Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.

I got this message from Pastor Joby Soriano in CCF. I find it interesting that surrendering to God is something positive because surrendering brings a lot of negative connotations -- weakness, cowardice, hopelessness, defeated. I hope you will feel blessed as I have been and you will make a decision to slowly move to a complete surrender of your life to God.

What is surrendering to God?
Surrendering is giving up to another's person's power. When we surrender to God, we give up ourselves, submit to His power. It is only through surrendering ourselves to God that we lose our sinful selves and give our burdens to Him.

How do we surrender?
First, we have to admit that it is not easy to surrender. Second, believe that God is faithful and He is in control. Lastly, we have to turn over to God, commit and surrender our lives to Him. To love God with all our hearts and minds.

We have to keep in mind and our hearts the truths about God. We should also remember that He has been faithful to His people. Knowing, loving, and trusting God with all our hearts allow us to surrender completely to God.

Why should we surrender?
It is a way to show our joyful attitude for what Jesus has done for us. It is a privilege for us to give to Him, to serve Him. There is no greater joy than serving God, and being with God. Surrendering ourselves to God allows us to enjoy Him.

From this message, I realized that by trusting in God, I am removing myself from the center of my life. It is not myself who brings joy but my union with God. I remember what I read in an article of John Piper. He said, that we are happy to serve and worship God because it is part of our joy to enjoy God. It is like when you see the Grand Canyon, you will not be completely happy until you tell other people with you how great and beautiful is the experience. The same thing is with God, when we see the greatness of God, there's no other way to respond but to surrender ourselves and enjoy the moment with Him and His greatness.

Suddenly, after surrendering my life to God, it is not about me anymore. My burdens are now God's burdens. God has liberated me. I am free from my sinful nature, and He has given me the gift of the Holy Spirit to guide and empower me through this sinful world.

When engaged in a debate with a non-believer, I put myself at risk of unbelieving and losing my faith but God, my Heavenly Father never leave me to reach that point. He leads me towards logical proofs and documentary, historical facts. Today, I was not asking for anything that would prove His existence. My prayers recently were about my passport here in Shanghai, growing faith, trust in Him, and my life. Today, God just proved that He has a master plan. I understand a big part of it now. I understood why I had to come to Shanghai, and I also understood why I have to lose some people before that.

God is amazing. If He has a plan for me, I am definitely sure that He has one for everyone. I am just very very very happy now and the summary of that happiness is that God proved to me that He exist. This means that there is always a master plan to trust. God, thank you for all the blessings you have given me. I've never felt so blessed in my entire life.

Again, a good article from crosswalk.com.

"God has given us a blueprint for happiness. We think it comes from freedom from all constraints. But this isn't true. Happiness comes from staying within the walls of protection that God has given us in His Word."

Do you want to be a happy person? Live God's way. Do you want to be an unhappy person? Live your own way.

Read the whole article here.

If I find in myself
desires nothing in this world can satisfy,
I can only conclude
that I, I was not made for here
If the flesh that I fight is at best
only light and momentary,
then of course I'll feel nude
when to where I'm destined I'm compared

Speak to me in the light of the dawn
Mercy comes with the morning
I will sigh and with all creation groan
as I wait for hope to come for me

Am I lost or just less found?
On the straight or on the roundabout
of the wrong way?
Is this a soul that stirs in me
is it breaking free, wanting to come alive?
'Cos my comfort would prefer for me to be numb
And avoid the impending birth
of who I was born to become

Speak to me in the light of the dawn
Mercy comes with the morning
I will sigh and with all creation groan
as I wait for hope to come for me

For we, we are not long here
Our time is but a breath,
so we better breathe it
And I, I was made to live
I was made to love
I was made to know you
Hope is coming for me
Hope, He's coming for me
Hope is coming for me
Hope, He's coming

Speak to me in the light of the dawn
Mercy comes with the morning
I will sigh and with all creation groan
as I wait for hope to come for me
For me, for me, for me

Lately, I've been reading articles from CrossWalk.com and I've read about Brooke Fraser. She is a Christian artist who has been writing for Hillsong United. I realized that she is a lyricist of a lot of my favorite songs from Hillsong -- Lead me to the cross is one of them.

Now, she has released a new album called Albertine. One song inside the album is Shadow Feet, the music is good and the lyrics is good as well.

Shadow Feet
Brooke Fraser

Walking, stumbling
On these shadow feet
Toward home, a land that I've never seen
I am changing
Less and less asleep
Made of different stuff than when I began
And I have sensed it all along
Now fast approaching is the day

CHORUS
When the world has fallen out from under me
I'll be found in You, still standing
When the sky rolls up and mountains fall on their knees
When time and space are through
I'll be found in You

There's distraction
Buzzing in my head
Saying in the shadows it's easier to stay
But I've heard rumours of true reality
Whispers of a well-lit way

CHORUS

Bridge
You make all things new

CHORUS

CHORUS 2
When the world has fallen out from under me
I'll be found in You, still standing
Every fear and accusation under my feet
When time and space are through
I'll be found in You
When time and space are through
I'll be found in You
When time and space are through
I'll be found in You

Savior I come
Quiet my soul remember
Redemptions hill
Where Your blood was spilled
For my ransom
Everything I once held dear
I count it all as lost
Lead me to the cross
Where Your love poured out
Bring me to my knees
Lord I lay me down
Rid me of myself
I belong to You
Lead me, lead me to the cross
You were as I
Tempted and trialed
You are
The word became flesh
Bore my sin and death
Now you're risen
To your heart
To your heart
Lead me to your heart
Lead me to your heart

Work Can be Worship

A priest represents God, and you, my friend, represent God. So “let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus” (Col. 3:17 msg). You don’t drive to an office; you drive to a sanctuary. You don’t attend a school; you attend a temple. You may not wear a clerical collar, but you could. Your boat is God’s pulpit.

It makes me wonder how in my own little way make my work a worship place. I'll pray about it.

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgements, and his paths beyond tracing out!
"Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?"
"Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?"
For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.

Here are some excerpts from the book "When I don't desire God" written by John Piper.

Provided the thing is in itself right, the more one likes it and the less one
has to “try to be good,” the better. A perfect man would never act from
sense of duty; he’d always want the right thing more than the wrong
one. Duty is only a substitute for love (of God and of other people), like
a crutch, which is a substitute for a leg. Most of us need the crutch at
times; but of course it’s idiotic to use the crutch when our own legs (our
own loves, tastes, habits, etc.) can do the journey on their own! - C.S. Lewis

So the answer to the question, “What should I do when I don’t
desire God?” is not simple. But it is crucial. The apostle Paul said, “If
anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed” (1 Cor. 16:22).
Love is not a mere choice to move the body or the brain. Love is also an
experience of the heart. So the stakes are very high. Christ is to be cherished,
not just chosen. The alternative is to be cursed. Therefore life is
serious. And so is this book.

“Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive
fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.” - Habakkuk 3:17-18.  In other words, when all the supports of human life and earthly happiness are taken away, God will be our delight, our joy. This experience is humanly impossible. No ordinary person can speak in truth like this. If God alone is enough to support joy when all else is lost, it is a miracle of grace.

I never thought about this, but John Piper's explanation between the difference of desiring the Lord and delighting in the Lord is really enlightening.

First, he said that...

The first thought that comes to most of our minds (I tried this on my eight-year-old daughter) is that delight (with its synonyms) is what we experience when the thing we enjoy is present, not just future. But desire (with its synonyms) is what we experience when the thing we enjoy is not present but, we hope, coming to us in the future.

But later on he said this description is oversimplified...

I think that’s true, but oversimplified, for several reasons. One is that many desires are themselves pleasant. That is, the desire is itself a pleasure, not just a longing for a pleasure. Who could draw a line between the power of sexual desire and sexual pleasure? The desire is part of the satisfaction. We speak of climax not because that is the only pleasure, but precisely because it is not the only pleasure. All the desires leading to it and following after it are part of the one big pleasure.

Or who can draw a clear line between the excitement of desire that a child feels just before Daddy gets home and the pleasure the child feels as Daddy walks in the door? The desire is part of the pleasure of Daddy coming home and getting home and being home. So desire is inseparable from pleasure. It is part of it. Another reason it’s an oversimplification to say that in pleasure the thing enjoyed is present but in desire the thing enjoyed is not yet present is that desire would not exist if the thing enjoyed had not already been tasted. That’s how the heart comes to feel something is desirable. Desire is awakened by tastes of pleasure. The taste may be ever so small. But if
there is no taste at all of the desirability of something, then there will be no desire for it. In other words, desire is a form of the very pleasure that is anticipated with the arrival of the thing desired. It is, you might say, the pleasure itself experienced in the form of anticipation.

It is really true that desire and delight are truly related. Pleasure is created when we desire something and we can delight on it.

Is God for Us or for Himself?

I read this article from www.crosswalk.com and it touched me how complicated yet simple God's love is. Come to think of it... the title of this article is really something to think about. Does God really love us? Or He just wants us to praise Him? John Piper answers this question... it's worth the read.

There's the key: we praise what we enjoy because the delight is incomplete until it is expressed in praise. If we were not allowed to speak of what we value and celebrate, what we love and praise, what we admire, our joy would not be full. Jonathan Edwards said, "Joy is a great ingredient in praise ... Praise is the most joyful work in the world." Therefore, if God is truly for us, if he would give us the best and make our joy full, he must make it his aim to win our praise for himself. Not because he needs to shore up some weakness in himself or compensate for some deficiency, but because he loves us and seeks the fullness of our joy that can only be found in knowing and praising him, the most beautiful of all Beings.

In my point of view... God gave us the best by letting His Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross in place of us. He died so no one else needs to die. That's a joy that needs praise, that's a joy that needs celebration.

Finally... I was able to go to Church.. feels so good to be back in Church. I love Shanghai! I thank God for everything and for allowing me to be here. He's wonder, amazing, and good. My previous church in the Philippines is CCF. Back then, I think CCF is international because I see Americans in CCF... but I think my church here is Shanghai is more international.. we see all kinds of people here... Americans, Europeans, Africans, Asians, name it! It's really cool to see God's people gathering together to worship God and the reality of Jesus Christ. It's feels great to celebrate once again the salvation and the promise of eternal life God has given to us.

So... as the excitement dwindle down... I realized that I need to do things to make my flight to Manila possible. I have to make my passport ready. It's not as simple as that, my passport is going to expire on January and I have to renew it while I am in Shanghai through the Philippine embassy. I have to go to the embassy during a weekday and it would conflict with work hours. So I really need to find time.

I need to think of the things I want to buy for people in Philippines and what I want to buy from the Philippines to bring back here! Can't miss anything, going back and forth is not as easy as going home from the office and back.

Definitely, I will pray about this. God will help me I am sure of that. :D

See you soon, Manila.

I am coming home! September 26! woohooo see you Manila!

I've been in China for 5 months now, and I've seen how Chinese people love their country and the strength of the nationalism. I envy them, but at the same time it made me proud that even though my nationality is Filipino, I have Chinese blood flowing allover my body. Recently, a tragic natural disaster happened in SiChuan province of China. There was a very strong earthquake, and as of now, there are at least 15,000 people dead and 20,000 more under the rubbles. What makes matters worse is that a lot of these casualties are children. They are the people in school, studying, learning, and preparing to build the next China, but their small dreams were broken together with the school building structures, they are now traumatized, injured, or worst dead.

It's quite difficult to believe and trust that God is omnipotent, omniscient, merciful, loving, and just, during trying times. But I think it is also the time to pray about the situation and ask God to open our eyes and see His bigger plan. It's difficult to trust God during times of trials, and when we don't understand His plans, and we don't see the bigger picture, we get angry with Him, and we reject His existence. Base on my limited experience, we should continue trusting in Him because God knows what He's doing and He will reveal it to us when we can understand. But this is for sure, be faithful because God is working and He never stops.

As a growing Christian, my goal now is to extend and grow my faith. I'll take all situations, as a challenge to trust by faith and not by sight. I've proven logically that Jesus is true, He died for me, rose up on the third day, and saved me from all my sins. It's time to trust Him with all my heart, with all my strength. I'll take China's challenge now and bring it to God. I know God has a plan on why this happened, I know it is something better.

I pray for God's care, nurturing, and protection. I pray for people suffering there, needing help, may they come out of this tragedy as better people, and may they see that God is working with them in these difficult situation. I pray that God would also help me understand Him better, and for faith, and commitment in continuing to grow as a Christian everyday.

Colossians 1:15-23 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him.

If you are a child of God, do you know that you are adopted?

This question made me think what it means:

1. God has no responsibility to take care and to love us, but it is His choice. We are "adopted" means that He, and His free will chose to love us, to bless us with good things and to guide us towards Him.

2. It also means that there was a time that we are with Him. It means that we are with sin, but we saw God and asked Him if we can be His children. Of course, He said yes and accepted us.

3. It means that we were once losers and prisoners of sins. But now because we are with God, we are free from it and we always win against sin.

God accepted us, and saved us through his grace. We will no longer die because of the blood of His son Jesus Christ, who lived with us, suffered and died on the cross, but on the third days rise again. It is because of this resurrection that we can be called children of God. It is because of what Jesus Christ did that God can adopt us back to His family, after disobeying Him in Eden and all the other sins we have committed.

We chose to separate ourselves from God, but God so loved us, He found a way to adopt us back.

Wonderful isn't it?

One person wrote down this verse and asked everyone in his office who this person is and where this verse is from...

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our inequities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his won way; and the Lord has laid on the iniquity of us all.

Everyone knew it was Jesus, and answered that it is definitely from the New Testament.

It is true that it is Jesus but they were wrong to say that it is from the New Testament. It is from Isaiah 53:5-6! It is from Hebrew Bible, written 8 centuries before Jesus came! God is wonderful, no doubt!

Read "A Case for Christ" a documentary based on Lee Strobel's book.

Samuel 16:2-12 Then Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all your sons here?" And he said, "There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here." And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, "Arise, anoint him, for this is he."

God will reveal His purposes for us in His time.

God has a purpose for David's life in the verse from the Bible. David couldn't see it. Like David, God has a purpose for all of us but we could not see it yet. God is already preparing for us, just have to continue keeping our eyes open, and be amazed where he leads.