Attending Sunday Worship

I was in Manila over the weekend to officiate a wedding.  I arrived on a Friday, the wedding was Saturday afternoon, and I had the whole day of Sunday to wait for my evening flight back home.  When I woke up Sunday morning I did not feel like going to a worship service here.  I was not home, not where my local church was, and I was a little tired from all the travelling that is a norm for Manila life.  After my morning prayer I went to a coffee place so I could have my usual morning caffeine fix and to spend time surfing the internet and maybe do some thinking and planning.

But it was as if my heart was not satisfied.  It was a Sunday, the day when the Lord gathers His people to come together and worship Him.  I had to worship.  I needed to worship.  I checked my watch, it was 10 minutes to 11am.  I checked with my father-in-law what time the next service of his church was, and he said 11am!  And I was right in the building where his church holds their worship service.  So, after gulping down the last drops of coffee left in my mug, I went up to the church service to worship.
And I was thankful that I did.  Through the songs I was able to worship.  I was in the presence of brethren who were also there to worship.  I listened to a preaching of the Word (something that I rarely have a chance to do, since I am the one the Lord uses to preach).  The pastor did not preach as I do, which, of course, I shouldn't expect...but the word was preached.  And I was encouraged.

And I left the worship service thankful in my heart that I had obeyed the prompting of the Spirit to gather with fellow believers that Sunday and worship.  My heart was satisfied that day.

Psalms 122:1  A song of ascents. Of David. I rejoiced with those who said to me, "Let us go to the house of the LORD."

When we travel, and are in a different place, maybe on vacation in a foreign land, there is always the temptation not to look for a church where we can worship on a Sunday.  Actually, we don't even have to be somewhere else...sometimes in the comfort of our own home, lying in our bed, Sunday morning, after working for the past 5 or six days, there is always that temptation not to gather with fellow believers to worship.   We would rather stay home, rest and make that excuse that "anyway I can worship the Lord on my own, from my heart, and that will probably be acceptable to God".

Everyday, as individual believers, we are called to worship.  God deserves our worship everyday, a time spent with Him, reading His Word, the Holy Spirit "preaching" to us in our hearts.  We may even sing to express our worship.

But Sunday is a day when God gathers His people together to worship Him as a congregation.  Sunday is not about us individually.  This is where many believers err.  We think going to Sunday is about us individually.  It's not.  It's the day that God gathers His people to worship Him together, to sing together, to listen to a message for the church together.  It's about being with others, gathering as the body of Christ, worshiping together, listening together, and being in fellowship with one another.

Without this, our Christian growth is stunted.  Because not only are we to worship with our lives, individually, in our own private moments, but we are also called to worship together with other believers.

Both our individual and corporate worship become God's avenue for our spiritual satisfaction and growth.

Hebrews 10:24-25  And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.  (25)  Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

A Taste of Honey

Honey is my new sugar.  For a while now I have stopped using sugar to sweeten my brewed coffee every morning.  I now use honey.  It wasn't for health reasons, I don't have high sugar count or anything like that.  I think it started when someone gave me a bottle of honey as a gift, tried it in my coffee, and ever since then I have not stopped using it.  Once in a while I take a tablespoon of it as an added boost of energy during the day.
When I take coffee in a coffee shop or restaurant my first instinct is to look for honey.  But because not all serve honey I settle for brown sugar, or muscovado.  But if honey is available then that's what I take.
If you "google" honey there are so many benefits that come with it.  I'm not that conscious about all the benefits, I just know that it is a lot better than sugar healthwise, and it tastes really good!
How can you resist something that both tastes good and is good for the health of our body?  It becomes something you enjoy, both for the taste and the benefit.


Proverbs 24:13-14 (NIV)

¹³Eat honey, my son, for it is good;

honey from the comb is sweet to your taste.

¹⁴Know also that wisdom is sweet to your soul;

if you find it, there is a future hope for you,

and your hope will not be cut off.

 In the same way God's wisdom is good.  It not only "tastes" good, but it is healthy for the soul.  The thing is we have been used to the sweet things that the world has to offer, not realizing that what God offers is better.
As the psalmist says - wisdom is sweet to the soul.  For a Christian, when the Spirit brings God's word of wisdom to our hearts it is sweet.  To someone who isn't walking with the Lord that wisdom may not be sweet at all...it may be nonsense to him.  But to someone who loves the Lord and walks with Him, wisdom is so sweet we look for it everyday!
And when we find it, there is a future hope for us!  Why?  It's wisdom.  It's God's wisdom.
The wisdom of the world offers temporary hope, but eventually it bites us in the behind and leaves us hopeless.
God's wisdom is for eternity.

So will you settle for the "sugar" the world offers, or will you eat of the honey that comes from God, His wisdom for your soul?
Take it daily.  It's healthy.

Music and Worship

I love listening to music.  I have memories of my parents listening to their records, and then my older siblings enjoying the music of our time.  Eventually I became an avid music listener.  Everytime we would ride our family car the radio would be on.  When my parents were not watching tv, they were listening to music.  It eventually passed on to us.  If we were not watching tv, we were listening to music.  When "Walkman" was invented, we each had one.
I just loved listening to music.  I would buy records of songs I heard on the radio, and kept my personal collection.  When cassette tapes were invented, I bought them.  When CD's came into the picture, I would buy them.  Even when I became a Christian I would have a personal collection of Christian contemporary music.
My personal preference through the years became Jazz.  But I enjoyed Soul, Motown, Pop music of our time.  Almost all music from A to Z I listened to them.

Which is probably why when I'm tired, when I need a break, I usually run to music.  I have a collection of the songs I used to listen to during my teenage and young adult years, and I would listen to them again.  Sometimes Jazz, sometimes 70's pop and soul music.  I would just sit down and listen to music.  It would bring me back in time, my younger years, and sort of relax me.
I love listening to music.  It's my R&R, my time of relaxation.  I guess you can say that it is my refuge when I'm tired, when I need to relax.

But it's not my ultimate refuge.
Psalms 18:1-2 (NIV)
¹

I love you, O LORD, my strength.

²The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;

my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.

He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

There is something much deeper than my enjoyment of music, that serves as a foundation of my heart - worship.  Worship is not singing.  It's recognizing who someone or something is in your life, and you express it.  For me it is my God.  And sometimes my worship is expressed through music, or singing.  But not all the time.
But I realize that, inspite of my love for my music, and my tendency to listen to it when I seek relaxation or rest, my heart runs to another tower, another refuge - and that is my God.
Yes, sometimes it takes a nice contemporary Christian song.  maybe a worship song sung during our Sunday services.  Sometimes I listen to Christian Jazz, hymns and songs jazzed up.
But my real refuge is God Himself.

And I have to be reminded, time and time again, by the Lord, that I am to take refuge in Him.  For it is only in Him that I can have real rest, real peace.
Listening to music may temporarily give me some form of rest, but for me to face the life this world throws at me, I need to bow down and worship.
And that's why I thank God that He has revealed Himself to me as my Rock, my fortress and Deliverer, and i can take refuge in Him always!

I love music.  But I worship my God.  He is my Rock, Fortress and Deliverer.  And in Him I can rest.

Rising Prices

It's all over the news - gas prices are going up because of the new tax reform law.  In fact, it's not just gasoline, it's also about prices of commodities, transportation fares, and other things.  It's a domino effect.
And in the news all you hear are consumers, leftist groups, drivers, and others complaining about the coming rise of prices of these commodities. I wonder why the news never report about people who are not complaining, or afraid, of the rising prices?  I have to admit...I'm one of those who are not anxious about what may or may not happen.  But it's not because I have the capacity to pay, or I'm all for the government's move to raise taxes.  No...there's another reason, a deeper reason.

I don't want to sound like I'm boasting.  At least not in myself, or in anything that I have.  I boast in something else...or, rather, in Someone else.

I have been holding on, and will still hold on to this promise of God in His Word:
Psalms 37:25-26 (NIV)

²⁵I was young and now I am old, 

yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken 

or their children begging bread.

²⁶They are always generous and lend freely; 

their children will be blessed.

 By God's grace and faithfulness, these words have rung true in my life and in my family's life, ever since I went full time into ministry, became a Pastor, got married, raised three children...I have never seen God forsake us, or my children begging.  Yes, we have had our times of having just enough for a day or for a week, but still God showed us how He never forsook us.
This is WHO I boast in, and WHO I'm trusting in to take care of all our needs.
And this is a promise for ALL of us who believe in Christ and walk with Him in His ways.
So, for those of us who walk with our Savior and Lord, there is no need to be anxious or worried about "bad" news.  Because He will never forsake His own.
NEVER.  Believe with me.

A Visit to BGC

We were able to visit Bonifacio Global City during our short vacation in Manila.  Again, we were blessed with a light traffic day last January 2, and so our drive from Quezon City to BGC, was light and smooth.  When we arrived in BGC it was like being in another country.  There were traffic signs reminding drivers that they were to follow the traffic rules and regulations.  Cars were moving according to the speed limit, and THEY WERE STOPPING FOR PEDESTRIANS!  Pedestrians had the priority the moment they stepped on the pedestrian lane!  What a sight to see.  Interestingly, Filipino drivers obeyed.
And then you would see foreigners left and right.  Probably the expats who worked in the companies based in BGC.  Many of them were walking their dogs, even allowing people to pet them.  The place was clean, peaceful, a nice place to walk.  As I mentioned, almost like being in another country...a whole new world, a new fantastic point of view.

It is interesting how we, Filipinos, follow rules and regulations the moment we are made aware of them, and also made aware that we will be apprehended if we don't obey.  And I think it is human nature to adapt to the life and culture of a place that is totally different to what we are accustomed to. Hence, walking and driving around BGC changes the ways and practices of those who are there.

So similar to the Christianlife.

Colossians 1:10-13 (NIV)
¹⁰And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, ¹¹being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully ¹²giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. ¹³For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,

Many believers forget that we become citizens of a different kingdom the moment our hearts are born again.  We recognize a new King, and our allegiance changes.  We are made aware of His life and ways by the Holy Spirit through His Word.  And God begins to work in our hearts, changing our character and attitudes, bringing a corresponding change of life, how we live, our conduct, in every aspect of our life.
The key is about our being aware, our having knowledge and understanding, concerning this life of the kingdom of God that we now belong to.  Many believers seem to proclaim a belief and love for their King, but still continue to live lives according to the world from which we came.  I believe we need to be continually be reminded of the life that our God and King wants us to live.  Just like in BGC, the teachings and signs are all revealed in His Word.  All we have to do is to keep reading, meditating upon them, being led by the Spirit, keeping in step with Him.

If we leave BGC and go back to the "normal" Filipino life, we will end up living like almost all Filipinos...breaking rules, thinking of ourselves.  But when we go back to BGC, with the understanding of their ways we change.
Many of us do not remain in the Lord, reading and meditating upon His word, enjoying fellowship with Him and with other believers, and so our ways tend to revert back to our old ways.  This is why daily worship, prayer, enjoying God and His Word, fellowship with other believers is so important because it keeps us aware of the kingdom we now belong to, and He gives us the strength to continue on this new life we are now in.

Now that we belong to GGC (God's Global City), let us make every effort to abide with our King, be aware of His Word and grow in it, and walk with fellow citizens, so that our lives will be according to the new kingdom we belong to, and not the old.

A Peaceful New Year's day

It was a very peaceful new year's day for me.  Woke up early since we did not stay up to watch fireworks.  Spent time in prayer, when my wife woke up I gave her a new year's hug and kiss, and then decided to have a cup of freshly brewed coffee in a coffee shop near my in-law's house.
It was around 9am, and the streets were practically empty of cars and people.  Most probably were still sleeping after a new year's eve celebration.  And it was a nice change because where I was staying was usually a place filled with people and traffic.
When I entered the coffee shop there were only three people inside, me being the fourth!  I chose a nice corner, with the street as a view, and enjoyed a nice cup of coffee watching the traffic-less street in front of me.
What a peaceful new year's day it was.
I stayed home most of the time, while my wife and children went out for some last minute shopping.  And the day ended as peaceful as it started.

How you wish everyday was like that!  Especially for those of you who live in Manila.  But even for our life in Bacolod city we are not exempted anymore from traffic and stress.  Stress, of course, has nothing to do with where you live.  Maybe heavy traffic does add to the level of stress you have, but when we have problems, hardships, trials and situations we can't handle stress will always be there.
It would be nice if we could pray that God would give us a stress free 2018, but I think all of us know that in reality we will not find a stress free life in this world, for there will always be something, or someone, who will add to our level of stress.

What we need is to find a stress free life outside of this world.
John 16:33 (NIV)
³³“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

This is our Lord speaking to His disciples, telling them a very important truth - in this world you will have trouble.  Asking God to take away trouble from our life would be contradictory to what He just taught in the verse above.
But look at another truth the Lord spoke - "I have told you these things so that IN ME YOU MAY HAVE PEACE.
For the Lord's disciples peace is not found in this world, but it is found in Him.
This is why in the midst of this chaotic and unpredictable world it is so important to be in Christ, abiding In Him, enjoying His presence always, and taking refuge in Him.

Psalms 32:7 (NIV)
⁷You are my hiding place;
you will protect me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance

He is our hiding place.  For some it is a smoke, a glass of wine, friends.  But for the Lord's disciples He is our hiding place - not somewhere and not someone.
He protects us from trouble
He surrounds us with songs of deliverance.

I pray each and every day this 2018 we all may hide in the presence of our Savior and Lord, and find peace in Him, and not in our circumstances.