KEEP THE FAITH

Keep The Faith

"Let me explain the problem science has with Jesus Christ."The atheist professor of philosophy pauses before his class and then asks one of his new students to stand."You're a Christian, aren't you, son?" "Yes sir," the student says."So you believe in God?" "Absolutely.""Is God good?" "Sure! God's good, and I will Keep The Faith.""Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?" "Yes.""Are you good or evil?" "The Bible says I'm evil."The professor grins knowingly. "Aha! The Bible!" He considers for a moment. "Here's one for you. Let's say there's a sick person over here and you can cure him. You can do it. Would you help them? Would you try?" "Yes sir, I would.""So you're good...!" "I wouldn't say that.""But why not say that? You'd help a sick and maimed person if you could. Most of us would if we could. But God doesn't." The student does not answer, so the professor continues. "He doesn't, does he? My brother was a Christian who died of cancer, even though he prayed to Jesus to heal him. How is this Jesus good? Hmmm? Can you answer that one?" The student remains silent."No, you can't, can you?" the professor says. He takes a sip of water from a glass on his desk to give the student time to relax. "Let's start again, young fella. Is God good?" "Er... Yes," the student says."Is Satan good?" The student doesn't hesitate on this one. "No." "Then where does Satan come from?" The student falters. "From... God..."That's right. God made Satan, didn't he? Tell me, son. Is there evil in this world?" "Yes, sir.""Evil's everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything correct?" "Yes.""So who created evil?" Again, the student has no answer."Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness. All these terrible things, do they exist in this world?" The student squirms on his feet. "Yes.""So who created them?" The student does not answer again, so the professor repeats his question, "Who created them? " There is still no answer. Suddenly the lecturer breaks away to pace in front of the classroom. The class is mesmerized. "Tell me," he continues. "Do you believe in Jesus Christ, son?" The student's voice betrays him and cracks. "Yes, professor. I do." The old man stops pacing. "Science says you have five senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Have you ever seen Jesus?" "No sir. I've never seen Him.""Then tell us if you've ever heard your Jesus?" "No, sir. I have not.""Have you ever felt your Jesus, tasted your Jesus or smelt your Jesus? Have you ever had any sensory perception of Jesus Christ, or God for that matter." "No, sir, I'm afraid I haven't.""Yet you still believe in him?" "Yes.""According to the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your God doesn't exist. What do you say to that son?" "Nothing," the student replies. "I only have my faith." "Yes, faith," the professor repeats. "And that is the problem science has with God. There is no evidence, only faith." The student stands quietly for a moment, before asking a question of his own."Professor, is there such thing as heat?""Yes," the professor replies. "There's heat." "And is there such a thing as cold?""Yes, son, there's cold too." "No sir, there isn't."The professor turns to face the student, obviously interested. The room suddenly becomes very quiet. The student begins to explain. "You can have lots of heat, even more heat, super-heat, mega-heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat, but we don't have anything called 'cold'. We can hit 458 degrees below zero, which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold; otherwise we would be able to go colder than - 458 degrees. You see, sir, cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat we can measure in thermal units because heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it."Silence across the room. A pen drops somewhere in the classroom, sounding like a hammer."What about darkness, professor. Is there such a thing as darkness?""Yes," the professor replies without hesitation. "What is night if it isn't darkness?" "You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is not something; it is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light... but if you have no light constantly you have nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it? That's the meaning we use to define the word. In reality, darkness isn't. If it were, you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?"The professor begins to smile at the student in front of him. This will be a good semester."So what point are you making, young man?" "Yes, professor. My point is, your philosophical premise is flawed to start with and so your conclusion must also be flawed."The professor's face cannot hide his surprise this time. "Flawed? Can you explain how?" "You are working on the premise of duality," the student explains. "You argue that there is life and then there's death; a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science can't even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life, just the absence of it. Now tell me, professor. Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?""If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, young man, yes, of course I do." "Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?"The professor begins to shake his head, still smiling, as he realizes where the argument is going. A very good semester indeed. "Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you now not a scientist, but a preacher?"The class is in uproar. The student remains silent until the commotion has subsided."To continue the point you were making earlier, let me give you an example of what I mean?" The student looks around the room."Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the professor's brain?"The class breaks out into laughter."Is there anyone here who has ever heard the professor's brain, felt the professor's brain, touched or smelt the professor's brain? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain, with all due respect, sir." So if science says you have no brain, how can we trust your lectures, sir?"Now the room is silent. The professor just stares at the student, his face unreadable.Finally, after what seems an eternity, the old man answers. "I guess you'll have to take them on faith."

---at home----

This are my siblings Rieza, Aimee, Mon, Ivy, and Tyrone

Our House, Our Home

We play at our house and have all sorts of fun,

An’ there’s always a game when supper is done;

An’ at our house there’s marks on the walls an’ the stairs,

An’ some terrible scratches on some of the chairs;

An’ ma says that our house is surely a fright,

But pa and I say that our house is all right.
At our house we laugh an’ we sing an’ we shout,

An’ whirl all the chairs and the tables about,

An’ I rassle my pa an’ I get him down too,

An’ he’s all out of breath when the fightin’ is through;

Am’ ma says our house is surely a sight,

But pa an’ I say that our house is all right.
I’ve been to houses with pa where I had To sit in a chair like a good little lad,

An’ there wasn’t a mark on the walls an’ the chairs,

An’ the stuff that we have couldn’t come up to theirs;

An’ pa said to ma that for all of their joy

He wouldn’t change places and give up his boy.
They never have races nor rassles nor fights.

Coz they have no children to play with at nights;

An’ their walls are all clean and their curtains hang straight,

An’ everthing’s shiny an’ right up to date;But pa says with all of its racket an’ fuss,

He’d rather by far live at our house with us.

Radiant Certainty

I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.” (John 16:20-22 NIV)
There are some days when, frankly, I don’t feel much like worshiping God. There are probably more days like that than I’d care to admit.
But usually those are days when I’m staring at my circumstances and making faithless judgments about what I see around me. And I struggle with the God-truth that he is in the circumstances surrounding my life – all the circumstances.
Have you ever considered that heartbreak is part of God’s “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”? (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV) We put so much energy into avoiding the hurt, when God would have us embrace it. He wants us to know he can heal our hurts, even use them for his benefit. He wants us to faithfully believe that the circumstances we think are harming us are actually positive situations God is engineering.
God, who is omnipotent, sees the breadth and depth of our circumstances, and he knows his plans for our lives. Thinking, then, like Christ, we can slowly – perhaps ever so slowly – begin to understand that avoiding the pain in our lives is actually an act of faithlessness. God calls us to faith in him during difficult circumstances; we’d rather place our faith in avoiding the circumstances.
As always, Jesus shows us the way – because he is the Way. Jesus embraced the pain of God’s plan for his life, and he did it with full faith that God was still working the plan to bring a “hope and a future” to your life and mine. (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV) Christ was so sure his grief would turn to joy that he showed a radiant certainty in God’s faithfulness (“Radiant certainty” is a phrase William Barclay uses to describe the attitude of Jesus at the Last Supper).
Our Brother Jesus, who is also our King, was heading into a crisis that would cost him his life, yet he was so certain – radiantly certain – of God’s faithfulness that not one of his disciples even discerned the gravity of the crisis! Jesus was so certain of God’s faithfulness that it radiated throughout his whole being.
And we also can have this radiant certainty about God’s hand in our lives. We can say, when it comes to God’s faithfulness, “I know because I know that I know.” That’s radiant certainty! The cross was Christ’s glory, not his penalty – and the same is true of difficult circumstances in our lives.
What now?
· God’s faithful character – You will develop this radiant certainty in God when you learn to trust in his faithful character. Your daily worship of God is irrevocably tied to your faith in God.
· Praise God anyway – You must choose to praise and worship God every day, no matter what the circumstances of your life. Developing a radiant certainty in God begins with simple steps of faith and obedience.
· Respond to God, not your circumstances – When faced with a painful or difficult circumstance, ask God, “How do you want me to respond to this?” Keep your eyes wise for the “Why me?” traps that lie about your circumstances.
· You can be radiantly certain of this: Difficult circumstances are opportunities for you to intentionally focus your faith in God and see what he will do to give you hope and healing.

Tell God: Whatever It Takes, Anytime, Anywhere, Anyway.

by Jon Walker

Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13b-14 NIV)
~~~ ~~~ ~~~

When Saddleback Church celebrated its 25th anniversary, Rick Warren called for a radical commitment from God's people — all over the world — to tackle the giant obstacles that keep people in spiritual darkness.
In this new year, we can “press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called [us] heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13b-14, NIV). We can, once again, affirm our commitment to the work of the Great Commission. My prayer is that we will view this declaration as a covenant with God, promising him that from now we will do whatever it takes: anytime, anywhere, anyway.
A Call to Radical Commitment
By Rick Warren
Today I am stepping across the line. I'm tired of waffling, and I'm finished with wavering. I've made my choice; the verdict is in; and my decision is irrevocable. I'm going God's way. There's no turning back now!
I will live the rest of my life serving God's purposes with God's people on God's planet for God's glory. I will use my life to celebrate his presence, cultivate his character, participate in his family, demonstrate his love, and communicate his Word.
Since my past has been forgiven, and I have a purpose for living and a home awaiting in heaven, I refuse to waste any more time or energy on shallow living, petty thinking, trivial talking, thoughtless doing, useless regretting, hurtful resenting, or faithless worrying.
Instead I will magnify God, grow to maturity, serve in ministry, and fulfill my mission in the membership of his family.
Because this life is preparation for the next, I will value worship over wealth, “we” over “me,” character over comfort, service over status, and people over possessions, position, and pleasures. I know what matters most, and I'll give it all I've got. I'll do the best I can with what I have for Jesus Christ today.
I won't be captivated by culture, manipulated by critics, motivated by praise, frustrated by problems, debilitated by temptation, or intimidated by the devil. I'll keep running my race with my eyes on the goal, not the sidelines or those running by me.
When times get tough, and I get tired, I won't back up, back off, back down, back out, or backslide. I'll just keep moving forward by God's grace. I'm Spirit-led, purpose-driven and mission-focused, so I cannot be bought, I will not be compromised, and I shall not quit until I finish the race.
I'm a trophy of God's amazing grace, so I will be gracious to everyone, grateful for everyday, and generous with everything that God entrusts to me.
To my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I say: However, whenever, wherever, and whatever you ask me to do, my answer in advance is yes! Wherever you lead and whatever the cost, I'm ready. Anytime. Anywhere. Anyway.
Whatever it takes Lord; whatever it takes!
I want to be used by you in such a way, that on that final day I'll hear you say, "Well done, thou good and faithful one. Come on in, and let the eternal party begin!"
What does this mean?
Today, I affirm this commitment to God and submit to his plans and purposes for my life, no matter what it takes

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two weeks down!!

Two weeks down, another 9 more weeks Im waiting for to get home, I really wanted to be home, my own place where I can find my peace of mind and heart, MinDorO,my hometown....I miss my parents and siblings and other gigs with my friends.. But I have to sacrifice to pursue my studies in nursing here in the center of trade and commerce in the Philippines, MANILA..I'm homesick

haiy.. its tuesday morning and Im not feeling well. We've done with our play in psychiatric nursing class and i think I portray my role as schizophrenic patient well but uhh, my cough and unwell feeling sobers my physique. I have to make it up to my last subject which is quite boring, I can make it men, I tell You..

By the way I hope that this day will turn my way up and Im looking forward for a relaxation and good sleep later, Gotcha! Oh I cant wait for it..

I will make another blog to detoxify my mind..jejeje (jejemnon pla ako dati..lol! - noted 01/27/2011)

GODSPEED aLL!!

Tips on How to Organize Your Life

Tips on How to Organize Your Life

When your to-do list gets overwhelming, there's a natural way to figure out your next step. Tune into this gentle process.

It's mid-morning, and several minor crises have already derailed you. Your plan for the day is in shambles, your to-do list feels like a boulder around your neck, and all you want to do is hide. You’re reaching for a Diet Coke in the hopes that it will give you the energy to decide which item on your list to tackle. Then you remember that there’s another way. You make the choice.

You feel your feet connecting with the ground beneath you. You take a deep breath and reach your arms overhead, exhaling with a huge sigh. You put your hand on your heart and recall feeling balanced and flowing, trusting the flow of life. You gently ask, "What choice feels the easiest in this moment?" You visualize yourself bringing this question into your heart, and take a breath or two to infuse it with flow and peace. Perhaps a brief image of your sister comes to mind. Or maybe you hear a refrain of an old song, and when you focus on it, you realize it reminds you of your sister. Or perhaps you remember the feeling of your sister hugging you. You call your sister, have a lovely chat, and when you get off the phone, you have new energy —enough to move you forward to the next task awaiting you.

Faith is connected to hope and hope means believing in spite of the evidence and then watching the evidence change.

Do you begin to see to get the picture of how this approach flows with life? I’m not proposing you sell your worldly possessions and move to the woods to live in an unheated yurt. I’m not recommending you consult crystals or the I Ching before moving a muscle. What I am saying is that when you think you’re lost, overwhelmed, and without direction, you do “know” what to do to restore your balance and your direction–but it’s a different kind of knowing, one you already possess, and need only be reminded of how to access.

This is part of the process I call "Life Organizing." It's infinitely richer than plotting your days in 15-minute increments in your day planner, but it does require trusting your own experiences. It involves a quick in-the-moment check-in that lowers your stress while allowing you to move beyond your conscious mind and respond with creativity and intuition to challenges and opportunities. Here are some of the check-in steps from the example above:

1. Connect: Move your body – breathe deeper, stretch your arms overhead, step outside and feel the breeze on your skin- anything that connects you with your life energy.

2. Feel: Tune into your heart, which can give you information your head can’t. Simply put your attention on your heart, perhaps by placing your hand there. Recall a time in which you felt loved and appreciated or loving and appreciative toward someone else. Linger there for a few seconds.

3. Inquire: Ask a mindful question. This opens up possibilities you literally couldn’t see before. In the first example, the mindful question was: What choice feels the easiest in this moment? Another of my favorite questions: What do I need to know right now?

4. Allow: To allow is simply trusting that by connecting, feeling, and inquiring, you will hear or see or feel or sense what your next step is—and only your next step.. Allowing is not about belief: it’s about noticing your experience and opening to your next step, allowing love, inspiration, and knowing to come into your body and heart, to inform and direct you.

It's Not The HOW; It's The WOW!

by Jon Walker

Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others – the armies of heaven – praising God: “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to all whom God favors.” (Luke 2:13-14, NLT)
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Long ago and far away, there was a teacher who worked painstakingly to teach me how to play the guitar. Every week, we'd climb up and down musical stairs crafted from the pentatonic, hexatonic, heptatonic, and octatonic scales. This emphasis upon technique frustrated me, and I grew to hate it so much that I abandoned the guitar – until playing it again became a positive part of my mid-life crisis.
OK, OK ... yes, I would have been better guitar player today if I'd practiced what my teacher told me (and, kids, eat your spinach too). But somehow I became so buried in the technique of making music that I lost the exhilarating pleasure of the music – with its power to make my heart soar toward the grace-filled face of God.
You might say the how of guitar-ianity muted the wow of the music.
And in our well-intentioned focus on the how of Christianity, I sometimes wonder if we lose sight of the wow – that God's Holy Spirit lives within us, and that he is with us always, day after day after day, until the very end of time.
Wow!
Say this with me, brothers and sisters:
· Wow! The God of the universe is present by his Spirit within me!
· Wow! The God who spoke the world into existence lives within me!
· Wow! The same God who placed the moon and the stars and the sun in the sky also placed his Spirit within me!
· Wow! The God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills considers me one of his heirs and is pleased to give me a share in his kingdom!
· Wow! The God of Creation spoke me into my mother's womb, SHAPEd me as a masterpiece crafted for the mission of proclaiming his Wow! throughout the world! (Jeremiah 1:5)
It's not the how; it’s the wow!
God Almighty! He lives, he lives, Christ Jesus lives in me today! (Galatians 2:20) The Wow! is with me always and forever, yesterday today and tomorrow, forever and again, amen.
What does this mean?
· Set your heart on the WOW – You must be deliberate in staying focused on the Wow! "Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." (Colossians 3:1b-2, NIV)
· The Good News – Wow! -- We proclaim without shame that the Wow! is in our hearts, and the Wow! will come into any heart that confesses Jesus Christ as Lord.
· No commandment harmed – No commandment was harmed in the making of this devotional. Ha! Staying intimately focused on the Wow! does not suggest the how is unimportant or that the Wow! compromises biblical truth or downgrades "the way, the truth, and the life." (John 14:6, HCSB)

Stone Soup



Many years ago three soldiers, hungry and weary of battle, came upon a small village. The villagers, suffering a meager harvest and the many years of war, quickly hid what little they had to eat and met the three at the village square, wringing their hands and bemoaning the lack of anything to eat.The soldiers spoke quietly among themselves and the first soldier then turned to the village elders. "Your tired fields have left you nothing to share, so we will share what little we have: the secret of how to make soup from stones."Naturally the villagers were intrigued and soon a fire was put to the town's greatest kettle as the soldiers dropped in three smooth stones. "Now this will be a fine soup", said the second soldier; "but a pinch of salt and some parsley would make it wonderful!" Up jumped a villager, crying "What luck! I've just remembered where some's been left!" And off she ran, returning with an apronful of parsley and a turnip. As the kettle boiled on, the memory of the village improved: soon barley, carrots, beef and cream had found their way into the great pot, and a cask of wine was rolled into the square as all sat down to feast.They ate and danced and sang well into the night, refreshed by the feast and their new-found friends. In the morning the three soldiers awoke to find the entire village standing before them. At their feet lay a satchel of the village's best breads and cheese. "You have given us the greatest of gifts: the secret of how to make soup from stones", said an elder, "and we shall never forget." The third soldier turned to the crowd, and said: "There is no secret, but this is certain: it is only by sharing that we may make a feast". And off the soldiers wandered, down the road.

A Determined Spirit

Once upon a time, a small bird named Tasoo lived in a vast jungle. One hot summer day, a terrible wildfire erupted and the flames devoured many trees and animals living in the jungle. Other birds flew high into the sky and far away to safety, but Tasoo couldn't bear to leave her precious jungle home to burn. Day and night, she flew with all her might back and forth to the river, filling her tiny beak with water to drop on the raging fires. Tasoo's rare heart of courage and unshakable determination moved the heavenly gods to shed tears, and a great rain poured down upon the jungle, extinguishing the flames. And so it is that even the smallest actions of a determined spirit can change the world.

Start With Yourself


When I was young and free and my imagination had no limits, I dreamed of changing the world. As I grew older and wiser, I discovered the world would not change, so I shortened my sights somewhat and decided to change only my country.But, it too, seemed immovable.As I grew into my twilight years, in one last desperate attempt, I settled for changing only my family, those closest to me, but alas, they would have none of it. And now as I lie on my deathbed, I suddenly realize: If I had only changed my self first, then by example I would have changed my family.From their inspiration and encouragement, I would then have been able to better my country and, who knows, I may have even changed the world.

Sacrifice Is Part Of Service

We understand what love is when we realize that Christ gave his life for us. That means we must give our lives for other believers. (1 John 3:16 GW)
Serving others comes at a great price.
When you become a servant, you always give up something you could have kept for yourself , time, money, energy. But the greatest cost of all is yourself.
Serving others exacts a personal toll that cannot be measured in dollars and cents or hours and minutes.
In 2 Corinthians 6:8-10, Paul describes the price he paid for serving others: We serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us. We are honest, but they call us impostors. We are well known, but we are treated as unknown. We live close to death, but here we are, still alive. We have been beaten within an inch of our lives. Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything.(NLT)
Later in the same book, Paul describes being jailed, whipped, stoned, shipwrecked, and robbed all while serving the churches God entrusted to his care. (2 Corinthians 11:23-28)
God's servants find the sacrifices worth the price because they can look past the present pain or inconvenience, fixing their eyes firmly on Jesus who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2 NIV)
It is in serving others sacrificially, says the apostle John, that we begin to grasp as well as experience godly love: This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.(1 John 4:10-11 NIV)
What does this mean?
· Serve on God's terms; not your own .You've been seeded with the Spirit of Christ, and even though you can't, his Spirit within you can enable you to give yourself for others. You can draw from his sacrificial strength.
· Love finds meaning in sacrifice. We understand what love is when we realize that Christ gave his life for us. That means we must give our lives for other believers. (1 John 3:16 GW)
· Your sacrifice of service . Is God asking you to give up something or sacrifice in some way in order to serve others? Talk to him about your fears, concerns, and confusion. Affirm your willingness to cooperate with his plan for you.