Do You Still Believe in Promises?

Ever hold on to a promise then was just broken? 

Oh men, I feel for you!

It's just so easy to voice out a promise yet it is challenging to keep one, isn't it? 

Hard. And I believe that is one of the things every people have in common.

Why is it so hard to keep a promise?

Don't dare throwing the question back to me, I don't have any idea why.

Well, maybe because I don't think if I can even count with my fingers the promises had I

broken too.

Promises as they said and mostly based from others experiences, are always meant to be broken. 
And with my own point of view, it could be because we are just human.

I understand that this might be a lame excuse but we all have our limitations.
Raise your hand if you ever promised with a "swear to God" quote at the end of it. Count me in. We are saying this not because we really mean it but this is to convince the one who we are giving a promise with, that we are sincere. 
And while it is so easy for us to make a commitment it is also easy for us to believe and hold on to a certain promise. 

The world we are living is promising us with a lot of things it could offer. Fame, money, love

and even authority. These are just some of the factors that we think could give us security. I think this is just fine. Anyone who does not want all of this to have?

This world can warrant us with many things but what is our assurance?

It is just so sad that there are some people trying so hard. Sometimes they tend to do whatever it

takes just to get this things up to the point of hurting somebody's feelings. Selfishness.

We are craving for this to have without realizing that if it is a promise then it is already OURS.

Promise for me is claiming for something that is already yours and what you are just doing is wait

for that person to make it happen. We do things our way to get it because admit it or

not we do not trust the person who gave us the vow.

Just like Sarah who refused to believe God's promise, more than that she actually laughed at it.

Then the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say,  'Will I really have a child, now that I am old?' - Gen. 18:12

And if we are going to read back from that Chapter and stop to Chapter 16 we will see how Sarah make a way to have a child.

“The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.” - Genesis 16:2

The result, she is being despised by her slave. If only Sarah had learned to wait.

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,"

declares the LORD."  - Isaiah 55:8

We tend to dominate the best plans of God over our lives because we are too excited.The word

"WAIT" is being deleted from our dictionary just because we really can't wait.

Doing what we think what's best for us and yet totally out of God's will is actually settling for

second best. And settling for second best definitely means not trusting the Promise-Keeper.

For this, I believe there are 2 prerequisites in claiming a Promise of God;

1. We have to know the Character of the One who's giving us the promise. 

"So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." - Isaiah. 55:11

2 We have to realize what is our identity before Him. We are his Children.

"And if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.." - Romans 8:17

While the world can give us fame, money and authority; God gave us thousands of promises to hold on to.

We really don't need an assurance, all we have to realize that the One who promise us is the most Faithful One. The One who promised Abraham. The One who's the same yesterday, today and forever.

Who doesn't want disappointments? Who doesn't wants to believe in a false promises?

Then go to God. He will never fail. You will never fail.

"He who did not spare his own Son, but gave Him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" - Romans 8:32

Do you have any promises you claim from God? Post a comment below. I would love to know. :)

God's Letter to Me

I’m one of the students in School of Leadership 2 being held in our church  every Sunday evening. We are studying everything about God, the bible, living a life with Christ, leadership and anything that is deeper than hearing a sermon in attending a Sunday Service. Then our teacher Kuya Benjie gave us an assignment to write a letter fromGod.  I never did anything like this in my entire walk in Christianity nor did I think of writing it during my devotion. And as I write each and every word in
the “His”  letter I just found myself bursting into tears, trying to comprehend the deep of His love for me; the kind of Love that I used to ask from the past relationships I had, from friends and from family in which I never realized that was already mine from the time that I was born.

And just to share, this what He said.

My Daughter,

I want to start this letter by saying I love you. You know that, don’t you? But what you don’t know is how much i do.  You would really never know because I love you without any measure, I love you in a way that no one could ever imagine and in a way that is beyond your understanding with the definition of love. It’s my love the very reason why I made you. The reason why I sent my son, Jesus to die for all of you. You were made for a great purpose. I want you to know that every single event of your life is planned. I’m seeing every details of it. I actually know what you’re future will be. I felt your hurt and your pain, I saw your tears and wiped it and of course the struggles you dealt me with. I saw your sins that, yes, offends me but that will never make me love you less.

You might want to ask me why you have to encounter all this while walking in your faith, “Why not?” But please don’t take it as if I really wanted you to suffer.  NO.  All good things comes from me but I’m allowing this because I want other people to see my glory in your life especially in the point of your weaknesses and how you will be able to use this struggles to uplift and encourage others. I want you to know that I’m allowing this to happen because I want you to realize how much you need me and I want you to get your strength from me. But what hurts is that you sometimes give up and not trusting me. You sometimes think that nothing will happen if you draw near me which is wrong because with me everything is possible. Don’t fret when things don’t go the way you wanted them to be. I know everything and if you encounter such struggles you just have to trust all of this with me and rest assured that there’s really a way out of it. It also hurts when you are self-pitying and compare yourself with others that well in fact I made you unique. Let go of your insecurities away. You don’t need them. It won’t help you grow. NEVER. You may try to avert your eyes from things that you don’t have and focus in improving the things I had entrusted you. Do it and you’ll see how wonderful you are. Listen, you are worthy, amazing, excellent, strong and beautiful. You are,  because I made you. No doubt on that. Remember, I am your Perfect Creator so I know what’s best for you. You are my Princess. I smile whenever you are smiling, I am pleased with everything that you are doing just to glorify me. Keep on doing good things and I’ll reward you in due time.  Daughter, I want you to know that I am excited for you to experience the love story I had already written for you. I’m telling you he’s on your way, just be patient. He’ll come at the time when you least expect him to come and in a way that you’ll be surprised. The man I saved for you will treat you in a way that you should be treated and with the love you should be getting. Trust me and my timing then you’ll not get disappointed.

Jean, whenever you feel so alone always remember that I will be your God throughout your lifetime–until your hair is white with age. I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you. You don’t have to worry for what would lies ahead because I am with you. I wat to bless every single aspect of your life, just one thing - OBEY ME. Fix your eyes in me. I’m in control.

Unconditionally loves you,

God

Ladies, if you dropped by and read this letter you can claim this as yours too. Just to let you know, you are also loved same with the love I am experiencing from Him. We are the apple of His eyes.  ♥

It Really Doesn't Matter

One thing that I know I am most passionate about is the one thing I had ever find frustrating from the past.

I always wanted to write. Ideas, imaginations that keep on running and coming up in my mind and yet unable to put them into writing. 

And as frustrating as it can be, it actually made me feel being a writer is not for me. I struggled. I started to write something but can’t even finished one good paragraph. Hesitant to express with my pen whatever the thing I have in mind.

This burning passion had only and absolutely burned me out and consuming each part of my being.. and suddenly.. i just stopped. Accepted that it would really never be. I believed sharing my knowledge and experiences in life is a good idea but what I was always afraid of is being criticized and the unwanted feeling of rejection.

I used to care what would other people think and say. I always give a place of insecurity in my head that I could not really make it without realizing that all those thought really doesn’t matter at all.

So before all of this going to eat me up, I decided to stand. Determined to get back the fire that used to consumed my passion, I have to accept that we cannot always please other people. Be willing to take the risk of being stoned of different opinions from the people with different perspective. 

Appreciate every good feedback. Learned from negative comments. What matters is the heart that I put in with the writings that I had and with what I will still be writing in the future.This is me. This is what my calling is. I will write to encourage others, I will write for God.

Time for Cool Change

"The most constant thing in this world is CHANGE." - Heraclitus

Yes it is. And one thing I really believe about change is it's INEVITABILITY. Change is something that we cannot avoid and usually happens at a time that we do not expect to happen.

There are changes that is in favor to us but sometimes it could also be painful that we are left with only one choice - ACCEPT.

Our world is in a state of flux that normally what we can just do is to go with the flow. Nothing is permanent. All of a sudden, there will be changes that would come in our career, lifestyle, mindset, standards, the way we fix ourselves, people need to let go of and material things gone old with the time.

Changes that are too many to mention, perhaps, if I'm going to say it one by one, I don't think reading this blogpost in just a day would be enough.

People change. Who says who's not? But there's someone I know who is UNCHANGING. He is someone who definitely changed everything in me and someone who unexpectedly turned my life around.

If there's something I would boast about and always be proud to say, that is..

"I KNOW JESUS."

It was late February 2010 when I had the coolest change in my life - THE GIFT OF SALVATION.

Receiving Jesus as my Lord and Savior is the most wonderful event in my existence and I will never ever regret.

17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! - 2 Corinthians 5:17

He not just changed me nor just removed my stain away, He gave me a totally new life.

I'm not saying I no longer sin, I honestly still am. But what is just so amazing about God is the grace I am receiving yet I do not deserve to have. 

Feeling bored with life? Why don't you try to have some cool change? If you think the time is not yet, let me tell you.. NOW is the perfect time. 

"..I have come that they may have life and have it to the full." - John 10:10

Let us not attach ourselves with things that are temporary and never lasts. Pursue whatever is eternal and I believe the one that stays forever will never be seen by our naked eyes nor would be touched by hand.

The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever." - Isaiah 40:8

Enemies No More

To love is easy, but loving your enemy is a different story. When we say enemy, those are the people who oppose you, persecute you and keep on saying things against you or for some that we consider enemy simply because we don't like them. Be it from your relatives, classmates, from organization you are in, in a workplace or it could be the person you just envied about. Did you ever had the feeling of wanting to slap their face even just seeing them from the distance? Or that all your blood goes to your head just hearing that person's voice? If does, you are not alone. I just remembered a fat and gay office mate I had who brag things about me and could really ruined my days while working with him. Of course, being a person who hate attention I was just silent at the corner but what he didn't know is that I already imagining him being crucified upside down or sometimes while he's sitting on his swivel chair I'm thinking of grabbing the back of his chair and to knock him off the ground! But again, that was just imagination. Too mean, right? But to be honest, I hated him. Now let me just ask you this, how do you feel whenever you are thinking of negative acts to others or revenge? Does it brings peace in our hearts or it just loads more angriness and makes it heavy? If you'll ask me, based on my experience I will choose the latter. Second of the greatest command in the bible is to love your neighbor as you love yourself (Matt. 22:39) and along with that command is God is asking us to love our enemy (Matt. 5:44). Maybe you would ask God if He is crazy, but come to think of it, does our enemy cares if we are mad at them? Would be beating them in the ass could help us grow spiritually? I don't think so. Investing any negative emotion to someone who are not really worth it just only causing you to sin. Instead of putting hatred into your heart why don't you just look for reasons to love that person?

♥ Remind ourselves that we are first loved by God (1 John 4:19). As God being the author of love and made us feel we are loved we don't have the right to withhold it from other people.

♥ We have to know that saying 'I love you' to God is saying the same thing to our enemies. We cannot love who is unseen if we cannot love who we has seen (1 John 4:20). It may not be the easiest command but if we really love God it will never be an issue.

No one is perfect, we all have flaws, we all have sinned but still we are accepted. While you are asking your enemy, "Why are you like that?!" and keep on looking for things that are unacceptable from them... as what James Bryan Smith once said, try to take the opposite route and ask this.. "What is the good I can find in you so that I can accept you?" or "What wonderful qualities I can find in you so that I can value you?" Let's look at them as how God sees them and embraced them in a way we are embraced by God.