Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
Can we blame God for being holy? Can we rebel against Him for He requires a holy living?
As I was reading and meditating today, Isaiah1, I was burdened by the guilt or sin of Israel as the chapter says in these passages. I said to myself, “Oh Israel. How come you can do these things? The presence of God within you is so visible and yet they still do commit many sins that burdened the heart of God. That’s why God is correcting you.” Why was I dismayed with Israel? It’s because, how would you remain sinning while you already convinced that our God is holy and He is not happy to see us sinning. If only they turn from their wickedness and turn their hearts to God, they will experience how God will bring joy and happiness and their lives.
Then suddenly, I tried to put my foot in Israel’s shoe. Then I realized, I, too, is guilty of sin. I think everyone of us will agree that it is super hard to keep a blameless life. Everyone of us is guilty of sin for everyone of us is a sinner. It is true as we can see in Roman 3:23, “for all have sinned.”. That is the truth and if we cannot detest it.
Now, a thought came to my mind, “can we blame God for being holy? Can we rebel against Him for He requires a holy living?
As I kept meditating Isaiah 1, little by little, I understand why God said He was not pleased as to what Israel did. For God is all-knowing God, He knows that sin will certainly destroy every good things He put in our lives. He know that if we will continue to sin, though we keep on hiding it from others, will surely be brought to light and that will put us in huge shameful experience, and that may lead us to blame God. He knows that sin will break our connection to Him for He hates sin. Sin breaks, takes, destroys our relationships, works, our houses, and our lives. That is why God hates sin.
And that is why God corrects us when we sin. He disciplines us we are wrong. God wants us to live a life full of love, trust, comfort, happiness and joy. God wants us to learn how we overcome every trials. For He loves us so much and He cares when we need someone to care for us. He loves us so much and blesses us when we really need it badly.
I imagined what David said in Psalm 23:4, “for your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”. This confused when I first it read. How would a shepherd’s rod and staff comfort a sheep when shepherd use it to correct his sheep? Then I realized, the shepherd knows how to guide sheep to pasture, it is by guiding his sheep with his rod and staff.
So if we experiencing corrections from God, we should not blame God for being holy and for requiring us a holy living. Instead, we should thankful and happy knowing He cares for us by correcting us and leading us in good future with Him.
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Lord, thank you for taking time to correct our mistakes. You know us and we trust you our lives!
Friday, September 2, 2011
Saturday, August 6, 2011
What a treat for my birthday?!!
I am praising God for giving me a great treat. For 3 days, my wife and I went to Palawan for my birthday. We experienced many good times while we are there. We have quality time with each other and that for us is super. We forget our worries, problems, and works, we just enjoy our time together. That is fantastic.
I enjoyed watching my wife’s face while we are entering the terminal for our flight. She had mixed emotion. She is so excited because that was her first time to ride an airplane and in the same time, she is scared because she knew she would experience motion discomfort and might throw up. And she did! I was I was making some joke and deep inside I am happy not because she threw up but I am happy to see that God gave me opportunity to treat my wife. That meant a lot to her.
In Palawan, we tried to get cheapest package for the Underground River. This is the famous spot for tourist. Your Palawan experience is not complete if you didn’t went to Underground river. So, we tried to make some negotiation and we had a great deal. We went to the Underground River and we were amazed!!! Yup! We did. We were amazed on how nature brought something fantastic. Who would have water from waterfalls can make cave under a mountain and drops of water brought great images. That is truly amazing! Inside the cave, there were zero visibility, we just have a spotlight to see images inside. And there are all AWESOME! The Underground River experienced was fantastic!
While we were in Palawan, since we have many free time, we just went around the town to see more of Palawan. We ate some native food and bought few souvenirs.
Our 3 day away was good times. We would like to come back sometime. We are so blessed for a great treat! We praise God for this wonderful opportunity to see the beauty of nature. God truly made many wonders in our nature and we would be surprise if we have a chance to see of them.
I enjoyed watching my wife’s face while we are entering the terminal for our flight. She had mixed emotion. She is so excited because that was her first time to ride an airplane and in the same time, she is scared because she knew she would experience motion discomfort and might throw up. And she did! I was I was making some joke and deep inside I am happy not because she threw up but I am happy to see that God gave me opportunity to treat my wife. That meant a lot to her.
In Palawan, we tried to get cheapest package for the Underground River. This is the famous spot for tourist. Your Palawan experience is not complete if you didn’t went to Underground river. So, we tried to make some negotiation and we had a great deal. We went to the Underground River and we were amazed!!! Yup! We did. We were amazed on how nature brought something fantastic. Who would have water from waterfalls can make cave under a mountain and drops of water brought great images. That is truly amazing! Inside the cave, there were zero visibility, we just have a spotlight to see images inside. And there are all AWESOME! The Underground River experienced was fantastic!
While we were in Palawan, since we have many free time, we just went around the town to see more of Palawan. We ate some native food and bought few souvenirs.
Our 3 day away was good times. We would like to come back sometime. We are so blessed for a great treat! We praise God for this wonderful opportunity to see the beauty of nature. God truly made many wonders in our nature and we would be surprise if we have a chance to see of them.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Pray and never give up
(taken from Biblos.com)
One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up.
— Luke 18:1 NLT
Insight
To persist in prayer and not give up does not mean endless repetition or painfully long prayer sessions. Always praying means keeping our requests constantly before God as we live for him day by day, believing he will answer.
Challenge
When we live by faith, we are not to give up. God may delay answering, but his delays always have good reasons. As we persist in prayer we grow in character, faith, and hope.
on a personal note:
the message last sunday in our church is also something to do with praying, having faith, and keep on believing. I learned so much and my heard was truly moved by that message. I heard Pastor Joshua taught this lesson many times in our mentoring time, Youth Mob team meeting and JKKCC meetings but, I dont know, last Sunday, his message about faith truly moved my heart.
Honestly, there are so many prayers in my heart that still waiting to be answered. My faith, even I am old in my relationship with God and I know the Lord for many years, my faith, once in awhile needs to be rekindled. And last Sunday, my faith was rekindled. I have a great opportunity again to lift my prayers to God as I was reminded by the message. I should keep on believing that no matter how small or big our needs, when we pray, we are asking God to display His power, for and with our faith, it will be possible. We should just keep on believing!!
One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up.
— Luke 18:1 NLT
Insight
To persist in prayer and not give up does not mean endless repetition or painfully long prayer sessions. Always praying means keeping our requests constantly before God as we live for him day by day, believing he will answer.
Challenge
When we live by faith, we are not to give up. God may delay answering, but his delays always have good reasons. As we persist in prayer we grow in character, faith, and hope.
on a personal note:
the message last sunday in our church is also something to do with praying, having faith, and keep on believing. I learned so much and my heard was truly moved by that message. I heard Pastor Joshua taught this lesson many times in our mentoring time, Youth Mob team meeting and JKKCC meetings but, I dont know, last Sunday, his message about faith truly moved my heart.
Honestly, there are so many prayers in my heart that still waiting to be answered. My faith, even I am old in my relationship with God and I know the Lord for many years, my faith, once in awhile needs to be rekindled. And last Sunday, my faith was rekindled. I have a great opportunity again to lift my prayers to God as I was reminded by the message. I should keep on believing that no matter how small or big our needs, when we pray, we are asking God to display His power, for and with our faith, it will be possible. We should just keep on believing!!
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Palawan Trip
I am looking forward to our trip in Palawan!!!
We booked our flight to Palawan and we are going there next month. I planned this trip as a great time be away and to have a relaxing day for my birthday. I am excited to spend it with my wife. This is a dream come true. I know I might sound crazy but flying to Palawan is one of my dreams. I have been dreaming, since I was kid when I saw in the television how great place is Palawan. So that’s why I am so excited to go there.
Also, what I am excited about is, this will be the first time for my wife to ride an airplane. She was very vocal to let me know how she was praying and dreaming, sometime, she could ride an airplane. And when I told her that I booked us a flight to Palawan, she was so happy. If only I took a picture of her face when she heard that she will be riding an airplane to Palawan and show them to you, you will be overwhelmed, as well as I was.
Please pray with us that we will have a safe trip and we enjoy it to the max!
We booked our flight to Palawan and we are going there next month. I planned this trip as a great time be away and to have a relaxing day for my birthday. I am excited to spend it with my wife. This is a dream come true. I know I might sound crazy but flying to Palawan is one of my dreams. I have been dreaming, since I was kid when I saw in the television how great place is Palawan. So that’s why I am so excited to go there.
Also, what I am excited about is, this will be the first time for my wife to ride an airplane. She was very vocal to let me know how she was praying and dreaming, sometime, she could ride an airplane. And when I told her that I booked us a flight to Palawan, she was so happy. If only I took a picture of her face when she heard that she will be riding an airplane to Palawan and show them to you, you will be overwhelmed, as well as I was.
Please pray with us that we will have a safe trip and we enjoy it to the max!
Training and Mobilization Department
Youth Mobilization is having huge re-organizations, in terms of what we are doing and how are we doing our ministries. Huge changes such like, we now have new office location, new volunteered-people added in the team and new possible ministries. Which brought us both negative and positive results. But we have been reminded by our team leader, Joshua, to focus on the positive side and to look for what God is doing through these changes. Through his words of encouragement, we taught to dream new dreams, new horizon and new great possibilities.
One of the changes, in terms of how we do ministry is we decided to join the effort of the Training Department and Touch Trip Ministry. Which we think is a great idea. So we called this new department, Training and Mobilization Department.
And as a response to what our team leader encouraged us to do, we set new dreams, we will build new relationship or partnership with churches. We had a meeting today to discuss what we can do in order to achieve our goals. And to be honest, we dream huge dreams and we set many great plans. We know this is impossible to achieve if we will rely in our capabilities but we are keeping our faith in our big God. We lay our huge plans in the feet of our God. For we know with Him all this are possible!
One of the changes, in terms of how we do ministry is we decided to join the effort of the Training Department and Touch Trip Ministry. Which we think is a great idea. So we called this new department, Training and Mobilization Department.
And as a response to what our team leader encouraged us to do, we set new dreams, we will build new relationship or partnership with churches. We had a meeting today to discuss what we can do in order to achieve our goals. And to be honest, we dream huge dreams and we set many great plans. We know this is impossible to achieve if we will rely in our capabilities but we are keeping our faith in our big God. We lay our huge plans in the feet of our God. For we know with Him all this are possible!
Daycare Today...
I taught the daycare today. I am their teacher in Phonics. It’s so great to hear them learning the sound letter “A”. They also learned to how to write down the letter and they had fun writing and teaching each other to write the letter. I just noticed one of our crazy students took initiative to help his younger brother to write. His’ name Adriane and his younger brother is Jetjet. They were funny to see having initiatives to help each other. Knowing these brothers are the most crazies students we have. But today, I was so blessed to see them helping each other.
I will be teaching them every Thursday and I am looking forward to see them learning a lot. Little by little, we (DayCare Teachers) can create huge impact in the lives of these children. And we will not get tired reaching out to the community where these children live. We are thankful for this wonderful opportunity to be part of what God is doing in the lives of the people in the community.
I will be teaching them every Thursday and I am looking forward to see them learning a lot. Little by little, we (DayCare Teachers) can create huge impact in the lives of these children. And we will not get tired reaching out to the community where these children live. We are thankful for this wonderful opportunity to be part of what God is doing in the lives of the people in the community.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Sovereignty!
God is revealing many things to me lately about sovereignty. The word sovereignty itself so profound, it would be hard for anyone to describe it one word. I think when you encounter this word, you will need a lot of dictionaries, thesaurus and many vocabulary books – but still you will end up taking a deep breath, an inhale and exhale, and saying, “Woo! This word is such a hard one to explain.”
I’ve heard many teachings about God as the ultimate subject for sovereignty. That is very true! Yet there are a lot of times in the bible where you may feel or think that God is not that sovereign. There were many circumstances in which God planned and chose Israel to rule over all nations, but there were also times when the Israelites had been slaves of many nations, for so many years. Prophets who were called to speak forth what would happen to nations were put to death by the nation itself. Christ-followers in the New Testament whom Jesus sent to the nations to bring the good news were burned, bitten by lions and persecuted. Where was God when all of these things happened? Where was He sleeping when Israel was held captive by different nations? Was He numb when all of his prophets in the Old testament were put to death? Was He blind to see when Jesus’ followers were persecuted ? Is He really a sovereign God?
As I study the bible, I find many sides of the stories in which I didn’t really attribute God as being sovereign. Sometimes I tend to focus on the negative sides of the stories. But later, as I meditate on the Word sovereignty, I realized God uses all people, all times, all events, all situations and all venues to place or to show His power over all His creation. That is sovereignty, Himself! God is never late, never tired, never lost and never failing to show how powerful He is and that He is in control of everything.
When sin entered the world in the time of Adam and Eve. He used Eve, letting the evil one think he would win over God’s creation. And when Eve accepted and tempted Adam, the evil one was happy and enjoying his time ruling over mankind. Most especially, when God sent Adam and Eve away from paradise. But God is sovereign to overpower the evil one’s plan. The woman he used to enter into the world is used to defeat him. How awesome and powerful God is. He is so wise to plan it all ahead of time.
God, as being the sovereign God, knows everything, can do anything, and is present in any place at any time. He sees us, works though us, and uses us to disperse His ultimate purpose for everyone of us. And the most of important thing to know is He never fails!!!
There were a lot times when we feel that God has left us in our difficult times, we’ve been betrayed and trampled by many trials of circumstances, and didn’t you wonder how you were able to overcome it all? For sure there will be more of it in the near future, but I am sure you can find a way to overcome it again and again. Of one thing I am sure, if we will let God rule over our lives, let Him direct our paths, and consult Him in every decision, He is sovereign to empower us to overcome every challenge that gets in our way. He is powerful, knows all things, and is present everywhere at every time. God is sovereign!
I’ve heard many teachings about God as the ultimate subject for sovereignty. That is very true! Yet there are a lot of times in the bible where you may feel or think that God is not that sovereign. There were many circumstances in which God planned and chose Israel to rule over all nations, but there were also times when the Israelites had been slaves of many nations, for so many years. Prophets who were called to speak forth what would happen to nations were put to death by the nation itself. Christ-followers in the New Testament whom Jesus sent to the nations to bring the good news were burned, bitten by lions and persecuted. Where was God when all of these things happened? Where was He sleeping when Israel was held captive by different nations? Was He numb when all of his prophets in the Old testament were put to death? Was He blind to see when Jesus’ followers were persecuted ? Is He really a sovereign God?
As I study the bible, I find many sides of the stories in which I didn’t really attribute God as being sovereign. Sometimes I tend to focus on the negative sides of the stories. But later, as I meditate on the Word sovereignty, I realized God uses all people, all times, all events, all situations and all venues to place or to show His power over all His creation. That is sovereignty, Himself! God is never late, never tired, never lost and never failing to show how powerful He is and that He is in control of everything.
When sin entered the world in the time of Adam and Eve. He used Eve, letting the evil one think he would win over God’s creation. And when Eve accepted and tempted Adam, the evil one was happy and enjoying his time ruling over mankind. Most especially, when God sent Adam and Eve away from paradise. But God is sovereign to overpower the evil one’s plan. The woman he used to enter into the world is used to defeat him. How awesome and powerful God is. He is so wise to plan it all ahead of time.
God, as being the sovereign God, knows everything, can do anything, and is present in any place at any time. He sees us, works though us, and uses us to disperse His ultimate purpose for everyone of us. And the most of important thing to know is He never fails!!!
There were a lot times when we feel that God has left us in our difficult times, we’ve been betrayed and trampled by many trials of circumstances, and didn’t you wonder how you were able to overcome it all? For sure there will be more of it in the near future, but I am sure you can find a way to overcome it again and again. Of one thing I am sure, if we will let God rule over our lives, let Him direct our paths, and consult Him in every decision, He is sovereign to empower us to overcome every challenge that gets in our way. He is powerful, knows all things, and is present everywhere at every time. God is sovereign!
Thursday, June 9, 2011
The Story of Three Youth
This year’s Windows YP (youth missions conference) theme is, “Walk On Water”. With just a title we want to give you a great challenge to dare yourself to live the impossible. This challenge may seem hard to digest at first. And you may think that nobody will surely do it. Who would have thought with a right mind to walk on water? This challenge is very huge and overwhelming to take on.
But three youth from Family Christian Fellowship (FCF) in Bataan, took the challenge. These are Keshie, Queenie and Shervin. These youth accepted the challenge to walk on water. They applied the principle of faith and dared to live the impossible. Their act of faith brought fire to our hearts and truly impacted and encouraged us because we are seeing results of the training in the lives of youth. These youth are a good example of that.
We saw that they are really living the impossible. They’ve come from a province part of the Philippines to minister to youth here in the city. Though they have not a lot of resources like money, they live in faith, accept the big challenge, and they have ministered to the youth from IT Tender Ministry and helped in a church’s Vacation Bible School. Their faith moved them to respond to the call to touch the lives of the youth here in the city even without very much in their pockets.
As we concluded their mission trip here in Makati, we interviewed and debriefed them. From this interview, we heard great testimonies of their experiences ministering to youth. They have learned many lessons, their relationship with God has deepened, and their hearts have burned with passion for the lost. They said that they will take what they have learned and pass it on to their church and keep doing missions now with their own church. And if God will lead them to mobilize youth to respond to the call of missions, then, they will do it!
These youth are precious to us and we hope there will be more of them. More youth to respond to the call of missions and many youth to experience how to walk on water.
Keshie at IT Tender Ministry
Queenie with kids at VBS
Shervin with kid at VBS
Keshie, Queenie and Shervin at IT Tender Ministry
But three youth from Family Christian Fellowship (FCF) in Bataan, took the challenge. These are Keshie, Queenie and Shervin. These youth accepted the challenge to walk on water. They applied the principle of faith and dared to live the impossible. Their act of faith brought fire to our hearts and truly impacted and encouraged us because we are seeing results of the training in the lives of youth. These youth are a good example of that.
We saw that they are really living the impossible. They’ve come from a province part of the Philippines to minister to youth here in the city. Though they have not a lot of resources like money, they live in faith, accept the big challenge, and they have ministered to the youth from IT Tender Ministry and helped in a church’s Vacation Bible School. Their faith moved them to respond to the call to touch the lives of the youth here in the city even without very much in their pockets.
As we concluded their mission trip here in Makati, we interviewed and debriefed them. From this interview, we heard great testimonies of their experiences ministering to youth. They have learned many lessons, their relationship with God has deepened, and their hearts have burned with passion for the lost. They said that they will take what they have learned and pass it on to their church and keep doing missions now with their own church. And if God will lead them to mobilize youth to respond to the call of missions, then, they will do it!
These youth are precious to us and we hope there will be more of them. More youth to respond to the call of missions and many youth to experience how to walk on water.
Keshie at IT Tender Ministry
Queenie with kids at VBS
Shervin with kid at VBS
Keshie, Queenie and Shervin at IT Tender Ministry
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
As a testimony!
I’ve been meditating lately on the word of God as to why God provides. What is the real reason why He provides for us all? Why He fulfills your need? Why He knows exactly when you need it? Why? Why? Why?
The reason why these questions are lingering on my mind is because I am amazed how God supplies all my needs. His provision comes exactly when I need it. He uses people to send His provision and I am very grateful to God for He is always on time.
I talked to my wife and both of us are amazed by our God and our thankful hearts are just witnesses of how God provides. As we have been counting our blessings these last few months, we end up with the question, WHY?
As I seek God in meditating on His word, there are several stories in the bible that have helped me find the answer.
When I read the story of Elijah, I learn that God sent provision to feed Elijah though ravens. Elijah also experienced provision through a widow who had nothing but a little oil. And in the New Testament, Jesus fed 5000 men though five loaves of bread and two fish from a young boy. These stories amazed me and at the same time made me realize that God sometimes uses the people we least expect. This is to help us realize that He is our provider. Both of these stories gave glory to God. The name of God was glorified because people and their stories helped people know that God provides. These stories are just but another testimony that God is our ultimate provider. These stories in the bible will never deny the fact that God does miracles in our lives. He provides!
There are many blessings in our lives that sometimes we forgot to give glory for. We forgot to bring back the glory to our God. When we experience God’s provision, we are overwhelmed and happy. And that story of provision is a great testimony to all people that God really provides.
If you are like me, wondering why God provides for your needs, remember that God wants to use your story as a testimony so that the name of the Lord will be glorified. So the next time you experience God’s provision, tell others how faithful God has been in your life, and who know, someday, people will come and believe in our testimony that God really provides!
The reason why these questions are lingering on my mind is because I am amazed how God supplies all my needs. His provision comes exactly when I need it. He uses people to send His provision and I am very grateful to God for He is always on time.
I talked to my wife and both of us are amazed by our God and our thankful hearts are just witnesses of how God provides. As we have been counting our blessings these last few months, we end up with the question, WHY?
As I seek God in meditating on His word, there are several stories in the bible that have helped me find the answer.
When I read the story of Elijah, I learn that God sent provision to feed Elijah though ravens. Elijah also experienced provision through a widow who had nothing but a little oil. And in the New Testament, Jesus fed 5000 men though five loaves of bread and two fish from a young boy. These stories amazed me and at the same time made me realize that God sometimes uses the people we least expect. This is to help us realize that He is our provider. Both of these stories gave glory to God. The name of God was glorified because people and their stories helped people know that God provides. These stories are just but another testimony that God is our ultimate provider. These stories in the bible will never deny the fact that God does miracles in our lives. He provides!
There are many blessings in our lives that sometimes we forgot to give glory for. We forgot to bring back the glory to our God. When we experience God’s provision, we are overwhelmed and happy. And that story of provision is a great testimony to all people that God really provides.
If you are like me, wondering why God provides for your needs, remember that God wants to use your story as a testimony so that the name of the Lord will be glorified. So the next time you experience God’s provision, tell others how faithful God has been in your life, and who know, someday, people will come and believe in our testimony that God really provides!
WOW! (Walk ON Water) Windows YP 2011
I never heard such a passionate story ever! Just recently in the Windows YP 2011!
This year Windows YP had a theme, “Walk On Water!” (WOW). This is a challenge to walk on water, to dare yourself to live the impossible. Our lives are full of challenges, and it seems like you need to walk on water in order to overcome huge challenges. It is something beyond reality and requires a reliance on the miracles of God. Windows YP is a youth missions conference held by the Youth Mobilization team of International Teams Philippines.
Many youth were challenged, and it shows in every loud “amen” we heard whenever we asked if they are ready to go to missions. Actually, I always had goosebumps every time I heard them shout a loud amen. Considering they are native youth from the provinces, they have nothing in their pockets, and their families don’t have work to earn a living for them, I still heard a loud amen. It seemed so strange….
What really struck my heart so deep is when I heard a group of youth – five women’s testimonies, walking town to town, no money in their pockets to pay for their transportation, carrying a heavy speaker, preaching and proclaiming the Good News. Wow! Their story blew me away. It challenged me more than they could imagine. I have never heard such a passionate story ever! They are really missionaries in God’s Kingdom.
There were about 30 youth who attended this missions conference. I just couldn’t imagine how many souls and how many lives would be reached though the lives of these 30 youth. I am really looking forward to seeing them one day fulfilling their calling to their respective mission fields. I see so much potential in them. I hope and pray that they will live out their potential.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
I thank God for my team mates and I am proud of them.
I am proud of my team mates. Even though they don’t have professional cameras, only simple ones, and sometimes capture blurred pictures, but they captured perfect smiles from the people we help. People from poor communities, people who always find ways to smile through their helplessness, not because they’re ignoring the pain but because they have found hope in Jesus. My team is sharing that hope to them. Those smiles are picture perfect, regardless of the quality if the camera.
I am proud of my team mates. Even though they don’t have “must-have” gadgets like iPhones. They are deeply connected to the people we serve. They connect to their hearts and minds in an amazing way. That’s why people welcome them in their homes even when they are homeless. They offer their food even when they don’t have much. That’s how my team mate is connected to people and create such a big impact in their lives.
I am proud of my team mates. Even though they don’t have cars, they arrive in time to be there to help the people, to stand beside the broken, to share hope from God to people and to find ways to cheer them up in their difficult situations. Nothing beats the time we spend with people who need hope. That’s the best time to share Jesus with them. Because they are seeing Jesus every time we help them in difficult times. Even though they don’t have cars, they are there just in time, exactly when people need them.
I am proud of my team mates. They are not well paid, but they share what they have. Jesus and everything He is to them – that’s what they share. Even though they don’t have access to travel, God provides His ways to treat us to travel. Most of the time, their travel costs do not come from their pockets but from treasure in heaven. Even though they are not well paid, they share their resources to the people we are serving. Sometimes, we don’t know how it’s possible for us to travel, to eat in neat restaurants and to experience good treats. The only thing we know and we are sure of is that God provides and will never fail.
Sometimes I’ve been disappointed, seeing people enjoying luxuries in life. They have professional cameras, must-have gadgets, cars and money to travel, but they are not using these advantages to serve people. Even though they have these advantages, they don’t know to connect to people, to help them and bring hope to them. But then I always focus not on what we don’t have but what we have.
There are three things we have.
First, we have Jesus in our hearts. Jesus is what people need in their lives. That’s what we share, why we serve and what we preach. Next is, we have people. People who welcome us in their lives, who we are serving and people who become part of our lives. And last, we have each other. I have my team. Same as me, who experience what I experience. They are humble, serving and loving. They are not desiring luxuries in life but they embrace the simplicity of serving and loving God. That’s why I am proud of my team.
I am proud of my team mates. Even though they don’t have “must-have” gadgets like iPhones. They are deeply connected to the people we serve. They connect to their hearts and minds in an amazing way. That’s why people welcome them in their homes even when they are homeless. They offer their food even when they don’t have much. That’s how my team mate is connected to people and create such a big impact in their lives.
I am proud of my team mates. Even though they don’t have cars, they arrive in time to be there to help the people, to stand beside the broken, to share hope from God to people and to find ways to cheer them up in their difficult situations. Nothing beats the time we spend with people who need hope. That’s the best time to share Jesus with them. Because they are seeing Jesus every time we help them in difficult times. Even though they don’t have cars, they are there just in time, exactly when people need them.
I am proud of my team mates. They are not well paid, but they share what they have. Jesus and everything He is to them – that’s what they share. Even though they don’t have access to travel, God provides His ways to treat us to travel. Most of the time, their travel costs do not come from their pockets but from treasure in heaven. Even though they are not well paid, they share their resources to the people we are serving. Sometimes, we don’t know how it’s possible for us to travel, to eat in neat restaurants and to experience good treats. The only thing we know and we are sure of is that God provides and will never fail.
Sometimes I’ve been disappointed, seeing people enjoying luxuries in life. They have professional cameras, must-have gadgets, cars and money to travel, but they are not using these advantages to serve people. Even though they have these advantages, they don’t know to connect to people, to help them and bring hope to them. But then I always focus not on what we don’t have but what we have.
There are three things we have.
First, we have Jesus in our hearts. Jesus is what people need in their lives. That’s what we share, why we serve and what we preach. Next is, we have people. People who welcome us in their lives, who we are serving and people who become part of our lives. And last, we have each other. I have my team. Same as me, who experience what I experience. They are humble, serving and loving. They are not desiring luxuries in life but they embrace the simplicity of serving and loving God. That’s why I am proud of my team.
A dream, a bible school.
Do you ever experience a certain excitement in your heart, when you know that something you are doing – it could be a profession, work, study or business, or whatever you are doing – that you could take it to a higher level? There is some kind of a rush inside of you, like you couldn’t sleep unless you either write it down, tell it or share it to all people. That is an absolute thrill!
When God opened my eyes and I saw the need to equip the members of our church, I dreamt to set-up a discipleship program in our church. I called it “Be:E”. Derived from it’s purpose, “Be Enlightened, Be Empowered, Be Equipped”. I couldn’t expect it would be something that people would support so much. But, by the grace of God, this ministry keeps on going and growing. Many people saw great positive results from students who were attending. The fruit of this ministry is truly undeniable. I am thankful how He uses this ministry to develop disciples and help people become deep-rooted followers of Christ.
God keeps on putting oil in my lamp and keeps on pushing me because I know He will reveal doors of opportunity to put this Be:E on a higher level.
My mentor never forgets to encouragement me every time we meet to have a time of mentoring. He always fans the fire in my heart with his words of encouragement and by guiding me on how this can be attained. One question he asked that ignites the passions again is, Wwhy not make Be:E a bible school?” He never knew that was actually my desire ever since I started Be:E. That question is like a confirmation that makes me excited and to plan to set up a bible school. Who would have thought that a small church like ours couldn’t have a bible school. To some people, it might be impossible. But we know, in God nothing is impossible.
I remember the words in the bible, Luke 1:37, “For nothing is impossible with God”. There are a lot of times when we were blinded by the reality. We cannot deny the reality. It will surely hinder us from what God can do in an impossible situation. Most of the time, it will break us, tear us down and make us overwhelmed. That is reality! How can we overcome reality?
I have learned that in times when reality crippled me, I hold on to what God can do and what God says. For when things are getting impossible, He intervenes and lets us experience His power. For He is beyond anything we could ever grasp or imagine. Soon I focused myself to God’s word, the impossibility became a stepping stone for me to get what God has promised. His word became some kind of rush in my heart. A rush, a thrill, and an excitement.
What makes me feel this rush or excitement is that this passion is from God. We will see this thing that will come to pass. He will fulfill what ever He puts in our hearts. I know this bible school is a huge thing for me and for our small church. But we are believing in a huge God.
That is why I couldn’t sleep, and I am excited to see the fulfillment. God will definitely put Be:E to a higher level. I could feel the rush. Let us all be in prayer.
When God opened my eyes and I saw the need to equip the members of our church, I dreamt to set-up a discipleship program in our church. I called it “Be:E”. Derived from it’s purpose, “Be Enlightened, Be Empowered, Be Equipped”. I couldn’t expect it would be something that people would support so much. But, by the grace of God, this ministry keeps on going and growing. Many people saw great positive results from students who were attending. The fruit of this ministry is truly undeniable. I am thankful how He uses this ministry to develop disciples and help people become deep-rooted followers of Christ.
God keeps on putting oil in my lamp and keeps on pushing me because I know He will reveal doors of opportunity to put this Be:E on a higher level.
My mentor never forgets to encouragement me every time we meet to have a time of mentoring. He always fans the fire in my heart with his words of encouragement and by guiding me on how this can be attained. One question he asked that ignites the passions again is, Wwhy not make Be:E a bible school?” He never knew that was actually my desire ever since I started Be:E. That question is like a confirmation that makes me excited and to plan to set up a bible school. Who would have thought that a small church like ours couldn’t have a bible school. To some people, it might be impossible. But we know, in God nothing is impossible.
I remember the words in the bible, Luke 1:37, “For nothing is impossible with God”. There are a lot of times when we were blinded by the reality. We cannot deny the reality. It will surely hinder us from what God can do in an impossible situation. Most of the time, it will break us, tear us down and make us overwhelmed. That is reality! How can we overcome reality?
I have learned that in times when reality crippled me, I hold on to what God can do and what God says. For when things are getting impossible, He intervenes and lets us experience His power. For He is beyond anything we could ever grasp or imagine. Soon I focused myself to God’s word, the impossibility became a stepping stone for me to get what God has promised. His word became some kind of rush in my heart. A rush, a thrill, and an excitement.
What makes me feel this rush or excitement is that this passion is from God. We will see this thing that will come to pass. He will fulfill what ever He puts in our hearts. I know this bible school is a huge thing for me and for our small church. But we are believing in a huge God.
That is why I couldn’t sleep, and I am excited to see the fulfillment. God will definitely put Be:E to a higher level. I could feel the rush. Let us all be in prayer.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Thank You!
I am so blessed to have friends who extend their help to my family. They are very supportive and I am so thankful to have them by our side. Through many years, they’ve shown their support, both prayerfully and financially. Even though they don’t want their generosity to be recognized, I would like to honor God through their great example of service to Him.
Just recently, we moved to a new place which brought much relief for my daughter Micah. She had bad asthma because the place we lived in was crowded and didn’t have good ventilation. Every night she experienced difficulty breathing. We brought her to a doctor and the doctor told us that Micah’s asthma was due to living in such a crowded place. That caused us to pray for a donor who would support us to get a new place for my family. And God provided friends to help us move to a new place.
Our bedroom
Now that we have already moved to our new place, we are seeing good progress to Micah’s asthma. This new place has good ventilation and is not crowded anymore. It has a enough space for us. This place brings good relief for Micah. We hope she will continue to experience relief and show good progress. This new place is a sweet deal.
Our sala
As soon as we moved our things and starting to organize and settle, we remembered God’s faithfulness in our lives through friends who send their support to our family. They are all our encouragement that God will never fail our faith in Him. God truly honors our faith in Him. No matter how hard it is for us to imagine or for our minds to grasp the vastness of God’s provision, He will definitely will make a way to send His provisions. As long as we keep on putting our faith in Him and don’t doubt His plan in our lives, He will never fail to send help and this help will get to us.
our cooking area and toilet
Like what He did to Elijah. God sent food to Elijah through ravens. God also provided food for Elijah through a widow. And in the new testament, Jesus fed five thousand men though two fish and loaves from a young boy. Good thing that the same God who provided for His people in the scriptures is the same God we are serving today. I am happy to see that miracles are still happening in these times.
Even though, friends don’t want their generosity to be recognized, I want to thank God for their lives. I want to give honor to God who sends them to our lives. I know I couldn’t repay their generosity, but at least I could thank them. I can make know to them that I appreciate every help they extend to my family. Truly, having friends who love God is priceless. Their friendship is such a great gift from God.
Just recently, we moved to a new place which brought much relief for my daughter Micah. She had bad asthma because the place we lived in was crowded and didn’t have good ventilation. Every night she experienced difficulty breathing. We brought her to a doctor and the doctor told us that Micah’s asthma was due to living in such a crowded place. That caused us to pray for a donor who would support us to get a new place for my family. And God provided friends to help us move to a new place.
Our bedroom
Now that we have already moved to our new place, we are seeing good progress to Micah’s asthma. This new place has good ventilation and is not crowded anymore. It has a enough space for us. This place brings good relief for Micah. We hope she will continue to experience relief and show good progress. This new place is a sweet deal.
Our sala
As soon as we moved our things and starting to organize and settle, we remembered God’s faithfulness in our lives through friends who send their support to our family. They are all our encouragement that God will never fail our faith in Him. God truly honors our faith in Him. No matter how hard it is for us to imagine or for our minds to grasp the vastness of God’s provision, He will definitely will make a way to send His provisions. As long as we keep on putting our faith in Him and don’t doubt His plan in our lives, He will never fail to send help and this help will get to us.
our cooking area and toilet
Like what He did to Elijah. God sent food to Elijah through ravens. God also provided food for Elijah through a widow. And in the new testament, Jesus fed five thousand men though two fish and loaves from a young boy. Good thing that the same God who provided for His people in the scriptures is the same God we are serving today. I am happy to see that miracles are still happening in these times.
Even though, friends don’t want their generosity to be recognized, I want to thank God for their lives. I want to give honor to God who sends them to our lives. I know I couldn’t repay their generosity, but at least I could thank them. I can make know to them that I appreciate every help they extend to my family. Truly, having friends who love God is priceless. Their friendship is such a great gift from God.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Youth Mobilization, Windows YP 2011, A missions Conference entitled, "WOW!"
Please let me know if you want to register to this youth missions conference. Please send email to me (mackie_youthmob@hotmail.com) and I will replyy to you the soonest. Thanks!
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
My Personal Testimony
My real name is Merman Custodio but my friends and relatives call me Mackie. I am 29 years old, happily married to Lerma and just very recently, one lovely daughter was born to us, Yanara Micah. Currently, I work for International Teams Philippines as a missionary under the Youth Mobilization (YM) team. I am one of the trainers of the Training Department. Aside from YM, I am also helping a church in Makati, Jesus Kings of Kings Community Church, focusing on the discipleship program for the members.
It was 16 six year ago, March 1995 when I came to know the Lord Jesus as my Lord and savior. I came from a poor but a big family. I had 6 brothers and 3 sisters. My father was a freelance automotive painter. Not really having a facility to do his job, He would paint cars on our street, so when it rains, he can’t do his job. In spite of not having many customers, most of the time when he got some, instead of buying food for his family, he would spend the day's earnings to liquor and other vices. Also, since that painting cars was the only trade he knew, he forced us, his sons to work for him without really compensating any of us for the work we did. That’s why I grew up with resentment and anger to the point that I became rebellious to my father.
That rebelliousness became evident when I entered high school. Having found new friends, who influenced me to skip school; we spend most of our time in shopping malls. It was almost every day that I cut class just to go with my classmates. After a few months, my teacher didn’t want to accept me anymore because of the many days that I didn’t attend class. She asked me to bring my parents so she could talk to them. I didn’t know what to do then because my parents didn’t know that I was skipping school. I felt so helpless. I was in such a hopeless situation that I didn’t know where to go. It seems that no one can help me with my problem.
Until one day, the youth pastor of the church where my sisters attend Bible study invited me to attend their youth fellowship. Wanting to have more friends, I attended the youth fellowship. That was my first time to attend a Christian church. As the program continued, the youth leader gave a message that seems to be speaking about my situation. It was like the youth leader was only talking to me. He was talking not just about my problem and hopeless situation but also who can help me. I felt like a sheep, wandering in the wilderness and then the shepherd (God) suddenly came searching for me, calling my very name to come to Him.
The message became so personal to me that night. It was so clear that Jesus is inviting me to come and know Him as my personal Lord and Savior. Being hopeless and in need of a Lord and Savior, I gave my hope, faith and life to God. Right after that prayer, I felt so relieved and I had so much joy that I never had before.
After the service I met friends who helped me grow in the Lord. They even helped me to explain my situation to my parents and to my teachers. They helped me to resolve my problem in school and in my family. As I continued to grow in the Lord, I have learned how to forgive and how to be free from angry and guilt.
Then my deep passion in serving the Lord also grew. I saw myself serving in various ministries of our church. I became part of the pastoral ministry, youth ministry and administration of the church.
I even had the chance to go to England for a mission trip. Together with another co-worker of our local church, we ministered in Luton, England for four months. God used that mission trip to open my eyes to missions. I realized that people in different cultures and different walks of life need God in their lives. God touched my heart and I responded to His call for missions. I resolved in my heart that from day on that I will be involved in mission.
It wasn’t easy though as I received a lot of criticism and discouragement after I decided to pursue God’s call. There were many times that people close to me who doesn’t know the Lord, told me that I won’t survive without a secular job. For them, being missionary means I won’t have any means to support my needs. Even my mother discouraged me to the point that she nagged me to get a job instead of serving in missions. But I held on to God’s promises that God will provide for my needs. He will never let His people run out of resources because He will be the one to provide for all their needs.
Amidst criticisms and discouragements but armed with God promises, I pressed on. Now after more than 5 years of serving God as a missionary, God proved Himself once again as faithful and true. Since 2005 when I joined International Teams Philippines, until now, God has never been late in providing for my needs and for the needs of my wife and daughter. Not only that He is faithful to my personal life but He has also shown faithfulness in the ministry. He is truly blessing the work of our hands. Through the YM team, many youth in different churches are responding to missions. Countless youth and youth leaders are being trained and exposed to various ministries, here in the Philippines and in other countries. As a result, they are becoming a big blessing to their church as well as to their communities.
As I look back, I am glad that God called me to missions and then gave me the grace to pursue His call. The more we train youth leaders the more I can see God’s faithfulness. It became my driving force that’s why we never get tired of training and discipling youth and youth leaders. As a result of that drive, we started a mini-bible school in our church. I called it Be E, a name I derived from its purpose - Be Enlightened, Be Empowered and Be Equipped. I am praying that it will become a formal bible school someday.
All glory belongs to our God!
(edited by: Joshua B.)
It was 16 six year ago, March 1995 when I came to know the Lord Jesus as my Lord and savior. I came from a poor but a big family. I had 6 brothers and 3 sisters. My father was a freelance automotive painter. Not really having a facility to do his job, He would paint cars on our street, so when it rains, he can’t do his job. In spite of not having many customers, most of the time when he got some, instead of buying food for his family, he would spend the day's earnings to liquor and other vices. Also, since that painting cars was the only trade he knew, he forced us, his sons to work for him without really compensating any of us for the work we did. That’s why I grew up with resentment and anger to the point that I became rebellious to my father.
That rebelliousness became evident when I entered high school. Having found new friends, who influenced me to skip school; we spend most of our time in shopping malls. It was almost every day that I cut class just to go with my classmates. After a few months, my teacher didn’t want to accept me anymore because of the many days that I didn’t attend class. She asked me to bring my parents so she could talk to them. I didn’t know what to do then because my parents didn’t know that I was skipping school. I felt so helpless. I was in such a hopeless situation that I didn’t know where to go. It seems that no one can help me with my problem.
Until one day, the youth pastor of the church where my sisters attend Bible study invited me to attend their youth fellowship. Wanting to have more friends, I attended the youth fellowship. That was my first time to attend a Christian church. As the program continued, the youth leader gave a message that seems to be speaking about my situation. It was like the youth leader was only talking to me. He was talking not just about my problem and hopeless situation but also who can help me. I felt like a sheep, wandering in the wilderness and then the shepherd (God) suddenly came searching for me, calling my very name to come to Him.
The message became so personal to me that night. It was so clear that Jesus is inviting me to come and know Him as my personal Lord and Savior. Being hopeless and in need of a Lord and Savior, I gave my hope, faith and life to God. Right after that prayer, I felt so relieved and I had so much joy that I never had before.
After the service I met friends who helped me grow in the Lord. They even helped me to explain my situation to my parents and to my teachers. They helped me to resolve my problem in school and in my family. As I continued to grow in the Lord, I have learned how to forgive and how to be free from angry and guilt.
Then my deep passion in serving the Lord also grew. I saw myself serving in various ministries of our church. I became part of the pastoral ministry, youth ministry and administration of the church.
I even had the chance to go to England for a mission trip. Together with another co-worker of our local church, we ministered in Luton, England for four months. God used that mission trip to open my eyes to missions. I realized that people in different cultures and different walks of life need God in their lives. God touched my heart and I responded to His call for missions. I resolved in my heart that from day on that I will be involved in mission.
It wasn’t easy though as I received a lot of criticism and discouragement after I decided to pursue God’s call. There were many times that people close to me who doesn’t know the Lord, told me that I won’t survive without a secular job. For them, being missionary means I won’t have any means to support my needs. Even my mother discouraged me to the point that she nagged me to get a job instead of serving in missions. But I held on to God’s promises that God will provide for my needs. He will never let His people run out of resources because He will be the one to provide for all their needs.
Amidst criticisms and discouragements but armed with God promises, I pressed on. Now after more than 5 years of serving God as a missionary, God proved Himself once again as faithful and true. Since 2005 when I joined International Teams Philippines, until now, God has never been late in providing for my needs and for the needs of my wife and daughter. Not only that He is faithful to my personal life but He has also shown faithfulness in the ministry. He is truly blessing the work of our hands. Through the YM team, many youth in different churches are responding to missions. Countless youth and youth leaders are being trained and exposed to various ministries, here in the Philippines and in other countries. As a result, they are becoming a big blessing to their church as well as to their communities.
As I look back, I am glad that God called me to missions and then gave me the grace to pursue His call. The more we train youth leaders the more I can see God’s faithfulness. It became my driving force that’s why we never get tired of training and discipling youth and youth leaders. As a result of that drive, we started a mini-bible school in our church. I called it Be E, a name I derived from its purpose - Be Enlightened, Be Empowered and Be Equipped. I am praying that it will become a formal bible school someday.
All glory belongs to our God!
(edited by: Joshua B.)
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