While I'm still waiting for mine... well... I actually had answers to some of my questions and this, probably, is one of the best 7 day fast I ever had, I'm overjoyed to hear breakthroughs from family and friends exactly happening during and right after the fast. God is truly the Lord of breakthroughs. My favorite breakthough that happened just this morning as I was going to class was a text that I received. For more than a year my very good friends, allan and haznah have been trying to conceive a baby and at last, this morning I received a text that said "praise God!! thank you for your prayers, Haznah is pregnant!!". Isn't God great?!! Prayer and fasting is truly something. While our prayer points might or might not be answered, the greatest breakthrough we can have is intimacy with God which I sure enjoy now. Although I'm still waiting for my breakthrough as my faith tells me, I just love hearing breakthroughs from people as it encourages me and gives me more audacity to believe and ask God more. This is addicting, I can actually get use to this. =) Any breakthroughs from you? Let me know about it. Thanks.

PS.: Please do greet and encourage allan and haznah when you see them. Thanks for your prayers too. 

A few days ago i posted some pics of us playing soccer, basketball, surfing and all kinds of sports, and uncertain if it was a good idea to do that before the fast. Well, it turns out ok and i think that's one fo the reasons i don't feel weak at all but my real problem now is water starts to taste really bad after a few days of it being the only thing that's going into my body. So in the course of all that I decided to try different types of liquid juices. My favorite is the Beyonce drink that my friend stefan got form pstr. joel which i'm sipping right now. Here's the recipe:

1 glass of water
2 Tbsp. of maple syrup (don't use karo or any corn based syrup, use the real thing)
1 lemon
1 cayenne pepper

it's suppose to clean your system, detoxify and unclog some things in your body but personally i just like the taste of pepper in water. hehehe. As I'm enjoying my drink and fast, I read from Exodus 23:25-26 this promise that when we really worship God, his blessings, healing, fruitfulness and life will be on us. So it's not just this drink that'll make us healthy but it's also our pure unadulterated worship to God. Cheers, enjoy the drink everyone!! Day 4 and still going strong!!

"Worship the LORD your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you, and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full life span."

it's day 1 of prayer and fasting week, 10am and so far so good, I was asking myself... more like a convince-me-more" ask (after just skipping breakfast!!!) "why am I doing this again?" and right on the money was the manual that I have, it said there that we fast not to earn God's approval but to respond to it. I don't think that the type of fast or how many meals we skip earns us anything or any right because what we have is so much better and it's called privilege.

Ok, I'm convinced. So that is my prayer today that I will not lose sight of the big picture that I cannot add anymore to what Jesus did for me on the cross and that I will respond the right way and be a living sacrifice for God. Cheers!! Enjoy your fast!

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship." - Rom. 12:1

One of the things that I really like about class (School of World Missions) is that it really makes the world look small. What I mean is that I practically have classmates, who've become friends now, from literally around the world, countries like Korea, Hawaii, South Africa, Mongolia, Myan Mar, Dubai and others, and getting to know them alone feels like I've already seen the world. We only have 3 months left before we graduate and they always say that these months are going to be fast. Kinda sad but then again the world is really small now and I'm almost sure that this won't be the last time we'll be seeing each other.

Speaking of small world, I'm currently chatting with Anna, the wife of Kevin Panahon, who just so happen to live in South Africa. South Africa is the home country of my friend from class Dewald Fourie and maybe the place i'd like to see soon, I heard world cup's going to be hosted by this country in 2010, hmm... very nice. Here are some pics from Anna's site and her jump from the highest commercial bungy bridge in the world. Enjoy.

http://annacabs.multiply.com/photos/album/76/Knysna_South_Africa

http://annacabs.multiply.com/video/item/10/5..._4..._3..._2..._1..._Bungy

 

No one tagged me. Just relaxing my head from theology. If you're reading this. TAG! you're next.

SEVEN THINGS THAT SCARE YOU

1) flying ipis

2) hairy gagamba

3) falling butiki

4) palaka

5) wrigglers in my water

6) rats

7) leeches

SEVEN THINGS YOU LIKE THE MOST

1) chuck

2) ipod

3) books

4) movies

5) good company

6) an SUV

7) a macbook

SEVEN IMPORTANT THINGS IN YOUR ROOM

1) bed

2) books

3) clothes

4) xmas gifts

5) journal

6) my atm/credit card/ wallet

7) facial wash

SEVEN RANDOM FACTS ABOUT YOU

1) non-practicing obessessive compulsive

2) just had a renewed passion for travelling

3) can't stand finger prints on LCDs (guess no.1's not true)

4) love cold food

5) used to be a cool guy

6) afraid of heights and flying ipises

7) i've a shoe fetish

SEVEN THINGS YOU PLAN TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE

1)   swim with dolphins

2)  preach in a stadium

3)  have an orphanage with an art school (something like berkeley)

4)  travel to europe, brazil, south africa, japan, spain

5)  be a champion of something

6)  plant a church

7)  have a beach house

SEVEN THINGS YOU CAN DO

1) give unsolicited advice

2) keep quiet

3) pretend to listen for a few minutes

4) try to have small talk

5) be a good friend at times

6) talk about one topic for days

7) entertain people for a few minutes

SEVEN THINGS YOU CAN’T DO

1) give birth

2) talk for hours

3) small talk (can't stand it)

4) stand not giving unsolicited advice

5) pretend to listen more than a few minutes

6) entertain for more than a few minutes

7) randomly change topics in a very nice logically flowing conversation

SEVEN THINGS THAT ATTRACT YOU TO THE OPPOSITE SEX

1) the way she's kind to other people

2) the way she can talk about almost anything under the sun (never stops and you can actually get hurt if you try to)

3) the way she whines and complains but resolve her problems all by herself (no need for my unsolicited advice)

4) the way she doesn't listen when it's my time to whine and complain hehehe

5) the way she walks

6) the way she talks

7) the way she makes me feel that I can actually help her (even if i think i can't)

SEVEN (SORT OF NEW) THINGS YOU SAY THE MOST

1) Oh snap!

2) That's nice.

3) wa ayni (mandarin for love)

4) xie xie (mandarin for thank you)

5) taygwayla (mandarin for expensive)

6) schucks!

7) basically...

SEVEN CELEB CRUSHES

1) Audrey Tatou (amelie)

2) Kate Beckinsale (serendipity)

3) Julie Delpi (before sunrise)

4) Kyra Gracie (niece of Royce Gracie)

5) Andrea Corr (the corrs)

6) Belle (beauty and the beast)

7) the girl in blade 2

SEVEN PEOPLE YOU WANT TO SEE TAKE THIS TEST

1) Chico Pena

2) Dexter Ding

3) Dewald Fourie

4) Pastor Sonny

5) Joseph Bonifacio

6) Rob Johnson

      7)  Jeremy Kramerer

1.)    Pstr. Steve’s pre-conference message about the young and old generation working together in unity. Especially the Stacey King illustration.

2.)    The Campus Mixer: I’m overwhelmed how God is moving through young people around the world.

3.)    Witnessing the Talents InC. rehearsal: lasted ‘til 3am Friday. They truly gave a world class performance.

4.)    I’ve to echo Pstr. Paolo’s no. 1 highlight which is “1. worshipping God in a coliseum packed with people from different nations”

5.)    The Message and the Speakers: 

                  Daniel Stephen’s – power of a changed life – “what is power without it’s fruits?

Martin Ssempa – was helping out in the reg., missed it.

Mark Connor – the church waiting for Jesus to come before they move, Jesus waiting for the church to move before he comes

Bishop Ef Tindero – evangelism explosion and his “have you come to a point in your spiritual life that you know for sure that if you died today, you’ll go to heaven?”

Lynette Lewis – the Holy Spirit gives us the power to innovate, to prophetically pray and to engage.

L.A. Mumar – every generation in our nation: God thinks generational.

Rice Broocks – in the world of 10, we must embrace the mandate “to whom much is given much is required”, awakening among the nominal, be strategic and the x-factor of inheritance.

Steve Murrel – LOVE; one word summary of discipleship and leadership.

 6.)    Compassion Ministries: Great to know we have it and it’s something I like personally.

7.)    Volunteers: hospitality, technical, ushering, security, kids church, registration and information did an excellent job of organizing and implementing. They are the greatest because they became the servant of all.

8.)    Got to do some catching up with friends and met some new ones too. (got to see russel and jacki from davao, richard you're the man!! see you in alabang!)

9.)    Pstr. Steve’s message one word summary of discipleship and leadership: love. Got a chance to appreciate the people I serve with, I work with, I walk with.

10.)      Bringing the delegates to the airport. I had a good time with Pstr. Sam in the bus just reflecting n the past 3 days.

Ps.: Tag!!! What are your EN07 highlights?

One of the fondest memories I have of my family is our quality time playing board games. This was back in the 80's when we used to play cluedo, chess, chinese checkers and more. I could never forget the first ever giant puzzle that we were to put together. As a little boy, being used to a 20 pc. puzzle, this 1,000 pc. puzzle was overwhelming. As I dove in, I was literally puzzled because the pieces didn't seem to make any sense aside from the fact that it was too many. I didn't know where to begin. My father, discerning my confusion, takes the box top of the puzzle and tells me that "this is how it's suppose to look like". After seeing the box top, suddenly, all the pieces made sense and started falling into place one by one. I realized that it's pretty much the same with life. Focusing on the overwhelming number of small pieces causes you to miss the big picture producing confusion, chaos and uncertainty. But seeing the big picture of God's plan for your life explains everything. Suddenly, everything makes so much sense and eventually fall into place, one piece to another.

"Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager  to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall." - 2 Peter 1:10

It was a great debut for our small group cluster in seatle's best ATC last friday. There were 19  of us, 8 of that were new. The ladies small group was led by shed with ronna and baffee. The men's small group was led by me with marvin and edrei. The atmosphere was great and everyone was excited as we tackled the topic: "The love of God". One guy testified that he was just planning to pass by and say hi but ended up staying because the message was exactly what he needed to hear. Praise God!!

Joshua 10:24-25 says "When they (Israelites) had brought the kings to Joshua, he summoned all the men of Israel and said to the army commanders who had come with him, 'Come here and put your feet on the necks of these kings'. So they came forward and placed their feet on their necks. Joshua said to them, 'Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous. This is what the Lord will do to all the enemies you are going to fight.'"

As God continues to give us the momentum and use this cluster, it's my prayer that every person, whether a small group leader or member, be spiritually taken to a higher level where they will be like the Israelite commanders that will be strong and corageous to step forward, trample on their enemies and live victoriously in all aspect of their lives as they claim every promise that God has in store for them.

 

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

9:25am

 

“ Therefore say: ‘ This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will gather you from the nations and bring you back from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you back the land of Israel again. They will return to it and remove all its vile images and detestable idols. I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God.’”

 

I remember one time, a few years back at a friend’s party when Karl Roy (lead vocalist of P.O.T. back then and now Kapatid) sat in front of me at one of the tables and as he was eating his pork barbeque he showed me what looked to be a so good looking, tasting, juicy piece of fat portion of his barbeque and says with a very wrinkled face “eeewww, pare taba, bawal sa akin”. HAHAHA!! Both laughing boisterously knowing this was because of a recent heart transplant that he received. When we turn to God, He promises us a new heart that is undivided, a heart that is not made of stone but a heart of flesh, full of life. When we encounter God, we receive this heart, but for us to maintain this kind of heart it’s going to require for us a change of lifestyle. A doctor will tell you that a new heart sometimes will not agree with the old body that’s why it’s critical to know what you eat, what you do and how you live. In the same way, if we are going to maintain that new heart from God it’s incumbent on us that we remove vile and detestable things in our lives just like that good looking, tasting, juicy piece of fat on the stick that my friend chose not to eat, because he knows better, he knows that if he wants to live he’s going to need to take care of that new heart. If we are going to live life to the fullest, we’re going to need to take care of that new heart from God.

“ ‘If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from you’re your hand, O king, but even if he does not, we want you to know, ‘O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up’” - Daniel 3:17 - 18 

 

The book that I’m reading by Mike Bickles said that, to ignite my passion for God, my faith should know God (knowledge) and that it should cross from knowing to experiencing Him. Shadrach, Mishach and Abednego’s reply “… the God we serve is able to save us” showed that they knew who God is and showed that they were committed to this when they said “But even if he does not, we want you to know, ‘O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image…” This reply enraged the king so he threw the three into the blazing furnace that was heated seven times and even burned the soldiers who brought the three there but it was also in this blazing furnace that were Shadrach, Mishach and Abednego’s faith were transformed from knowledge to experience. I realized that this is the kind of commitment, the “staying power” that takes for us to cross that bridge of knowledge to experience. And it is in these experiences that our knowledge of God becomes deep passionate love for Him. As the old Psalm goes

 

“They saw the works of the LORD, his wonderful deeds in the deep” – Psalm 107:24

 

Lord, my prayer is that I’d be committed to knowing you, to serving you, to loving you. I’m asking you to give me, and everyone who is reading this, the faith and the strength not to shrink back at the face of our blazing furnaces. I’m asking you to give us a taste of your goodness everyday, to experience you even in the littlest things whether be it at work, in school, in the malls or in our homes. I pray that these experiences will amount into a deep love, longing and affection for you. I pray that our soul will desire you and that you rule over our passions. I thank you for your goodness, your mercy and your grace. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

10:01am

 

“ ‘Even now,’ declares the Lord, ‘return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.’ Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.” – Joel 2:12-13

 

I was praying to God this morning and intentionally set aside my prayer points and agendas because I wanted to be spirit led and so I was led to read the book of Joel, which was perfect because it spoke about returning to God through fasting.

 

“…‘return to me with all your heart, with fasting…”

 

I love to fast regularly because it keeps me in tune with God’s purpose and plans for my life. Kinda like a palm pilot that has to be regularly “sync-ed” with your pc so that both pc and palm will have the same information, and it also a back up in case your palm crashes on you, in the same way fasting syncs me to God’s will, so that my will… wills God’s will.

 

“Rend your heart and not your garments”

 

One thing about fasting is that you can never fake it. It’s so hard to skip meals when your heart doesn’t feel like it or does not see the point in it but I like the illustration Pastor Joey used in his book “The Mystery Of An Empty Stomach”. He said there that we happily and voluntarily (not minding at all actually) skip meals when we spend time with someone we truly love. True fasting starts from the heart and manifests itself outward through our action.

 

“ ‘Even now,’ declares the Lord…”

 

The words “even now” was God’s indication to the Israelites that it’s never too late to return to him. That’s how gracious and compassionate God is that at the sign of our repentance and humility he is always ready to receive as back. A very good illustration would be “The Parable Of The Prodigal Son” where we get a glimpse of a father’s reaction to a humbled and repentant son.

When I think about our country, I always believe that “even now” in its current state, God can turn us around but I also believe that the key to this is returning to God with all our hearts through fasting. And God’s answer…:

 

“The Lord will reply to them: I’ am sending you grain , new wine and oil, enough to satisfy you fully; never again will I make you an object of scorn to the nations” – Joel 2:19

 

“I can see a new day dawning, I can see a breakthrough coming, joy comes in the morning, breakthrough, breakthrough” – Mary Alessi

Saturday, September 30, 2006

1:00am

 

As I read chapters 1-4 of Amos and was comparing what the prophet was saying over the Israelites to the past 3 days without water and electricity because of the storm and realized that I didn’t want to be on God’s bad side. In chapter 4 the words “…’yet you have not returned to me’ declares the Lord’” kept on jumping out of the pages. In all that has happened the past week I realized that God allow these trials and calamities to come in our lives so it could sober us up and return to Him. Thinking about it, I have never read so many chapters in the bible and unselfishly prayed more minutes for other people in the past 3 days than the past year. I could say that the storm, lack of water and electricity gave me time off from every activity that I had and brought me closer to God. I’m thankful for these calamities, whether it’s in a form of a storm, a trial in business or family, or simply a temporal test on my character because these calamities bring us closer to God and when they do… then they have served their purpose.

 

“Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come? …Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the LORD” – Lamentations 3:38-40

 

            

"so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe."        Philippians 2:15

I decided to step out one night in my balcony while I was taking a breather from skipping rope which I rarely do to avoid getting sappy (my balcony has a nice view of the moon and the stars and could get quite cold) and noticed the stars and begin to remember that God called us to be stars in whatever people group, industry, or strata we're in. Remebering that, I begin to ask what kind of star are we suppose to be? Are we suppose to be like the stars in the overly sappy movie "a walk to remember"? hehehe. Or are we called to be like the movie stars who have all the attention and influnce in the world? A star athlete maybe? As I looked at the stars above me I can't help remember the star during the birth of Christ.

"After they had heard the king, they went on their way and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house they saw the child with his mother Mary and they bowed down and worshipped him..."                                       Matthew 2:9-11

Then it occured to me that this is the kind of star that we ought to be because this star was...

a.) Source of Joy

"... When they saw the star, they were overjoyed..."

I remember the first time I started going to our church in makati sports back in 1999 when I was debating whether staying or leaving but obvoiusly decided to stay mainly because I was convinced that the people that sorruonded me were good and they seemed to have this joy that was so true. As an empty person that I was I eagerly wanted to know this kind of joy which I later did. As God's people I always believe that being in a relationship with God is enough reason and source of our joy. And as we enjoy that truth, just like that star, people will see that joy in us and will be a source of joy for them long enough until they too discover our source of joy. Our job is to enjoy God and while we do it, people will follow.

" He will be a joy and a delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth." Luke 1:14 

b.) Source of Truth

" After they had heard the king, they went on their way and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was..."

There was a time before when people believed that the world was flat and that if you travelled the seas long enough you'd actually fall off the edge. As ridicoulous as it may sound this was the popuplar belief before Galileo Galilei entered the scene. Galileo was a firm believer that the world was round amidst everyone's disbelief and opposition because it was believed to be that he got the idea originally from the book of Isaiah. Despite the opposition, he stood firm on his belief because it's written in God's word and he used the stars to proved this truth. In the same way, there would be many critics about God's truth, word, His people, His chruch... some would say it's crazy, outdated or simply not true but just like the stars that Galileo used to prove the truth that the world is round, our lives should also prove that God and his word is true.

c.) Source of Direction

"On coming to the house they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him"

Years after Galileo people started sailing, no longer fearing that they'd fall off of the edge of the earth. Although much of the world was uncharted for them they made it back forth to their homes because they used the stars as compasses or maps to tell them their path. As God's people, we too are stars that people look at and our lifestyle should be a source of direction for people. And at the end of the day, just like that star that led the magis, we too are called to be like that star that lead people to Jesus so that they can come and worship Him.

 

Rules:
1. Put your music player on shuffle.
2. Press forward for each question.
3. Use the song title as the answer to the question even if it doesn’t make sense. NO CHEATING!
4. Tag people to play this game too.
* I'm adding the lines to some of the songs I know to make it more fun-ny!hehe
** If the song I get is from a preaching, or the audio bible, then I'm gonna keep skipping til I get a real song. That's not cheating. Hehe.
*** Just to be diffrent..I did this backwards...I started with the last question first...hehe..

Questions:

1.How are you feeling today? 
"and what it all comes down to, its that everything is fine fine fine, cause I've got one hand in my pocket and the other one is giving out a peace sign..." - Hand in my Pocket by Alanis Morisstte (parang eksakto)

2. Will you get far in life?
"so sally can wait, she knows its too late and we're walking on by... so don't look back in anger, i heard you say" - Don't Look Back in Anger by oasis (oh?)

3. How do your friends see you?
"Your love is better than ice cream" - Ice Cream by Sarah Mclachlan (got that right)

4.Will you get married?

"release your inhibitions, feel the rain in your skin,no one else can feel it for you, only you can let it in, no one can speak the words on your lips... the rest is still unwritten" - Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield (ba't ganun?)


5.What is your best friend’s theme song?
"and you called me and then it's not so bad, not so bad... and I want to thank you for giving me the the best day of my life, just to be with you is just the best day of my life..." - Thank You by Dido (galing naman nito, sakto talaga 'to para sa akin hehehe)


6.What is the story of your life?
"be it unto me according to your word, you along direct my path..." - (nice) - Be It Unto Me by ... (i'm just having a mental block right now)

7.What was high school like?
" No change, I can change, I can change, I can change my mode, no no no, I can change I can change, cause I'm a million different people... cause it's a bittersweet symphony, that's life" - Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve (Labo!!)

8.How can you get ahead in life?
"for the life in me, i cannot remember, what made us think that we were wise and we never compromise... we were merely freshmen" -  Freshmen by Verve Pipe

9.What is the best thing about your friends?
"awoohooo, awooohoooo, and I will wait to find if this will last forever" - Clarity by John Mayer

10.What is today going to be like? 
"meet me in outer space, we could spend the night watch the earth go by... how do you do well make me feel like i do, how do you do well, its better than I ever knew" - Stellar by Incubus

11.What is in store for this weekend?
"woohooo, learning the hardway it just don't matter what they say, woohoo..." - Learning the hardway - Gin Blossoms

12.What song describes you?
"tignan mo ang iyong palad, kalyado mong kamay sa hirap ng buhay, sabi nila may anting anting ako pero hindi nila alam na diyos ang dahilan ko... hoy! pinoy ako! buo ang aking loob, may agimat ang dugo ko" - Noypi by Bamboo (hahaha sakto pati kalyo sa kamay)

13.To describe your grandparents?

"My mind is tripping (tripping! back up vocals)" - Mind Trips by The Brand New Heavies

I gotta go, I'll finish this later but if you're reading this... TAG!! so be honest and answer this hehehe here are the rest of the questions.

14.How is your life going?

sorry no lyrics, it fell on chill out - Cold Water Music by Aim

15. What song will they play at your funeral?

 "Oh! I... I'm still alive, yeah I... I'm still alive" - Alive by Pearl Jam (hahahaha, you gotta be kidding me, this is so funny hahhaa, nabuhay ang bangkay!!)

16.How does the world see you?

 "Now this is what its like when worlds collide!!! are you ready for me? are you ready for me? baby! baby!" - When worlds collide by Powerman 5000 (hahaha hilarious, I don't know if this is a compliment or what?)

17.Will you have a happy life?

"I'm looking california and feeling minnesotta, Oh yeah! show me the powerchild, I'm not to stay but I'm down on my knees today, gives me the butterflies, gives me away but I'm up on my feet again, oh yeah, outshined! outshined!" - Outshined by Soundgarden

18. What do your friends really think of you?

"one sweet world around a star is spinning, one sweet world and in her breath I'm swimming, and here we will rest in peace" - One Sweet World by Dave Matthews

19.How can I make myself happy?

"you know life's gonna be happy when you get a taste of... sweet sweet love" - Sweet Love by Kaskade

20.What should you do with your life?

" even my wonder, even my fear, only amount to a couple of tears, there is a rhythm, it's near and it's far, it flows through the heart of us, your reasons for living are all very fine but they're leaving me cold, they're not really mine, did you ever find out? did you ever find out? whta's in the heart of us?" - Reason for living by Duncan Sheik

There!! Tag!! your turn!!

I woke up this morning with a sore ankle after a good roll with James last night and found myself reading 2 Samuel 23:8-39 (David's Mighty Men) this morning and thought to myself that these men were really mighty because of their exploits. Take for example this guy named Josheb-Basshebeth who "...raised his spear against 800 men whom he killed in one encounter". another named Eleazer who "... was with David when they taunted the Philistines... Then the men of Israel retreated but he stood his ground and struck down the Philistines 'til his hands grew tired and froze to the sword. The Lord brought about a great victory that day." and another named Abishai who "... raised his spear against 300 men whom he killed." Then another who might be the least, Benaiah who struck down 2 men, 1 lion and and egyptian but do take note of how he did it. "...was a valiant fighter from Kabzeel who performed great expolits. He struck down 2 of Moab's best men. He also went down into a snowy pit and killed a lion. And he struck down a huge egyptian. Although the egyptian had a spear in his hand, Benaiah were against him with a club. He snatched the spear from the egyptian's hand and killed him with his own spear."  Whoa! and here I am complaining about my sore ankle. I had to read it again before it dawned on me that these men were serious, these men were wild, these men were really dangerous but what's more interesting is that these men were discipled. I remember when Saul was sleeping inside a cave and was at David's mercy when Abishai was pleading him if he can pin Saul with his spear, saying that he would do it only once (quite hilarious because one stab is all he needs to kill a man), but did not because David's response was " the Lord forbid that I should lay a hand on the Lord's annointed one." Now imagine being in Abishai's position, being chased from deserts to mountains, cities to caves for quite some time and here is your chance to maul the guy chasing you. Most of us would take that chance and end it right there but not Abishai, although he was dangerous, although he was itching, he was also discipled. And I thought to myself why do these men follow David? why do they trust him with their lives? ...the answer is CONNECTION.

"David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Addullam... All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him."     

                                                                                                              1 Samuel 22:1-2

In the earlier days in the cave of Addullam, David connected with these people because he himself was an outcast running away. David connected with Jonathan very well that Jonathan's loyalty was with him than his father. And we see a clearer picture of David's ability to identify and connect with people when David reponded to Abiathar's request to join him saying

"...I'am responsible for the death of your father's whole family. Stay with me; don't be afraid; the man who is seeking your life is seeking mine also. You will be safe with me."

                                                                                                           1 Samuel 22:22-23

David's mighty men, no matter how dangerous they were, were always faithful, loyal and obedient to him because of his ability to connect with them. As I was reflecting on last night's training, I realized that some of these men were really dangerous but many of them are also distressed, maybe in debt, and many discontented. And i believe that these men can be and will be discipled just like David's mighty men if we could only connect with them.

1.. Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, and find line 4.
"Q: What happens if we refuse to forgive?" - from the one 2 one booklet
2. Stretch your left arm out as far as you can. What can you touch?
hahaha a stranger that i refuse to touch
3. What is the last thing you watched on TV?
UFC
4. Without looking, guess what time it is:
2:30pm
5. Now look at the clock. What is the actual time?
2:29pm - I KNEW IT!!
6. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?
"this is your life" by switchfoot
7. When did you last step outside? What were you doing?
This morning. Went downstairs to brush my teeth, wash my face and stretch a bit. I got this extremely painful back today.

8. Before you started this survey, what were you doing?
Talking with Aaron "the man".

9. What are you wearing?
Light blue polo with white undershirt, blue jeans and my old faithfull rubbershoes.

10. Did you dream last night? Yep, hahaha. I dreamt of being in a fish tank swimming with dolphins with an astrud gilberto song playing in the background which was really played on my radio when I woke up. Strange dream but nice.

11. When did you last laugh? Last night at salt and spirits in Pilar with Jenny, Anne, Madie and Maan.

12. What is on the walls of the room you are in?
A sign that says "please don't leave your things unattended, management is not responsible for any loses or damage."

13. Seen anything weird lately?
yes, people that I dream of and normally don't see but I come across with.

14. What do you think of this quiz?
"It's entertaining me right now." - just quoting baff

15. What is the last film you saw?

"Kubrador" starring Gina Pareno (in theater), "Longest Yard" starring Adam Sandler (on dvd)

16. If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy?
"You're made rich so you can be generous..." this keeps ringing in my head and there's so many things to do when you get rich but I'll definitely use it for a good cause.

17. Tell me something about you that I don't know.
I'm very shy.

18. If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?

I'm not sure if changing one thing is enough but i'd probably start by changing the mindset that "this life is an endless rat race" and replace it with God's purpose.

19. Do you like to dance?
yes and it's something that I'm really good. bwahaha!!

20. George Bush: Ano 'to? patawa?!

21. Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?
Trudy (Astrud)

22. Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call him?
Gabby (Gabriel)

23. Would you ever consider living abroad?
Sure, but I gotta pray about that

24. What do you want God to say to you when you reach the pearly gates?
Hug me and say "My favorite son"

Bill Cosby on Fatherhood:

"No, Immortality was not the reason why my wife and I produced these beloved sources of dirty laundry and ceaseless noise and we also did not have them because we thought it be fun to see one of them sit on a chair and stick out his leg so that another one of them running by was launched like Explorer I... Furthermore , we did not have the children because we thought it would be rewarding to watch them do things that should be studied by the Menninger Clinic... And we did not have children to help my wife develop new lines on her face, or because she had always had the desire to talk out loud to herself...And we didn't have children so I could always be saying to someone, 'Where's my change?'...The decision to have such a thing is made by the heart, not the brain."

Grabe! Nostalgia!! As I reminisce on the '80's tv series "The Cosby Show",my family's favorite tv show (we to used to watch this while eating fish balls and drinking coke, hehehe) and munch on the words of America's favorite and funniest father, Bill Cosby, I 'am also reminded of what the Father felt when he created us. It was not because of immortality, not because it was fun to do so, not because it was rewarding, and certainly not because he wanted to always say to someone "Where's my change?" (not typical of Him to ask something back) but it was because of Love.

"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!..."

                                                                                                                         I John 3:1

 

I was reading a book about the top common traits that great leaders had and immediately noticed No. 4 trait which was "pragmatism". I looked over the dictionary and it defined pragmatic as "practical". I remember observing two people whom both I respected and displayed this kind of characteristic, both had a practical approach, both had simple solutions to problems that you come out of the conversation saying "That was so simple, why didn't I think of that?" Although both made things simple, I noticed that they had different results that's why I decided to call one "rich boss" because he would get great results and the other "poor boss"... well because he would get not so great results or results that looked good for the meantime but would get back at him later. I noticed that my rich boss was so practical, everything seemed black and white to him because he always decided with the lenses of his principles and convictions while my poor boss would always try to make ends meet and simply come with a conclusion where everyone was happy. Later on I see my rich boss has moved on because his convictions clearly defined most of his decisions leaving no gray area or loop holes while my poor boss would be dealing with the same problem (different face) because he was trying to be practical  that led to a compromise which left things pretty much relative and undefined. I realized that my rich boss was not pragmatic but prudent which the dictionary defines as "exercising sound judgement in practical matters". My rich boss achieved better results because he wasn't trying to be practical but he was exercising sound judgement (his convictions) while my poor boss was simply being practical and tried to come up with solutions where everyone can be happy (compromise) and later on cutting his very own two legs that he stood on. (figuratively).

"you who are simple, gain prudence; you who are foolish, gain understanding"

                                                                                                                     Proverbs 8:5

As I returned to the book, my resolve in making disciples and raising leaders was fortified because I wanted to see more leaders who are prudent than pragmatic, wise than practical, full of conviction instead of compromise. (and what a better way to start than with ourselves bwahaha, patay tayo dyan!!)

Authority

Luke 9:1-2

"When Jesus called the Twelve together, he gave them the power and authority to drive out demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick."

I like what Pastor Mike G. shared yesterday at the soft launching of Every Nation Campus Ministry (ENCM) in P.U.P Sta. Rosa, Laguna as he casted the purpose and vision of ENCM, he summarized everything by saying "if you crack open our hearts you will see that it beats to help you" because it made me realize that was the authority, the confidence, the strength that we had, It was the knowledge that God sent us there to help the students by bringing God's word into their lives. Although no miracles, driving out of demons or curing of diseases were performed, exactly 115 students registered to join the LIFE groups that day. (which i feel is a miracle in itself)

Provision

Luke 9:3-4

" He told them ' take nothing for the journey - no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra tunic. Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town"

Talk about provision, the students came in by waves (4 to be exact), but thank God that the provision of pancit palabok (that kept on multiplying by itself, ate so much that it almost came out of my ears), eat all you can fish ball (courtesy of Adengski, this was childhood dream that just came true), and the zesto. And I just have to give it up for Jaime, who did an awesome job playin host/stand-up comedian (he really got the students attention), Lau, who performed the special no., Pastor Mike G., who spoke, Adeng, who played DJ/Dancer/?? etc. (you name it, he'll do it), Pastor King, who was the facility/utility person, and teacher April who gathered all the students. These people were tenacious and relentless, and would stay and run the program as long as the students kept pouring. They were determined to exhaust our stay. hehe.

Open Doors

Luke 9:5-6

" If people do not welcome you, shake the dust off of your feet when you leave their town as a testimony against them. So they set out and went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere"

There will be different reactions to this soft launching, some maybe raised hands or worse raised brows, but either way as we continue to pray and advance God's kingdom in the campuses of Sta. Rosa, I believe more doors will be opened. Yahoo!!

Click to see photo gallery: http://alabang.victory.org.ph/index.php?id=155