During the time I chose not to update my blog, my faith was continuously being refined by the Refiner's Fire. There were defeats. There were victories. I praise God for both. He has proven Himself faithful during hard times and good times.
Just to give you an update, I am now assigned Youth Leader of Church So Blessed South working under the mighty man of God, my spiritual father, Pastor Allen Gallegos. I am also a professional Graphic Designer working under one of the pioneers of Graphic Design revolution in the Philippines, Caloy Trinidad.
It's amazing how the Lord connects me to work with people who are highly esteemed in their respective industries. Yay Olmedo, Grace Chong, Lita Bondoc. Mighty women! Two are on-fire Christians, the other, soon to be. So I can say I get trained only by the best.
Ptr. Allen Gallegos is no ordinary pastor. He is deeply rooted in the Word and teaches the Body of Christ to move in signs and wonders. Supernatural worship, worship 101. prophecy 101, and school of deliverance are his specialties. This pastor carries loads of testimonies of supernatural things the Lord is still doing today.
Yes, many things happened. The trials you have read in my previous posts made me stronger and wiser. It is all by the grace of God. I am so thankful that what I have now is genuine salvation because, for a fact, I am still a Jesus-lover until today.
Speaking of being a Jesus-lover, I feel I was not as on-fire for Him as I was when I wrote my last 2013 post. When I read it, it gave me the chills. How can I possibly write such Jesus-centered article. On a side note, some of my articles way long ago share some doctrines I don't embrace anymore but I shall keep them for recording purposes.
Anyway, these past months I have been meditating on this verse from Revelations 2:1-5.
“To the angel of the church of Ephesus write,
‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. The Lord was giving His judgment to one of His church in Asia Minor. The Lord commended the perseverance of the Ephesian church but yet He saw that the intimacy they had for Him grew cold.
I have accomplished a lot as a Christian, as a youth leader, and as a graphic designer. I know the Lord commends me for those accomplishments. But how is my love story with Him going? Is my love for Him and Him alone still that passionate? Or is my desire to see my prayers answered MORE than my desire to just be with Him and spend time with His Presence without asking for anything...
It is very easy to lose sight of what is really important in life. And as Christians, it's very easy to focus on ministry works. But let us not forget that we live for Jesus, we do things for Jesus. In everything, Jesus should be the center. Jesus should be our greatest desire, His very person, not just His blessings.
Thankfully, the Lord gives us steps on how we can return to our First Love. Remember. Repent. Repeat.
1) Remember the time when you were on fire for Jesus alone. I chose to do it by visiting again this blog. I was reminded of how passionate I was for the Lord with my articles.
2) Repent by asking for forgiveness that we have forgotten our First Love, the most important thing in our life.
3) Repeat. Do the things we did at first. Not just one day, but everyday. Soak. Worship.Commune. Maybe, for me, I need to write again. =D
May the fire that symbolizes our passion for Jesus continue to burn before God. With that, I invite you to come with me. Let us return to our First Love!
