Tag: may

2019

Jesus is Lord over my HEALTH

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)

It is never easy to be afflicted with a health condition, be it a simple cough or a terminal disease. Nor is it any easier to witness the discomforts and distresses of a sick loved one. If we just could, we hope to never be sick.

But even if sicknesses come, we need not fret. There is a balm that could cure any sickness or disease there is. A balm that is free—for us, at least—because it has caused Jesus much. “By His wounds, we are healed.” The many gashes and lacerations on His back… the punctures from the crown of thorns… the piercings on His hands and feet as He was nailed on the Cross—all these, that we may be healed.

Are you suffering from a disease right now? Have you been taking medications for days, with no sign of relief? Have you been in and out of the hospital? Are you in need of an operation? Has the doctor started to count your remaining days here on earth? Or maybe, just maybe, your wounds lie deep within. Wounds no one can see: a bruised heart, bruised ego, bruised reputation… a lifeless future, lifeless home, lifeless soul. Whatever your condition is, believe. “By His wounds, we are healed.” Physically, emotionally, and spiritually healed.

Download Wallpapers | Easy Worship Resources | and Calendar.

2019

Jesus is Lord over my NATION

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Go look at that boy with matted hair, tattered clothes, and grimy feet. Then look at his house, near the road, and you’ll see a fusion of plywood and tarpaulin and tires, with no electricity and no bathroom.

Next: look at that woman wailing in front of her husband, who has three stabs in his chest, bloodied. He was on his way home when two robbers took everything from him—money, gadgets, life.

Now look at those robbers, running freely around the streets and reveling in their loot. They aren’t afraid; they’ve given the police a share in their booty.

Lastly, look at those people in position, who promised that no boy would have to live that way, no woman would have to lose her husband to crime, and no criminal would have to go unpunished. How are they faring?

These are just some vignettes of what is happening in our nation. Do we, who call ourselves people of God, just look? Poverty, crime, and injustice will not end if we will just look. We have to do something. We have to humble ourselves before the Lord, pray, seek His face, and turn from our evil ways. We have to spread acts of kindness and be examples of change. As we do, God will bring healing to our land, resulting in other vignettes–better, brighter, and far more beautiful.

Download Wallpapers | Easy Worship Resources | and Calendar.

2018

Know God, know Light.

I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. (John 8:12)

Light was first of God’s creations, showing that from the very beginning, He never meant for us to live in darkness.

So when we succumbed into the dark pit of sin, God again came into action. But this time, He did not just speak it. He sent it. He sent His one and only Son to be the light of the world. To be the light of our worlds.

So if you feel that all there is in your life is darkness–sins, failures, disappointments, hurts, or anger that may be blinding you–turn to Jesus, who said: “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” (John 8:12)

2017

As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.

Jesus’ ministry did not end in His resurrection, not even in His ascension. It continued—no, continues up to this day. Because there were men and women who took on the commission, men and women who said, “Yes, Lord, send us.”

Today, hear those same words they answered to; hear Jesus saying, “I am sending you.” Would you resist or would you respond?

2016

ROADS

Paved or swampy, wide or cramped, flat or steep, smooth or rough. Which kind of road do you usually take?

Daily life includes inevitable encounters with roads: when we take our kids to school, eat out with friends, conduct business, or even as simple as when we buy from the sari-sari store. Our day-to-day activities involve stepping out of our homes and, hence, taking the roads. To prove just that, an automotive trade journal says an estimated number of 1.2 billion cars in the planet are hitting the roads every single day—1.2 billion people journeying to a specific destination.

That is right, a destination. Just like how every bus ride leads to a stop, or every car trip has to pull over, every journey has an end—this, a point worth pondering on as we reflect on our personal lives. After all, the life we live IS a journey.

You are on a journey.

But let me ask you… As you journey in this life, what is your destination? At the end of it all, where do you expect to arrive?

The apostle Paul needed not to think twice on this matter. He writes, “…I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me… I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus…” (Philippians 3:12-14, MSG).

To JESUS.

For Paul, the destination is not a place but a person. The person of Jesus.

Because, much like our literal journeys, the roads of this life will not always be paved or smooth. There will be bumps of worries, cracks of problems, storms of disappointments, and roadblocks of failures along the way.

After all those, after the rough, cramped, steep, and bumpy journey, are not His arms the best place to be in? And is not His face the best thing to see? What better joy is there?

So let me ask you again: At the end of it all, where do you expect to arrive? May you utter the same words as Paul’s:

“To JESUS.”