Darling Jose... I just fell for you for the nth time...

So we had an educational tour last Friday. The whole class took part in it since attendance to that tour would be equal to 50% of our score in the final exam. I can say that we had a really good time. Although I’ve already been to the places we visited, being in those sites with my classmates/friends made the experience new and unforgettable… 

We went to Rizal Park first...  Then, we dropped by Fort Santiago… Afterwards, we headed for Calamba, Laguna, which is the hometown of Rizal. We visited the replica of his house there, and we drove to Los Baños and paid a quick visit to Paciano’s house. (Paciano is the only brother of Jose Rizal, he also served as a second father to Pepe) On our way home, we stopped by Carmona, and me and my friends, G and R, bought coffee.

(Most of the photos above are pictures that I stole from my friends' cameras.. XD)

Luke 9: 46-50

“Who will be the Greatest?”

The disciples had an argument about which of them would be the greatest. As Jesus knew what their thoughts were, He made a little child stand beside Him and told His disciples that whoever welcomes that child in His name welcomes Him and whoever welcomes Him welcomes the one who sent Him. Jesus ended by saying that “for he who is least among you all — he is the greatest.”

After that, John told Jesus that they saw a man driving out demons in His name and they stopped him. To that, Jesus told them that they should not stop the man for “whoever is not against you is for you.”

WHAT DOES JESUS MEAN BY….?

“For he who is least among you all – he is the greatest.”

-> In this part, Jesus meant to say that whoever is seen as least in this world is the greatest. Whoever is persecuted by the world and whoever is considered as a low person according to the standards of this world is great in the judgment of God.

As Christians, there are times when we experience difficulties and discouragement. Sometimes, even those who we love are the ones who would rebuke us once we start talking about God. The reason why they do that is because they are still of this world and their standards are still based on worldly things.

However, we should not mind it if people tell us we are crazy since there is a truth in that anyway. We are crazy for God. I don’t know about you but I would rather be crazy for God than be zealous for this world.

Still, we should not stop in telling people about God’s love. Even though they persecute us or degrade us, in God’s time, they would realize that God is really the greatest one and He is the one they should be passionate about.

“Whoever is not against you is for you.”

-> It is a sad fact but Christians are actually divided. A lot of us use the name of Jesus but not all of us understand each other. Some Christians can actually be prejudiced of other believers and there are times when they think that they are the only ones who have the right to use the name of God as they are the ones who have accurate explanations with regard to the word of God. They would not accept other interpretations. We all know that the Bible is written in prose but the truth is; it has poetic aspects. What I am trying to say is that, different people have different interpretations of some verses yet each of their interpretations is logical and interrelated.  Therefore, we cannot tell someone that his or her interpretation of a certain verse is incorrect.

Another sad fact is that some groups even say that salvation can only be acquired if you join their church. That is a BIG LIE. Accepting Jesus and believing in Him is the ONLY way to salvation. You don’t get saved because of your religion or because of your church. You get to heaven because of Christ.

We Christians should realize that if a person does not attend our church, it does not necessarily mean that he or she is not saved. We should know better than have a belief that whoever is not a member of our congregation is not totally living for Jesus. Remember, ONLY a relationship with Christ leads to salvation and whoever is not against us is for us.

When you look at a man, do not see him as he is.. Try to see Jesus in his life.  

Ezekiel 7 “The End has Come”

Chapter 7 of Ezekiel talks about the judgment day. It indicates how God will destroy nations and turn His face on people. It also states that He will judge people according to their conduct here on Earth. Gold, silver, jewelries and other precious things in this world would be made worthless. Wickedness shall be perished. 

GOD’S MESSAGE

  God said that He will judge people according to their conduct and by their own standards. Why would He do that? He would do that so that people would know that He is the Lord.

 People nowadays worship money and other wordly things.  Unfortunately, a great number of the citizens of this world are slaves to their own sins. They fail to recognize the most important thing in life, which is GOD. They would not accept the fact that they are nothing without God. That He created them; some of them would rather believe that they came from apes. Some of them even claim that they are gods or that they can be gods themselves and they do not need Jesus. Oh what folly! 

 I understand how God can be so vexed to the point that he would finally put an end to every foolishness. 

THE GOOD NEWS

 If you choose to live according to God’s will, set aside tradition and religious beliefs and practices, accept Jesus as your savior and recognize Him as the ONLY way to God and start a relationship with God, then you can be spared from God’s wrath.

 In verse 4 of Ezekiel 7, God said, “…I will surely repay you for your conduct and the detestable practices among you.“  (He actually kept on repeating that statement throughout the chapter)

Hence, if your conduct is not offensive to God and if you do not do practices that are detestable to His eyes, then you will not experience the violence of the judgment day.

What are you waiting for? Accept Jesus and live your life for God.

Tradition and religion would not save you, only a relationship with Jesus leads to salvation.  

1 Kings 8:22-36

->This part of the book of 1 Kings is about the prayer of Solomon. In this part, he became like a mediator between God and his people. He asked God for the promises God gave to his father, David. He also asked God to make what God promised David come true.

Still, Solomon knows that as a human, the place he built for God is not enough to contain Him. Nevertheless, he still asked God to pay attention to his prayer.  He also asked God that if his people do something wrong or sin in God’s eyes, then if they repent, God should forgive them and bless them again. Solomon asked God for all these because he cares about his people and he wants his people to look up to the Lord.

When people sin, a barrier was built between God and them. At that time when Jesus has not come down yet, there is no mediator between God and the humans. That is why Solomon had tried to serve as the one who asks God to forgive His people as long as they confess, pray and repent.

This is also applicable to our lives now. We sin a lot. Nobody is perfect. However, God is there, willing to forgive you as long as you ask Him for His forgiveness. Things have been made easy for us since Jesus already died on the cross for us. Hence, we only need to believe in Him and our sins will be erased. We will also have a lawyer in heaven (Jesus) who tells God to forgive us every time we commit sins (unintentionally) since He already paid for our transgressions.

FOCUS ON:

Verse 23: O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below—you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way.  (NIV)

–As long as we continue wholeheartedly in God’s way, He will continue to bless us. 

GOD BLESS YOU! ^_^

Joel 1

- The first chapter of Joel is about the word of the Lord that came to Joel, the son of Pathuel. The Lord told Joel to tell everyone about the day when destruction comes from the Almighty. It said there that it is near and it shall be terrible… VERY terrible. 

A vast army of locusts was mentioned in verse 6. In Hebrew, the locusts here refer to a new nation. 

HOW IS THIS CHAPTER APPLICABLE TO OUR LIVES NOW?

These days, a lot of people are talking about the end of the world. However, I do not, I mean, I cannot completely agree with the prediction that the world will end next year. Yes, the Bible might mention how near it is but Jesus also said that only our Father in Heaven knows when the world will end. When Jesus ascended to heaven (Acts 1:6-9), the apostles asked Him when He will return and restore the kingdom of God. Jesus answered that the Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times and those details are NOT for us to know. 

THEN WHY DOES THE BIBLE OFTEN MENTIONS THAT IT IS NEAR?

I believe that God revealed to me that He talks about how near it is because He wants us to live like it is the last day of our lives. Try living everyday as if it is your last day and see how different everything would be, how better your days would be, how important every little details would be and how it would affect every people around you in a wonderful way. 

THE LORD SAID…

On the days of the destruction, cry out to the Lord. (Joel 1:14 and 19)

In the same way, we just need to cry out to God everyday and try to live our lives according to His will.

How beautiful it is to have the Bible tell us how we should live our lives.  

Acts 1

Acts Chapter 1 talks about the last instructions of Christ to the disciples. This chapter  also states how Jesus ascended to Heaven and how He will come down again in the same manner He has gone to heaven.

After Jesus was in heaven, the disciples prayed to God to help them choose a replacement for the traitor, Judas. The lot fell upon a man called Matthias and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

 

 

JESUS’ LAST INSTRUCTIONS

Acts 1:8

“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” (KJV)

We can see that Jesus’ last instructions to his disciples was that they should be witnesses of Him, His ressurection and the salvation He provides for us to have everlasting life. Jesus said that the disciples should tell the whole world of the good news about Jesus. 

WHAT IS THE GOOD NEWS?

- Jesus died for our sins.

- Jesus paid for our sins. (Hence, we no longer have to suffer because of our transgressions)

- If we believe in Him and recognize Him as our savior, He will erase our sins and make us new. (not renew, He will make us really new)

-We can have salvation through Jesus Christ. (Salvation leads to eternal life)

That message was not only for the 12 disciples, it is also for us as we are His disciples these days. We should evangelize and tell the world about Jesus.

Father dear....

Almost everyone in the office is busy for their outing tomorrow… They’re going to the northern side of the country to spend their weekend on the beach… They asked me to come along, of course, but I can’t go with them. It is because for the first time in a long time, my dad said “no” when I asked him if I can go to Zambales. When I asked him why, he said that it’s because I don’t know these people that much yet. So, I need to spend more time with them before he allows me to go out of town with them. (Sigh) My first reaction was that my dad is being overprotective, not to mention judgmental, and that his reason for not giving me permission is unreasonable and unacceptable… but then, I realized that he is probably just worried… I did not talk about the matter further with him since I also realized that it is actually the first time that he did not give me permission to do something. Well, not literally the first time, but the first time since I was thirteen or twelve or maybe even before that? I mean, it’s been years… really… I can’t even remember the last time he told me that I cannot go somewhere or attend an event or whatever… Oh well, as I was talking to the dormitory matron this afternoon, she said that my dad is so lucky to have me as a daughter, but I know that’s not the case. I’m the one who’s lucky… errr… I mean blessed… to have my dad as my father. I have a Father in Heaven who is perfect and I am thankful to Him for allowing me to have my daddy as my father here on earth. He may not be a perfect individual, but he is so close to being one… but doesn’t everybody say that about their dads? I guess not… so, I’m one of the most blessed children in the world… indeed… I know I am.  

Matthew 4:1-11

The TEMPTATION of JESUS

Jesus was tempted by the devil, too. After He fasted forty days and forty nights, He was hungry, of course. The tempter came to Him and asked Him to prove that He is the son of God by turning the stones there to bread. Jesus responded to him by saying that man does not live by bread alone but on every word that comes from God. Then, the devil took Him to the Holy City and had Him stand at the highest point of the temple. The devil told Him that if He is the son of God, He should jump down as it was written that “He will command His angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike foot against a stone” (in reference to Psalm 91). Jesus answered him by saying that it was also written that one should not put the Lord your God to the test. Afterwards, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and he told Jesus that he will give it all to Him if he would bow down and worship him. To that Jesus said, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’ The devil then left Him and angels came and attended Him. 

MEDITATION:

Jesus fasted for forty days and forty nights. Fasting means not eating any food and just meditating on the word of God. As we can see, Jesus fasted for a long time that he was really filled with the Holy Spirit. Thus, even when Satan asked Him to turn the stones into bread (take note, Jesus was not just hungry, He was FAMISHED), He did not do it and He resisted the devil.

CHALLENGE:

Can you fast for forty days and forty nights? My grandmother’s sister who is also a Christian said that it was possible. You can start little by little. Start fasting for three days.. after that, try five days.. then, seven days.. and so on.. until you reach 40 days. 

—–====—–

*Satan knows the word of God and he tries to use it to his own advantage. There are times when he actually causes people to sin by telling them some Bible verses and explaining it to them in an inappropriate way, a way that would benefit him. Still, Jesus fought him with words of God, too.

*When the devil tries to tempt you, there are only TWO things to do:

      1. Submit yourself to God.

      2. Resist the devil.

By doing those things, the enemy will flee from you. (James 4:7) 

I apologize for this insensible post

Why won’t you talk about her??C’mon, if you love her so much, are you not supposed to like talk about her all the time…Like you can’t get enough of talking about her…Like you can’t stop yourself from talking about her…WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THE MATTER WITH YOU?? Enough said. 


On another note, the potato guy brought his car to the campus today. Hehe! I'll call him that --- potato guy... POTAAAATTTTTTTTTTTTTO!!! 

Maybe...

So maybe I was flirting with him, a little… there’s nothing wrong with it, now is there? I mean, (deleted parts). Anyway, I think I’m going to enjoy his company. He talks good, he looks cute, he gets me and my smart-ass personality and  (deleted lines.. hahahaha) I guess that’s it for now… I don’t really wanna entertain any thoughts about him but I can’t seem to concentrate on other things properly without talking or writing about him. 

Disclaimer: photo above not mine... got it from google search

Isaiah 58: 6-9; 13-14

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.  Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I."

"If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the LORD’s holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,  14 then you will find your joy in the LORD,  and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

This chapter seems to be about the promises of the Lord to His people if they will obey the premises that He gave. It seems to be about the practices that concerns God and what He would do if His people will be faithful to those practices. The first one He talked about is fasting.  It tells people of how to fast in a way that they would glorify the Lord. It also tells them that if one is able to fast accordingly, the Lord will hear that person when he or she calls.  The second practice mentioned in this chapter was keeping the Sabbath day holy. Nowadays, a lot of people are neglecting this law. It is because everyone seems to be busy making money and doing other activities that they do not have time to spend for God anymore. A lot of career oriented people work even on Sundays because they have become workaholics and have become addicted to the prospect of gaining more income. What they do not know is that God will bless them more if they will go to church on the Sabbath day. There are 7 days in a week, for 6 days, God allows us to do whatever we please. He only requires us to spend at least one day honoring Him by doing what we have to do and avoiding sin. Will you not give God your Sunday (or Saturday if that is the Sabbath day in your religion) when He is very much willing to give everything for you?? Think about it.

2 Timothy 2:24-26

2 Timothy 2:24-26 And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel, instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth and that they will come to their sense and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.

As a servant of God, it is our duty to do His will, which is to share His words or His love to others. As Christians, it is our responsibility to declare the scriptures to people, to tell unbelievers about God and about His promises and teachings in the Bible, in the hope that they will also come to Him and acknowledge Jesus as their Savior and as God. However, to do that responsibility and play the role of a Christian in this world is never easy. In fact, it is evident that nowadays, there are more unbelievers than believers, correct me if I am wrong but I think that has always been the case. That is also the reason why we, Christians, are sometimes or most of the time disheartened to announce the word of God. Some foolish ones even tend to quarrel with those who oppose their ideas and beliefs, with those who have different faith and with those who cannot accept God as their hearts are hardened and their eyes are blinded by the enemy, giving a bad image to real Christians. But the Bible tells us that if we are servants of the Lord, we must not quarrel. We MUST be kind to everyone, which is also another difficult thing to do and to be. I know it is never easy to have someone oppose your position in your face but when it comes to being a Christian, we should always be extra-careful. We carry the name of God and we should act according to what we call ourselves: CHRISTIANS. Therefore, we must be like Christ. Now, what we need to do when we encounter people who do not want to listen to our statements about God and His words is to be gentle in instructing them and to pray about them. That is what the Bible tells us after all. We have to include them in our prayers and we have to gently tell them that their view is thwarted. If we don’t do that, it would sound as if we are shoving our beliefs in their throat and no one would listen to us; even though our intentions were good in the beginning, the effort we exerted and the opportunity we got to share the words of God would only be thrown in the trash. Anyway, no misunderstandings would take place if we will all speak in a gentle and proper way; thus, we should always be careful with how we speak and how we deliver messages, especially if we are engaged in the work of trying to make disciples of every nation. We have to remember that people would reject God not because of their will but because of the will of the enemy who has been blinding them and fooling them from the beginning. We should keep in mind that our enemies are not the unbelievers but the devil. Our battle has always been spiritual and we should do our best to win it with the help of God and for the kingdom of God.

1 Thessalonians 4:11-12

1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 Make it your ambition to lead a quite life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.

As Christians, we are already aware of the fact that we do not live for ourselves but for God. We exist to give Him praise, glory and to fulfill His purpose for us. One of the most common things that God wants us to do is to share the word of God to others. In my case, I like to refer to the word of God as the love of God for indeed, it is by His words that we feel loved although we face challenges. Since by knowing God, I feel His love, I am impelled to also share His words to others so that they as well can experience His love. However, I know that my behavior would definitely affect my will to share God’s love to others. Although the words I would refer to are actually God’s words (His promises found in the Bible), people would not listen to me if they know that I am living a troublesome life. If they do not see me doing things I am supposed to do, like obeying my parents when they ask me to do chores for example, they would not be encouraged with what I am saying even if I would quote the best verse in the Bible. Their hearts would be covered and their minds would be narrowed as they would only notice the dark blotch they see in my life. Hence, if I want to be an effective Christian who efficiently shares the word of God, I should lead a quite life, which means that I should stay out of trouble and only positively influence people. This also means that I should be careful to choose who I hang out with and treat each and every individual properly. Also, I should mind my own business, avoid listening to gossips and hanging around busybodies and I must also make sure that I do not give a false or an unproven testimony about someone else. In addition to that, I should work with my own hands. This implies that I should not be dependent on anyone but on God and on myself. I need to be dependent on God because He is actually the only one I can totally trust and rely on, but my faith would not be enough if I do not put it into actions, thus, I, myself, should also work. By being careful to live that kind of life, being sensitive to how others feel and how my actions would affect them and being blessed by God as I work with my hands, I would not need to convince people that they should listen to me when I tell them about God’s words, because they, themselves, will come to me and be curious of why I am blessed by God, loved by the people I care for and respected by those who do not really know me. With that, I am sure that once I share the word of God to them, the devil would not be able to do anything to block their minds and hearts in accepting Jesus Christ as their savior and deciding to live their life to please God. 

Tax Free and Always Underpriced

Him: You like that band of Ben Gibbard, right?

Her: Death Cab for Cutie? Yeah.. why?

Him: So you know all their songs?

Her: I would not say I know ALL their songs…

Him: OK. Listen to this.

Her: Hmmmm

Him: Know it?

Her: No, not really, is it theirs?

Him: Yeah. I think it says what I want to say. 

——————————

Her: Just instrumental, huh?

Him: No, listen ’til the end.

Her: OK…

               later..

Her: Four minutes and not one single word…

Him: Soon..

Ben Gibbard:

“How I wish you could see the potential, the potential of you and me.
Its like a book elegantly bound but in a language that you can’t read, just yet.

You gotta spend some time, love. You gotta spend some time with me.
And I know that you’ll find love. I will possess your heart.”

Her: O……………K………..

Him: :)

Her: Whatever. 

Him: You’ll see.

Her: See what?

Him: Weren’t you listening? Our potential. I will possess your heart.  

Her: (sarcastic laugh)

Him: Listen ’til the end.

Her: No, I’ve had enough.

Him: I thought you like this band.

Her: I do. I’ll listen to this song. I’ll listen ’til the end. Just not now. Not in front of you.

Him: Then, I already do, huh? 

Her: Do what?

Him: I already possess your heart.

Her: Whatever. (rolls eyes) (kinikilig na)


DISCLAIMER: Image above not mine.. got it from GOOGLE search

We just did

This is a song I wrote with some of my choirmates... Hehe. It's so cheesy...
Also, it's supposed to be a duet.

Lying in my bed

Waiting for the moment

When I can finally say

How I feel for you

I will do my best

Just to prove I’m worthy

To be your one and only

To be with you forever

Can we be together?

We can make it last.

Am I the one for you?

I will stay so true.


And if you ever go, 
I will find my way
Just to be with you...

I will find my way

Just to make you stay

If you would only see

What you mean to me

I will find my way

I can make you stay

And you’ll finally see

We are meant to be

Staring at your picture

Wondering if you could

Be part of my future

We’ll share a love so good

(share a love so good)

Can we be together?

Can we make it last?

Am I the one for you?

Will you stay so true?

If you ever go, 
I will find my way
Just to be with you...

I will find my way

Just to make you stay

If you would only see

What you mean to me

I will find my way

I can make you stay

And you’ll finally see

We are meant to be

10 FACTS

1. I am a Christian.. I am proud of God’s words and I read the Bible everyday. I even talk to God every now and then.. 
2. Green is my favorite color. It used to be yellow when I was really young and then it became blue and finally, it became green.. it’s like yellow+blue makes green. 
3. I am addicted to coffee. (who doesn’t know that?) 
4. I love dogs. ♥♥♥ 
5. Rock is my favorite music genre. 
6. Old and vintage things fascinate me… Old music (Pink Floyd, The Runaways, Toto, etc.) Old movies. Old books. Vintage-styled clothes, bags, accessories. Old houses. Even old people. 
7. I am a bit secretive. I have really close friends but they don’t know everthing about me. I think, God is actually my best friend cause He’s the only one who knows me inside out. 
8. I can actually cook. hahaha. 
9. I know I will be a doctor someday. And I will try to make people feel better, physically, emotionally.. and even spiritually… with God’s help I know nothing is impossible. 
10. I am not pretty but I don’t think I’m ugly either. ^_^

Hello there

Hi. I’m Nikki. I go by the name “xanthique”. It is a shame that my previous blog site is closing (http://xanthique.i.ph); hence, I had to find another one where I can post new blogs and transfer my old ones…

So there. I guess that’s enough for an introduction. I don’t really like introducing myself. :) I’m sure you’ll get to know more of me as you read this blog, though. ^^