Hindi ka dapat maging kampante sa iyong ispiritwal na kalagayan. Dapat na maging sigurado ka sapagkat ang kahulugan nito ay buhay na walang hanggan o kamatayan.

Una, tanungin mo ang iyong sarili kung ano ang puwang ng Kristianismo sa iyong puso. Hindi sapat ang iyong kaalaman, pagpapahayag ng labi o maging ang iyong pakiramdam. Ang totoong Kristianismo ay naghahari sa puso at nagbibigay ng direksyon sa iyong pagmamahal, kalooban, pagpili at pagdedesisyon sa buhay.

Ikalawa. Tanungin mo kung ano ang tingin mo sa kasalanan. Kung ikaw ay pinaghaharian ng Banal na Ispiritu, nakikita mo ang kasalanan na kasuklam-suklam sa mata ng Dios at ang gumagawa nito ay nagpapailalim sa poot ng Dios….

Ang kasalanan ay may mapanlinlang na anyo na tinatawag na:  “mapandayang pagnanasa”  (Efeso 4:22) Mapandaya, sapagkat tinatawag nito na matamis ang maasim, at maasim ang matamis. Ang mga naniniwala sa kanila ay magiging gaya nila. “Ang kanilang tiyan ang kanilang dios, ang kanilang kahihiyan ang kanilang kapurihan, na nakatuon ang isip sa mga bagay na makalupa” (Fil 3:19). Sa ating panahon, hindi mabilang na tao ang nagdiriwang sa kanilang kahihiyan at nagpapasarap sa lason ng kalayawan.

Ang mapanlinlang na pagnanasa ay maaring magdikta na ang pag-gawa  nito ay mas mabuti kaysa sa mapalapit  sa Dios. Nagbibigay ito ng kalituhan  na nagpapababaw sa kasalanan. Maaring isipin na hindi naman ito  kasalanan….

Ang ating mga trabaho ay hindi lamang isang gawain. Ito ay isang bokasyon kung saan tayo ay tinawag ng Dios. Sinabi ni Calvin na sa bawa isa ay itinalaga ang isang partikular na gawain. Ang Dios ang tumatawag kung kaya’t itinatatwa nito ang opinyon na ang ating trabaho ay dala ng pagkakataon, o dahil sa kagustuhan ng tao. Kung ang Dios ang tumatawag sa ating mga trabaho, nais ng Dios na mag-trabaho ang tao. Malinaw ang utos na ito sa paglikha pa lamang. Kaya’t ang pagiging tamad, at ayaw mag-trabaho ay taliwas sa utos ng Dios.

Ang ating trabaho ay mula sa Dios. Makikita natin ang gawa ng probidensya…

The Lord has blessed everyone  with  various talents and skills. Some seem to have extra-ordinary gifts while others  may appear  to be  simply “average”.

The difference with the “talented”  and the “master of none” is that the former spends time to  discover and cultivate his/her God-given talents, while the latter is contented in admiring the giftedness of others. The fact is, most people failed to discover and develop their gifts.

Developing our gifts requires a lot of self-discipline and determination. Commitment  is what we need so we can be what we want to be in life. John Mason, in his book, A Man Called Average, said that if we…

It was September 7, 2010, when I volunteered to teach my native language (Tagalog)  to  six  spouses of expatriates.   Women of different nationalities – Chinese, Swedish, English, Indian, Japanese , a Canadian and myself – met regularly every Tuesdays from 10:00 to 12:00 in the morning which was later moved from 2:00 to 4:00 pm. The ladies  took turns  in hosting the class.  I drove to their place in the enclave of the expats which is like a secret garden in the heart of our town. A sumptuous merienda was prepared by the host every meeting, while I brought  my white board and marker, together with my desire to share…

“A time to be born, and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to pluck up that which is planted”.

Ecclesiastes 3:2

God  appointed the birth and death of every living creature.  But between birth and death is the work of God in us, accomplishing His purpose in our lives. If we are with God, our lives will slowly blossom  into  full fruition for God’s glory.  If not, we are like sheep led to the slaughterhouse.

Between life and death, we can actively seek for solid happiness. In the Lord we can find it, outside of God, we search in vain.

That productive gap between life…

The thrill and delight I see in the faces of children as they play computer games and play stations bring  back precious memories of my fun-filled childhood years.  When we were young, we didn’t have money for toys, and having a television set was beyond our imagination. But out of sticks, tin cans, and stones, we were able to build a world of our own. A world of fun and laughter a thousand miles apart from the electronic games of today.

Patentero, luksong tinik, piko, taguan, habulan, sikyo and tinda-tindahan, were some of the games we used to play. Tinda-tindahan was my favorite. We arranged various kinds of leaves, stones, and seeds on our makeshift stores. Our specialty was green…

My good friend passed by while I was parking my car. In my excitement to greet my long-time friend, I carelessly locked the door of my car. And lo and behold… I left the key in the ignition!  After a brief chat, I had no choice but to go back home and get my spare key.  Riding the pedicab was the easiest way to get back.

In no time, a young man was pedaling my way back – a whole 15 minutes  of non-stop, muscle-powered ride. As the pedicab moved slowly along a narrow path, I felt a wonderful, unique feeling as the soft wisp of breeze cooled my face. I experienced a sense of closeness to nature as cogon…

Ang pag-aasawa ni Hosea kay Gomer ay sumasalamin sa pag-ibig ng Dios sa Kanyang bayan. Walang sinumang maghahangad na ibigin ang isang madumi at mapangalunyang asawa katulad ni Gomer. Subalit ibinigay ni Hosea ng buong-buong ang kanyang oras, panahon at ari-arian upang suyuin si Gomer. Gayon din ang Dios sa Kanyang bayan subalit patuloy pa rin itong sumusuway sa Kanya. Talamak ang karumihan at pangangalunya ni Gomer. Ginagawa niya ang ayon sa gusto ng kanyang laman hanggang tuluyan niyang iwanan si Hosea. Ipinagmalaki ni Gomer na sasama siya sa lalaking magbibigay sa kanya ng lahat ng kanyang pangangailangan (Hosea 2:5).

Gayon pa man, tinustusan pa rin ni Hosea si Gomer dahil alam niya na kahirapan lamang ang idudulot sa kanya…

Thirty three years ago, after my husband and I graduated from college, we decided that I should stay at home to take care of our then, one year old daughter. It was in obedience to the design of God for mothers to “be keepers of home” as stated in Titus 2:4-5. I also read a little green book on child training which said that formative years are critical in child’s development and that they imbibe the values and manners of the person who spends more time with them. To leave them in the care of a yaya or helper was not a good option for us.

That decision, l learned later on, was not a walk in the park. I…