Grace, Grace and More Grace!

It has been a while since my last entry. Pero talagang ganyan ang buhay. There is a time for giving and a time for receiving. May time for sowing at may time for reaping.

Pakiramdam ko these past few weeks, I have been receiving lessons from the Lord.

And there is one lesson I would like to share to the few but many readers of this mumunting blog site. There is one lesson na kala ko alam ko na and still, was enabled to learn more about it….GRACE.

Often times we define GRACE as unmerited favor from the Lord. That is right. Kaso the modern-day church has over-emphasized this incomplete meaning of grace kaya na-iba narin ang definition. Grace became so mababaw and earthly. So the definition of real prosperity became earthly narin.

Pero grace, to complete the meaning, is major-majorly the POWER THAT ENABLES us to live and continue walking a holy life. Grace is the power given us to enable us to desire, love, and obey His commandments by heart.

Without it, living a holy life is impossible. Without it, pleasing God with our lives will be impossible. Without it, we are no different from the non-believers.

I would like to share how the Lord taught me this very important teaching.

Bago pinakawalan ni Lord si Perding sa Pinas, He made it rain unexpectedly sa Maynila. I got a text from my mom who stayed in our Tagaytay house for a long time. The text says we will eat outside together with my brother.

I was very excited to go home. Kaso the Lord has released a strong rain that delayed my trip home. Knowing my type, sobrang na-frustrate ako. I complained sa lahat ng nakita ko. I complained about the people who took so long to enter the bus. I complained why it has to stop to the next station knowing na puno na. I pitied myself. “Eh ganito talaga ang buhay ng empleyadong hindi kumikita ng malaki.” (Oh gosh, I was horrible.)

This was the time when in me was a spiritual fuse. Spiritual Fuse is a term na natutunan ko from Ms. Meyer recently. It happens when the flow of the grace of God is blocked and in effect, we seem to have lost our Christian values.

The traffic was heavy at coastal road (as expected). I gave up. I asked the Lord to calm my soul because I was tired. Then the Lord spoke. He said He will teach me a very important lesson after this test.

And yes, He did. After listening to the teachings of Ms. Meyer, the Holy Spirit taught me the “very important lesson.”

Ms. Meyer identified the two major blockers of grace. One is complaining. Two is self-pity. At SWAK na SWAK talaga. Exactly what happened.

Then I tried to test myself. I told the Lord hindi na ako mag-cocomplain. So the day after the day I listened to Meyer, I was surprised to know that complaining became an automatic response for me. Natakot ako.

Yung mga simple comments na “anu ba yan!” “nakaka-asar!” “hay nako!” have become so natural for me. And because complaining became a habit, I found myself involved in self-pity which in effect made me feel tired, stressed, and worn-out for the past few weeks.

Truly, the grace of God was blocked. I even lost temptation battles because there was no supply of grace left.

I believe every serious disciple of Christ like us have encountered scenarios when we seem to have lost our Christian values. And with repentance comes the grace that will help us stand again.

We often think that we need to live a holy life. It is true. But doesn’t it make you feel a bit pressured? Having in mind na you have to live a holy life, tapos pag nagkaron ng spiritual fuse, feeling natin we messed up big time!

So the Lord told me “then live a holy day.”

Ting! Parang light bulb na biglang umilaw matapos mapundi, I got that very-important-lesson…My grace is sufficient for this day.

The battle of Christians is every day. Things that will try to steal our peace, our joy, our strength, etc., will come unexpectedly day by day. But the grace of God is sufficient enough for us to overcome and win the battle for this day.

I suddenly felt rested kasi yung goal ko to live a holy life now became living this day holy unto God. And since I am assured that the grace of God is sufficient for this day, I have faith that I will overcome the battle for this day.

I do not worry about tomorrow anymore because I know there will be grace sufficient enough for tomorrow. My battle is today. My battle is this day. So I need to prepare for this day. Parang mas dumali, di ba?

Paul was given a thorn in His flesh. Every Christian, I believe, is given a thorn in the flesh. I have a thorn in the flesh that I want to get delivered from. Everyday I am anxiously praying for my deliverance. Pero now, I feel relieved. Kung meron man akong struggle, because of the grace of God, I will overcome the struggle for the day. And tomorrow will worry about itself.

If you have cancer or a disease, pray for healing. But if healing does not come today, you will still feel okay. Why? The grace of God for today is sufficient enough to enable you to have hope that you will receive healing.  

If you have a problem in the office, pray for guidance. But if it does not come today, you will still be able to maintain your cool. Why? The grace of God for today is sufficient enough to enable you to rejoice in the middle of your situation.

If you don’t have money to buy food for today, pray for provision. But if it does not come yet, you will still be peaceful. Why?  The grace of God for today is sufficient enough to enable you to believe that the Lord loves you more than the birds in the air. If He feeds them, what more you!

Oh this just makes me want to praise the Lord and sing Hallelujah! Whohoo!

This very-important-lesson has good effects in my attitude.

One is, it helps me not judge Christians who have acted like they’re unbelievers. Now I understand what probably happened why they reacted like that.

Another is, it helps me enjoy my day which is also through His grace. Hindi mabigat. Almost guilt-free.

Lastly, and the most important effect, I realized that I won’t last a day without the Lord Jesus. That truly, I am nothing without Him. That I am no-different from non-believers without Jesus. It helps me not boast of “my spirituality.” All these maturity in Christ are all because of Him and through the grace that was given to me after He died on the cross.

Everyday, I pray: Lord, give me the grace that will enable me not to complain, grumble, and pity myself. Give me the grace that will enable me to worship you in spirit and in truth. Give me the grace that will enable me to enjoy my day in purpose. Give me the grace that will enable me to win over my oppressors for this day. Give me the grace to live out this day holy unto you.

Truly Lord, I am nothing without you. So I pray for your grace, grace and more grace. Thank you Lord that I have an abundant supply of grace in You. In Jesus’ name. Amen!

I will end this entry with a question. Isn’t this the real meaning of prosperity?