Reminiscing Truths ⚓

It doesn’t take an expert to notice that in the span of almost 7 months, the world has drastically changed. From your everyday-normal activities, it’s like the world has suddenly shut down or gone into sleep mode. Such a steep turn in history. Of course, all sectors are inevitably affected—including churches. I could still remember March 15—several months ago, but it felt like a lifetime ever since. That week was the first implementation of the ECQ, and while SGC was able to gather as a church then, people from the south like us weren’t able to come due to border restrictions. What we all thought would be a month of non-gathering stretched on to two. Three. Seven months. A lot has changed since the first lockdown. In our church life alone, we haven’t had physical gatherings since March; we left our church building that we’ve had for seven years. And on the individual level, the pandemic has been nothing short of a super magnifier—of the heart, the intentions, the priorities in life. It...

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Romans 12:1 (ESV)                     I have been pondering upon this thought since early last week when Hapi and I were choosing the hymns for the upcoming Sunday (yesterday). Abba has been preaching a mini-series on Christian Service for some Sundays now. When we were told that the sermon for yesterday would be about the personal application of Christian service, the  Take My Life and Let it Be  hymn immediately came to mind as a fitting hymn of preparation. I'm not sure whether the hymn had a similar scriptural reference, but it turned out to be really such an appropriate hymn to what the sermon discussed. The text was in Romans 12. This topic, of course, has already been preached several times before. It was highlighted in the mini-series on Biblical...

Today marks the last day of SGC’s stay at Intersekt. We have used the place for seven full years; years of witnessing God’s great goodness to such undeserving sinners as we are; years of seeing Him at work—up close and mightily. It was while we were in Intersekt that I personally transitioned from being an idealistic incoming college student to a more sober, calmer, and grace-reliant adult. That building has witnessed so many drastic changes—not just in my life, but in the life of the church as a whole. We were in that building when we’ve lost friends and loved ones; we were there when the Lord has so graciously added new friends and loved ones into the fold, too. Seven of the Youngles were able to stay at Intersekt for our last overnight there yesterday to pack things up and designate which box goes where. I was super privileged and blessed to have been able to come (thanks to Euma for picking me up AND taking me back to my place which is an hour drive away). It was an all-nighter kin...

        I love the fact that the Bible never runs dry of "wonderful words of life." No matter how many times a Christian finishes through the whole Bible, it's always, always  sweeter the next reading. And somehow, there is always something... new.  New, not in the sense that I've never read this part of the Bible before. But it's more of a fresh perspective on the truth that has been there all along. And that's what makes His word even sweeter every time.        And such is Psalm 116 for me. I have always loved the Psalms, even as a kid, but it's only for these past three years that the psalmists' words resonate so deeply with me. The writer of Psalm 119 wasn't exaggerating when he said (v. 71-72), It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes. The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces.  Truly, the more that we are disciplined in the School of Grace, the sweeter...

      I will be honest. I went through last week without daily log of reads. I read and watched, yes, but I couldn't remember which ones I've read on what day. My bad. But one of the books that I've read just last week was William Philip's Why We Pray . It's a rather short read--just 103 pages--but it is ever full. of. beneficial. things. I do think that one of the reasons that I couldn't come up with my usual weekly reading list is because I've been too engaged with this one. I was able to read the book because I've subscribed to Scribd's premium membership (yes, the 1-month Freemium was totally effective on me). I shared my takeaways from the book during our department meeting yesterday, and I thought it's truly worth sharing. So instead of my usual, here are some snippets from the book "Why We Pray" for my reading recommendation. :)      When we think about how we pray, there are two things that the heart is tempted to feel: dep...

     Luzon's ECQ Week 4 coincided with the 2020 Holy Week. Originally, the school calendar indicated Wednesday - Saturday of this week to have no classes. Since the quarantine, however, our principal announced that we would have the entire week off work and encouraged us to have our personal retreat and more time for family prayer. Have I told you how much I'm grateful for this school I work in? No? Let me say it then. I'm truly grateful for MGCNL community, in so many areas.  So I was able to spend more time reading (and watching) more materials this week. At this point, though, I'd like to highlight first how I've been selecting which materials to read/watch.         I understand that in a world where new knowledge would be only a few clicks away, many could be intoxicated, so to speak, with the "power" to know more. But knowledge puffs up. The same authors who have helped countless believers to arrive at a deeper, personal, and experiential ...

      Another week of ECQ flew by. It's funny how, during the first week, the hours seemed to stretch on forever despite the countless things I needed to do for work--online classes, conversion of regular classroom teaching materials to online class-friendly ones, etc. As the ECQ stretches on, however, I realized that my adjustment to this abnormal situation is not as drastic as the others'. Once I've come to think of my stay-at-home days as a replay of my homeschooling days (except for the fact that I'm the teacher now), things are easier to get used to. I've reverted to the same routine, and now we're "getting the hang of it." We also started having more Zoom watch parties, which of course are featured in this week's snippets. :) March 29, Sunday - Day 15       We watched this Sunday night, after our worship service, when the Youngles had a Zoom watch party. The American Gospel: Christ Alone is a documentary film that examines in det...

      So, it happened. Three months into just hearing about the much-dreaded COVID-19, it finally reached Philippine shores and, just a few days ago, has been declared as a locally transmitted disease. This announcement means that it's not only those who had travel history overseas could acquire the virus. It could now be anyone  in the local community. The government's response? Community quarantine. Only people with work and official business must be seen out of their cities. And as the number of positive cases continues to rise (230 cases as of March 20, 12NN), this community quarantine is even made stricter. Now with the whole of Luzon under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), no one had been able to get out of their houses. Cities are locked down, and no one goes in or out aside from the food and essential services providers and medical workers.         My first seven days being "stuck" at my parents' place sure felt like at least th...