FIGHT!

This year, I've participated again in our church's prayer and fasting week. Our main topic for 2014 is to fight the good fight of faith. It focuses on the verses that chronicled the components of the armor and weapon that every Christian must wear--the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes with the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of spirit.

As we concluded the prayer and fasting, I've got a new-found appreciation for the Word. I find the last piece of our battle suit to be the most powerful above all: the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. I justify that conclusion with this simple thought that I had during the prayer and fasting: all the other pieces are from the Word!

I've already encountered these verses (Ephesians 6:10-17) on one of my personal bible reading sessions. I can't recall exactly when that was, but I remember being in awe of the Word--of how specific it can actually get and how beautifully written it actually is. I was just new with my faith then, and almost everything in the Bible either leaves me with a smile on my face or tears in my eyes. Up to this day, the Word still does that to me.

It's almost next to impossible not to be moved and be struck by God's word. If you aren't, then you haven't fully understood what you've just read. You haven't dug your Bible so deep that you got lost in the midst of God's glorious wonders. You haven't appreciated your Lord and Savior yet.

Without knowing the Word, we won't even know what we'll need to protect, how to be ready for the battle, and why we have to put this armor on all the time. Ultimately, it is only through seeking God can we equip ourselves to fight the enemy. And that is to be done through studying the Word. The Bible is our ultimate guide and most reliable resource in order to have a deeper understanding of God's true nature, His power above all, and His beautiful promises to us.

The word of God are so many things to us: it is our foundation, our daily bread, our life map, our virtue manual, our life coach, our companion, our weapon. It is our friend and companion. It is God Himself (John 1:1). By that alone, you can not not feel closer to our greatest Lover while reading His word. You are reading Him.

But you can't just read Him--you need to understand Him! Plant the Word deep into your heart as you read it and meditate on its message. Seek help if you're having difficulties interpreting it. It is a true delight to one's heart once he got to decipher God's messages of love for him, I tell you. It's one of the most intimate 'bonding time' that you could ever have with our Father. With praying, we let Him hear our hearts... but with reading His word, we let Him speak to our hearts.

Truly knowing the Word means truly knowing God. And truly knowing God means being truly ready to face and crush the enemy. Anytime, anywhere.

Let's get it on!

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Did you pray and fast for this year, too? Share with me your experiences and reflections! You may also share your faith goals to me and I'd gladly pray for you and with you.

Special thanks to Victory for organizing our prayer and fasting week very well!

Discipleship 2013

* This is a late post regarding last month's event in VCF. * 

What wisdom do you have if you do not share it? And what wisdom do you boast if it is not from you?

Last month (February 9), I was privileged to attend the annual leadership conference of the Victory Christian Fellowship. Helping two beautiful young women now with their first steps in their walk with God through One2One, I am now considered a leader. But what is a leader, really?

Out of the various denotation of the word leader that I've searched, I love these two the most:

First, a leader is a guide. Being a leader already implies that you are able to pull other people to a certain goal or vision. But do all leaders really guide?

Imagine yourself in a car drive--your leader is the driver and you (a follower) is his passenger. The driver have in mind a specific place to arrive at and he's already shared that to you (that's why you came with him). Now, if the driver only steered and kept the engine running without explaining the route that you're taking or introducing the facades that you're passing through, chances are, you will arrive at your destination as if they've been blindfolded during their trip; you are no different from the person that hopped on to the ride. You were unchanged from point A to point B.

Taking up the responsibility of bringing people from one point to another doesn't only mean that you'll get them there; you must also ensure that you get them there prepared and well. You ain't just a driver--you'd be a tour guide.

Secondly, a leader conducts. He is the prime mover of the group. In our case, God is our ultimate leader (Revelation 17:14), and everyone that He called on to lead are His workers who are envisioned to follow Christ's example and teachings. Faith without action is dead (James 2:26), and so, leading with just words are futile. If God truly is the Director of our lives, you--as a leader--ain't just a storyteller or a narrator, but is an actor of God's will in His play. If your disciples aren't seeing any desirable acts and example done by you, how and why would they follow you, and ultimately, God? This case would be worse if you're teaching them something then acting out the exact opposite of your message--that's hypocrisy. You're performing before people, but that does not please God. That will just blow your credibility and your own spiritual growth.

Also, I finally realized my ultimate goal as a leader: raising a better leader than what I already am. Then, our services for Him will go on and on and on...

Overall, this leaders' convention taught me many things, and I got to share my thoughts, too. This is what I love about being a leader--I don't have to stand alone! I've got God--the ultimate source of Wisdom--and I've got these amazing people--the other leaders--with me to guide and counsel me all through out. Being a leader doesn't mean that you've got to raise your disciples on your own. It is actually an effort of the whole church in itself, just as what was proven in Discipleship 2013; we're all in this together!

And I smile for that.

:( count: 4

:) count: 9

Starting my year with more of HIM!

Two weeks ago, I participated in the annual Prayer and Fasting of the Victory Christian Fellowship. It was my first time in doing so, and honestly, I have not prepared for it physically. I have been praying about this fasting long before (since I first heard about it), but I never knew that I should have gradually prepared my physical body, too. And due to being a first timer, I was advised not to do the water only or liquid fast so I opted to take only two servings of oatmeal a day--a very challenging take to my body which was accustomed to 'eat-whenever-you-want-and-don't-if-you-don't-feel-like-it'. But thanks to God's unfailing guidance and sustenance, I have gone through the week without any difficulties.

Now that I look back at it, that week was actually one of my most peaceful and fast-paced week, ever. I learned and digested a lot with what our praying and fasting handbook offered us. And during those five days of praying, meditating, reading and just talking to Him (while doing school works and stuff and everything in between), aside from what our handbook taught me, I got to realize these five things:

#1: We allocate/spend so much time and money on food

First of all, I should clarify that I found nothing wrong about this. It's just that I have failed to see this before in my self and was actually surprised by this mere fact: we do spend a lot and eat a lot! I think we people eat like we breathe. Being a student, fueling up to get by tons of school work and spending hours in school, most of our allowance goes down the drain for food. From our lunches to small confections like candies and gums, I saw for the first time what we use our mouths for the most--it's either by talking or eating. On normal days, we spend more time chewing something off than reading the bible or praying or meditating. And since it is my first time defying my physical body's needs in order to focus more on Him, I realized that if I get to combine all the time I spend eating and devoting it to my quiet time, I think I might have finished all my unread/pending inspirational books and some books in the bible I've been targeting to finish by now.

I should work on managing my time and spending on food that my body desires and indulge and focus more on what would satisfy my deepest hunger--the bread of life.


#2: We have too many 'pop-up' priorities

You alone are God of all. You alone are worthy, Lord!

You know about those things that aren't really in your schedule, and yet when it comes to your attention, it suddenly holds all of your focus and worry that you think that you just got to do it, ASAP! I think everyone has experienced that. I did, and I still do. And we have sooooo many of those pop-up priorities that most of the times, we spend our times just worrying about them and letting that worry eat up our time. Then, we'd fail to attend to even a single one in our agenda and we end up not finishing anything. Sometimes, by just thinking about those, they could literally sucks up all your energy! No matter how much we try to organize, there'd still be a sudden thing that will come up and these may cloud our judgement and priority setting.

Having to fast for the first time, I just realized how much pop-ups I encounter mainly because I had more time being preoccupied by quietness and stillness (and by that, I don't mean that my quiet time is nothing. I do it as a personal 'emptying time'--an intimate moment where I try to detach myself from this world and just be in His presence.) But I realized that there's a dangerous part right there: emptying yourself makes you vulnerable to anything that wants to enter you. So here's what I concluded: for every ounce of anything that I'll empty my self of, I shall acquire a ton of God's greatness in me to fill that gap so that nothing and no one else--not even the dirty tactics of the enemy--may infiltrate my frail and human heart. Do not let yourself be a prey to the hungry lion (1 Peter 5:8). Pray for His guidance and security of keeping you away from the enemy's darkness.


#3: We fail to pray for what isn't within our grasp

With all I am I live to see Your kingdom come, and in my heart I pray you'd let Your will be done.

As our busy life goes, we tend to do or attend to things that we need right now or to get what the moment calls for. It's the same with our faith; we pray for things that we need/want right away. It's like acknowledging things just because they've come to our attention now, praying earnestly for it, though in the past, you might have never even thought of it. What kind of trust are we showing Him when we do that? Is that the right display of our surrender to His will and power over us?

I learned from this realization that this isn't how God wants us to communicate with Him. I realized that we should always pray for whatever God has planned for us even long before it is to be revealed. We do have an assurance that God has planned each and every detail of our lives (Jeremiah 29:11), and yet, why do we still get surprised or scared whenever a new wind blows our way? Praying in advance for the unknown brings comfort and peace inside of us that only God could instill in us. And when we practice this--praying for everything that His plans for our future holds--whenever grand things come our way (may it be blessings or struggles) we would be at ease knowing that God will get you through anything. Trusting Him completely and laying everything down to Him is the key for that inner peace that everyone desires! (Psalms 62:8)


#4: Strengthening my faith means that I should become weaker

...'til I see You face to face and grace amazing takes me home, I'll trust in You!

Out of all the new year prayers that my friends have shared with me, one have struck me to be the most eccentric and most interesting. He concluded his message to me with a "... and above all, I pray that you become weaker this 2013!" Of course my initial reaction was... "WHAAAAAAAAT?" Then I realized as he explained that "I am praying for that because you got to be weak so you'd be more dependent on Him!" And then, I got his point. The irony of that message was written in John 3:30; Having less of our self means more space for God in our lives. Humbling our self means more glory to our Father. One might say, 'What if you'll loose your identity in the process, being all clingy and relying too much on God?' Well, what's wrong with that? That's actually how God wants us to be! What other identity do you need other than the one that you have in Christ and Christ has in you? Also, being dependent on Him about everything means acknowledging His overall control in our lives and not relying on our imperfect thinking, reasoning and feelings on how to live each day. It doesn't mean that we're just gonna sit back, relax, do all the praying and not move an inch; it simply means that we'd use all the things that God blesses us with with our lives but more importantly, that we'd trust and owe Him whatever fruits our works may bear.


#5: I have an unlimited access to Him

You are the voice that called the universe to be, You are the whisper in my heart that speaks to me.

This concept isn't new to me, but going through the praying and fasting week, I appreciated it more than I did before. Basically having more spare time (like my lunch and dinner time) than the usual, my mind was constantly preoccupied by Him! It may be a word or a verse that He let me read at that time, or maybe a situation on my present time that He's brought up to my vision. Well, whatever it may be, He just practically talked and talked to me, and I was freely talking to Him, too! It feels good that we are blessed to have this never-ending connection with Him that no matter what I'm doing or wherever I am, I have the privilege and liberty to talk to Him and Him to me. It made me feel closer and more intimate with Him. We have a real relationship! We communicate and interact. We both take our time talking and listening. And I am deeply grateful about how much He welcomes me into His greatness.

All in all, I may not have readied my body for the physical challenges that I have undergone during the fasting, but ultimately, I now know this for certain: no matter how much you think you are ready for His blessings and wisdom, you'll always be a child in awe of what He'll give, show and let you know. I am in awe of Him! Always. :)

[All the lyrics quoted in this entry was from the song 'Til I See You by Hillsong]