Holy Week: Then and Now

When I was young, my Tatay and I  would watch a parade of shirtless men doing penance. And that used to scare me a lot.

My mother would make an altar in our terrace and groups of old and young women would come to our house and pray.

You would hardly find your favorite shows on TV. People would speak in low voices and would refuse to eat meat.

People did not use to travel a lot, worried they would meet an accident because the Lord was ‘weak.’

And on Good Friday, we had to take a bath before the clock struck 3. That was the time Jesus Christ died on the cross, our folks would tell us.

Now things have changed. People go to the beach. Our fave TV shows are on the air till Wednesday. People don’t mind eating meat.

Most of them have become more open-minded and practical that they have already realized that what’s important is we never forget how God gave His Son Jesus and how Jesus gave up His life and faced His fate just to save us.

Related articles

• A Lenten Post (bokgil.wordpress.com)
• What is Good Friday? (faithfulprovisions.com)

The Purpose Driven Life: Day 18

DAY 18
THINKING ABOUT MY PURPOSE

Point to Ponder: I need others in my life.

Verse to Remember: “Share each other’s troubles and problems, and in this way obey the law of Christ.” -Galatians 6:2

Question to Consider: What one step can I take today to connect with another believer at a more genuine, heart-to-heart level?

For the time being, the only believer I know who I can connect with at a deeper and more genuine heart-to-heart level is my friend/colleague Jannah. I haven’t been given the chance yet, but I know at the right time, we’ll be able to do so.

I believe that it’s her because I can see how strong her faith and her devotion to God is. Her thoughts and her words are filled with God’s teachings. She, without any hesitations, shares her knowledge in God’s Word. Through many different ways, I was moved by her motivation and her focus on God.

Maybe, someday soon, we’ll have a chance to talk about how God has touched and changed our lives and how we can flourish and fulfill our purposes. And when that time comes, I’m pretty sure, I’ll feel more blessed to know that God has sent me a friend who I can go through this journey with.

The Purpose Driven Life: Day 17

DAY 17
THINKING ABOUT MY PURPOSE

Point to Ponder: I am called to belong, not just believe.

Verse to Remember: ”In Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” -Romans 12:5

Question to Consider: Does my level of involvement in my local church demonstrate that I love and am committed to God’s family?

I haven’t been in a church for years now and I can feel how different it is to be living without it.

I left my mom’s hometown, Sta. Cruz, Laguna, where my church was located, way back 2005. That was when I started working. Since then, I had attended church services off and on due to my shifting schedule and different restday schedules.

Now that I am staying in my hometown, which is Cabuyao, Laguna — 2 hours away from Sta. Cruz — I don’t have a church to go to. Though I really want to go to one, I’m quite hesitant because I am not acquainted to any yet. But my goal now is to find a church where I can be involved in, make fellowship with, and worship God publicly.

I can never be fruitful by myself. I don’t want to be severed from Christ’s body. I don’t want to shrivel and die. What I want is to grow with the other members of Christ’s body and live according to God’s will. I want to fulfill my purpose because just like every part of our body, we have our own functions. We may be a big part or a small part of His body, what’s important is, we have been chosen to perform tasks that He has entrusted to us.

“Heavenly Father, I can never achieve anything alone. I don’t want to live without You and I can never live without You. For without You, I will not grow. I will just shrivel and die. But it doesn’t mean it’s just only me and You. It requires the help from the church. The church, which is filled with Your glory, can help me be nourished and fruitful. Thank You Father because I know You will find a church I can also belong to. Praise You God! In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

The Purpose Driven Life: Day 16

DAY 16
THINKING ABOUT MY PURPOSE

Point to Ponder: Life is all about love.

Verse to Remember: “The entire law is summed up in a single command: Love Your Neighbor as yourself.” -Galatians 5:14

Question to Ponder: Honestly, are relationships my first priority? How can I ensure that they are?

I have always valued my relationship with my family and my friends highly. I always think about their feelings and opinions. If I hurt others, I would feel so guilty for hurting them. But I am not perfect, although I love them, there would always be a time when my imperfections upset them.

Despite my busy working schedule, I make sure that I give enough time for my children. Even a short conversation with my mother makes me happy.

My belief in the Golden Rule and in God’s reminder to love our neighbors is what makes me watch my actions towards people. However, there are moments in my life that I get back on those who treat me wrong.

God isn’t like that to me so I will try to do the same.

Father, help me to be nice to others and to make my relationships my first priority. That despite my busy schedule, I hope I can always find time to connect with my sons, my mother, my brother, all the other members of our family, as well as my friends and colleagues. I pray that you help others to do the same. Thank you, Lord. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

The Purpose Driven Life: Day 15

DAY 15
THINKING ABOUT MY PURPOSE

Point to Ponder: I was formed for God’s family.

Verse to Remember: ”His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us to Himself through Jesus Christ.” -Ephesians 1:5

Question to Consider: How can I start treating other believers like members of my own family?

Like what I’ve always said, whatever happens to us, the world may turn its back on us, if there are people on earth who will stick with us, that will be our family.

Just like God, kids would commit mistakes, parents would still embrace them, accept them, and teach them what’s right so kids wouldn’t make another mistake again.

If a member of the family is in need — morally, spiritually, physically, mentally, or financially — the rest of the family will give their best to support him/her.

That’s how I will treat other believers. I’ll give them respect and help them in my own simple way. God loves me and doesn’t stop being patient with me. So why shouldn’t I do the same with my physical/biological family and spiritual family?

I thank the Lord for letting me be a part of His family. I am adopted by God and it’s been planned even before I was conceived in my mother’s womb.

I love You God and I will share Your love to everyone. So help me, Father.

The Purpose Driven Life: DAY 14

DAY 14
THINKING ABOUT MY PURPOSE

Point to Ponder: God is real, no matter how I feel.

Verse to Remember: “For God has said, I will never leave you, I will never abandon you.” -Hebrews 13:5

Question to Consider: How can I stay focused on God’s presence, especially when he feels distant?

Last night’s reading really struck me. A lot of times in my life, I felt God was so distant. It seemed as though He left me behind. The problem was that I got carried away by my emotions and chose to remain in sadness. I became so desperate and prayed to God with so much hopeless tears. I cried and pleaded, but there was no response. I chose to be alone.

All along I was wrong. I used to say, “I believe in You,” and “I trust You.” But, did I?

After a while I realized that trusting God means believing that despite all the ugly things happening to me, I still should be thankful. God has a reason, and whatever that reason is, I should believe that it’s for my own good, that God doesn’t intend to hurt me. He has better plans for me.

I will always remember that there are always reasons to be thankful for. And one of these reasons is my salvation.

If it hadn’t been for the Son of God, we would remain in darkness.

The Purpose Driven Life: DAY 13

Two weeks ago, I decided to read the book Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. I only have it in .pdf format, which was given to me by a friend/co-worker, Jannah. As I read it day by day, realizations started pouring in and it opened my eyes to the love of our Father. It made me appreciate myself more because, I learned that we don’t really need to become perfect or righteous to become God’s friend/follower/helper.

I know I should’ve started posting on my first day. But anyway, better late than never!

I’ll start sharing the lessons I learn and the journey I make day by day.

DAY THIRTEEN
THINKING ABOUT MY PURPOSE

Point to Ponder: God wants all of me.

Verse to Remember: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” -Mark 12:30

Question to Consider: Which is more pleasing to God right now-my public worship or my private worship? What will I do about this?

Years ago, I was an active church member at Mt. of Olives Full Gospel Blessed Church in Sta. Cruz, Laguna. I worshipped God both publicly and privately. These days, I haven’t been to church and I do my own worshipping at home, when I’m alone.

I guess the Lord is pleased when I praise Him and I worship Him in my room in the morning or in bed at night before I go to sleep, but He may be more pleased if I do it again out in the open where people can see I am truly His follower.

Doing my daily tasks with God in my mind and in my heart is what I should always do to make Him smile. That in everything I do, He will come first and I’ll do it for Him 100%. He may be happy with my 70% but He will be much happier with my 100%.

I didn’t use to understand why God wants to be praised and glorified. I was deceived by the enemy and made me believe that God was so selfish that He only forced people to praise Him because praising Him delights Him.

So one day, I closed my eyes and imagined this:

I’ve created small people (they kinda look like the creatures in the movie 9) and I feel so happy looking at them. My happiness overflows as my people do their thing, notice me, talk to me, and obey me. One of them does differently and complains a lot. This one does bad things to others and refuses to have a word with me. He never does what I ask of him and never respects me as his maker. Instead of being angry, I feel so sad that it makes me believe he doesn’t love me. And if he ever gets stuck in a difficult situation, I’ll pull him out and make things easy for him. He still refuses to love me. No matter what he does, I’ll always find a way to finally change his heart.

By imagining this, I then understood God’s situation. He is my Maker and by creating me, I should obey Him and trust Him. I should give my all, but I don’t need to be perfect. Because God loves me though I am not perfect.

Amazing Love

As I went through my daily reading on Our Daily Bread and YouVersion, it reminded me how much love God gave me and everyone else in the world. We may have done wrong, but He never quit telling us to try and make our mistakes right. He generously blesses us and provides for us in times when we are in a tight situation. He gave us His only Son to cleanse us again. And no matter how many mistakes we make, He is there to gently pat us on our shoulders to bring us back on track.

God’s amazing love is poured all over the world. But it’s the people who seem to not notice it. They seem to ignore God and just take notice of Him when things go wrong. It will be better if they turn to God to ask for help, but often they turn to God to blame Him for all the tribulations that fall on them.

God never wants us to get hurt but like our own parents, if we refused to learn the easy way, then He’d teach us the hard way. It must be painful for Him to punish us but it’s the only way we can think better and patiently wait and live according to His will.

Father, we thank you for the love that you bequeath us, even when we disappoint You. Help us, Lord, to pass the right judgment to people and to give freely to others like what you do to us. It will be hard for us to do it on our own, but with You, we can do it easily. Guide us always and protect us, Oh God, in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.

Amazing Love (You Are My King)

 

Father (Amazing Love)

 

Today’s reading (click to view post):

• Serious Business (Our Daily Bread, September 23,2011)
• Psalm 112:5 – Day 76