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...

     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 ...

He whom the Lord loves, He disciplines. If you experience correction in your walk, rejoice. Not everyone is NOT left to their own destructive paths and ways. You hear the voice of God that reproves. Other have only silence. Every christian walking in his earthly journey still has a lot of learning and unlearning to do. If you see God’s hands coming down to you, and with great might, find comfort in this: that He makes your crooked ways straight. His hands are not to condemn you, but to correct you. So HATE your sin, Christian. Know that each crooked act and way is an offense against the Almighty God. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Mortify your sins; do not give any room for them, not even their shadow. Flee from them and their temptations. Discipline yourself, beat your body black and blue, lest you become disqualified and you fail to meet the test. Strip off your sinful and crooked ways, lest you find yourself unfit for the Kingdom. But also, learn to kiss the waves that ...