Choosing God every day of your life, in every aspect

Sunday, 10:40pm – Mandaluyong, Tiger City, Philippines
This is the 7th day my brother Johnathon and Moina have been here in the Philippines. We have been traveling doing different things from going to eat at restaurants, going out to a club or a mall, and recently just visiting with Moina’s cousins to eat. From going out to so many different places, doing things a little bit different from my normal routine, I have come to see there have been a few more temptation than usual since we have been doing things that I would consider more worldly. From the money that is spent on traveling, food and amusement to the people that we are hanging around with.

I have been brought to reflect on a few things:

1. To not be self-righteous
2. It is all the more important for those that don’t know God to be there as much as opportunity allows and to how God leads the situation and you by the Holy Spirit
3. Do all we can to choose God everyday of our lives to serve and to obey all his commands

The Sword of the Spirit - the Word of God, his Bible. I cherish this more than my daily bread.

Serving the Body of Jesus - Hosting games for the youth at Victory Church north triangle - Back to the Bible

Working in the fields - Spending time with the children in a nearby community - Barangay Arboretum

All in all I have come to understand that it is entirely by God’s grace that we are able to function on a daily. Even while I didn’t have an intimate relationship or know God’s Word, he protected me and allowed me to learn from my mistakes. I don’t resent anything of the past and from all that has been experienced, each and every one of those situations has been used to build my character up to serve God and people on a daily, and for me to be able to witness how Jesus has changed and is working in my life. Just a list of some things that I do now and what has changed:

1. I read the Bible daily
   I feel awkward if I don’t get to read, similar to the feeling you get if you have just left your house and have forgotten something at home that you know you are forgetting but just can’t remember what it is. Or an imbalanced feeling that I get
   
2. I pray daily, I pray all day no matter what I am doing
   Like brushing your teeth or taking a shower, or eating a meal in order to function, I don’t forget to pray in the morning to give thanks to the Lord and to ask him to guide me and to pray for others that I care for and love and for those that I don’t know in other ministries around the world, as well as the strength for the church and brothers and sisters everywhere. At night time I pray about the sins I have committed, asking for forgiveness and repenting, forgiving those that have sinned against me, and just thank the Lord for all the blessings of today from what God provides or for the lessons learned and to ask for insight and wisdom of every and all situations that I can receive and impart to others.
   
   Throughout the day I try not forget to pray before making any decisions, from the seemingly smallest in terms of deciding what to eat to the seemingly biggest as to where I should go and whom I am to spend time with. All day I am asking God for strength or discernment for a specific task, I pray under my breath before I speak to an individual or speaking before a group and I pray constantly as I am walking or in passing to another area or as soon as I feel temptation to sin: in pride, in immorality, in anger, in judging…anything. I pray to God all day for everything I recognize as such a blessing, even in seemingly negative circumstances. They are seemingly negative as I understand any hardships, challenges or people that sin against me is an opportunity to learn and an opportunity to apply God’s Word.
   
3. In everything I see God is in it and created it
   I constantly find myself reflecting and understanding God has created everything and everyone. I never forget the skies and earth that God created. I constantly reflect on the people and the things that are inspired into creation such as technology, buildings, structures, social constructs and culture. I realize all comes from God and it amazes me the myriad of things God has created and interconnected. This makes me never forget God and allows me never to forget that he is in everything.
   
4. I care and love others like never before
   God has blessed my heart and continues to open it to those around me. This is what I have been most thankful for besides the first and foremost of Jesus life, death and resurrection; God’s gift to us and his love, grace and mercy on our lives and souls. I thank so much that I can truly love and know him, and truly love others and desire to love so greatly.

Thank you Lord for your love. Thank you so much for saving me. I pray you continue to open my heart to love and choose you all the days of my life, and that I can serve you as much as you want me to, and I can love you and love everyone you connect me with to greater than I can ever imagine. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

3 brothers and a lifetime of learning

Tuesday, 11:41pm – Mandaluyong, Tiger City, Philippines
Today was fruitful for each and every brother God linked me up with today.

Alain
We are on the 33rd chapter out of 40 of the Purpose Driven Life book and God is guiding us through how we are created for his pleasure, that we are created to be part of his family, that we are created to be like his son Jesus, that we are to serve based on our SHAPE: S.piritual gifts, H.eart, A.bilities, P.ersonality and E.xperience, and that we are created for a mission. Alain is continuing to bear good fruit, no matter the circumstance, and I thank the Lord for his strong presence and constant grace and love that he gives to both of us and those around us.


Jaime
Today is our 3rd meeting for Victory Church’s 1-to-1 booklet, which is provided by the church (50 pesos) to disciple and prepare members or new-comers for a weekend retreat called Victory Weekend. This prepares people to further understand their relationship with God and enable them continue their walk strongly in honoring God and making disciples as we are commanded to do. I see how God is continuing to give Jaime clarity and how he is opening up to others around him.


Alex
Meeting at Ken Afford Filipino restaurant, we went to Kopi Roti off of Katipunan road to get some dessert and coffee. My friend Patrick blessed me with a Recovery Version Bible that just has new testament but there is some details for particular verses within each book of the Bible. God always shows grace and fruit. The conversation lead from confessed sin, to how God is working in his life through different girls and brothers, and how God’s and his Word is the only true thing that will change someone’s life. Towards the end the truth was revealed of a fear. A fear that he will never find the one, true girl in his life. The one that he is supposed to marry. The one that will make him experience complete joy and happiness.



I have come to see we are all looking for this. And before I started my relationship with God and before trusting my life to Jesus, I always felt an emptiness and was searching to fill that hole or that gap or that dissatisfaction. Our common mistake is that we tend to look for it in front of us, behind us, and to all the sides. We neglect to look first where we will find that person, and we actually make the mistake that we think it’s in a person. We are to look toward God first, to have a relationship with him first, so we can trust in his knowledge and truth on how we are to be, who we are to be with (if that’s his will for our lives), and when that will be.

When you understand whom God is, how he is your entire life, everything falls into place and you accept the completeness that he makes. The void is filled and each and everyday of your life is filled with joy, peace, faithfulness, love, kindness, gentleness, self-control…all the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Whether you have a wife or not, you are complete. Whether you have money or not, you are complete. Whether you are in favorable circumstances or not, you are complete. This is the life that I would love to know and be in, and that I am living in now. It’s because of me knowing intimately now whom God is, how he wants me to live my life, and with whom I am to live my life with now. I live my life now with Moina, my immediate family, my friends, the community in the Philippines and in Los Angeles, people across the states in New York, Illinois, people back in all around the Philippines, people I don’t even know their names, the kids in Barangay Arboretum, the new people I meet through brothers and sisters at church, the people I meet in passing…everyone! He wants me to live with all these people. To have true, authentic, deep relationship with them in love, encouragement, praying and God at the center. They will come to know Jesus in one way or another, God willing.

More and more I see we will learn from God, people and our experiences for all the days of our lives. The more I see and am thankful that we have Jesus and God’s Word for each and every one of those days to lean on for understanding, help and strength. Thank you Jesus.

I pray Lord, thank you for the blessing on growing with these brothers and being able to share your Word and the testimony of how Jesus has changed my life. Each and every time Father I learn more and more and grow in faith and trust in you Jesus. Holy Spirit, be with each and every one of these brothers so they continue to grow their desire to seek and live by your Word, guide them to truth and understanding and wisdom for their life, and that they can turn away from all the patterns of this world and truly test and approve your good, pleasing and perfect will, from now and for the rest of the days of their lives. Thank you God for always showing faithfulness and answering prayers, and I thank you Lord for your love and unconditional grace. In Jesus loving name I pray. Amen.

God’s will for my life – rocking climbing and MCing?

Friday, 10:44pm – Quezon City, Ortigas, Philippines
Today was fruitful and blessed in serving and learning. Throughout the day, different lessons and opportunities to abide in God’s teaching of course always come up and today it was the usual amazing events that God lines up. There was an opportunity to help the poor, help a brother in need, help the Church with youth services, then to learn about biblical teachings for couples that will be getting married or are married already, and now awaiting for a brother to share with teachings from the Bible and the Purpose Driven Life book (Day 26. Yes! Thank you Lord for teaching commitment, discipline and faithfulness). After going through all this, I wanted to be sure to write this down as I have become accustomed to just experience a lot of amazing things and not being able to write it down. I am now taking action so as not to let that happen so I can be sure to further understand the lessons and insights today so I can take it with me everywhere I go, and share it to all that I know and that these writings come across to.

The end of the night after the couples Bible study, I was introduced with 2 interesting opportunities. One, to begin rock climbing at a local gym so as to be part of the community there. I have been wanting to rock climb for some time now and I think someone here in the Philippines has been telling me that they rock climb. I have to remember who it was so that I can invite them if God leads me to go. Secondly, I have been invited to MC a wedding reception. I have been hosting a couple of events at Church for games that were being set up outside in the meeting area for the congregation to participate in. If I MC the wedding, the only thing I see that I need to do is really get some clothes to wear and to pray for God's guidance :)

Before making any decisions I make it a point to pray and see what God reveals. I have lived 30 years of my life making my own decisions based on the culture, tradition and society around me. Instead of turning to the world all the time, it’s time to turn to God that created the world that knows the best for how we should live our lives. I want to make sure my desires are in alignment with his and that I don’t stray off any path he wants me on. Thank you Lord.

Also tonight, a man named James Lee, an evangelist at Christian Baptist in Paranaque City came up to Alain and I when we were about to end in prayer from our meeting at KFC in Ortigas. It was interesting because he saw our Bibles out and the Purpose Driven Life book. His Korean accent was strong but he was asking questions about being born again and also just faith in Jesus and what does it mean to “believe”. He’s an evangelist so he was asking probing questions as a talking point so he can share with us his purpose in the Philippines. He wanted to share more with us but it was almost 1am and Alain and I were about to leave to go eat. I asked James to join us next Monday at 10pm.

A lot of lessons again today, from gaining insight on some things that can be done in the Arboretum ministry, to insight of how hope in God and his promises builds up faith, which is a pillar in marriage as it parallels how we are to have hope and faith in marriage for it to be strong. Lessons in remaining humble when given praise peppered throughout the day and I thank God for the lessons. I am learning to detest pride and to safeguard myself by being sure to turn to Jesus for help whenever there is a hint or something that comes up that may trigger it.

On humility and pride
Luke 14:7-11
“7When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: 8"When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. 9If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, 'Give this man your seat.' Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. 10But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, 'Friend, move up to a better place.' Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests. 11For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

On leaning on God’s guidance and his desires, not our own
Philippians 2:11-13
“12Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.”

Psalm 25:4-5
“4 Show me your ways, O LORD,
teach me your paths;
5 guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.”

Technology to share about God, his Word, and the Gospel of Jesus

hTuesday, 2:31pm – Mandaluyong, Philippines
I came across this website today as I was doing research for a client and I saw this video below from a company called Common Craft, http://www.commoncraft.com/. I somehow came across http://www.twitter.com/, a website that allows people to share short messages to each other as they go throughout their day. The easiest way to do this is to enable your mobile phone to send message to your twitter account, and people subscribe or add you as their contact so they are notified if you send an update. On http://www.twitter.com/, they had a video to explain what twitter is and it was amazing to watch the simplicity in the presentation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddO9idmax0o


Common Craft’s vision and mission is to create online videos that “are short, simple and focused on making complex ideas easy to understand. We use a whiteboard-and-paper format we call Paperworks that is designed to cut out the noise and stick to what matters.”

As I was watching this I was reflecting on how I have been using technology to share with others through my blog http://forhispeople.blogspot.com/ what I have been learning about my relationship with God, the life of Jesus and how the Bible has been the foundation of all that I do now because of his teachings and how the relationship has been growing. The other form of technology I’m using is Instant Chat messages (such as Yahoo Messenger, AIM, or MSN Messenger) to discuss and share links to websites like this online Bible to share verses called BibleGateway: http://www.biblegateway.com/. On a daily I have been able to see how constant communication through the blog and chat messages with friends around the world has been able to start opening the eyes and hearts of people looking for answers to their questions.

This Common Craft video quickly made me think, “Hey, if they made a short video to explain this new concept of twitter, I wonder if they or someone else has created something to explain the Gospel or life of Jesus or what it means for humans as creations from God and how he wants us to restore our relationship with him and learn about his love and how we are to love others and live this life for him”. I tried to do a quick search and didn’t find anything so simply put. I have come to understand the Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ so now I am pleasantly eager to find or create something like this to share with others using technology: laptops, websites, software, interactivity and video.

More and more I see how God is allowing us to connect with each other through the use of technology and the possibilities of exposing people to truth with access that was not there years ago.

Thank you God for this opportunity and blessing and I pray that you lead us Lord for understanding, wisdom and will to act on what you would like us to do with the technology to share the Good News to all around the community and the world. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.