Can We Hide From God?

Last night, the following words have been following me . . . God's will . . . fire . . . and dying.

Ooooh.

Romans 12:2
Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.

Jeremiah 20:9
I say to myself, I will not mention Him, I will speak in his name no more. But then it becomes like fire burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones; I grow weary holding it in, I cannot endure it.

Matthew 16:25
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Photos taken during my visit at the Kamay ni Hesus in Quezon province.

Opening Doors

"Great doors of opportunity swing on the tiny hinges of obedience." Ike Reighard

Yup, the doors will open by obedience but first turn the key of trust.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He shall direct your path.
Proverbs 3: 5-6

On Trusting Him

Do you have a heavy burden at the moment? Cast it to the Lord and trust in Him. This has been going through my mind for how many days now. I kept on receiving messages on trust . . .

Isaiah 30:15
For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, "In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength."

Isaiah 30:18
And yet, the Lord is waiting to be merciful to you. He is ready to take pity on you because He always does what is right. Happy are those who put their trust in the Lord.

That's my photo in Israel.

The Pope's Homily

Excerpt from the Pope's homily, 26th World Youth Day, Plaza de Cibeles, Madrid . . .

Dear friends: be prudent and wise, build your lives upon the firm foundation which is Christ. This wisdom and prudence will guide your steps, nothing will make you fear and peace will reign in your hearts. Then you will be blessed and happy and your happiness will influence others. They will wonder what the secret of your life is and they will discover that the rock which underpins the entire building and upon which rests your whole existence is the very person of Christ, your friend, brother and Lord, the Son of God incarnate, who gives meaning to all the universe.

And, to be with the Holy Father, ah, what a blessing.

The Pope, World Youth and Spiritual Growth

Pope Benedict XVI affirmed that "consistency in giving time to God is a fundamental element for spiritual growth."

“Entrust yourselves to prayer, in order to obtain the abundance of a fruitful Christian life”. This is what the Pope advises the WYD delegates.

When I heard that the World Youth Day was to be held in Madrid, Spain, my memories of my visit to Spain came flooding my mind.

Above is a photo of my companions and myself, in a beautiful park, on a very very cold night in Spain (a cold night warmed by fellowship).

The Jesus Prayer

The Jesus Prayer . . . the prayer of the heart . . .

"Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner."


By the grace of God I am a Christian, by my deeds a great sinner, . . .
From the book "The Way of a Pilgrim and the Pilgrim Continues His Way"
The photo I took (in such awe) when I visited the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.

Mama Mary

Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Energizer

We constantly make use of our spiritual energy daily. We must go for a re-fill. Where? In the presence of our Lord. Yup, we need to recharge and re-energize.

Baka tayo mag-overheat tulad ng makina, maubusan ng diesel na parang jeep at mag-hung ala computer. Sa trabaho, pwede tayong ma-burn-out. Sa bahay, baka matabunan ng chores.
Whew, drained.

Jesus himself went to desolated places to be alone. Remember how He prayed in Gethsemane?

Also, we cannot give what we do not have. We should nourish our soul and our knowledge about our God so that we will be able to share Him with others and do the task He has assigned for us to accomplish.

In my case, swerte ako at may Poka-Yoke (fail-proofing or mistake-proofing in Japanese) ako.

I have a community where we have our periodic activity, three times a week. During the week, I get my doze of sharing from the other members as spiritual vitamins. I get my scheduled immunization, deeper study of God's words, to fight spiritual diseases. Attending the gathering is like going to the doctor, in my case, a spiritual check-up.

It is my belief that if I surround myself with people with whom I share a common belief or faith, then chances are, that belief, my faith will be strengthened and will ultimately grow and bear fruit.

So go, get going, go to Him so we can go on and on and on and on . . .

Add Friends to Life

Yup, friends and more friends! Got my Community here.

Seems to me that if you start opening up your life, with the secret ingredient (Him up there), everything good gets attracted. The right friends are magnetized and enters my life as I need them.

What you need just comes and if you know how to acknowledge and nourish your blessings, they increase a hundred-fold.

Approved!

Thanks For Mini Christmases

It really felt like Christmas when I got together with my high-school best friends last month.

The same feeling came when our small community gathered for a simple meditation on God's words and celebrated one of the member's birthday.

Thank God for Christmas and thank God for these mini Christmases.

Hay Buhay Parang Life

I can't help but deeply think about why we are here in the world. Confusing questions whirl in my mind, especially when challenges, concerns and difficulties seem to come one after the other (life's drama, heheh).

"Di pa naayos yung hinaharap na problema, may dumarating na naman na isa pa, mas malaki at mas mabigat pa." (The current problem has not been resolved yet when a bigger one comes.)

Then I came across a bunch of surprising advises from Mother Teresa . . .

Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is beauty, admire it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is too precious, do not destroy it.
Life is life, fight for it.