Roses For Mom, Fire For Me, Glory to God!

Last June 14, 2011was my mom’s birthday. It is the same day my mom and my dad celebrates their anniversary. It was a double celebration last Tuesday.

My dad had an idea of sending my mom roses. I will buy the roses here and tell my mom that it was from the three of us: me, dad and my li’l brother.

I was in a hurry to leave office on that day because my mom is going to bring food at my lolo’s house. I don’t want to get home (at my lolo’s house) too late because I would have let my mom wait for me for too long.

So before I pursued my Tuesday, I already know where to buy roses. It is at RFC, Las Piñas, the nearest store. So in my mind, I planned out everything for the night. I expect everything to go the way I planned it. (That’s so Ryan.)

Strike 1 It was nearing 6 pm at my office when one of my officemate superior asked me for a favor. It was a task that took me minutes past 6 pm before I finished.

Strike 2 When I got out of the building, it took me several minutes before I found a taxi. (‘taxi’ means PUV na motorcycle).

Strike 3 Then upon reaching MRT Ayala, I was looking for a bus that will not pass by MoA but there was none. Instead, I rode a bus that passed by MoA and took us several minutes before going our way to coastal mall where I will ride a bus back to Las Piñas. Pa’no, ang tagal magtawag ng pasahero. This is the reason why I don’t want to ride buses that pass by that mall. “Pero ano ba naman ang magagawa ko?”

By that time, I remember the Lord reminding me of the song “let it be.” And somehow, I ‘let’ it be…somehow. God knows how I was growing impatient. I just imagined the Lord singing the song to me repetitively. And it helped….somehow.

Strike 4 When I got to coastal mall, I found a jeepney to Alabang na naghihintay pa ng pasahero. Even though I know for sure na ang jeep ang pinakamatagal maghintay ng pasahero sa kostal, I still went in. Several minutes have passed and the jeep is still waiting to be filled with passengers. I had thoughts of just riding a bus kaso nga lang nakatayo. But no. I decided to stay. “patience, Ryan. Paitience.”

Strike 5 After waiting for several minutes sa coastal mall, nasa coastal road na kami when the jeepney turned right to the gas station which I know will take several minutes again. Pa’no, may pila.

Hindi kayo mahihirapang ma-imagine ang itsura ko nito. Para akong monster na nasa loob ng rehas. Nagtitimpi. Nagtitiis. I just told myself “expect more tests” thinking that it will help me if I just expect the worse.

After several minutes, we finally left that gas station and headed back on the road to Zapote. Medyo trapik pagdating ng Zapote but I will not count that as a strike because I expected it.

Strike 6 Nakadaan na ako ng Zapote and I went down to RFC to finally finally like finally buy roses for mom.

“Kuya may roses pa?” I asked the vendor.

“Wala na sir.” He replied calmly.

I knew it. I was trying my best. Pero napiktal talaga. Napiktal ang iniiwasan ni Lord na mapiktal – ang aking pisi ng pasensya.

I was expecting God to help. But he “didn’t” during that time. I went out of RFC and walked towards Value Point which is now Star Mall. He asked me a gentle question along the way.

“Do you want me to help?”

Then I started to vent out my anger towards God. This is the thing na iniiwasan kong mangyari. Because for me, it so unfair to God that I blame Him for things He didn’t do. But I know myself. This is a tendency for me.

This is the reason why I did not pray to God during those strike hours. I knew I was going through fire or tests and I decided not to call on God because if my prayer is not answered, I will be mad at God. And my expectations were for the worse thinking that it will ease up the impact of these frustrations to me.

I told God “No.” I was thinking that I was alone in looking for the roses. I was thinking that God will not care for such a small detail in my life.

“ God, don’t help. I don’t want to blame you for the things that are happening to me now. (which I was, I was just not admitting it). I can do this. I will find roses for my mom. It’s okay. I can do this alone.”

I can’t help it. I was so controlled by my impatience and frustration. When I was saying it to Jesus, I can feel His hurt. I even a heard a voice convicting me and condemning me.

“Really? You can do it alone apart from God?”

“This is the guy who writes Christian stuff at his blog. Look at him now.”

Strike 7 There was no flower shop in Star Mall. I was tired. I was exhausted. I was hungry. I was frustrated. Then I just said.

“Please help me, Lord.”

I walked to SM Hypermarket hopeless. If I find no roses there, I thought I’ll just buy cake. However, I promised my dad that I will give my mom roses. I want to make that promise binding. It is a way to prove to myself that my words have power. And once I have spoken, I will never take it back. This was my motivation of tiring myself in finding roses for mom. I know how my dad loves her and I want to give roses to my mom not just because it will make her happy but because it was something I promised.

I entered SM and went in the hypermarket. I passed by the counters and there, I saw a bunch of roses and flowers waiting to be bought.

“Thank you, Lord.”

I bought the roses and hurriedly went out because it was a bit late already.

Strike 8 I rode another jeepney that waited for passenger very long. Instead of feeling irritated, I felt guilty of how I treated my Jesus.

My mom was very happy ,by the way. Sulit ang pagod ko nung makita ko siyang kumakaway-kaway habang hawak ang bouquets of roses na binili ko sa SM. But I know deep inside that my Jesus was crying. So I talked to Him before I slept.

“Lord, I’m really sorry.”

Then He reminded me how faithful He was to me even though I became faithless. He truly is an unfailing God. And even though I failed the test (kasi napiktal nga), the victory was still mine because God is faithful to make me victorious. Then God told me a remarkable thing.

“Son, you expect the wrong expectations. That’s why you pray the wrong prayers.”

Then if my prayer is not answered, I get mad at God. So I asked Him, “what should have I prayed?”

He answered “that you will get the roses for your mom no matter what.”

God knew that I prayed “Lord, let my plans be fulfilled for tonight without obstructions.”

If I prayed what God wanted me to pray, I know what to expect. That no matter how many strikes will come my way, my eye is on the goal being fulfilled. Ang focus ko would be on Jesus helping me get those roses no matter what.

If I had the right prayer, during those strikes, I would have thought “ Alam ko si Lord. Si Lord Jesus yan eh. If He says I will be able to find roses, then I will be able to find roses! Surely!” Kaso hindi eh. Haha!

But on the good side, God commended me. He told me that I did not give up searching for the roses for mom. He commended me pursuing after what I have promised. Na kahit gutom, kahit pagod, kahit irritable, I did not stop looking for it. Inside me, I know I have to find the flowers, otherwise I will not waste my time walking.

He told me that faith alone without wisdom is useless. It was wisdom to continue looking. It was wisdom not to give up. Faith without action is dead.

It is as if telling me that God, for countless times, wanted to help me in a lot of situations in my life even though I had faith. It’s just that He can’t either because I don’t let Him or I give up very soon.

So first, He taught me the importance of finding out what God wants me to pray for in every situation in my life. Kasi if I will be expecting the wrong expectation, I will be praying the wrong prayer and a wrong prayer will never be answered. And when not answered, I easily give up. I get angry. I get tired.

Dun sa kaso ko, me believing that my plan will be well is human faith. God wants me to have His faith, the God faith, which is believing what He wants me to believe – that He is able and is willing to give me those roses no matter how bad things may go.

In Christianity, I believe na yun lang naman yung faith na pinag-uusapan eh. Not human faith but the God faith. The God faith is to believe in God that He is able and willing.

The God faith teaches me to always focus on the sureness of victory simply because He is a victorious and unfailing God. He does not want me to focus on the situations, not even on how I am supposed to do it.

Having the God faith kasi will produce a mindset that will help me remain calm and cool during times of strikes or trials. Because it is during these times when you will see who you really are. Yung baho ko nalabas sa situation na ito. And God wants it changed.

He revealed to me why I always blamed Him in the past though this situation. Wrong expectations. Wrong prayers. I only had human faith which is the wrong faith. Wrong faith produces wrong prayer. A wrong prayer, God never answers. What is an example of a wrong prayer?

“Dear Lord, Please curse my officemate who is a liar and a backstabber. Send rainclouds over her house and smite her with lightning. Amen.”

Do you expect God to answer that? Wrong faith: Believing that God is able and willing to smite your enemies for you because that’s what He did during Moses’ time. Be careful, with a prayer like that, your enemy is yourself.

Kahit hindi man ganyan ka suklam-suklam ang dasal ko, my prayer “that MY plans be well and without obstruction” is wrong, against God’s will, and is FOOLISH. Wisdom says that as long as you are in this world, there will be trials and tests. I was praying against that. -_-

That’s why I do not see God clearly manifest in my life. He never answers wrong prayers. Without knowing it, I am also putting Him in MY own box through my wrong human faith.

Second, it was not by my work that I became victorious, it was when I asked for help and I partnered with Him by not giving up. Who would have thought na may magbebenta ng bulaklak sa supermarket? For me, it was obviously God intervening in my situation because He is able and willing to make me successful even if I believe that or not. In fact, I believe that real faith will make you think that you are already successful in the beginning!

Para bang yung mga roses na yun, He prepared beforehand. He was just waiting for me to get there kahit na hindi ako naniwala na meron Siyang ibibigay sakin. He was faithful in the beginning. And so victory was set for me sa simula palang. Kung baga ang bola, nasa akin na. Maniniwala ba ako o hindi? Will I push through or not?

Ako, hindi sa naniwala ako na may makikita akong roses kundi I was forcing myself to search para hindi ako mapahiya sa sarili ko at sa dad ko. That’s why I was tired. People who seek will truly find. Pero without God, people can become successful but are tired, fearful, exhausted, and spiritually dead.

These promises of God are already prepared. But only those who forcefully advance in life, not giving up, not quitting, will lay hold of it whether you are Christian or not, whether you believe in God or not.

No wonder why even evil people gets blessed. But their blessing is only earthly, temporal and will die with them.

Ang problema sa ibang mga Kristyano, we only have faith. Walang action. Walang determination. Walang wisdom. Kung baga para kang taong may lung cancer na may faith that God will heal you pero sigarilyo ka parin ng sigarilyo.

Read this:

The Parable of the Shrewd Manager

¹ Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. ² So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’

³ “The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg— ⁴ I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’

⁵ “So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’

⁶ “‘Nine hundred gallons^[a] of olive oil,’ he replied.

“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’

⁷ “Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’

“‘A thousand bushels^[b] of wheat,’ he replied.

“He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’

⁸ “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly (wisely). For the people of this world are more shrewd (wise) in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light (christians). ⁹ I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings (which is a person’s heart).

(Luke 16:1-9, emphasis added)

Eto ah, si Jesus na ang nagsabi na what the bad man did was wise. He even said that godless people are wiser in dealing with other people compared to us Christians. Which is sort of my point.

Faith and wisdom is always a partner. Take one away and you lose your physical or your spiritual side.

I can be compared to that bad person. I had no faith but I did something commendable which enabled God to manifest His promise of victory in my life. However, I lost my spiritual kasi I sinned, I lost patience, I lost grace.

Yung nangyari sa’kin is a proof that God is truly able and is willing. But if I had stopped searching, I will not be able to have what God has prepared to me. I would not be able to make my mom happy. I would have broken my word to my dad. Then I could be mad at God and my faith could have grown worse.

But thank God for this lesson. On that same night, I gave glory to God. I thank Him for being patient and merciful with me. I thank Him for teaching me this super important lesson that I know, for sure, will change my attitude, will change my mindset, will change my behavior, will change my prayers.

Glory to God in the highest!

Revealing of the Sons

⁸ For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. ¹⁹ For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; ²¹ because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

Romans 8:18-21

Sigurado ako na kung sino man ang nagbabasa sa blog na ito ay nanonood ng mga movies, palabas sa TV, nobela, short stories, etc. Kaya I’m sure, makaka-relate kayo sa topic na’to.

I am particularly excited for this because it was a marvelous revelation to me by my beloved Jesus.

The Lord knows I love watching anime, movies, and TV series. The Lord knows I like to, one day, produce my own story because God has gifted me with the abilities to do so. And the Lord knows I am easily captured by stories with very nice characters to the point of me fantasizing about their existence. Anyone can relate here?

I once drew a manga and published it on the web. Medyo matagal ko naring hindi na-uupdate yun. But one time, I got the time to look at it again. I reviewed the comments and found a comment that I think all of us had said at least once. The comment was

“I wish I have my Rey.”

Rey is the main character of my story. He is good at basketball. Sweet and charming guy. Although he has his own quirks, he is very friendly and caring to others. I wrote him to be cute and adorable.

Reading such comments make me very happy because it just means I did my job well as a writer and as a manga illustrator. This comment “I wish I have my….” is a comment I usually make when seeing a nice character on a movie or an anime. I imagine.

What if so-and-so exist? We are gonna do this and that.

And just thinking of the fictional character or the imaginary world makes me feel good.

God told me that I do this because the character is someone I desire to be with. Unfortunately, the character is inexistent, fictional, and unreal. God was very frank. He does not want me living in fiction. He knows very well that my mind functioned this way for the past years.

That’s why I am good at writing stories with desirable characters. Medyo nagiging stereotype na nga. The point is, because of my desire to be with someone who is adorable, caring, beautiful, strong, graceful, wise, etc., I was able to write stories having this type of character. I bet this is the reason why there are good writers in this world. In their minds, they have their ideal world and ideal characters.

If you are an anime lover, you will know more what I mean. Ang daming anime characters na may nice personalities. I personally like characters who are strong, wise, and caring but is not totally serious at all times. Sa dami-dami ng anime characters na nandyan, or movie/tv characters, merong similar quality na nag-aattract sakin sa kanila. It’s their goodness and unselfishness.

Like now, sino-sino ang mga characters in the movie, cartoons or shows that you like to personally meet? I bet there are many. As embarrassing as it may sound, here are mine: Zorro, Kenshin (Samurai-X), Lupin, Doraemon, Hermione (from HP), Brock (from Pokemon), Mulan, Gene Starwind, Yuki from (Smile, a Japanese series about a half-filipino), Aslan, etc.

The stories that people write nowadays are so good that people wanted to be in those fictional worlds. People want to be with those fictional characters. People even dress up like those characters.

God told me that people don’t realize that the characters we are longing to spend time with is actually Him…Jesus. Just the human quality siempre. The quality of goodness, unselfishness, love, understanding, joy, etc. People do not realize that who we were longing for is God.

I became so quiet because it made sense. All the characters that I fantasized before I fantasized not because of their abilities, but because of their looks and their good character. God claims to have them all. I know it is true since I have been learning more about Jesus every day.

Jesus is kind, gentle, does not condemn, fun to be with, not boring, a teacher, a friend, a consoler, lifter of head, and at the same time a parent, a dad, a big brother and many more. This is why His name is “I Am.” He is our all in all. He is all that we will ever need.

We do not realize that we have been longing for Him all this time through the fictional characters that we have created. His world, His kingdom, is that which we desire to be with. I just don’t understand why people can’t see this. This is probably the meaning of being blinded by the enemy and by the world. Human beings long for their God. We just do not like to admit that it is God whom we need.

We do not realize that who we long for are the sons of God, the bride, the genuine Christians, the real Church. These human characters that we see in movies exist in real life. They are those who love Jesus and who have full commitment in following Him. They are those who love other people more than themselves. They are those who have developed a unique character. Kasi sadly, hindi lahat ng tao may character.

A person who has character is bound by his principles and values in life and at any cost, will never compromise with the world. If the majority is going this way, he will go the other way regardless of what other people say about him because he follows what his heart dictates or what he firmly believes. Sounds like a movie character right? These people who are righteous, gracious, wise, but never lost the common touch are the sons of God, sons of righteousness.

Note that ‘sons’ is not gender-based. Son is used to term a child. Sons of God are the children of God. They are the one who have the very character of God. They are the carbon copies of Jesus when He was on earth.

These people have a molded character. When they were young, they were foolish. But because of their determination to pass through the fire (mistakes, trials and tests) without giving up, they grew up having a character that is similar to a refined gold. They grew up as men and women. Not all men are men. Not all women are women. Many are still just like little children. It makes sense that Paul wrote this before the bolded verse at the start of this article.

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

My boss, for example, is a person tested in fire. That’s why she has developed her own unique character. It is probably the reason why the Lord placed me in my current job. He wants me to show a close visual example of a son of God. My boss is not born again. But her character is like that of a real Jesus disciple. I told myself, if only she would be born again, she can be a powerful and influential evangelist.

In relation to this, gusto kong i-share yung sinabi sakin ni Lord after watching X-Men first class. He asked me a surprising question. “Did you see me in the movie?” I was like “You were there? Where?”

“I was Xavier.”

First, I am somewhat surprised that God wants to talk to me about X-men. As if He read my mind, He asked me “Why not? All things are holy unto Me.” Then I started thinking how similar is God to the human character of Xavier and He was right. I don’t want to be a spoiler but Xavier’s mentoring on how to utilize the young mutant’s power is like Jesus mentoring me on how to utilize God’s power in me the way He wants it to. I thought to myself “I wish I had an Xavier. I want to learn more amazing things about myself. “

God told me that no matter how you look at it, if you have watched the whole x-men installment, Xavier was the most powerful mutant that was there. Not through might but by love. (Not to mention telepathy is a supreme mutant power…nerd alert, nerd alert =))

But God told me “You won’t need an Xavier. You already have Me.”

The cool part is, God told me I was like one of the mutants there. When I thought about it, God was right. But whoever that is, it’s for me to know and for you to never find out unless God reveals it to you. =3

I, too, long for the manifestation of the sons of God. The whole world does. They just don’t realize it.

But instead of waiting, God invites us to be one of the sons. God’s will for us is to be one of them, one of the Bride, a genuine follower of Christ. Can you feel the shift in the spirit world? Those who are intimate with Christ are aware of this shift.

God is in a hurry in calling out His bride. God is in a hurry awakening His bride. There is an outpouring of God’s Spirit in all flesh. People are being drawn to God.

The world awaits for the sons of God. Come!

¹⁷ The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.

Revelations 22:17

Something For Those Who Believe 7

Do you believe in the spirit world? You better, or you are fighting on the wrong ground.

“Missing Key: Leaning Not on Our Own Understanding”

Sa totoo lang, mahirap gawin ito. We feel so secure in depending on the knowledge we know about life. We always say that this is how it will go. This is how it will turn out. This is ‘based on my experience.’ Nothing is wrong with relying on our own knowledge. It’s just that when we get used to it, we close ourselves to a lot of other new possibilities.

Alam ko to dahil ako ito. I’m the type of person who totally relies on what I know or what I foresee. Kaya when things don’t happen the way I expect it to happen, I just get really pissed and frustrated.

I am used to depending on myself. I am not used to trusting God in all my ways YET. It is a learning process. I believe it is a learning process for all of us. This trait of mine hinders me from discovering the genuine God. Leaning on our own understanding limits us in knowing fully the real God of heaven and earth.

Wag nating kalimutan na our minds are very limited. God is too big for us to figure out. If eternity is not enough to figure out God, what more us… I like the song “greatness of our God.”

And no sky contains

No doubt restrains

All you are

The greatness of our God

I spend my life to know

And I’m far from close

To all you are

The greatness of our God

If we try to understand God based on our understanding, we will never know Him. If we limit our understanding of God based on what the bible describes Him, we will never know the real God. If you notice, even the Bible itself suffers lack of words in describing the awesomeness of God.

All I’m saying is that we should not put God in a box. God can do great and mighty things far beyond what our minds can comprehend. He can answer our prayers in unimaginable ways.

It’s a matter of trust. I’m also talking to myself because I am having a hard time trusting God in certain matters. Nasanay nako na dumepende sa sarili ko. But I know God can do more and I know I should learn to trust God.

So how do we put Him in a box? Through our expectations. We pray to God. And in our minds, we already have an idea of how he will answer our prayers. That’s a clear example of putting God in a box. Hindi utusan si Lord, right? May sarili siyang utak. May sarili siyang pag-iisip. May sarili siyang will. Madalas kung anong nasa isip Niya, yun ang salungat ng nasa isip natin.

Tapos ang nangyayari madalas, nagkakasalisi. Without us knowing, God has already answered our prayers and we become bitter and mad at God dahil hindi nasagot yung prayer natin the way we expect God to answer it.

We should not expect God to act using human ways. We should expect God to act supernaturally because that’s what He is, a supernatural God. Our minds comprehend the natural, not the supernatural. That’s why we tend to think naturally, kasi yun ang naiintindihan natin. We are naturally prisoners of logic.

God is a supernatural God. And what’s supernatural, we barely understand unless God reveals to us Himself. The things of the Spirit are supernatural. He speaks through dreams. Joseph the dreamer is a dream interpreter. Kung mapapansin mo, the dream that pharaoh had cannot be understood easily. Maski yung wise men niya hindi kayang mai-interpret yun. It takes a spirit-led man to interpret the things of the Spirit. A dream can be a thing of the Spirit. God speaks through dreams kaya it might be better to write a journal of the things you dream about. Hindi man mainterpret agad, at later time, it will be.

Example, the death of my lola was revealed to me through a dream.

The dream started with an earthquake. My family is in the house. And I saw the floor break. But all inside the house were safe.

After lola’s death was the only time I understood the meaning of the dream which I wrote. I know it was kinda pointless but, it just proved to me the God already told me this. It’s just that I didn’t care to ask for further interpretation. The interpretation is this.

The house represents myself. There’s gonna be a major event in my life that will break me. But none of me shall fall.

In addition, before the shaking in my life happened, God had a word for me. He told me this ‘ the enemy is at the door. He will come but he shall not succeed.’

The enemy did attack me through the sadness and depression I felt. Honestly, no one did console me. Those people I expected to comfort me did not. But God did and He led me to victory. The enemy did not win. Obviously, he lost. The only time he will win is if I backslide as a Christian. But I didn’t, praise God!

I know it pissed the enemy. Kaya nga after it, I had a dream of a tricycle driver who was mad at me. He told me na “babalikan kita.” I got the feeling that he has four more companions when he gets back. The Lord interpreted the dream to me. He said that the enemy will have a double effort in gaining me for Satan. Because demons who failed their missions will get severe punishment from their master. Based on the experiences I am having now, I can say that devils assigned to me are doing their best to get me. Kaso, the more they try to mess with me, the more I cling to my Lord.

Speaking in tongues is supernatural. People do not believe in it because it seems strange. If that’s how they will think, then that’s what they will say to the other manifestations of God to the point of blasphemy. When we proclaim that the works of the Spirit are evil, we are already committing blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. And that’s the only unforgivable sin there is.

Leaning on our own understanding makes us close-hearted to prophets. We rarely believe that God really talked to them. We rarely believe on the Lord’s visitation to people because we do not welcome supernatural events. I wonder why people easily believe on ghosts and yet do not believe on the Holy Ghost and His works.

Naniniwala tayo sa mga sapi-sapi, yet kapag nasapian ng Espirito Santo, hindi tayo makapaniwala. The irony nga naman. Pwes eto, if you believe in ghosts, you better believe that these “ghosts” you see fear the Holy Ghost who have created them. And if these “ghosts” can manifest themselves, so can the Holy Ghost.

People who don’t believe in the supernatural are those who won’t experience them. If you are a Christian, whether you like it or not, you are living a supernatural life. The problem is, some do not acknowledge it. Some do not operate in it.

Stop rebuking the devil. Ain’t gonna work if you do not believe in the supernatural. Para ka lang nagrerebuke ng hangin. The devil knows the place you are rebuking him. Are you rebuking him in the flesh or in the spirit? In the normal or in the supernatural?

We all need to activate our spiritual senses. When we got born again, we now have ten senses. We need to activate the spiritual ones because we are in a spiritual warfare. A spiritual warfare cannot be battled by flesh or by mere quotes from the Bible without fully understanding what we say. It is battled through the spirit and in the Spirit.

Complacency kills. If you are complacent about your salvation, be very careful. The devil can deceive you and snatch you to himself. If you do not operate in the spirit, you will be easily deceived. We are in the end times. The devil is making a very huge effort to deceive even the elect, if possible. But the elect are those who are spiritually aware and are spiritually intimate with Jesus.

The kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom. The supernatural world has a lot of things that we humans will not understand. That’s why we trust on the One who made the supernatural world. He created it and functions through it. Miracles that take place do not originate in the physical realm but in the spiritual.

God is just too big for our minds to comprehend. Trust Him and lean not on your own understanding, nor on the understanding of others. Let not logic imprison you. Logic has been broken by God ever since. Logic is man-made. Even scientists are having a hard time understanding the universe with plain logic.

When you make a study about the kingdom principles, you will find out that a lot of them are nonsense in the physical realm. Most of the time, God uses the nonsense to bring down the proud and the haughty. Only to those who love God does He reveal the wisdom behind the nonsense.

In Christianity you will find the greatest nonsense reversals ever. Like

· The first will be the last and the last will be the first

· Christianity promotes peace but it teaches warfare

· Virgin gives birth

· The who are alive are dead but those who are now dead are made alive

· The rich is poor but the poor is made rich

· Those who can see are blind but those who are blinded can see

· In this world, great is the proud and high. In God, great is the humble and lowly

· Love your enemies

· We were given back our freedom to be slaves of righteousness

· Etc

I hope you get my point. Reading this in a human level will not get you anywhere. These are all nonsense to human logic. But in the spirit, these nonsense make the most perfect sense.

This is who our God is. You got to believe it.

Abba,

Help me not lean on my own understanding. Help me trust you more by being open to ways that I do not understand. Release me from logic’s grasp. May your wisdom fill me and may you activate my spiritual senses so that I can receive and understand the things of the Spirit.

In Jesus’ Name. Amen.