Season of Fire

    [ image by ciiaran.deviant.com]



" And these are the days
 of Your servant Moses
righteousness being restored..."


so goes the song of Paul Wilbur which I  remembered while rolling the 300 meatballs for the 93 hungry tummies of little kids we are feeding three times a week from the tribe community lying near the bay of Batangas.

Last month, I brought my daughters to a Jollibee  fastfood store to eat.  I saw an old time friend and we chat a little. She told me how terrible our days are today...the crimes, famine, threat of wars  and immorality prevailing in the world. telling me, "looks like tribulation days huh.". I don't know if she heard me said.."Oh no, it's just normal. These kinds of happenings are expected.." She said a lot of things that all I said was, "Oh, God is in control...". and  the rest are " ahhh...ahhh...mmm..??"

You know how slow I am to speak.

I bear that incident in mind. And I went back to devoting my time to study the present season. I used to do this, because I believe that like the natural seasons of the earth --- man has his own season in every year or decade that comes to his life. And this season or seasons are what life coaches and business coaches try so hard to determine in order to  gauge the success rate of the industry to where they are engaged in, so they can use it in advising and assisting their clients. Businessmen engaged in high time and high end businesses consult the services of  clairvoyants, fortune tellers and feng shui masters in order to tract and gauge their success rate. Wew, to this action! A person doesn't need to consult a spiritual practitioner. There is a loophole to this action.

I will just present a gist of the present season to give an encouragement and a light of what we are seeing and experiencing in the present time. In our country, the Philippines, the prevailing crime is human trafficking-- kidnapping of little children and young women by syndicated groups to sell their organs in and out of the country. I read an article that says, our country, since 2002 is still in the top 100 position in human trafficking.
So much for the human trafficking that created fear.

         
   The season of fire  arrived with a season of cleansing in our lives: negative situations occur that brings out our attitude, responses and character. These situations test our strength and exposes our weaknesses. They also exposes loopholes, deceptions and secrets we are holding inside, or are not blind spots to us. As fire burn the flammable materials, our negative responses and "materials" are "brought to light" to be "burned". Sometimes, they are accompanied by criticisms, rebuke, reprimands and discipline from other people that add to the pain that we are experiencing.

The global happenings  are triggers to "bring out" what we are, who we are and how stable we are. Our anger, disappointments and depressions are the responses that comes after the "exposure" a.k.a. "burning".

Looking at our situations in the light of humility and God's word :

God is in control. The cleansing is needed to bring about in our lives a greater fruit of our labor, hopes and   aspirations in life. That's how good the heaven's plan for each man. How can we be given great things if we are not capable of handling them?

So you see... it's a preparation. To be prepared, exert the positive responses and attitude in handling negative situations.

How strong we are? Great things need strength and stability of both mind and physique in order to handle them. Hindi pwedeng panay  kilig at tili lang ang gagawin natin habang nakahalayhay sa ating harapan ang mga magagandang bagay na matagal mo nang inaasam! ahehehe  :D


We may be surrounded by crimes, immorality, famine, war, persecutions, ....in a "name it, you have it" place...   what can we get from it? absolutely nothing! But it can answer a question : "why are these things in this world?"  Eh bakit nga ba???

These things will usher in righteousness. They are like grim woodland at the foot of cinderella's castle. Like trashes under the sofas and closets, these sins will not be purged if they will not be exposed to the light.

Fire sanitizes.

When unrighteousness prevails, the people look for righteousness. They began to see the differences. They learn to judge correctly. They overhaul their conscience and begin to think purely.

 Man will one day abhor sinning and seek righteousness. Mananawa rin siya.  Hmmm  medyo matagal pa siguro ito! When all men do the seeking...righteousness will prevail. And righteousness will fill the earth. Then we live in peace in the simplicity of our lives.

When a person is able to deal with cleansing in his life, there comes fruits of his labors. I say, a fruitful season this will be for him. The season of fire will come and go quickly. Wisdom is needed to deal with it. We need to be sensitive about the situations in our lives and surroundings, so we can avoid being disillusioned, trapped in our emotions, sink deep into depression and helplessness...and become slaves to our fears.

It is encouraging to know that our Creator--our God is in control of all things. He will not allow imbalance. Though he cannot swing His hands to immediately eradicate the evil things of this world, He controls, so the people will live. It is imaginable--- if God will swing His hands to eradicate evil, all men will die. He loves His people beyond measure, so He is willing to wait for us to seek righteousness ourselves to eradicate evil.

"How come you know the seasons?" came the question I frequently hear.

My answer:  " You should have paid attention to your teachers when you were taking history classes."
There is the answer.  :D



History repeats itself when man fails to grasp the learning from it.

Freedom

The Word of God said : "If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed." (John 8:36)
Philosophers and great men of our times said that real peace stems from real freedom, and real freedom comes from within. Real peace is the measure of such freedom. But how can one achieve real freedom? Isn't  physical freedom like living in a democratic atmosphere connotes freedom?

Jesus, the highest authority on earth said that real freedom is to be spiritually free.And spiritual freedom is given by God.  Psychologists and medical practitioners agree to that.


How?
How come?

Those are the two questions we will answer on this blog series. We will answer those questions based on the   light of truth -- the Word of God.

Fix our belief system. Tap the truth.

We were raised to believe that:

A. We are all children of God and we were born with an already existing relationship with Him. The Word of God contradict this man-made belief.

   - We are born with an inherent sin from Adam and Eve when they rebelled against God. And that sin separated them and us, mankind from God.

        " Wherefore, as by one man (Adam) sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed
           upon all men, for that ALL have sinned. For until the law, sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed
           when there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even OVER THEM that
           had not sinned after the SIMILITUDE of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to
           come." - Romans 5: 12-14

       " Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear:
         But your iniquities (sin) have separated  between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face
         from you, that He will not hear." - Isaiah 58:1-2


B.  Baptism can remove our sins and reunite us with God.

      Baptism cannot remove the sin that separated us from God. It can never  reunite us with Him. The Bible stated instances wherein this myth was contradicted : The first is the criminal on the cross who believed Jesus  when both of them were dying on the cross. Jesus didn't required him to be baptized or do anything to go with Him to paradise. You can read the story in John 23: 39-43.

      The second is Simon in Acts 8: 9-25. Simon was baptized and yet his baptism didn't purged his sin of sorcery.

C. Doing good things to other people, being kind  and being religious will remove our sins and reunite us with God.
     
     The Word of God stated that our good works, and being religious are like dirty rags before Him.

     " But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a
       leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind have taken us away." - Isaiah 64:6

     Judas Iscariot belonged to the twelve disciples and yet he is not right with God.
     Cornelius in Acts 10 was a religious man together with his household but he recognized that his being religious is not enough  that he asked the Apostle Peter to teach him the right way to get right with God.

     
    Get right with God - the secret to real freedom that gives out perfect peace.

    This is the most dramatic moment in every person's life -- to get right with God. It is just a prayer said by a broken and humble heart before God. No need for long, and eloquent words --just an honest heart that says:

"I acknowledge oh God that I am a sinner and I sinned against You."  Unless we recognized and acknowledge that we are separated from God because of our inherent and progressive sins, we will not see our true spiritual condition. We cannot  mend ourselves. We cannot be right with a righteous God. Romans 3:10 said-- "No one is righteous before God."

" I repent from all my sins, and I ask for Your forgiveness."  Repentance and asking for God's forgiveness is the second thing that follows after our recognition of our sinful state. Kahit naman sa tao ganun din ang proseso to get right with out enemies.

      " If we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all our
        unrighteousness." - I john 1:9

God's forgiveness will erase all the sins we have, no matter how grievous they are. How does God erased our sins? He paid for it in the cross for us. He paid for all our sins. He died to set us free. He is the ransom to set us free from our slavery in sin and our ways. He paid for our death by dying for us. He even paid for our diseases and pains in the cross. He did everything for us because by our own, we cannot set ourselves free.


" I recognize Christ's death on the cross for me and I accept  Jesus Christ in my heart as my personal Lord and Savior."   To open our hearts and let Him come to our lives is to have a personal relationship with Him. Having a personal relationship with Him make us right with God. Becoming His sons as stated in John 1:12, connotes a reunited state with God. Even more-- we become His children.

       " But as many as received Him (Jesus Christ), to them gave He power to become the sons of God,
         even   to them that BELIEVE on His Name." - John 1:12


The way to real freedom is so simple. Sin complicates our lives. It steals our peace and joy. It also forfeit the opportunities to enjoy life to the fullest as God intended for us. Sin enslave us to so many things.  To be free, we need Jesus Christ who has paid for our freedom and did what we cannot possibly do. When we allow Jesus in our hearts, things will change, we will change. We will see the full light of our lives, of ourselves. We will experience peace and joy in spite of living in the midst of a difficult world. Aside from that, He will give us eternal life--- means when we die, we get to heaven. There is life after death-- that is a life with God.

If you want to get right with God, please pray with me :

" Our Father in heaven, I come to You. I want to get right with You. I am a sinner. I recognize my sins. Please forgive me of all my sins. Cleanse me from my sins. Set me free from my loneliness, my vices, my broken ways of living. Set me free from my sins. heal me from all my pains and sicknesses. Forgive me oh Lord from all of my mistakes and shortcomings. Forgive me. I believe in Jesus Christ who died for me and who paid for all my sins. I ask Jesus to come into my heart and life and I accept Him as my personal Lord and Savior. I allow Him to take over me and change me, and fill my life with peace and joy. Thank you for saving me. Thank you for the eternal life. I pray this in the Name of Jesus, my Lord and Savior. Amen."


If you have prayed that prayer, you are now free!

The way to freedom and peace is struggle free. It is just a matter of faith in Jesus Christ.



If you have questions regarding this, please free to leave a comment. I tell you, the message of Jesus Christ is saturating even the most difficult religion on earth, pulling down the stronghold of false belief on God and His offer of salvation and freedom. Thousands are coming to Christ everyday experiencing real freedom and peace.


Let our eyes be open to the truth. Huwag tayo mahiya. We are accountable to ourselves. God loves us so much, He died to set us free.

He loves you.  Pursue Freedom.





Coming Up >> Freedom 2 : What Does God Promises to those Who Come To Him?
images by deviantart,livingstreamsarchadia & 123.com






   

Na Naman!

Wala akong maisulat.... na naman!!  Bumababa na ang view score ng blog ko. Wala akong maisulat kasi ang daming laman ng utak ko na di kayang i-translate ng mga daliri ko! Masakit nag kalooban ko kaya naisip kong patawanin ang aking sarili.,... alalahanin ang mga korning bagay na nagawa ko, sadya at hindi sadya. Oo, aaminin ko na -- late bloomer ako, hindi dahil ipinanganak akong kulang sa buwan.... sakto ako sa siyam na buwan! Bkit ako late bloomer? Ei.... nanay ko rin-- hindi niya alam! Ako pa kaya ang makaalam?

Umpisahan ntin ang pag-alaala sa mga namayapa ko ng karanasan ...

mmmmmmm..........

Natatandaan ko, noong maliit pa ako ang daming halaman sa bakuran ng bahay namin. Paborito kong lugar ang garden ni Ina. Ayy, na miss ko bigla si Ina. Nakikita ko si Ina sa panaginip pag hindi na ako makahinga sa problema. Hindi ako natatakot kahit maraming mahigit isang dekada nang namayapa si Ina. Naaalala ko pa din ang kanyang garden. Noong pumunta ako sa Babatnin, pilit kong inaalala sa aking isip ang lugar ng kanyang garden. Paborito ko ang amoy ng adelfa sa kanyang garden. Alam ko na kung bakit down-to-earth ang beauty ko. Noong mga panahon kasing 'yun, trip kong tumikim ng bibinga ( basag na paso)! hahahaha!
Panlasa yata ang pangkilala ko ng mga bagay--- hindi naman ako bulag! Trip kong tikman ang lahat ng bulaklak sa hardin. Lipstick ko ang bulaklak ng Alembong at kwintas ko ang bulaklak ng calamansi. Nahahawakan ko pa ang mga palakang petot, at kaya ko pang dumakma ng palakang saging. Daigdig ko ang hardin ni Ina. Sa kawayanan namin, siyang-siya ako sa pagpapaputok ng mga bulaklak ng ligaw na strawberries. Maghalungkat ng mga pugad ng dagang bukid at hipan ang mga baboy-babuyan sa lupa.....ei, nakakaaliw isipin, masarap maging bata.

Sa Valenzuela naiba ang daigdig ko....lumaki, lumawak, ibang-iba.... naiba rin ang ugali ko. Natuto akong manapak at maging palaaway...lalo kapag natutukso akong pangit, negrita at ampon! Awtz!
Sabi ng kaibigan kong si Alexis, pinulot daw kasi ako sa bangka!

Pakiramdam ko nawawala ako noon....litong-lito at bobong-bobo! Uyyy nagkakamedalya pala sa Maynila ang mga bobong katulad ko! hahahahahahaha Boba ang negritang etitch!

May picture kami ng Birhen ng Lourdes. Marami itong dekorasyong pine cones. Nililinis ko ito araw-araw. "Gusto kong maging birhen balang araw." sa isip-isip ko. Ang ganda ng damit niyang asul at puti. "Ano kaya itsura ko kung birhen na ako?" tanong ko sa sarili ko. Biglang tumikom ang mga pine cones!! Nanlaki mga mata ko..tandang-tanda ko pa, pinipilit kong ibuka mga yun.  Nagtataka ako. Magiging birhen ako?? Hahahaha!

Madaldal ako sa klase...madalas ako makurot ng teacher! Bakit ba hindi pa noon iniuso yung Child Abuse Law? Pero hindi ako napaparusahan ng pagdipa sa harap ng blackboard, kasi laging inaako ng pinsan ko ang parusa sa akin.

Pero noong high school na ako, naging demure na ang beauty ko. Ikaw ba naman ang papremyuhan ng palo at kurot kapag kilos lalaki ka, madaldal at takbo ng takbo...at praktisin sa tuwi-tuwina ng

"Ganito ang tamang paglakad ng isang babae!" Pak!
"Ganito magsalita ang isang babae!" Aww
"Ganito maupo ang isang babae!" Aaaaa
"Ganito kumain ang isang babae !" grrr

Ganito mabwisit ang isang babaeng pinipilit maging maria clara!

REBOLUSYON!!! PUNITIN ANG MGA DYARYO SA KUSINA!!!!

Hayy buhay!

Minsan, may taglay din akong katamaran .... ikaw na masipag!
Umaakyat na lang ako sa puno pag gusto ko kumain ng bayabas at star epol....sabay balibag sa bubong ng kapitbahay ang mga balat nito. Kahit naman hanggang ngayon, sa ilalim nlang ng puno ng saging ko kinakain ang mga saba..... fresh from the banana tree!

Tinutruan akong manalangin noong maliit ako...pero dumarating yung napapagod kang manalangin sa dami ng hinaharap mong suliranin. isinulat ko mga prayers ko sa papel..inilatag ko sa bubong bahay at hiniling ko na God na lng ang magbasa para sa akin. Ngayon tinatanong ko kung nabasa kaya ng God? Pinatulan kaya ng God ang ginawa ko?

Kung mainit at ayoko magpaypay.... inilalatag ko ang aking comforter sa terrace kong kawayan, di baleng masilaw sa liwanag ng buwan, wag lng magpaypay.Di baleng gisingin ng pagkalbit ng mga patpat na hawak ng mga bata....nakalawit ang aking mga paa sa silat ng kawayan.

Minsan ko ng sinubok ang Dios.... " Lord, wala akong pera...heto ang kahon, lagyan mo ng pera. Wait ko ha, matutulog muna ako. Dapat pag gising ko, may pera na sa loob ng kahon. Hmmmm... pwede bang gawin mong P2000 ang ilagay mo sa kahon?" ... sasabayan ko ng tulog.... at ang kahon? nasa terrace, matiyagang naghihintay sa kamay ng Dios, sa ilalim ng sinag ng buwan!  Pag gising ko sa umaga...puno ang kahon.... puno ng tubig hamog! nyahahahahha

Akala mo si Gideon lng ang may twalyang tuyo? Ako din..
"Iyan ba ang lalaking para sa akin? O Lord, pag tuyo ang twalyang ito sa umaga...siya na nga!" Inilatag ko ang twalya sa damuhan sa ilalim ng gabi. Kinaumagahan, tuyo nga ang twalya..... may pumulot kasi at isinampay sa loob ng bahay!

Hindi ako takot mamatay...ewan ko kung bakit...siguro kasi handa ako kahit naong oras. Handa akong humarap sa Dios anytime. Wala akong pakialam kung walang katig ang bangka o may butas. Basta, wag lng mababasa cellphone ko!

Ayan tinatamad na naman ako.... may sumisignal sa likod ng utak ko na.. "Tama na...lasing ka ba?"
"Hindi ah."

Tinatamad na nga ako.... hayy salamat, tinamad din ako! hahahahahaha


gudnyt

Lulay sa Dapit-umaga

it's 1:11 am...thursday.

Isang oras na tumigil ang pagsusulat ko..... nakatingin lng sa monitor..... nakasalpak ang headset sa tenga....."Maybe" by Secondhand Serenade.

Hindi ko alam iisipin ko... kapag pala sobrang masakit isipin ang isang bagay, hindi ka makakaiyak.
Tama ang mga nararamdaman ko. Tama ang mga nakita ko noon.
Ano ba ginagawa ko dito?
Bakit ako nagtitiis?
Bakit ako nanahimik?
Bakit pinalalampas ko na lng ang mga bagay na hindi ko magustuhan?
Ano meron sa kalooban ko?
Hindi ako mabait.
Hindi ako mabuting tao.
May mga nagagawa din akong mali.
Ginagawa ko lang ang mga bagay kasi masaya akong gawin ang 'yun.
Wala na akong ibang dahilan.
Ibig sbihin ba nagtitiis ako dahil masaya akong ginagawa ang pagtitiis?
Hindi.
Masakit ang magtiis. Pero bakit?
Kasi cguro mahal ko ang mga tao sa mundo ko.
Ako ba, mahal nila?
Bakit sa tuwing lalapit ako sa Dios, naiiyak ako?
Kasi mahal Niya ako. Ramdam ko un.
Bakit pag iniisip ko ang mga pangit na damdaming bunga ng mga naririnig ko
Hindi ako naiiyak..
Ang mga tao... hindi ako naiiyak.
Siguro, hindi ko kasi nararamdamang mahal nila ako.
Ang nararamdaman ko lang...kasi kailangan nila ako.
Sa panahon ng aking pag-iisa
ng kalungkutan....( marunong din akong malungkot)
ng hirap
at pagtitiis... ng pananahimik..
kape ang kasama ko!
ayun eh!
Di bale isang araw, mawawala din ako.
Hindi na ako babalik.
Hindi na ako makikita pa.
Ilan ang iiyak?
Ilan ang maghahanap?
Gaya noong araw....
Gaya noong araw......

Not over yet

A friend of mine visited me one night. We didn't see each other for quite a long time. It was an unexpected visit because I don't expect him to see me again. We had a little argument before.. an argument that led me to  distance from him and our other friends.

We took tea at Figaro' and had a formal talk. He knows me.. I never smile at a delinquent friend.  He held out his hands and gave me the handshake only us recognize.

"Where have you been? What have you been doing? " he asked me.
" The usual." I said.
" Why on earth did you chose to live in that place?"
" I like it there.. I can see the left from the right."
"When are you going to transfer to Manila?" he asked.
" In time." I said.
" I feel so old. I feel like am 60 years old." he said.. " since I took the rest. " he said.
"Because you rested". I replied.
"Aren't you?" he asked in return.
" I did. Am a lovergirl now." I took a grin.
" Bruha, di bagay sau!" he retorted.

" No kidding, I feel am old..so old." he repeated.
I looked at him and I said, "yeah, you are. "
"It is not good that I rest...five years is too long. I feel so old."
" It is. We age when we rest. I lose my sight when I rest." I said.

We ate.

"What is the point of seeing me tonight?" I asked.
" Don't you want to stop resting? There are tournaments now. The prizes are not bad. The ranks are on a plateau." he answered.
" I have beaten my swords into plowshares two years ago. "

The conversation was long. The atmosphere got warmed -up........ and a riot happened just outside Figaro building.

"We are attracting violence, let's walk and find another coffee shop."

We were talking about spiritual matters. He was asking me to go back to warfare. We are a team. For 16 years, we were able to established a team that made a tract record in both worlds, altering and changing some of the unchangeable things, yet we were not recognized in the limelight... darkness knows who we are and so darn eager to annihilate our team. For so many times did the cults and the occult took a look at us, face to face, with minds speaking of threats and curses. So many times did they ran to our houses to harm us but the power of Jesus Christ drove them away.
Christ's blood is so powerful to cover my family to keep them safe.

"Engage. Let's go back." he said.

We headed home. A small child rode the jeepney we were in. He was a little boy talking about how he was agravated by his brother who snatched a cellphone from someone.

That is enough.

The spiritual warfare is similar in some ways to online war games like Wings of Destiny, Gods' War, Warcraft and the like in scenario... one has to level up, know skills and enhance them. But the fighting are different. The physical skills must be there together with the spiritual skills, both operating at one time. Accuracy and perfection of plans must be strictly carried out. One cannot afford to commit a mistake. A mistake will cause a nation's demise, or whatever. God's plan will not be perfectly carried out if there is a mistake. We only hear from heaven-- commands and instructions. And the battle is real, in the heavenlies.


"How much is the price in the tournament in Mindanao?" I asked.
"Maliit lng. "
" Ok. I will join."


"May bagyo,....c Pablo." he said.
" La un... makikiraan lng un."


I can't take the face of that child from my mind.
I cannot stop.