This Might Help part 2

Naisulat ko sa previous entry that God created everything for Himself. This is very easy to say kung naniniwala tayo na sa simulang simula, there was nothing but only God. Lahat ng nilikha ay para kay Lord – the angels, spirits, and siempre, tayo.

We were created, in the beginning, to love only God. This was the original design. Para siyang natural law. It wasn’t written but it was followed nevertheless. Parang breathing. There is no law that man should breathe but we do it unconsciously for this is how we were designed.

Loving God is a universal law that was there with God in the beginning. He is, in fact, the law. We said that every word that comes from His mouth is the law. Check out this verse:

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. John 1:1-3

And with His word, He organized everything in a perfect order. And with His word, the law, God maintains everything. He is a God of order.

Kaya nga we said in our previous entry, when we understand that God is love, we will understand the other aspects of God easier.

2. God is law because He is love. Loving God is the law of all creation.

This is a very important identity of God. I am keeping this in mind kasi natututo rin ako habang nagsusulat.

When there is law, there is judgment. That why God is also the Great Judge. He judges His creation based on this law – loving God.

Remember, nilikha ni God ang lahat para sa kanya. When we were still abiding by this law perfectly, we were for Him, we were His possessions, we were His.

But, every time creation breaks this law, we are destroying the very ground that we are standing on. And someone initiated in breaking this universal law. Hulaan niyo! Check out this verse.

12 How you have fallen from heaven,

morning star, son of the dawn!

You have been cast down to the earth,

you who once laid low the nations!

13 You said in your heart,

“I will ascend to the heavens;

I will raise my throne

above the stars of God;

I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,

on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.[a]

14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;

I will make myself like the Most High.”

15 But you are brought down to the realm of the dead,

to the depths of the pit. Isaiah 14: 12-15

You see, God did not create evil. Evil is merely the effect of disobedience to this ancient law. How did Lucifer transgressed against the law? he loved himself more than he loved the Most High.

Sa tingin niyo ba nagkaron pa ng mala-lord of the rings na battle sa heaven? Read this verse:

He (Jesus) replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” Luke 10:18

His judgment, along with those that were with him, was as quick as a blink. Hindi pa nga niya sinasabi, iniisip palang niya tapos he fell.

And yup, you got it. The fall of man was because they disobeyed this law by believing what the serpent said.

4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Genesis 3:4-7

Adam and Eve chose to look at themselves where as in the beginning, they only saw God and loved God. When they ate the apple, their eyes were opened and then, they saw themselves.

May nagsabi na ba sa’yo ng green joke. Nung una, di mo magets. Tapos nung in-explain sa’yo parang ang pakiramdam, namulatan ka. Ganun rin siguro kena Adan at Eba.

God had to judge them. Breaking the law made us illegal inhabitants sa Eden. Yes, we were disowned by God because God created us only for Himself. If we are not for Him, we are against Him. In His kingdom, eto yung legal action to do. God bound Himself with His Word. We were not children of God anymore. Kaya Jesus said this:

Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but He sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.” John 8: 42-47

Kasi apart from God, we can do no good thing. When we were driven out of His presence, it became natural to us to sin or disobey the law kaya we became sons and daughters of the enemy.

Forget not that the devil was not created by God. He was completely disowned when he broke the law. He was completely cut from the love of God because rebellion against the Most High is the worst sin a creature can commit.

But us, God loves more because we were like God, by looks and by nature. His very Spirit is in us. So our sentence was lighter.

By choice, we lost our oneness with God. BUT, that did not mean na hindi na ta’yo love ni God. His love for mankind is so deep that He did not leave Adam and Eve all by themselves.

Nagkahiwalay lang sila. But God watched over them like before because He loves them so much. He never left them, nor forsook them, even until now.

God is love, yes. But there is one thing God hates so much. As in sobra!

Have you lost a loved one because of a disease? Cancer? Tuberculosis?

I did. And the sickness is named Alzheimer’s. Oh, how I despise it. Nagpipintig ang tainga ko just hearing the name. I hate it. I despise it. I curse it because I love the person that it killed, I hate it so much.

God feels the same way. He hates sin. He despises sin. He curses sin. It is an abomination in His sight. Sin took you and me away from His presence. He abhors sin. And that’s why He punishes sin and anyone who chooses to identify with it. He hates sin, but He loves the sinner. The enemy, Satan, identifies with sin. I bet God hates snakes. He cursed snakes. God’s love for us is so deep that the things that separated us from Him, He abhors the most.

By this, knowing the ancient law, we understand why Jesus said this.

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him. “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

“ The most important one” answered Jesus, “is this: Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all you strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.”Mark 12: 28-31

Loving only God is our purpose in life. Wag mo nang hanapin pa sa iba. This is what we were made for.

Sa totoo lang, loving only God is not an easy thing to do, especially if we do it by ourselves. We have been accustomed to the ways of this world and I admit, I still have some areas in my life where I love the world more than God. Lahat naman yata tayo.

Kaya nga we seek Him so that we can find Him. How can we love God if we do not know and confirm that He loves us? For us to love God in spirit and in truth, we first need to know Him and His love for us. After all, it’s not about our love for Him, it’s about His love for us. Love only begets love.

Loving Him should not be a have-to but rather a natural response to His love for us.

Let’s pray together:

Abba Father,

Thank you that even though we disobeyed the law of love, you did not cut us out from your love. Thank you that even though we are not able to follow this law completely, you still love us, you still watch over us. How great is your love, Lord God!

Forgive me for the times when I choose the love the world more than I love you. I know that you command us to follow your law because you know that by following it, we will live. I know Lord that you only want the best for us and only You can give that.

You are the God who loves but you are also the God who judges. I pray that you guide me all the way in seeking you. May you reveal yourself to me as I start this walk in my life.

This I pray in the wonderful name of Jesus, Amen!

Move to Part 3

This Might Help part 1

For us who are seeking God, it is important to open our bibles. Dito lang natin siya makikilala and through further research to back up and confirm the scriptures.

Yung i-didiscuss natin ngayon is a foundational identity of God yet the most important one. Once we understand this, we will understand Him better and easier.

I do not claim to know it all. But may this short article light up a fire inside of you to start knowing God more. So game!

1. God is Love.

Nasa bible ba to? Hiyeah!

⁷ Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. ⁸ He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 1 John 4:7-8

Hindi na bago ‘to. Over-used na nga yata. We hear it a lot of times pero we don’t pick-up the deeper meanings to ‘God is love.’

Para madiscover natin kung ano pa ang deeper meanings ng “God is love,” let us try to analyse this statement using our favorite subjects: English & math.

God – subject; is – linking verb; love – predicate nominative; (.) period

A predicate nominative is a noun or pronoun which follows a linking verb and describes or renames the subject.

That’s right. Love is one of God’s many names. God is love, period.

Sa math naman:

God=Love; Love=God

Many times naririnig natin na God loves us or God is loving. It is not just God’s character. His very being is Love.

Love as in pag-ibig. And love, apart from God, isn’t love at all.

Wait, whut? So you mean ang love ng mom mo and dad mo sa’yo ay hindi love?

It is still love – God’s love manifested through them.

How about to my girlfriend or boyfriend? Hindi ba love yun?

Depende sa sagot mo sa tanong ko na ‘to. Pang-ilang bf/gf mo na yan?

True love, the God love, is permanent and loyal. Nothing can ever remove true love. If I rebel against my parents, I am pretty sure their love for me will never fade. Siguro magkakagalit, pero deep inside, they still love me. If you are looking for love to be loved, this is selfish love, not the God love.

You see, true love gives, true love is selfless. God is a giver. God is selfless.

Don’t degrade the meaning of love by saying it is here today and gone next week. Couples break up because what they had wasn’t true love in the first place. Love is a treasure. It isn’t easy to find. You have to dig deeper.

God is also like that. He cannot be easily found. You have to dig deeper. But don’t worry, God will help you find Him.

Now, I want us to do a bit of an experiment.

If God=Love, from Genesis, let us substitute ‘God’ with the word ‘Love.’

¹ In the beginning Love created the heavens and the earth. ² The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was^[a] on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of Love was hovering over the face of the waters.
³ Then Love said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. ⁴ And Love saw the light, that it was good; and Love divided the light from the darkness. ⁵ Love called the light Day, and the darkness, Love called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.

---

¹¹ Then Love said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so. ¹² And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And Love saw that it was good. ¹³ So the evening and the morning were the third day.

---

²⁰ Then Love said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.” ²¹ So Love created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And Love saw that it was good. ²² And Love blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” ²³ So the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

I want to use The Message bible translation for the creation of man.

^6-28Love spoke: "Let us make human beings in our (Love’s) image, make them
reflecting our(Love’s) nature
So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea,
the birds in the air, the cattle,
And, yes, Earth itself,
and every animal that moves on the face of Earth."
Love created human beings;
he created them godlike,
Reflecting Love's nature.
He created them male and female.
Love blessed them:
"Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge!
Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air,
for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth."

Findings:

Point 1: Everything existed through Love. Without Love, none that were created were created. Love is the foundation of all things. And Love only created what was good.

Point 2: The Words of Love became the law. God is a God of order. He separated water from land, darkness from light, etc. He spoke to keep things in perfect harmony. Love formed and framed the universe.

Point 3: Man is made by Love and in the image and likeness and nature of Love.

Conclusions:

From point 1: Love creates… good things. Ever wonder why great men and women say we have to love (passion) what we are doing in order to produce good results? As a graphic artist, I know this very well. My designs done without love or passion are quite obvious compared to designs where I put my heart to. Kahit hindi nila i-mention si God, the effects of love is as it is.

We can also conclude, by faith, that nothing bad can come from God. No sickness, no disease, nor death, nor any bad and evil thing you can think of. God doesn’t use sickness to teach us a lesson. God cannot even give sickness because He has none.

Wag mong sasabihin na “binigay sa’kin ni God itong ubo kasi matigas ang ulo ko.” Or, “galing kay God itong problema ko sa pera.” Now I am even more convinced that it’s not.

Only good things can come from God who is love. Remember this always.

From point 2: Love keeps things in order and in perfect shape. There is a law of love that governs the universe.

Think of this. God loves us so much that he put nostrils at the bottom of the nose and not at the top. Kung nasa taas ng ilong ang butas nito,

kawawa naman tayo kapag naabutan ng ulan at wala tayong payong. Mahirap ring mangulangot kapag ganun.

However, by breaking the law which is love, the universe gets out of order thus resulting to bad and evil things. God did not create evil. It is merely the result of disobedience to the law called love. Evil is basically the absence of God or Love.

Corruption, death, sickness and disease. These things are not part of the original design. We have them because creation keeps on breaking the law of love.

Another sampol. If you hate a person na sagad sa buto, every time you see him/her (or kahit maisip lang) you become angry, agitated, irritable, resulting to disorder in blood circulation resulting to high BP and if it continues will lead to heart failure. A quiet hater is even more prone to heart disease (like me). Love keeps the order in our body because man’s wireframe is love.

Point 3: If it is necessary for man to breathe in order to live, it is necessary for man to love in order to live physically and spiritually. Hindi ko na kailangang i-expound na natural sa isang tao ang magmahal. We know that.

When God created Adam and Eve, He created them with a nature to love. And because that time, Adam and Eve only saw God (not even themselves), they loved God with true love, the selfless love, the God love. Loving God with all of their hearts kept them immortal – physically and spiritually not dying. Loving God is what we were made for. God created us for Himself. And thus can only be sustained by Him.

And as for you, mahal ka ng Diyos hindi dahil sa kung sino ka. Mahal ka niya dahil sa kung sino Siya – Pag-ibig. Love loves. God cannot hate you. Regardless of whatever you have gone through in life, or yung mga masasamang nasabi mo sa kanya, He still loves you. He can’t help but just love you. He is Love.

Stop listening to people saying that the bad things that happen in your life are results of God hating you. God cannot hate you. He hates your sin, not you.

God does punish. God can be angry and mad but He cannot hate you. It is impossible for Him to hate you. He is love. That’s why in this verse, it says this.

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,^[a] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39

Maybe you need to convince yourself too like Paul. Ako rin. I am convincing myself. This is the truth that the devil continuously hides from me.

Pray this with me:

Father,

Thank you for who You really are. Many times I think that You cause bad things in my life, that my sickness came from you because you want to discipline me. Forgive me. Ngayon, Lord, alam ko na that no bad thing can ever come from you. I am sure of it. It says in your word.

I know now that you love me regardless of my situation, of my sins, of my job, or whoever I think I am. Thank you for loving me because you just can’t help but love. Thank you Lord God for you are good.

I want to know you more Father.

This I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Move to Part 2

Simple Lang

(This is my first official entry. The first two articles are prologues.)

Maraming nagsasabi na ang pagiging Kristyano ay kumplikado. Maraming bawal at dapat gawin. One slightly wrong move and we sin. It’s pretty hard to be holy, kaya why bother.

Living as a Christian for almost three years, led by the Spirit of God, I realized that Christianity is first, not a religion at all. Pangalawa, simple lang dapat ang pagiging Kristyano.

Para mas maintindihan natin kung bakit, magbigay tayo ng sampol.

Kunwari from house, pupunta ka ng mall. A very simple situation. You just need to go to the mall. Kunwari may kotse ka.

Then you suddenly thought, paano kaya kung nawalan ako ng gasolina on the way, edi malaking problema. Teka pagasolina muna kaya ako. Dala ko ba lisensya ko? Teka, tigil muna ako sa tabi para i-check. Mahirap na, baka mamaya may gutom na pulis. Saan nga ba yung pinakamalapit na gas station? Asar, ang trapik pa. Dapat siguro mas maaga pa akong umalis para hindi matrapik. Nako, uulan pa ata! May dala ba akong payong? Nako, wala yata. Alam ko may jacket ako sa likod. Check ko mamaya. Naisara ko ba yung plantsa sa bahay? E yung kalan?

Pagdating mo ng mall, kamukha mo na to.

Same with Christianity. Napapagod ang mga kristyano dahil sa isip nila, kelangang ganito, kelangan ganoon, bawal ang ganito, bawal ang ganoon. Kelangan magbasa ng bible. Kelangan magdasal ng maraming beses.

We forget the very essence of Christianity – Christ.

Who is Jesus? What did He do? What role does He play in my life?

Christianity is simply this: having a love life with Jesus Christ. As plain as A,B,C. It is all about Jesus. Straight to the point!

This simple definition, etong mga ss. ay automatic na:

· Knowing who He is and believing Him

· Letting Christ manage your life by trusting Him and surrendering you’re all

· Living a life dedicated to Him (doing what pleases Him and stop doing what displeases Him with the help of His own Spirit)

I like to make things complicated. Naging hobby ko yan. Even when I am just beginning my christian life, I complicated the simple meaning of Christianity.

Siempre there are times that I forget this fact. Kaya nga sinulat ko ‘to – to remind myself in times that I feel my life with the Lord is becoming complicated. (I’m sure there will be times like that in the future.)

Kung mapapansin mo, whenever we are out of focus, things get complicated. Sa buhay, lalo na. They say that life is complicated. True, if in the first place you don’t have something to focus on but yourself and what’s happening around. Those two things (yourself and your situations) are actually the ones that make things complicated.

Kaya nga sinabi ni Lord na without a vision, you will perish. You are going nowhere because you don’t have a stable point to look at.

Ika nga e the shortest way from a point to another point is a straight line. E ang problema, paano kapag walang another-point? Or yung inaakala mong another-point e will lead you further to confusion…

As a Christian, that another-point is always God (Stable, True, Faithful, Peace) . It is a love life that is Jesus-focused. At eto pa ang ikinaganda: wala kang ibang gagawin kundi mahalin siya. Ang trabaho na gagawin natin ay maniwala. Kaya nga we are called believers.

Di ba, the shortest way from a point to another point is a straight line. As I am writing this article, na-realize ko na I am neither point A, point B or the straight line! It’s all God. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. He is responsible for bringing you back to Himself. All you need to do is believe in Him.

Christianity is basically love for Christ. Any definition that is beyond love is a deception.

Di ba kapag mahal mo ang isang tao, you spend time together to know each other. Kapag malalim na ang pagkakakilala ninyo sa isa’t-isa, lalong tumitindi ang pagmamahalan. Kasi ang pagmamahalan, laging nagsisimula sa pagkilala.

Ano nga ba ang kailangang gawin ng isang lalake o babae para makilala niya nang lubusan yung pinopormahan niya? Ganito ba?

Di’ba hindi? Ang alam ko kailangan niyo lang mag-usap at mag-spend ng time together. It’s that simple.

Ganun rin with God. Get to know Him first. Kasi si Lord, He knows us very well. Tayo ang dapat kumilala sa kanya. Kaya ang ibang Kristyano napapagod e dahil ganito:

why not simply like this

Ngayon sabihin nating nakilala mo na yang kapartner mo, at mahal mo siya. Diba automatic nalang na gawin mo ang ikasasaya niya?

Dahil nga mahal mo siya, at alam mong ikasasaya niya ang pinapagawa niya sa’yo, diba automatic na yun na gagawin mo? At kahit pagod ka nang mag-tumbling tumbling, you don’t mind, mapasaya mo lang siya.

Ganun rin naman kay Lord. Kapag unti-unti mo siyang nakikilala at minamahal, automatic nalang na susunod ka sa sinasabi niya, na you will go to Church every Sunday, na laging magdadasal at magbabasa ng Bible. Hindi diyahe! Hindi nakakapagod! Kasi natural eh.

When you grasp the true meaning of Christianity, you will walk in holiness without wearing out. Eto na yun, ang tunay na ibig sabihin ng pagiging Kristyano. And when we die, we will not be asked kung anu-ano yung mga ginawa mong mabuti sa mundo. Tatanungin ka kung close ba kayo nung Anak ng May-ari ng langit. Kasi kung hindi, lam mo na where you will go.

Simple lang. Straight to the point. Falling in love with Christ! Like you, sa araw-araw kong buhay, kinikilala ko si Lord para mas maging close pa kami. I am not pushing myself to do good works, kusa siya. And when I make mistakes, my beloved Jesus brings me back up and strengthens me more.

This is my love story with Jesus. You can start that too!

Tara, pray this with me:

Father God,

I’ll go straight to the point. I want to build a relationship with you. I never thought that being a Christian is simply having a love life with you that is totally focused on you, Lord Jesus. Kala ko dati, I need to do so many things in order to get right with you, to the point na halos masakal na ako. I want to begin something with you again. Lord God, I want to know you more through your Word. I want this intimate relationship with you, Lord. Help me on this.

This I pray in Jesus’ name.

Amen

Sarprise!

Na-isulat ko on my previous entry that I recently lost a loved one. Nung ililibing na siya, I told myself not to cry. I didn’t. But somehow, those tears na pinigilan mo will find another time to get out from your eyes. Kasi hindi naman yung isip mo ang nagluluksa, kundi puso. Puso is way too different from our isip. One way or another, you will weep. And so I did.

Naalala ko nung nasa deathbed pa si lola, I assigned myself to watch over her sa hospital kasi my mom has been watching all night. I imagined the Lord Jesus, wearing white robe, sitting on the bed, caressing my lola. (Ngayon ko lang na-realize na that moment na kala ko imagination lang, eh is spiritually true. He was really there.) Ganito pa nga ang sabi ni Lord sa’kin.

“ Why are you worrying, son? If you really know who I am, you will not be worrying like that.”

These words kept my high hopes until the very end. Kasi I know that God is our healer. His will is ALWAYS to heal. Sickness did not come from Him nor has He any way to give it to us. Sickness is an enemy. My lola was in comma state by the way. Kaya before she died, walang conversation na katulad ng napapanood natin sa drama sa tv.

Now put yourself in my shoes. Isipin mo na ikaw ay ako. Sobrang naniniwala ka na gagaling pa si lola. Then she didn’t. In fact, she died. Wouldn’t you start to doubt the Word? Di ba?

I complained like a child. “Lord, kala ko ba ganito ganyan…sabi niyo ganito ganyan….” It was a test of faith. Now, I believe that God wanted my lola healed no matter what. He did His part…...I didn’t. It was a test.

People will say na “God does not give test.” True. But He allows it.

⁸ In the whole land,” declares the LORD,
“two-thirds will be struck down and perish;
yet one-third will be left in it.
⁹ This third I will put into the fire;
I will refine them like silver
and test them like gold.
They will call on my name
and I will answer them;
I will say, ‘They are my people,’
and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God.’” Zechariah 13:8-9

Then sasabihin sa’kin “ang sama naman ni Lord.” Then I will say that He allows tests in our lives for our own good. Bakit?

Sometimes, we think we already know it, but guess what. Alam niya na as long as we live, marami pa tayong mararanasan na pangyayari na pwedeng ikamatay o ikabagsak natin physically, mentally and spiritually. Sobrang mahal tayo ni Lord na ayaw niya tayong maging defenseless and weak against the blows of life (because we do not know anything or we thought we knew but not really).

See it this way. We hated our teachers for giving us “sarprise” quizzes. Tama? Ang humindi, plastic at sinungaling. Bakit sarprise kamo? Kasi when they give such, ang SARPNILASAPAKIN. I really hate surprise quizzes. I do not know if my teachers take pleasure in giving them but most of the time, we are caught unprepared.

I WAS CAUGHT UNPREPARED IN THIS SURPRISE QUIZ FROM GOD.

Do I hate surprise quizzes, even if it is from God? My answer may not have changed yet. Yes, I hate them. And I admit, however shameful this is, that SARPNILASAPAKIN feeling towards God arose. I think, in one point in our life, we blamed God for something. I’m just being honest.

But as I experience more surprise quizzes, sa tingin niyo ba tama pa na sabihing “sarprise” quiz yun.

If you read my previous article, it is written there and in the bible that as long as we live in this world, we will have tribulations. Habang nabubuhay, tuloy-tuloy ang surprise quizzes. This is a piece of wisdom you should keep.

Malalaman mo ang taong wais sa hindi if they always fail surprise quizzes knowing na it should not be surprising anymore. I was one of this not-so-wais. I do not say I’m so-wais now. But I can boldly say I have moved away from the not-so-wais state.

Tempt is different from test. Sa context palang, ibang-iba na. God will never tempt you, but He will definitely test you.

See it ulit this way para klaro tayo sa difference ng temptation sa test. Kunwari nagbigay ng exam si ma’am. Ang temptation ganito…”iho, tama lahat ang sagot ng katabi mo, dali, tignan mo at kopyahin mo.” Dun palang, we know that God will never do that. That’s the devil’s job.

Test is more of like observation in God’s point of view. He will allow certain things to happen to your life and He will test you by observing how you will deal with it.

Going back. I know I failed the test kasi I doubted the Word. It was funny sa church namin, they talk about expectation and audacious faith. Parang sinadya. And every time I heard teachings on miracles and faith, I control myself not to walk out of church. It means I was shaken….caught unprepared. Ano ang score ko? Bagsak. Probably 3/10.

Whenever I have scores like that, lagi kong sinsabi sa sarili ko na ayaw ko na ulit magkaron ng score na ganyan. If I detail this faith struggle I had, it will be very long. Pero in this article, I just want to admit that I failed the test. God is never the problem. Ako ang may problema. Hindi kasi ako nag-aaral kaya pagdating ng surprise quiz, bagsakerz ako.

Pero, I learned my lesson. I learned that those trial times are the perfect times when we can use our faith. We will know if you use it or not. Do you use human faith or the faith of God? I admit, I looked at the physical, meaning kung anong nakita ko (hopelessness, death), that is what I believed. I know the word, pero may unbelief. So the thing I expected to happen, did not happen. I had a weak faith and therefore I had a weak prayer.

I remember, I even thought na if I had more money, di mangyayari to, o mapapagaling pa si lola. Isang malaking kalokohan pala yun.

Even if I am the richest person on earth, I cannot do anything, nor can my money, nor can machines do anything to save the life of my loved one. But you know what God did?

He used a red ball pen with such a special, precious ink. With this experience, I have proven this scripture true:

¹⁰ Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:

“Now have come the salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God,
and the authority of his Messiah.
For the accuser of our brothers and sisters,
who accuses them before our God day and night,
has been hurled down.
¹¹ They triumphed over him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much
as to shrink from death.

Revelation 12: 10-11

The Blood works, I tell you! I am nothing without the Lord. Siya lang talaga ang matatakbuhan mo in times of great challenges.

So this article that you read is my testimony, and I have overcome, like an almost- refined gold out of the blazing fire, through this testimony and through the Blood of Jesus Christ. I shout out to the heavens “THE LORD IS TRULY MY GOD!”

I may have failed this one, but the next “sarprise” quiz will not be surprising anymore. So bring it on!

To God be the highest glory and honor and thanksgiving!

Kung naka-relate ka sa sinulat ko, say this with me:

Father God,

Forgive me for the times that I blame you for the bad things that happened in my life. Lord, when I experience these things, I blame everyone but myself, including you. Lord sorry ha. It is so unfair that you get the blame when in fact the fault was mine. Lord, I know that your thoughts for me are good. They are to prosper me and not to harm me. Hindi ko ipagdadasal na sana wala nang surprise quizzes. Para akong nagdasal na sana alisin niyo po ang araw sa solar system. Pero pinagdadasal ko Lord na huwag niyo akong iiwan sa gitna ng surprise quizzes ng buhay. Alam ko Lord na gusto mo akong magtagumpay sa lahat ng ito. At kung hindi man, I know Lord na tutulungan mo akong bumangon ulit. Salamat Lord sa haba ng pasensya niyo sa’kin. Salamat Lord kay Jesus, ang anak niyo, dahil sa ginawa niya sa krus kaya ko nasasabi na I will overcome whatever I am going through ngayon.

I plead for His Blood in my life. For I believe that with it, I will overcome all trials and tests.

In Jesus’ name, I boldly pray. Amen.

P.S.

Lord, bigyan niyo sana ako ng bonus points sa score ko. Love you.