Monday, December 31, 2012

Cheers to the New Year!


Every time a year ends, I do a bit of an evaluation of the year that has passed. For this year, 2012, I can say that a lot of good things happened. Of course, life is not all sugar and spice and everything nice; there were still occurrences, which I wished had not taken place, but I was able to pass through them and realize why our loving God allowed them to come about. After all, everything happens for a reason, and if you trust that whatever happens is part of God’s plan, you’ll know that things will always work out for the best.

Sometime around June, I felt friendless.  You see, the girls I spent time and ate lunch with at school abandoned me. Well, they did not technically abandon me, but I felt that way. They just drifted away, and I felt like they didn’t really wanna be with me. I don’t know, it’s just that I really felt shitty during those days. I was really lonely you see, I am not exaggerating.   Nevertheless, a good came out of my loneliness.  I was able to make new friends, and these new friends of mine (well they are not new anymore, but they were new during that time) are very caring and loving, and I feel really happy with them. They are not perfect, I am not perfect, there are times when we disagree on things, but we never seriously fight. We stay happy together. And I cannot imagine myself not being friends with them. I never really expected to be able to bond with them. They are guys, in the first place, and they hated me for my bossy attitude last 2011 (well K is a girl and she didn't hate me, but the rest of the gang are guys and they did despise me). Then again, I am very much thankful to have the chance to know them better and deeper. They are the best! Simply the best!   

It was also in June when I met this guy. This guy who has such beautiful eyes. He was sweet, and he would call me every now and then. But my flirting days with him are over. I have realized that he is way too handsome for me.

November has been a sweet month as well. Aside from being the month when I celebrate my birthday, I was able to go to the northern part of my country for a seminar during that month, and I met very nice, intelligent and sweet people. I was also elected as an officer of a regional organization, which is very wicked. Because of the fact that I am now an officer of that regional organization, I have additional responsibilities, but these responsibilities are nothing compared to the fact that I have additional friends.



To sum it up, I guess I can say that the icing on my cake for the year 2012 is the fact that I was able to gain a lot of wonderful chums. I am also happy that I am still in a relationship with God. I know there are times when I take Him for granted, but He loves me soooo much that He never lets me go. Indeed, what an amazing God I have! I am looking forward to 2013, and to the things, experiences and people that would come with it. Happy New Year, everyone! 

Friday, December 28, 2012

Christmas is Homecoming"


As we celebrate the Holidays this December, let us contemplate on the real meaning of Christmas.





Christmas is going back to one's home. It is going back to the Father. Some people avoid coming home to the Lord for they have failures, insecurities, etc. Some of us don’t even know how to come back to the Lord for we don't know Him, we don’t connect with Him through prayer, and we do not read the Bible.

Jesus told a parable about lost things, the parable of the lost son, the lost sheep and the lost coin. Focusing on the third one, a woman lost a coin and she looked for it all over her house. The reason why she did so was because that coin was important to her.

The coin symbolises us. A coin doesn't know that it is lost, at the same time, we usually don't know we are lost. This is because we are so occupied with what the world has to offer that we don’t know that we are missing the most important thing in our lives, a relationship to God.

We may have lost a lot of things: integrity, innocence, etc. We cannot regain those things, and that fact usually discourages us from going back to God. Nevertheless, we need to keep in mind that it is only God who can help us regain what we have lost. After all, Jesus came here to look for those who are lost, and with God, all things are possible.

Matt 11:28-30 (Message Bible) “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

God's plan for you is to stay close to Him. He wants us to remain at His side for He loves us that much.

2 Corinthians 5:17-18 "17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation”

Eph 2:4-5 "4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved."

The reason why there is Christmas is because we are all dead in sin, we needed a perfect saviour to save us.

2 Cor 9:15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

JESUS was the best gift God has given us.


Romans 8:39 "Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (KJV)

-excerpt from Ptr. Rudy Fernandez' message 
Firepower Ministries
December 25, 2012

additional explanations by me :)