but towards to great disaster. 

Let's keep into our mind, heart and soul that prayer isn't just about asking for something from Him but it also for our own comfort in times of needs, we find rest and most importantly, it is our surviving tool and this tool is our way for getting the correct assistance, guidance and protection. God is so generous that he always gives us a new beginning so why don't we start now to put back prayer in our priority list.

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Love, a four letter word that might comprise a thousand (or even million) definitions. We might have been fall in love and could have been gone crazy for it. But how do we cope up and why are we still pursuing love even if we experienced hurt before? They said, 'Love like you've never been hurt' is the exact description of what I am talking about. But beneath those happiness and pain, there are still those memories on how a person broke our heart and left a hole on it.

Breakup is such a painful experience; it can lead to depression and doubting yourself. You will also question yourself on what you could have done better and if there is something wrong with yourself. We might have also given them the stars and the moon and sacrificed a lot to a person just to show how much we can offer for love. The worst part of it all is that you have to separate ways and there's nothing you can do about it. The process of healing is not an easy timeline but it will be easier if we know who we should run for in times of heartache.

Primarily, God is the best source for an immediate medication to this kind of "condition". As stated in Psalm 147:3, "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds". Just come to Him, He will show you the way and there will be a "holy surgery" that He will perform to your heart and be ensure that there will be no pain. Pray to Him and ask for wisdom and greater understanding about His plans. He will build you up and will reveal to you that He has prepared a better person for you. Jesus cares for us (1 Peter 5:7 - Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you) and He wants to take away all those sorrows and pains and stop the tears flowing from our eyes.

As we all know, He is the source of everything. He is the only who can provide the greatest strength and comfort that we need in these times of troublesome. Lastly, we can also pray and ask for Him that right person that He has prepared for us. We should be reminded that we should first seek Him and the rest will be give upon us (Matthew 6:33 - But seek first His kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well). The question is, can you commit your time to Him? Study His words and ways and live the way that He used to be while He was here. Keep in our mind that love is the greatest feeling of all and it covers everything.

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Being betrayed by the one we love is one of the most painful things that we can experience. It's unimaginable the effect it may cause to the relationship with that people. But how we should response when we are the one who betrayed by our loved ones? We might not realize it but simple things can lead to another level of betrayal. If you are a parent, how would you feel if your child was expecting you in the audience during the recital program? As a friend, what emotions would we feel if we were not around during our friends' unfortunate events? As a son and daughter, isn't it too painful in our hearts that we were not besides our parents' when they needed us the most? Though there might be some excuses, the thought and words "if only" will still hunt us. If we put ourselves in those situation, isn't it too painful when we were betrayed?

If read Matthew 26:36-46, Jesus experienced being betrayed by His disciples. He was in times of trouble and distress and a simple request was not accomplished by those men. It was too hurtful to realize that His "friends" were not watching Him during those times. He was praying and asked them to watch Him but what did they do? They slept and rested. Jesus experienced this thing not only once and even pointed out to Peter to pray to cast away any temptation. We are living in a demanding world right now and it is not easy to balance life's demands by loved ones and serving Him. But be reminded that if we don't know how to do it, we are betraying not only the people around us but also Him. 

So we shouldn't ignore His calls and justify those times that we are not doing our purpose. We might also need to consider the ways on how we can show our love and care to our loved ones. We can be both in this scenario, a betrayer and the one who was betrayed. We don't know what battle the people around is fighting. They could be hurting and afraid to be alone, so fellowship and praying together is a powerful tool to overcome it. Why don't we take our steps now to show our care to those people in need because loving these people is also a way of loving Him. Our measurement of our love for Christ is our sensitivity to the needs of others. Pray to God to open your eyes and heart to see clearly the things that we can do for others and take actions about it.

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Oh yes, it is very easy to say the word "forgive" but in reality, most of us is having major trouble in accomplishing such behavior. It is indeed very hard especially if were wronged. Keeping anger and resentment is one of the most dangerous things a person can do. Holding onto it can result into negative effect and unexpected consequences. You might not be aware but unforgiving can spread into everything that you do. A feeling of anger can affect your work and relationship to others. You can't perform fully your duties if you are clinging into that state. For example, if you saw a person you had trouble with in your way to office, the instant thing that you might do is to tackle different way just to avoid that person. You might not realize it but unforgiving also affects not only the mind and spirit but also your physical attributes such as your muscle and chemical balance in the brain. An attitude of bitterness can lead way to tension and anxiety.

In bible, we can see how God directly commanded us to forgive. Matthew 18:21-22 (²¹ Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” ²² Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.) is the perfect example of how shouldn't we linger into unforgiveness, it is clearly a violation of God's law. This also hinders the ability of a believer to perform his church duties and can be a distraction in maturity and growth. The way you worship and pray to Him will be in hypocritical manner since your heart isn't pure and there is a part there which is damaged. It is ineffective to honor the Lord if your try to justify or hide wrong attitude. You can also affect other believers since they see in you a stage of disobedience. The list of the effects of unforgiveness goes on and might lead to self-destruction.

I know that forgiving isn't easy but prayers and pure heart is the perfect match in order to overcome it. If you forgive someone, you should also remember that you are casting away your right to get even to that person even if you were wronged. Give up that anger and never ever think of revenge and vengeance. Isn't it refreshing if you don't have any anger in your heart and your journey to your life will be lighter and can be perfect? Seek guidance from Him as in His presence, everything is possible and everything is easy.

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It was year 1996 when I watched the Filipino film "Magic Temple". The story was quite unique and was tagged as major improvement in film making. It won several awards in Metro Manila Film Festival of the same year. But there was one scene that marked on my mind. It was the scene where Jubal and Sambag have to decide which road to take in order to reach their destination. One of the roads was so broad with very colorful lights and full of beautiful things; while the other one was so narrow and dark. Jubal took the narrow one and Sambag chose the broad one. In the end, Jubal was right as the broad road seemed so easy that took Sambal in danger.

In real life, when we want something, we have the tendency to take the easier ways to accomplish it. We are so focused on the beautiful things and casting away all hardships and challenges. Well, life isn't all about happiness and reaching our Father's kingdom isn't an easy road to take. In Matthew 7:13-14 (¹³ “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. ¹⁴ But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.), Jesus described two kinds of roads, broad and narrow. We all believe that we are destined to heaven and we are thinking that the only thing that we should do is to do good. It's just a part of a bigger portion of a puzzle.

On the broad road, life is so easy. Taking a journey is no sweat. This will only require us few commitment and all kinds of philosophy will be accepted. This road seems to be full of promises; we can do all we want to do. It's all about partying, happiness and indulge into material things, we are free and we only do what we think is the best. In this road, it has all the things that we desire but in the end, nothing lasts forever, no lessons learned, nothing made us stronger, nothing prepared us for something bigger. We became so contented that we forgot that there is more into life.

Narrow road has a small entrance and requires us with only ONE prerequisite to enter and that is through faith in Christ. I am telling you this road isn't easy, faith in Christ is path that we give full commitment to our Savior and the lifestyle will include sacrifice and trust. One major rule is to love God and love our neighbors. He will tell us what's the best for us, He will decide all the things for us and the only thing we can do is to obey. The path will be harder than the other road, there will be detours and road blocks but they were only a test of faith. But we are assured that if we take this road, all His promises are guaranteed.

Yes, it is our choice which road to take and we should be wise and making this decision. The broad one which leads to hopelessness and no relationship at all with God or the narrow one that brings an everlasting life. It is actually an easy choice and this shouldn't be a question. Surrender to God and ask for relationship with Him and that's a start to enter His kingdom. 

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In our lives, it is impossible not to encounter any burden. Yes, it is a part of being human. Whether the burden is about financial or relationship, waking up everyday won't be easy once we rethink those things. We might also be thinking what the future holds for us that can put heavier loads on our shoulder. Exhaustion is inevitable but we can lighten up the burden if we handle it biblically. In Matthew 11:28-30, it says there: "²⁸ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

We all know that life wouldn't be easy and Jesus is very aware of that. He doesn't want us to carry unnecessary things for He knew that our Heavenly Father can help and assist us. The above passage assures us that we can find peace in His arms; a promise that there is hope and in Him, we can be relived. Before we come to Him, let us first admit to ourselves that we have burdens that we want to surrender to Him. Next is to identify what is the real issue then we can raise it up to Him. When we pray, we can ask Him to take good care of us and the burden on our shoulders to be lifted up even a slice of its weight. The answers may vary, the response could be immediate in a miraculous way or He may allow those burdens to remain for a little while so that we can learn from it or think it over and identify what might have caused it. But the good news is we are assured that we are not facing the challenges alone as He is always there for us.

If you are carrying heavy load now, come to Him and find peace and relief. Don't stumble and hold them solely but instead continue to pray and believe and trust Him that everything will be okay eventually. We can be victorious and the freedom from burden will come soon. Let Him take those burdens from you.

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Yesterday was a roller coaster of emotions for me. I received news about the death of my churchmate's father and the death of a former colleague. First news was very heart breaking as I know how this sister in Christ of mine truly trust and praise God. The acceptance wasn't easy but it was comforting to know that his father accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and saviour. Still, the thought of losing someone isn't easy and needs more time for the healing of the heart. The second news was a shocking one, this cool, hippie Indian friend and was a teammate from BarCap was so young and has a lot of potentials. But these things happen for a reason. Death isn't the end at all for them as I believe that an everlasting peace will be with them, same to my sister who left the Malbas clan eight years ago. They are now in a world where no pain will be felt, no problems need to rectify and will embrace the freedom from suffering and sins.

Jesus has prepared a place for us in that kingdom as stated in John 14:1-4 (Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.). There is place that awaits for us after our purpose here on earth so we shouldn't worry at all about our relatives and friends who have passed away. If you will notice, description about the heave is very brief. Infact, if you will read the bible, only few details were given about the real atmosphere of heaven and what happens in the afterlife. Maybe God's reason is to keep us excited and for us to wonder about the mysteries of heaven, it's for us to imagine and it's for us to believe.

In Christianity, the assurance that you will reach that world is that you have received Jesus Christ as personal Lord and saviour and by declaration of faith. We should acknowledge Him will full trust, faith and love (Matthew 10:32-33 "Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heave"). Should we be afraid about death? I don't think so. We are assured that He will always be with us thru that journey which reflected in Psalm 23:4 (Eventhough I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me). So, should I say, death isn't bad at all? We have our own opinions and beliefs but whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord in heaven. (Romans 14:8 - If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord).

Yesterday's preaching by Ps. Christie was very powerful. It was a heartfelt moment as the message striked me and I believe that many were affected. I saw some people who were crying and I can feel their pain. A friend confessed to me that he was also crying as he was touched by it. In some instances, I was hit and I told to myself, "Oh, that was me. I was doing that bad thing!". The main topic yesterday was forgiveness, truly, you cannot receive full blessings if you can't give it to those who have hurt you.

We were forgiven by the Lord and covered by the holy blood of Jesus, to unlock the blessings, why don't we give the same sincere forgiveness to others. This has been mentioned in Colossians 3:13 - 'Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you'. This will result to narrow down the anger, to ease the pain and to move forward.

Yes, forgiveness is against our nature so we forgive by faith. Whether we like it or not, we should forgive and put the complete trust to Him that he will do the works and set your heart free from anger, bitterness & wrath. It is our job to forgive as it pleases Him, we should please God. Also, I believe that forgiveness is a slow process, you just need to let Him do his part by healing your heart and make necessary actions. We should forgive even if it takes a hundred times to do so as mentioned in Matthew 18:21-22 'Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.'

For most of my friends, I am a jolly person and seems like I don't have any problems at all. I can make you laugh, put bright lights in your days and uplift your spirit. For the last two lifegroups that we had, I served as a discussion leader and these last two topics are portraying and working in my life right now.

Nothing to worry. In Matthew 6:34, states "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own". These past few days, I've been in these what we call "obstacles" in our lives. There are lot of things that I need to do, need to accomplish, need to finish and need to execute. I know that I shouldn't worry about what will come cause my faith in Him is hundred percent. I'm thankful that I have these people around me who can still uplift my days and provide me even a little piece of happiness. Yes, I need those people not just to forget my worries but also to see that there will always be a sunshine after the storm. In Proverbs 12:25, "Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up." Instead of sitting in the corner and continue to think of these problems, why don't we talk to someone whom we trust, share your emotions and be encouraged with their lives. I believe that worrying is useless and just a waste of time. You will not accomplish anything, time is running and can't put additional hour in our life after the crying moments and self pity. Worry is like a rocking char, it gives you something to do but it doesn't get you anywhere. I sometimes realize that worrying may lead to questioning my trust in Him, so I just get up, think of positive things and believing He is working and preparing something good for me. I saw this one FP post from my friend: "Hope is wishing something would happen. Faith is believing it will happen. Courage is making it happen. Love makes it easy.". We need the complete recipe in achieving positive attitudes, we can make it, I can make it and as Mariah said "I can make it through the rain".

I'm fine, thanks. Most of men can't show real feelings and emotions to others. I can say that I am one of them. I am very, very good in hiding my emotions. If you see me quiet and ask me if I'm okay, I will say 'yes! and everything's fine'. But deep down inside me I know I'm undergoing a lot of stress. I'm not saying that I'm a 'plastic' person, maybe I am trying to stand firm and believing that I can do everything thru Him. I'm not sure if I am showing two sides of me and showing different personalities to different group of people, friends and even to my family. We are all a work in progress. Can you believe that before, I can't show to my sister my 'Christian' side and was afraid to show her what's something new to me? I was afraid to show her that I have changed and I'm reading bible and I am now praying in new ways (before it was a 'memorized' prayer). In Matthew 6:5, "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full". I don't want to be a hypocrite that in front my LG-mates, I can pray with all my heart but in front of my family... nahhh.. I'm shy. It's a good thing that I am now more open to them and can discuss the bible and His lessons and words. As Christians, we should always be showing one face, don't be shy with our ways, be proud and continue to serve Him.

Last 6th of February, my shepherd taught about me the importance and the "fruits" of reading the bible. He mentioned that bible stands for Basic Instruction Before Leaving Earth. This holy book is not just a "thing" that after reading the entire pages then will proceed to the next book. At the first instance of reading it, the messages might be not that clear but after reading it over again, different revelations and meanings will be presented to you. In 2 Timothy 3:16-17, "All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work".

You will get many benefits in reading the bible. As they say, all the answers to your questions are in the bible and yes it is true. It also serves as a guide in our decision making. If the food nourishes our body, His words nourishes our soul. We will also be guided with our characters and thoughts, on how we will interact with others. God has a plenty of promises to us and we can discover it by reading the bible. As we go on reading this book, many messages will make your faith to be increased by His power and love to us. As for myself, when I am reading a bible and found a very good and perfect verse that spoke to me, I use a highlighter to emphasize it. Sometimes I share what I have learned using this blog and I believe that many will be blessed. We should keep on reading the bible and for sure you will feel the hunger for His words as many lessons will be learned for sure.

With what we have learned, we can give a helping hand to others so that they can also discover the wonder of His words and how it changed our lives. As for myself, a former officemate lend his hand to invite me and convince me to join him for almost one year and a half. I am very thankful to this guy who brought me to this family as I became closer to God. Outreach was our topic during our shepherding last 13th of February. Aris told me the importance of being connected to others and encourage them to let Him lead the path for them. In Matthew 28:18-20, "Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age'".

In outreach, there are two ways that my shepherd taught me. First is through evangelism (we call it evax). This is the way of inviting other persons to come and join our fellowship and experience His presence. Honestly, this part is the hardest thing as I am not used to talk to strangers but I am a work in progress. The second is discovery on which we explains how God really loves us by giving His only son to pay for our sins. The first time I ever did a discovery in our fellowship was also a learning experience for me, I was able to understand and feel more His love for me and what blessings await. In outreach, we can use testimony on how our lives were changed so that it can be an inspiration to others. Sharing is also the best way to connect to others, let them tell their stories and find ways how to be related and give them encouragement and some advise. Then in return, share ours and be open to every feelings, comments and suggestions. It is a great feeling seeing others who has a closer relationship to God with your help.

I think it was last year that I posted these words in my FB account: "It takes true courage to avoid retaliation". It is indeed true! Well, if you ask me, I was known as the king of revenge since high school and college days or even in my previous works. It was very hard not to take revenge after someone caused you pain. My ideal before was very simple, I will not stop until I caused that person same pain or even double or triple. But now, I am proud to say that I have managed to control my anger and not to take retaliation anymore. Instead, I just pray for that person. Eventually, in one of our caregroups, my CL told me she was thinking of me when was about to send our topic, yes! It was my favorite topic as I have a lot to share.

Matthew 5:38-42 - 38) You have heard it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth' 39) But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40) And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41) If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42) Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

During our discussion, we have enumerated three steps or ways on how to handle retaliation.
1. Learn to give up my rights when facing personal insults. Even Jesus Christ faced insults (Matthew 27:42 - "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! He's the King of Israle! Let him come down now from the cross and we will believe in him) But what did he do? He just prayed for them and take all our sins and He was the one who asked forgiveness from God for our sins (Luke 23:34 - Jesus said, "Father, forvie them, for they do not know what they are doing" And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.) In our daily life, we cannot please everybody, someone will strike you with insults and bad words that will make you anger but what should we do? We just need to forgive and pray for them because if you take negative actions against it, you will just commit sin, we should be more understanding and pray for that person and give them forgiveness that comes from our heart.

2. Learn to give up my rights when facing unreasonable demands. This portion is mostly about submitting to our leaders. For sure we have experienced overload in work and our boss continues to give us more work even if we have not yet done with our current assignment. But Jesus told us to follow your learders as they are the chosen one. No matter how bad they are, just pray for them as they will be the one answerable to Him. We should also pray for more wisdom and strenght in facing challenges of superb demands and expectations from us. Just continue to do the best that we can and try work harder and seek God's guidance and help.

3. Learn to give up my rights for taking revenge. (Romans 12:19-21 - 19) 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. 20) On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.) In this way, we were taught to love our enemies. 21) Do not take revenge but instead, learn to love them and give them what they need. They need more understanding and encouragement so give them what they lack of.

Truly, isn't it a great feeling that you are loved by everybody and caused no harm to anyone? That everyday we face the morning breeze all is positive? I believe that avoiding revenge is such a big challenge for all of us but if we try harder and put more effort and always thinking His lessons, we can overcome this. Let's continue to pray and seek his guidance and take His leadership and make Him the center of our life.

We have the 10 commandments but I still consider loving God is the ultimate. Isn't it nice when you wake up in the morning knowing that He watched you your entire sleep? Isn't it a great feeling that wherever you and whatever you do, there is someone who loves you? And the best way to bring it all back to Him is also to LOVE him. We had a devotion discussion last Thursday and I don't know where this "ultimate command" words came from when I was asked about the below verse:

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 - 4) Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5) Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6) These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7) Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8) Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9) Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

I said it as ultimate command as I feel that when you love God, everything that you see is beautiful, there is no pain and your life will be filled with great happiness. We are assured and secured with Him, ready to embrace us for any failures and victory, ready to listen to us when we want to talk or even when we are crying. He loves us so much that we should also love Him above all by following his orders, avoid making sins, letting Him to lead us going to His path and listen to Him when He speaks to our heart. I am blessed that I have a mother who is very close to Him that she literally displayed God related items in our entire house and yes even in the gate. Since our childhood, we knew His existence and we always acknowledge His presence in our lives.

Matthew 22:37-38 - 37) Jesus replied: "Love the Lord God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38) This is the first and greatest commandment.

It is very clear from the above verse that loving Him is the greatest commandment. All is possible with Him. They are saying that we are playing the game called life, I will say that love is the greatest weapon/advantage in this game. So let's use it, we can overcome any troubles when we love Him and nothing can go wrong.

During the lowest point of my life last year, specifically around July to September, I was at home most of the time and I used it to get closer to Him by reading the bible. On one instance, I was impatiently waiting for a good result and answer that I almost gave up but upon reading this verse, it striked me.

Mark 11:24 - Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

So I continued to pray and claimed that all my prayers will be answered in the right time and that I just need to believe and trust His plans to me. But still after that, there were still those times of doubts and questions on when is the right time? How long should I wait? Should I give up? Are these His plans, to make me suffer? Why is this happening to me? Did I do something wrong? But my trust to Him erased all those uncertainties and I just continued to pray and that time, I looked for more support on the bible as I believe all the answers to our questions can be found in that tiny book.

1 John 5:14-15 - 14) This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15) And if we know that He hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of Him.

Acts 16:31 - They replied, "Believe in the lord Jesus, and you will be saved - you and your household.

Matthew 7:7-8 - 7) Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8) For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to Him who knocks, the door will be opened.

We can see how great He is, He will give everything we desire, just approach Him, just ask and believe that He is always at our side, ready to listen. By believing, it feels so light to wake up every morning knowing that we are loved. Like what I posted before on my Facebook account, "Prayer is the best communication as you know you are loved by the one you are talking to". But there were some moments of questions why we are not blessed or the prayers are taking too long to be answered. The answers are still in the bible and believe me, after reading it, I understood more what my weaknesses are and what are the things I need to consider.

John 16:24 - Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive and your joy will be complete.

James 1:6 - But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

James 4:3 - 3) When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
The keywords are to ask and believe, don't be discouraged and get frustrated. As my UL discussed to me on our last shepherding, ensure that my prayers are for good intentions and that my motives are clean and will not make any harm to others. Well then, I insist, ask thru prayers, there is always a proper and correct timing to Him... just believe.