Faith Is What Makes Real…

“Faith is what makes real the things we hope for. It is proof of what we cannot see.” Hebrews 11:1 ERV

I was in my home office just reading a book after doing my 2-mile run. The garage door opened (which was unusual) since everyone was out. I looked outside and saw my daughter who just arrived from San Antonio (90miles away from us, she is currently attending college at UTSA, this is her third year). She knocked at the door and I opened it and the first words that came out from her mouth was “dad, I had an accident on my way here”. I looked at her and gave her a hug for a few minutes. I noticed right away that she was so terrified by what happened and saw a need that she needed to diffuse her emotion. So we went to her truck at the driveway, a black 2009 Chevy Colorado V8, and asked her to tell me the story. The exit to Austin right at I35 by Loop 1604 was closed and diverted and was barricaded with large safety cones, she did not have enough time to react because of her speed and the tactical driving environment that she crashed to one of the cones. She showed me the badly scratched front left side fender. From the appearance of the impact of the car, I know it was terrible. The exit to Austin from Loop1604 is very tricky to maneuver since it is a 2-lane road in a Y with the exit to the southbound lanes. I know that it was a hard decision to make when you are there at the moment of impact since the road is a little bit curved and you are driving on a very high overhead bridge. A fatal mistake, one can end up 100 feet down below.

Fast forward…

She kept talking and relating her incident as her face lightened up. I told her not to worry about the damage of the car since I can DIY the scratch damage – I have all the tools needed to fix it. I told her that what’s important is she survived the accident without any physical damage. I told her that I am impressed how she managed to regain control of the situation. It could have been a terrible accident knowing the fact that the event happened in a flyover bridge suspended high above the skies.

Fast forward…

At the end of the day after washing the car, personally buffing the paint job and polishing, the accident never left any mark. The black pickup truck looks new again and the cost was $0.00. I repaired it myself.

After all her hassles and worries, we realized that nothing really happened. Yes, there was an accident but she made it through.

The reason why I’m taking my time to relate to you her story is because it was a story of my faith again. Last year, we drove 90 miles in the middle of the night because she could not move any parts of her body that she has to be brought to the hospital by an ambulance. It turned out that it was just a tight muscle in her back that paralyzed her (temporarily)

I get bad news such as these ones almost every month or year. Remember I posted here once that my wife recently lost her job in 17 years after taking a vacation. But then within a week, she found a very fulfilling job as an OB office manager. That too was bad news at first but we breakthrough. A few months ago, my 80 years old mother had a car accident that placed her in bed for months due to the impact of the crash but in the following month of physical therapy she slowly recovered. Another bad one was my heart attack on December 22, 2008 that forever changed my life and that too was a game changer but then it drives me more to train for a 100mile bike ride and encourage me to swim more and run more. All those incidents were out of my control and brought me worries at some point of time but in the end I was triumphant.

Long time ago, I started believing that somehow God is watching me and my family. The Bible says, “I will never leave you nor forsake you”. I don’t have a lot of explanation why I believe what I believed but when things (special incidents) like these happens in my life, what else can I do except appreciate what the good Lord has done for me. I cannot deny that every situation that I mentioned could have a different outcome. My daughter’s small road accident could have turned into a big one – but it did not. When I was praying for my mom for recovery, one day I had a dream that we were walking together without her wheelchair and in a few months, it became a reality.

Faith is really hard to explain. I don’t have the theological knowledge and background to convince you about it. I don’t have the eloquent words of a great preacher to convince you that faith works.

The same concept with the reality of God. How can I say that God is real. How can I say to you to step into the boat of faith. How can I say that there are angels all around you protecting you wherever you go. How can I say that God provides protection to you and your family and your properties and possessions and your precious investments in life. How can I convince you that God can provide you with good health. How can I say that God can give you wisdom and knowledge to improve your quality of life. How can i tell you that God can provide for your needs.

Faith is a mystery. Sometimes it can be a form of “make believe” and at times, it is. You start imagining that somehow things can be different because you want it different or you want it to go away and when you thought that your wishes are all forgotten, you realized that the things you hoped for, the things you wished for – were granted.

How can you ‘not believe’?

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.com/406/heb.11.1.erv

Before You Die, See Something…

“I have enemies, Lord, so teach me your ways. Show me the right way to live. My enemies have attacked me. They have told lies about me and have tried to hurt me. But I really believe that I will see the Lord’s goodness before I die.” Psalms 27:11-13 ERV

I woke up sluggish today. I had to swim indoors now since the water in the outdoor pool is now cooler. Even though the temperature peaks at 90’F, swimming outdoor is not pleasant anymore. Yesterday, was my first day back at the indoor pool at Clay Madsen Recreation Center and I did not realize the contrast between the two pools until yesterday. The outdoor pool has a lot of variables in it. Weather is unpredictable, pool temperature, bugs and insects floating, bacteria level, maintenance, ph of the water and the most significant is people. My outdoor swimming is very lonely and boring because most of the time, I swam at noon where no one is around. At the indoor pool, there is always at least one person – the lifeguard. In short, the indoor pool is much safer to swim because it is a controlled environment and has the benefit of a lifeguard and emergency equipment.

The only downside of swimming indoors are :
1. I have to swim harder since people here tries to beat each other every lap.
2. I will not get my tan anymore. Right now my skin is so dark like the color of a mild roast coffee bean.
3. No more thrill of danger, it feels like I’m in a protective cocoon, if I’ll have another heart attack, the lifeguard can help me in seconds and call 911. The ER is just 10 minutes away. At the outdoor pool, I always have this thought that I might die floating waiting for help until someone sees my lifeless body.

The reason why I brought up the contrast between the outdoor pool and the indoor pool today is because I saw some similarities to the Kingdom of God. The indoor pool is like the Kingdom of God. A safer place, lots of people overseeing the entire operation and well maintained and the presence of a lifeguard – the lifeguard is symbolic to the presence of God, he is always watching.

Ok, I am not really a good writer so please excuse my poor analogy and explanation.

What I want you to see is there is a Lifeguard in our life. He is always watching us 24/7 and He does not go home or go to sleep or take a break. All He does is make sure that good things will happen to us at any given moment.

I’ve known a person who is so angry to the world that even at the counter at the grocery store, he is mad at the lady who is very slow to put his groceries to the grocery bag. To him, this lady is his enemy. Try cutting him off in the line and you will know how really mad he is. (This is one method to test yourself if you are really angry to the world or not. What would you do or feel when someone cuts the line in front of you?)

Those are just symptoms of a disarray life. If you look under the hood of his angry life, you can find a sick and suffering body, an unstable mind, a depleted bank account, a poor job performance, a failed relationship, a high cost of living that he cannot afford, an unreliable vehicle which breaks down very often and a lonely heart.

How can I offer help to this type of person?

The problem with humanity is we don’t normally follow people’s advice. We seek out our own solution more than anything else. When we see that a strategy of one person works for him, we quickly discredit – “it will only work for him and not on others”. See for example faith, if I tell you that my life is filled with goodness because of my beliefs, will you believe me and mimic my ways? Most of you will say “well, you got lucky”. Not for me, “I will try to invent another type of wheel that is not round”. “I don’t want to copy you”. Yes, that is what we do all the time. We are very skeptics on how we view Christian men and women whose lives are filled/gifted with goodness from God and in return they do good things to others.

The main point here is — I want you to see the goodness of God. You don’t have to do anything but believe in your heart that He is real.

Can you at least try that?

5 reasons why believing God works:

1. You will have a different heart. A different heart = a different mind = a different views in life = different actions = different outcome

2. You will have access to the Wisdom of God. Imagine that when you think of a solution of a difficult problem, God will be whispering in your ears or in your dreams ideas and thoughts and plans that you’ve never heard before. Sometimes He’ll guide you or led you to read an article or a book or a blog to give you foresight.

3. He can cause things to happen. You will be amazed how these things will unfold in your life. Extraordinary things will surface in an extraordinary way.

4. 24/7 protection. God promised that.

5. Inner peace. I know that people want ‘hope’ more than ‘peace’ (when we are in the storm) but I think the greatest need of man is “peace” because once you have the hope, there is still one more thing that you want – peace of mind. (You hope to win the lottery but when you do, you want to have peace to enjoy the luxuries you just miraculously received.)

If there is no peace, the good things that just happened to you is worthless.

Before you leave this earth, see God’s goodness and then experience peace through the process.

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.com/406/psa.27.11.erv

Command: Don’t Be Troubled, yet…

“Jesus said, “Don’t be troubled. Trust in God, and trust in me.” John 14:1 ERV

“Command – an authoritative direction or instruction to do something”

Many times we face a difficult situation and many times we respond with panic and uncertainties and worries.

I’d like to reprogram my mind so that whenever trouble comes, my default response is “trust” instead of “distress”.

I understand that this is no easy task. We are human, we see things and then believe, we hear things and then we say there is something out there, the wind blows in our face and we say there is a presence of the wind, the rain comes and we got wet and we believe that the water molecule is present, we used to not able to do things the normal way but all of a sudden our body is able to perform what it is suppose to do and then we say we are healed and we rejoice.

Trusting God is not believing that the things that we desire will come to pass, it is believing that whatever the bad situation is, God always has a better plan of why things are happening the way they are in the physical realm.

Though sometimes we do not understand why humanity has to suffer deeply, know in our heart that God is always in our side.

If He said “Don’t be troubled”, then then do be troubled.

How simple is that command … yet many times we disobey it.

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.com/406/jhn.14.1.erv

Don’t be a “DNF” Participant!

“I am sure that the good work God began in you will continue until he completes it on the day when Jesus Christ comes again.” Philippians 1:6 ERV

“DNF-an acronym that they put at the end of your name in the race list (cycling, marathon, triathlon, ironman race) indicating that you did not finish the race .”

I am an endurance athlete (not professional, just recreational for my heart rehab). I can swim (2.4miles) and bike long distance (100 miles) but I cannot run 2 miles comfortably. So my ironman goal is not realistic because I cannot finish the 26.2 miles of running during the ironman race, I will have DNF after my name at the end of the race – I don’t want that. So what I do now is just train the best I can and set realistic goals – not to win a race but to sustain a healthy lifestyle. If I can swim and bike comfortably, then I know that my heart is pumping just normal. To me, this is an indicator of my lifespan (if I don’t get hit by a vehicle in the street).

Our life is like an endurance race. Although life is not really a race, it is more of an event – a lifetime event. There is a preparation phase, beginning, mid of race and then the finish line. The preparation has been done already for us – we’ve been chosen to be an ambassador for Christ before the foundation of the earth, each one of us was given a calling. That’s what the Bible said, so I am just going to believe that premise and I hope you will too.

Like any other races, the beginning of the race is enjoyable and fun and full of excitement. It is when we reach the halfway mark or close to the finish line that the struggle starts. Any professional endurance athlete knows best with this phenomena/difficulty and that is why they trained their body so well for this phase. To finish an endurance race will take more than the physical elements, one will need a solid mindset that when the body refuses to go on, you tell your body to keep going even if you cannot take another step and you keep trying anyway until you crosses the finish line.

Our real life journey is the same way, that is why there is a thing called “midlife crisis” – the time when we are so confused that we start thinking:
“I need to change jobs”
“I’m in the wrong profession”
“I need to divorce my husband or wife”
“I’m in love with another person”
“I used to love you to the bone”
“I’d like to be be someone else”
“I’m bored”
“I feel I have not accomplished anything”
“I have nothing to show for”
“My life is a failure”
“I want change”
“I’m confused and don’t know what to do anymore”

Those are just my short list and I know that you have a few in mind.

My main point is – don’t DNF on these things I mentioned above. You started it – then you have to finish. The desire to be in that race was not your idea-someone placed that desire in your heart when you first started it.

Rest if you must, but get up and take one more step and keep going because you are not running the race by yourself.

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.com/406/php.1.6.erv

The Person We Don’t Know Much About

“People made fun of him, and even his friends left him. He was a man who suffered a lot of pain and sickness. We treated him like someone of no importance, like someone people will not even look at but turn away from in disgust. The fact is, it was our suffering he took on himself; he bore our pain. But we thought that God was punishing him, that God was beating him for something he did.” Isaiah 53:3, 4 ERV

We don’t pay much attention to the name “Jesus” until the time comes when we need him. A preacher once told a story of a church member who was one of the survivors of a tragic plane crash. He witnessed it all – how humanity desperately cries for God or the name “Jesus” as the plane was shaking hard as the captain of the plane instructed his crew to prepare for the worst. As the captain yelled “brace, brace brace”, he can hear people shouting “oh God help us”, some yelled the name is desperation “Jesus, help us” people crying out and moaning for help. As the plane hits the ground, his prayer was “Lord, Here I am”. Fortunately, he survived with a few others and told the story.

I was almost on the same story line awhile back but it was not a plane crash. Maybe you too experienced a similar incident when you thought that it was the last day of your life.

Why do we wait to call his name? Why do we allow difficult circumstance to dictate us when to know God? Why can’t we just believe in him now that we know everything is fine? Isn’t it logical to get to know our Savior now so that during the times of trouble, all we have to say is “Lord, take me in”.

It is not normal for us to seek God in the good times. We don’t see a need of God when everything is well. When our bank account is filled with resources, when our health is superb and we are able to wake up everyday without pain, when our mind is peaceful and not confused as we manage to make our day so productive, when our heart is not overwhelmed with troubles and problems – there is hardly a need for God.

Why is that?

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.com/406/isa.53.3.erv

Stop Editing Your Life, Let Someone Do It!

“Don’t change yourselves to be like the people of this world, but let God change you inside with a new way of thinking. Then you will be able to understand and accept what God wants for you. You will be able to know what is good and pleasing to him and what is perfect.” Romans 12:2 ERV

There are two ways to change ourselves, DIY (do it yourself) or let somebody do it for us.

Really? I don’t have to do anything?

Of course not, but what this verse is saying – don’t let your own effort make/implement the change. There are inner workings that needs to happen in our heart before we can make changes to our life. I know for a fact that I can put persistence to the new habits that I want to form/learn/activate in my life but I know that it will take an enormous amount of time/effort for the effects to take place. There is an easy way – let God do it for you from the inside out, meaning – that the change has to be internal first and then the actual transformation follows in the physical realm which can be visible by other human beings.

My son is now 17 and in senior high school. His academic ranking is close to top 5 (not percent, but the actual #). He is a tennis varsity player and ranks #2 in the team. No girlfriend (zip, nada). Does not drink or smoke or do drugs. He is somewhat obedient at times but can be rebellious 15.5 % of the time.

But…

Yes, there is a but.

He is very unorganized, his room is like a mad scientist lab and his bed looks like it was meant to be occupied 24/7 – meaning he does not make his bed at all. My background is military. When I was in the US Army, I was trained to become a soldier ready for battle at all times. I did not understand the meaning of boot camp at all when I was still in boot camp training but when I arrived at my first duty station in South Korea in 1992, I realized that the training/indoctrination that the army did to us was for real – there was a purpose in all the individual tasks that we trained for. The purpose was to mold us to become the same individual in body and mind and being able to follow orders and execute a mission and accomplish an objective without failure.

It’s been more that 20 years now since I joined the army. I served for 4 years only but the things that I’ve learned and grasp during my 4 year enlistment was worth every minute. Even now, I still missed the life in the military. I love the structure, the discipline, the brotherhood and the mindset.

Lately, I’ve been wishing that I could send my son to boot camp and let him go through the hardship and strict training that I’ve been through. But that is not possible so what I’m doing lately is showing him examples of how a soldier is trained for battle. Each day, I spend time with him chit chatting (not lecturing) about life in general (gentleman way). We talked for a few minutes each day regarding positive and negative things that happened and what countermeasures I put in place to prevent from something to reoccur. I have less than a year to mentor this guy since he is leaving for college next year and I need to make sure that he is equipped with the right internal knowledge on how to live a good life.

I understand that I cannot edit my son’s life to the way that I wanted it to be. Nor does he can by himself. I’m doing the best I can to mentor him and show him that life can be made much easier if we slow down and listen to our heart and values. I’ve demonstrated to him that I believed in God and study and read the Bible regularly. I’ve showed him how to conduct business with other human beings with utmost respect. I’ve displayed my extra ability to organized my material things such us books, utensils, tools, computers, files, library, paperworks in file cabinets. I’ve showed him how I disciplined my body to perform the right amount of training in my swim, bike and run program. In short, I’ve showed him a lot already.

To Brent – May what I’ve showed to you today may become a guiding light in the days to come. You can’t change yourself, I certainly cannot , but surely God can.

To my dear readers – to some of you that are thinking of changing for the better, I want to encourage you, don’t do it on your own. Let the Holy Spirit guide you in your transformation. It maybe hard at first but one day you will say “God did it for me and it was not in my full effort”.

I have not attained perfection in life yet but I can truly tell you that the changes that I’ve been through internally we’re not because I willed and forged myself to change, it was God’s hand holding me throughout the process of change.

See it at YouVersion.com: http://bible.com/406/rom.12.2.erv

Our Objective-To Finish The Work

“I don’t care about my own life. The most important thing is that I finish my work. I want to finish the work that the Lord Jesus gave me to do—to tell people the Good News about God’s grace.” Acts 20:24 ERV

“Finish-come or bring to an end; finally be; do something; have an end in quantitative state”

“Work-an activity directed toward making or doing something”

Our objective as a Christian: To tell people the Good News about God’s grace.”

There are many ways we can look at our objective in life. Many of us will say that the reason we are here on earth is to live a good life and enjoy it like a precious gift. Some will say that we are here to help others. Others will say that they are here to raise a generation and mentor anyone that comes in contact. Some will say, to fulfill my callings. Some will say, to work and save money for retirement so that when I’m in my 60’s, I can enjoy the fruits of my labor and not worry about supporting/sustaining myself for the rest of my life. Or others will say, I am here to change the world and create something extraordinary. Some will say, I’m just here to live a life and not analyze it or create it – I just want to live a life – a simple life.

We all know that living a life with no objective is pointless. Everyone should have an objective in life because without an objective, we always end up in a place of confusion and dissatisfaction at the end of our day. Take for instance today, what is your objective? What do you want to accomplish? It’s been a habit of mine to grab 1 or 2 objectives per day and accomplish it and so far this strategy is working for me. Today, I’m going to run 2 miles and visit my financial adviser to help me sort out my retirement plans. Aside from that, my other objectives are to write an entry to my journal (this one) and read a chapter of the Hyper-V book. By the end of the day, I am expecting that these objectives are completed. I always do this everyday and so far it’s been positive.

Life in general needs to have an objective. As a Christian believer, we need to know what our real objective is. Yes, we can say – to be faithful and trustworthy to God and avoid a sinful life but that is not why we are here on earth. Apostle Paul clearly stated his objective-to tell the people the Good News.

The church has to evolve. Sometimes you hear people say that I’m tired of church and I don’t want to be a part of it anymore because all I hear are condemnation, judgement, do this, do that, missions, be holy, be sinless, pray at all times, read your Bible daily but at the end of the day, one can’t even summarize that there was even a Good News being given to them.

We veered off a bit in our objectives as a Christian. Visit a modern church and you can visibly see the lack of Good News. It breaks my heart to listen to a pastor or a leader that confesses Christianity but not even fulfilling the simplest obligation at all – to reach the unchurched, instead we drive them away by the way we present ourselves in our speech, actions and sensitivity to their needs.

Our objective is very simple – to tell the Good News about God’s grace. That’s it and not anything else. If every Christian does that, there is no reason for us not to reach anyone that is open to hear about God.

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.com/406/act.20.24.erv

Being Forgiven = Being Free

“So now anyone who is in Christ Jesus is not judged guilty. That is because in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit that brings life made you free. It made you free from the law that brings sin and death.” Romans 8:1, 2 ERV

“Free- able to act will; not hampered; not under compulsion or restraint”

I struggled with this idea that when we become a follower of Christ, we are being set free. What does it mean to be free? Is it really true that we are set free? Is it really true that we don’t become slave of our sins once we become a true Christian? What is sin? Who originally named it as a sin? I don’t believe in Christianity or God, am I a sinner?

People sometimes does not want to be around with Christian believers because they see hypocrisy or double standards. We confess that we read and study the Bible and do what it says but 90% of the time, we crosses the line of morality in our speech, actions, thoughts and feelings. It seems that the cycle of good and evil is there 24/7. We sin/make horrible/do or say harmful things and then at the end of the day we ask for forgiveness and try to cleanse ourselves from our bad act. It is a cycle and it always comes at the most convenient time when we thought that we are strong spiritually and have gone through all the measures to become a true believer.

The question now is why aren’t we free?

The Bible declared clearly “free from the law that brings sin and death.” Romans 8:1, 2 ERV

Why am I in the cycle of sinning and feeling guilt and condemnation?

Many Bible scholars and preachers tried to explain this dilemma of guilt. At times, I grasped/understood what they tried to convey but after a few months or years, the feeling of condemnation comes back. It puzzled me and even up to now I’m still cooking the idea that being free is not really being free.

Yesterday, a friend of mine wanted to ride bikes with me (we did >30 miles) He has been talking about riding together one day and I kept distancing myself from this guy because he does not believe in God at all and he has no problem/hesitation explaining to me why there is no God. His background is Jewish but then as he grew up, he rebelled against his parents’ beliefs and went on to his solidly grounded belief that there is no God. 4 years ago, he was suffering from an undiagnosed back pain in which doctors have him only in pain medication to relieve him from the dreadful pain. The pain subsided when he took his medication but gave him a side effect of an unstable mind. He told me yesterday that one time he contemplated of taking 100 pills to finish everything. Obviously, he came to his senses and moved on. A year ago, a very smart doctor in Austin figured out his real problem and gave him a new hip – he had a hip replacement. We rode 30 miles together and I can’t believe what I was witnessing. This guy was in pain a few years ago and could not even move an inch without pain and here we are 3 hours later riding our bikes as if nothing happened. After the ride, he brought me to his house and had a cup of Americano coffee from his very expensive coffee maker. Over a cup of coffee, I’ve learned a lot about him and I am becoming interested of how this guys life would end up in the future. The funny thing is his house is only 5 minutes away from Celebration Church where I attend every week. As I was about to end our conversation, I told him that he had been set free from pain. He looked at me and smiled, yes, I am pain free.

I still have to pedal at least 10 miles to get back home and on my way back, I was just thinking out loud about how this guy can ever see or believe God that during his pain and suffering, God’s presence was not there. And to make it more difficult on his faith, how can he believe that there is God that through his hardships, he made it through without even an ounce of faith.

I am not the type of person that sells Christianity to people. You will notice that I am a believer because you can see me as a different/unnatural person. In here, I talked more about my faith because many of you does not really know me. I know that many of you are coming back every day as I see in my stats. My purpose in life is to show people what God had done for me and maybe by writing it here for people like you who are strangers can make a tiny difference. No, my new cycling friend will just have to get more cycling miles with me before I can open my mouth and convince him about God. One day…

Honestly, like my unbelieving cycling friend, most of you are not really fully convinced about the presence and existence of God. I don’t have answers on how to convince my friend/ or you that God truly exists. Knowing God takes time, it is a process. Look back to your past and connect timelines and see if you can find connections between you and God.

Start a journey to explore God. Once you know Him, you can truly know the true meaning of freedom which is being truly forgiven.

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.com/406/rom.8.1.erv

Mark of A True Christian

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”” John 13:34, 35 NKJV

“Love-have a great affection or liking for”

“Hate-dislike intensely; feel antipathy or aversion towards”.

The hardest thing that we ever have to do – love one another. It’s not climbing the highest mountain, it’s not reaching to the moon, it’s not discovering the cure for a disease, it’s not inventing the newest technology that can transform the society, it’s not leading men and women to become greater individuals, it’s not keeping a nation to become financially stable, it’s not mentoring a child to mold him/her as a successful citizen for the future.

A week ago, I watched the full CNN video showing the evidence of how the Syrian forces used chemical weapons to civilians. I almost cried as I watched the lifeless bodies being laid out side by side with each other. Some are children which had nothing to do with the conflict. This was a copy of the video being shown to the Senate and Congress to assess the decision of an air strike or some form of military action to the Syrian government. My initial reaction after watching the video was “let’s execute the air strike”. I’m not sure what your point of view is to military actions but a normal person, 90% of the time will want the conflict to be resolved as quickly as possible. The content of the video produces an automatic hatred to the Syrian government immediately. I don’t know much about politics and I don’t really care about what other countries are doing. All I know is that this world is God’s dwelling place specifically created for us to be developed and not destroyed so that human beings can experience life to the full. Any actions to stop the fulfillment of that premise is not considered good.

There is no easy answer for conflicts. Bring the subject to your own personal circle. Look around you and examine your relationship with other people. Do you love them? Do you really care for them? Are you jealous? Are you full of envy? Do you hate that person next to your cubicle? Or what about the smile of a friend who is enjoying his or her vacation in the beach? Or what about thinking that your spouse is abusing or abnormally just using you as a crutch in life to get by with his/her own selfish agenda in life.

The hardest thing to do in life is to love the person next to us (this includes everyone). The sad part about that command is — that is how we are identified as a true follower of Christ. There is “no ifs and buts” – that is bottom line Christianity.

Yup, I have to love you… all of you.

See it at YouVersion.com

http://bible.com/114/jhn.13.34.nkjv

Our Transformation Is A Gift

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Ephesians 2:8, 9 NKJV

“Gift-something acquired without compensation”

Sometimes I think that my transformation as a Christian was my own effort.

I wake up every morning reaching for my smartphone and directly opens the youversion app and start reading the “Today’s Verse”. Who would do that normally? I would look and observe my wife as she wakes up in the morning and what she does first is check her email or messages or Facebook account. (I don’t have a Facebook account anymore because I deactivated it because of no purpose in my life except that I used it as an alternative to keep in touch with people that I don’t know deeply. I wanted a real way to connect with other people aside from posting my activities, pictures and updates randomly showing that I’m trying to get in touch… this will be another post.)

On Sunday morning, I will always wake up at 0730, drink a cup of coffee and then off to church. To me, this used to be ‘not the normal’ thing many years ago.

Is this discipline? Is this being so organized? Is this because I was in the military that when I have an objective for the day, I must execute and complete? Am I forced by my rigid principles in life? Is my action was a part of the brainwashing of my mind as I devote my life to Christ?

So one day, I stopped reading my daily verse and tried to be normal. I would not read the Bible for days and just be doing my normal routines without the “Bible Stuff”. If you had been following this journal, you will notice that I always post the daily verse everyday without fail but lately I had been missing days.

It turned out that I cannot get away from the Word of God anymore. I just realized that it is not the reading of the Word that matters most. It is the heart inside me that has been given the privilege to become a follower of Christ. This heart has been transformed already that even the external things that I do apart from the Christian way does not matter anymore. A seed has been planted deep inside me that no matter what my actions are, my conscience will always lead me back to the place where God inspired me to do – to listen to Him in whatever way possible.

For those of you who are struggling to read the Bible and get up and attend church, don’t be discouraged, the desire will come. Don’t force yourself to do things that you don’t like to do. One day your transformation will be completed and you look back years from today and say to yourself, “I did not do this by myself, it was a gift given to me”.

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.com/114/eph.2.8.nkjv

Promise: Forever Companion

“The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:9 NKJV

“Companion-a friend who is frequently in the company of another”

Loneliness can be so painful at times. Many people tried to avoid it by keeping them company with other people such as good friends and relatives. Sometimes we uses an inanimate objects to accompany us in our loneliness such as books, computer, smartphones, music etc. All those I mentioned can be a good cure for loneliness. But what if you have zero access to those things? How would you keep yourself out of loneliness? What if you are in your death bed at the final hour of your life? What if you are in the brink of your departure towards the end of your life? Or what if you are in a place where there is only you to talk to?

I’ve been to places like that and it’s not pleasant to experience such a moment. When I was in the cardiac cath lab during my MI, I did not know if will make it and all I feel was loneliness – death is something that only ourselves will go through. Even if our family are there at your bedside, we still go though death on our own.

But…

There is one promise to keep in mind, the God of Peace will be with us forever.

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.com/114/php.4.9.nkjv

Simple Christianity; Dream-Worn Out Shoes

“In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.” Ephesians 1:13, 14 NKJV

“Sealed-established irrevocably”

Simple Christianity

1. Hear the Word

2. Trust God

3. Believe in Jesus

Then, sealed by the Holy Spirit

Sometimes I wonder why we make Christianity so complicated with a lot of rules and regulations, do’s and don’ts, guidelines, doctrines when in reality there are only a few things that we have to really do. Hear the word, believe in Jesus, and then trust God. Repeat those 3 steps daily. That’s it.

If you are following this blog and reading the scriptures daily, you already accomplished step#1 by reading the Word. Don’t stop there. Keep going…

Of course, as we mature spiritually, we bear fruits in our walk with Christ and we begin to do things that are beyond our ability and expand the Kingdom. But in its simplest form, study the Word, trusting God and believing Jesus is the most basic foundation of our faith.

Those 3 things can be be accomplished right where you are right now.

Dream: Worn out shoes
I was attending an awarding ceremony and a friend approached me and whispered “why are you wearing a worn out shoes”. I look down to my feet and saw two black mismatched shoes that was so old and so worn out. I was also wearing a short pair of pants which makes my shoes more visible and obvious to everyone. At the end, I did not really care.

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.com/114/eph.1.13.nkjv

Intrepidity-Resolute Courageousness

““I have told you these things so that you can have peace in me. In this world you will have troubles. But be brave! I have defeated the world!”” John 16:33 ERV

“Resolute-firm in purpose or belief, characterized by firmness and determination”

“Courageousness-a quality of spirit that enables you to face danger or pain without showing gear”

We like encouragement especially when the timing is really perfect.

I’ve included a screen capture from my iphone using the New King James Version of the YouVersion app. I hope that seeing it in ‘red font’ can provide more voice and authority of the encouragement.

In some Bible version, the font color are made red to indicate that Jesus is speaking – that tells me that I need to pay closer attention.

Day after day, we faces victory more than defeat. At times, I’m more excited about my triumph than anything else in life. When I solve a difficult problem at work of fix a personal issue that has been putting me down so long, I get excited internally (although not shown in my real face), I do celebrate with God all my victory. It’s been many days since I survived my heart attack in 2008 and I think I’m physically, emotionally and psychologically well now and feel renewed – being able to function in my body far greater than a normal individual who did not experienced anything like I had.

But I’m just like you, I am in the world living and working side by side with other people and I experience the normal daily things in life and its difficulties and struggles and worries. There are times that I feel so down and empty and hoping that someone might rescue me from the deepest discouragement of all. I don’t have a lot friends around me. Not that I am not friendly but I choose to be alone most of the time. If someone had to assassinate me, they really can find me in my regular spot every day. Being alone for most of the time can be so peaceful and fulfilling but there are times that it becomes an enemy in the mind especially when the time comes for a need of someone to talk to. I read a lot of books and I’m always doing something positive in every waking moment. I make wise and slow decision most often to avoid regrets. I calculate what I say to people and even what I write. I treat everyone around me with respect and honor so that I can make more friends than enemies. In general, I’m contented with my life and the way I lived it. All is well 80% of the time. My routines are rock solid and my discipline is superb. But even with that, there are times when I battle a difficult enemy in life and sometimes I feel defeated and thinking about doubt and unbelief that maybe somehow my beliefs in Christ was just a pigment of my imagination that I utilized as a way to help me survive through my difficult days.

Where do I get my encouragement?

The answer to that question is in the red letter words below. I want you to examine/meditate verse 33 and read it over and over until you feel the voice of God is speaking to your heart.

Be encouraged!

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.com/406/jhn.16.33.erv

Will you offer help if given an opportunity?

“When we have the opportunity to do good to anyone, we should do it. But we should give special attention to those who are in the family of believers.” Galatians 6:10 ERV

“Opportunity-a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances; a chance”

The hardest part of having a lot of money is giving it away to somebody.

I don’t have millions of dollars but me and my wife live a comfortable life. We both work hard to save money to support our two children plus the unnecessary extra stuff in life. One is in college now and then next one is going next year. Many years ago, people come to us for financial help and we supply their needs and some came back and return the amount but some just forgot. I have no plans of collecting them and I will let their heart decide if they really want to return the favor, we don’t need it now.

Personally, I don’t have problems giving away money to help other people. To me, it is an opportunity to show kindness to the world. If someone ask you for money, will you refuse and say no? But how do you decide when to help and who to help?

I struggle with this situation sometimes. When you and your spouse work hard and put an effort to improve your life and there is someone on the other side of the phone asking for help and you have a few minutes to decide to say yes or no, how do you get to decide to help or not help. Sometimes we end up saying – “oh, I have to ask my husband or wife about it, I ll call you back”. Most of the cases, that is what we do because we want to make sure that the other party involved in the gathering of resources agrees to what you are going to do.

In human terms, we don’t automatically offer our help to other people. Maybe because there is always that self-preservation mindset. Of course we will take care of ourselves first and worry about the people that are not in our circle.

Part of the reason why we have to read the Bible and study daily is to be able to equip us with questions like this one. It won’t be hard to say yes if we are aware of the principle that is laid out in the Bible. The Bible says help them, lend your hand, offer your help, extend your mercy irregardless of any reason you think is unreasonable. When they come to you, it means that God guided their footsteps towards you.

Sometimes it is hard to become the person that God wants us to be especially in the realm of generosity and helping people. Very few people have attained that mentality of mercy.

I’m not there yet but I will try to. I think it is a form of mental or spiritual exercise to offer help to those in need at any given time, not to save the world or save the individual but just to show that I have tamed/mastered my unselfish attribute and being able to execute a form of self sacrifice. Not to show the world that “hey, I am generous” and you should be also – but because you have given the opportunity.

Will you offer help next time?

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.com/406/gal.6.10.erv

You Plus God = Possibility

“Praise the Lord! Every day he helps us with the loads we must carry. He is the God who saves us. Selah” Psalm 68:19 ERV

There is a God who is willing to help us carry our burdens and solve our earthly problems. Life is much easier if we change our mindset that God and His Wisdom is always there for us to be utilized. Sometimes we lean to our own understanding of issues, we rely on our own intellect, we are confident on our own personal experience and knowledge that somehow it seems like we know it all. But doing so just limits our capability to become the person that God wants us to be.

‘You plus God’ are not just 2 person working together, the power and capability and potential is far greater than that.

‘You plus God’ is infinite possibilities.

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.com/406/psa.68.19.erv

Basic Needs … Plus

“Jesus answered him, “The Scriptures say, ‘It is not just bread that keeps people alive. Their lives depend on what God says.’” Deuteronomy 8:3” Matthew 4:4 ERV

Man’s basic needs are food, clothing and shelter. During a catastrophe, these are the items that needs to be secured first and established to be able to survive. In some way the list or category is very easy to remember and is very helpful to simplify the categorization of needs and prioritize the tasks at hand. Anything that cannot be categorized in those 3 categories are labeled as unnecessary to survival.

Maslow expound the list and came up with his own hierarchy of human needs such as physiological, safety and security, love and belonging, self-esteem, and self actualization. For the most part, I think Maslow was right. We do need breathing, food, water, shelter, clothing, sleep, health, employment, property, family, social stability, friendship, intimacy, sense of connection, confidence, achievement, respect of others, the need to be a unique individual, morality, creativity, spontaneity, acceptance, experience of purpose, meaning and inner potential.

The list is missing one more thing: The “Word of God”. Without the hope of Christ, survival can be very hard to attain. We can have all physical and psychological needs in our backpack but without the spiritual component, surviving can be harder or maybe next to impossible.

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.com/406/mat.4.4.erv

What’s Better Than Sacrifice?

“Do what is right and fair. The Lord loves that more than sacrifices.” Proverbs 21:3 ERV

“Doing what is right and fair”

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.com/406/pro.21.3.erv

Pre-Planned Action Items

“God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us new people so that we would spend our lives doing the good things he had already planned for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10 ERV

“It’s not our plans, it’s God’s plan in our lives that we will be working”

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.com/406/eph.2.10.erv

Why Not Believe?

“He even let his own Son suffer for us. God gave his Son for all of us. So now with Jesus, God will surely give us all things.” Romans 8:32 ERV

“God will surely give us all”

See it at YouVersion.com:

http://bible.com/406/rom.8.32.erv