Cast and Carry

"...before Abraham was born, I AM!" (John 8:58) I strongly believe that God chose me to be where I am every single moment. God obviously wanted me to be here in ABE this year - not a year before, not a year after. God indeed is never a minute late nor a minute early. God's timing is always perfect. ABE or A Beautiful Exchange is a yearly retreat for women. It usually is every February. This is like no other retreats - again ALL WOMEN. We can laugh our hearts out, we can run and play, we can be us. I don't know. Maybe there really is a special bond between women. We studied the Word of God there. We shared our thoughts and experiences. We sang worship songs for Jesus. Oh and by the way, I was a music volunteer here - I played guitar and kajon . It's an honor to serve the Lord. I'm sure most of you can relate. If you are a woman of any age, of any life stage, this retreat is for you. Join us next time! Click here for more information and future event...

Jesus, Lover of my soul... Obviously, Jesus loves me. With everything that happened in the year 2017, this statement is unquestionable. Early yesterday morning, I got up and went to Sunday service with my sister, Beging. Prayer time, I had a chance to talk to God about my future. I begged my Lord to please remove the desires in my heart that aren't pleasing to Him. Not that I wasn't praying prior to that day. It's just that for that particular moment, that was my focus prayer. During praise and worship, every lyrics broke my heart. I sang, out loud, even if the songs were unfamiliar. My life as a follower of Jesus isn't perfect. There are times that I would really ask Him for things that I want even if they won't bring advancement to the Gospel. There are times that I would really be stubborn and tell God to just let me be and refused to be comforted. There are times that I and my King are not in good terms. There are many times that I break His heart. There...

“Only the lost can be found,” they said. God found me. We have a bond nothing can break. What about the others? Those still wandering. Heart check --- do I really care? I can only imagine how people around Jesus reacted, yet it didn’t hinder Him from getting along with ‘tax collectors’. I want to have a heart as that of Jesus, not in bondage of people’s approval. In my sphere of influence, there are those considered ‘sinners’. Although we all are but like the Pharisees, the society labeled them as ‘immoral’. At work, we have proud adulterers, thief, cheaters, gossipers, women become pregnant before marriage and they call it ‘love’, marijuana user --- name the worst sin you could ever imagine, it surely is present in our office. I mourn for them, but I have to be honest. Not 100% at a time I want to be with them sharing Jesus. Sometimes I want to flee for several reasons: I fear rejection, I’m too busy with other stuff, lastly and I think the worst is, I don’t want to befr...

Over the past 24 hours, I experienced humanity's ups and downs.... I am a witness of The Story in present times as it is related to the stories of creation and fall. When my mom had to dig the soil in order to get ginger for our meal; when we had to turn on all electric fans yesterday due to humid; when most of the fruits on our table were rotten; when astray cats and dogs fight over our leftovers; indeed, creation is cursed. Yet this morning, my mom needed not to water her plants because it rained; I love the weather, it's cold that I could rest; I ate fruits for breakfast and lunch which is good for my health; astray dogs and cats are playing like they're friends under the rain - I named them all and I can recite them; and indeed, the creation is beautiful still.... When I woke up this morning, I received a message from one of my subordinates telling me that she should be receiving a reward for being on top. I am on leave so I had to speak to my manager to find out ...

I like this, "command was an opportunity to trust God, obey God." We can't tell someone is obedient if there is no command to obey. How does this connect with "the Fall". Eve's decision to listen to the serpent and Adam's willful act of conniving with his wife separated the whole humanity to God. And separation from God is "death". The Fall clearly defines 'sin' as great chasm between God and humanity. At present times, sin is classified as to either small or big, either deadly or not. Sin is sin no matter what. Even simple idleness is sin. I wonder what Eve and Adam were doing and how come the serpent had his chance of speaking to them. They should be busy caring for the garden. However, I have no means of proving myself right that indeed they were idle that's why Satan had his foothold. But I strongly believe that we should make our time worthy of God's trust with the tasks He appointed us. That way, satan won't h...

How do I image God and obey His command by governing the world...? This question changed my perspective of me being God's care taker of His creation. I am more than a care taker! I am a ruler. There was a big difference. It may seem like a simple question, yet I find it hard to answer. It says in this Unit, " God’s rule is a rule of provision, protection, peace, joy, freedom and love. " That was huge. " Work is godly because it is god-like. " And I was puzzled --- working is ruling? And I realized, yes. God gave me my job, God asked me to take care of my job, and to care for God's provision is to rule. So let me summarize my answer on this. I would say that I image God and practice obedience by making sure that I am a good steward of His financial blessings, that I live out my salvation by the power of the Holy Spirit, that I am a peacemaker, that I will anchor my joy in Christ and Christ alone and not on temporal things, that I won't take adva...

God is due our praise and worship - this is clear and indisputable. Yet, when David spoke about "vows", I had to pause in verse one and started thinking. "Praise awaits you, our God, in Zion; to you our vows will be fulfilled." What vows have I made for God? Was I able to fulfill them? I also had to search the difference between 'vow' and 'swear'. " To swear is to make an oath - usually based on an appeal to God or to some revered person or object, that someone will do some particular thing -- like speak the truth, perform a particular act, keep a promise, etc. A vow is a solemn promise made to the Lord. It usually involves dedicating oneself or some possession to an act, service, or way of life. " - (source: http://www.learnthebible.org ) And yes, I dedicated my time to Him, my job, my family, my future, basically my whole life, my earnings, I want to serve Him, I want to live for Him, I will serve His people through ministries, ...