Out of Stifled Annoyance

1 Samuel 4:6-8

Hearing the uproar, the Philistines asked, "What's all this shouting in the Hebrew camp?" When they learned that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp, ⁷ the Philistines were afraid. "A god has come into the camp," they said. "We're in trouble! Nothing like this has happened before. ⁸ Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? They are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the desert.

These people are afraid of what you're carrying. If you become afraid of them  (unknowingly, you're both afraid of each other), then you'll end up losing them.

Remember a magnet.

You know that negative poles don't attract each other. They repel. How can you "pull" that person to His kingdom if you have the same "charge" with that person? Be positive so that you'll be able to attract negative ones.You're blessed if that person already has that desire to be with Him.

Remember polarity. 

Like dissolves like; polar substances dissolve polar substances.With human strength, it may be easy to win them but both negligence and complacency are still not an option.

To everyone who believes, be bold. For in boldness will we be able to become resistant strains. Even their gods bow to our God, 1 Samuel 5:4 "But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the LORD! His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained." Be strong. Do not be afraid.

I remembered this, "Maayo na lang ng Diosnon kesa sa Demonyohon."

Bato-bato sa langit ang tamaan mag-repent.

Protect yourself. Get a Bible and read a chapter daily.

Blogger plus Messages to some of my friends. Check mo if kasali ka.

Done refurbishing my blogger site! Whew.  Check it out.

Anyhow, sa mga Facebook friends (since gi-synch nako akong FB and Blogger long time ago):

Ate Bek, 6,467.00 sa amo ni Tatay.

Kuya Butch, unsa jud specifically akong i-search atong vid regarding transformation? Taas man diay ang tong kay Miles Monroe na vid. Hehe.

Ya Tads, Tay Ken, and Ya Arnie, di nako mabasa inyong notes.

Janie vieve, Charm, and Carla, and lain tao na nag-grad sa SOL2 and Post-Enc kanina, congrats. =]

FoodTech a.k.a. Theta-Phi, i-update pud ko ninyo sa everything pag makita ta sa real life situtations. Haha. Ayaw pud mo ug post ug data sa FB kay unfair.

Sa mga naay photos nako, please ayaw i-upload tong pangit ko. Haha.

Justin Beltran, to my cell members, and to my other friends, if sa FB ko nimo/ninyo gina-contact, di ko mag-access sa FB. Pero tuloy gihapon atong open cell (yey!) every Wed. =]

Everyone, you can reach me through my site. You can post your comments there even if di kayo members.

Follow my other accounts (e.g. Twitter, Plurk, Multiply, etc), especially this site. God be with you. =]  

8 Things A Good Man Should Do/Be.

January 16, 2009

 

For a thousand times, I have heard of comments from rejected girls, those who suffered from poor relationships, and other sad stories, that good and nice men no longer exist in this world. After hearing these comments, I always cease my egotistical side that wants to defend man's race to avoid further misconception. I would not deny the fact that there exists bad and nasty men who ruin manhood since I know also many guys who are, still, naturally bad and nasty. But generally, I would beg to disagree with these girls since I know many guys who are naturally good and nice. One of them is Boaz.

"Boaz was a very wealthy man who lived in Bethlehem. When Naomi returned to Bethlehem with her widowed daughter-in-law, Ruth, Ruth went into the fields of Boaz to glean. Boaz learned that Ruth's deceased husband was a distant relative of his. 

He acted kindly towards Ruth and instructed his farm workers to leave extra sheaves of barley for her to gather. Ruth had another relative of her late husband who was closer than Boaz.
 

By law, the other relative was obligated to marry Ruth, as stated in Deuteronomy 25:5-10. Boaz confronted the other relative with this law, and after the relative refused to marry Ruth, Boaz agreed to marry Ruth, and to buy the estate of Ruth's deceased husband.
 

After they got married, Ruth had a son named Obed, who became the father of Jesse, who became the father of David. Boaz and Ruth became the great-grandparents of King David.
 

Boaz means "strength." The story of Boaz is found in the Book of Ruth."

Though Boaz is already a nonexistent in this world, men, in this generation, should be like Boaz. Beforehand, I was so focused on Ruth's character that I neglected the essence of Boaz' character. But God revealed to me more than what I asked for. I've outlined below the revelations that I received after reading the three chapters (not only for men but also for women):

1. Don't give false hopes, especially to women. Know your limitations. Protect the women.

 Ruth 3:12-13

"¹² Although it is true that I am a family guardian, there is another who is more closely related than I. ¹³ Stay here for the night, and in the morning if he wants to do his duty as your family guardian, good; let him redeem you. But if he is not willing, as surely as the LORD lives I will do it. Lie here until morning."

We give false hopes. We lie just to let the people around us feel okay. But when the moment comes that they claim our promises to them, we avoid them. Or, even if we can't provide the thing we've promised to the people around us, still we commit. This is a clear premise of giving of false hopes. Stories end up that those people become hurt. This is not a character of a good man.

When Boaz said the statement above, he was sure of everything. He was sure of his words. He did not say these things just to uplift the soul of Ruth, but because he was sure that he'd fulfill his words. He also knew his limitations. He was honest to Ruth that he couldn't accept Ruth immediately because of certain technical reasons. If you read the three chapters, you would notice that Boaz was really concerned with Ruth's welfare. He protected Ruth from hurt.

 

2. Don't be predator. Don't expect someone to stumble.

Ruth 2:15-16

"¹⁵ As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, "Let her gather among the sheaves and don't reprimand her. ¹⁶ Even pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don't rebuke her."

When we know that a person is weak in a certain field, yet that person tries to overcome this weakness, we, on the other hand, expect that person to fail. Instead of encouraging that person or helping him or her, just like what Boaz did to Ruth, we are like predators, preying on someone. Instead of helping that person build his or her good character, we put snares on his or her path. A good man, logically, helps other people to be good.

3. Be patient.

Ruth 3:18

¹⁸ Then Naomi said, "Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled today."

Boaz patiently settled the affairs, though it would be strenuous and would take a long time. Most of us, instead of focusing on our objectives, i.e. help other people, we end up stopping and turning our backs after encountering difficulties. Impatience is not a character of a good man, for a food only becomes good after being heated on a long but proper time.

4. Be kind and helpful to everyone.

Ruth 2:14

¹⁴ At mealtime Boaz said to her, "Come over here. Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar." 

Boaz knew that Ruth was tired and already hungry. According to Mark Twain, “Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the and the blind can see”. Kindness is always heartfelt and knows no person, no boundary, and no fault. It should be given to everyone, whether to your enemy or to your friend. This the true kindness that a good man bears or does. Kindness is not even a response to what your physical eyes have seen, but what your heart wants to do.

5. Don't care about your reputation or social status. Be selfless.

Ruth 4:6

  ⁶ At this, the family guardian said, "Then I cannot redeem it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it."

Firefighters are selfless persons. We should be proud that there are still existing firefighters in the world, willing to risk their lives just to save someone. The family guardian above, on the other hand, is nothing but a selfish person. He was obsessed with his status that instead of helping his own relative, he felt that his status was endangered and thus neglecting the needs of his relative. Sometimes, we do the same thing that the family guardian did. We are like him. We are so afraid to lose something, we are so afraid to feel hurt, we are so afraid to be in shame, that we neglect the urgent needs of our loved ones or even the welfare of this nation. Wake up. If you consider yourself as good, then be selfless. If not, then go somewhere else and don't infect others.

6. Know God.

Ruth 3:13

"But if he is not willing, as surely as the LORD lives I will do it."

In this statement, it can be clearly perceived that Boaz knows God and that he considers God as his God. With God, you know that you need to move forward, be good in a situation, no matter how difficult it may seem. A good man, knows God, the root of goodness.

If you want to be good, then remove your sandal. Ruth 4:7 (Now in earlier times in Israel, for the redemption and transfer of property to become final, one party took off his sandal and gave it to the other. This was the method of legalizing transactions in Israel.). Let the old times of hurting other people, especially women be gone. See every woman as Ruth. Love them, take care of them, preserve them. To everyone, ladies and gentlemen, offer your life for a very good reason; seek eternity, seek Him. 

Confessions of a Facebook Addict.

According to Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, there are five levels of basic needs and these five levels are displayed in the diagram below:

All of us would agree that the needs pointed out by Maslow are indeed needs, and failure to meet one of these needs would lead to an undesired result. But now that I've temporarily cut myself off from Facebook, am I now suffering this undesired result?

Facebook-ing is a legal way of connecting to people, and thus satisfies our social needs. But when the moment comes that we find ourselves in front of the monitor, still Facebooking, despite the fact that we haven't satisfied our physiological needs and even the self-actualization needs, then there must be something wrong with us. Addiction. And there are two key elements that constitute the working definition of addiction (Henderson, 2000): 

1. loss of control over the use of substance or a thing, and 

2. continued use despite negative consequences 

The first thing that I check whenever I open my Firefox is my Facebook account. Is that addiction? Socially constructed meaning of addiction might agree that the said activity is, yes, accountable to addiction. But the loss of control stuff is quite graspable and even the "continued use despite negative consequences." Last year, I did not well in my lab reports or other scholarly activities because of my addiction to Facebook. I didn't have control. Even in my relationship to God was affected since the time that I should be spending with God, went instead to my new god, Facebook. And yes, despite the negative consequences, I still excessively used Facebook.

To clear things out, I'm not saying that Facebook is the root of all evil. No, it isn't. You can do a lot of good things in Facebook such as posting you laboratory data or just checking out some friends. But when self-discipline loses itself from you, then that is evil. Self-discipline is a hard thing especially for those people who weren't brought up by their parents with genuine displine. It's difficult to discipline yourself especially when you've already felt that sense of happiness. Facebook makes me happy. But the negative consequences of my addiction to Facebook make me ill, in all aspects of my life.

Being a Facebook addict is difficult. I already miss stalking, posting interesting and uninteresting statuses,ut nope, I haven't thrown any pillow. Right now, perhaps I am suffering from post-something (I forgot the term, it's similar to what you feel after you've cut yourself off from smoking, though I haven't really tried smoking) and that's why I'm writing all these things. I am about to encounter a relapse. Relapse is inevitable. But I will stand firm, enduring what I've previously assured to my King.

Just want to share my devo:

Acts 3:16

"By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see."

Be a firefighter.

Firefighter

Brave.

Risk-taker.

Knows his purpose - To save people from flames.

Hasty / time-conscious.

Doesn't delay.

Gives his best just to protect the people.

Knows no age, no social status, and so on.

Willing to lose his own life.

What if His people Prayed

WHAT IF HIS PEOPLE PRAYED
CASTING CROWNS

What if the armies of the Lord
Picked up and dusted off their swords
Vowed to set the captive free
And not let satan have one more

What if the Church, for heaven's sake
Finally stepped up to the plate
Took a stand upon God's promise
And stormed hell's rusty gates

Chorus I:
What if His people prayed
And those who bear His name
Would humbly seek His faith, yeah
And turn from their old ways

And what would happen if we prayed
For those raised up to lead the way
Then maybe kids in school could pray
And unborn children see light of day

What if the life that we pursue
Came from a hunger for the truth
What if the family turned to Jesus
Stopped asking Oprah what to do

Chorus I:
What if His people prayed
And those who bear His name
Would humbly seek His face yeah
And turn from their own way
Chorus II:
He said that He would hear
His promise has been made
He'll answer loud and clear, yeah
If only we would pray

Bridge:
If My people called by My name
If they'll humble themselves and pray
If My people called by My name
If they'll humble themselves and pray

Choruses:
What if His people prayed
And those who bear His name
Would humbly seek His face, yeah
And turn from their old ways
He said that He would hear
His promise has been made
He'll answer loud and clear yeaah
If only we would pray

(Choruses and bridge ad lib)

Morning Session with my Rock

 

There are times that we lack the courage to take another step, times when we fear to move into the next level. You’re maybe thinking about your current situation in your home, or perhaps in school where your classmates think that you’re that type of i-gotta-get-all-the-1.0s-in-the-world person, or even at work where your workmates think that you’re the boss’ pet. 

Today is October 28 and the month’s about to end. I remembered my last Youth Reload Cafe (if you’re wondering what this thing is, well, it’s a Christian gathering, or party ‘yay’, to celebrate and know more about God and to empower us, especially on our spiritual side) for cell leaders last October 13, which reminded me of going to the next level. We were challenged to do many things such as having n x 2, where n = current number of cell groups, cell groups, and so on. At this very point of time, after assessing myself, I haven’t actually gone to the level that I am supposed to be at.
 

Yes, I managed to graduate on my Post-Encounter class and I believe that’s already a big thing. But on the other aspects of my life: academics, cell group, my being a disciple, a son to my family, a friend, on my finances and time, and so on, my feet seemed to be immobilized by a magnet. What is this magnet? Fear.
 

When we climb to reach the top of the mountain, we experience varying environments. As we increase our altitude, the more problems we would encounter such as the change in temperature, pressure, oxygen availability, and many more, which could really result to fatal conditions. Not only that, huge amount of energy would really be needed to reach the top of the mountain. Those are what I am afraid of, the consequences of my actions.
 

To be in the next level means a different environment, i.e. an environment with more problems and trials. After graduating my post-encounter class, I realized that that wasn’t the end of the process; I still need to enrol on the School of Leaders class, which they say has more requirements and a lot difficult compared to the Post-Encounter class. Not only that, Satan would really strengthen his plans to beat me down by using my family perhaps to stop me from continuing the process, or making me busy in my academic life next semester to forget about evangelism or devotion. And, what most Christians fear of: persecution. Increasing the number of my cell groups means that I would need to meet more people, who could possibly persecute me or what. My father is even back in persecuting me. Perhaps some of my friends already think that I’m delusional, when I send them godly messages.
 

But I already anticipated these things to happen.
 

“In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted...”(2 Timothy 3:12).
 

Yes, living a life as a Christian is hard. The consequences are to be feared of. But is this my fight? No. It’s His fight. I may have this fear, but because I’m under the grace of God, I believe I can do all of these things. People may think that I’m delusional, but let’s see who gets delusional when death comes. I may have fear inside my heart, but because of His overwhelming love, I feel secured. After all these things I said, though it’s a bit scary, but let’s see where my faith can take me. I want to keep my faith and fight the good fight. I will obey everything that He commands me to do, for faith is next to obedience. Let’s see where He is heading my life. It’s time to denature fear, and learn trust.
 

“But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry” (2 Timothy 4:5). Time to start the evangelism.
 

By the way, this should be a 2:18 am post.