Over our “last supper” earlier, Dennis asked me what I had listed down as my faith goals for this year. If you’ve been joining us for the past few years of prayer and fasting, then you’ve probably been making this list, too. If you have no idea what I am talking about, let me explain as briefly as I could…
Every start of the year, our church calls on everyone (whoever wants to join) to go on a seven-day prayer and fasting. This is the time when we consecrate ourselves to God corporately, and together we believe God for breakthroughs in every area of our lives. In line with this, we usually make a list of the many things we are believing God for– be it in the area of ministry, family, health, finances, etc. We call this our “faith goals“. This list is usually an acknowledgement that “with man, it is impossible; But with God, all things are possible!”.
I hope I didn’t confuse you even more with that explanation, but let me move on and get back to my point…
Over dinner, Dennis and I began to wonder how it must have been like when people of the Bible fasted. Did they have a set of lists, too? Or did they just come with expectant hearts, ready to ask God boldly, yet also willing to surrender to whatever God said– completely?
For the past years, I’ve diligently listed down my faith goals. It’s always been an extensive list of the many things I am believing God for, broken into categories to make sure I don’t miss out any detail nor any area of my life. That’s just my O.C. self, and it’s been working well. It was always the case that just before the fast, God would impress upon my heart the “theme” he had for me for that particular year. (Last year, for example, it was Joshua. “Be strong and courageous.”– I had no doubt that was God’s charge for me. True enough, that was the word I needed to hold on to last year!). That’s how it’s been almost every year.
This year, however, is a bit different. I haven’t come up with a list yet, and I feel that God wants me to come with a blank list.
He wants me to come EMPTY.
He wants to be the one to make the list. Instead of coming to God with a set of things I want to ask Him for this year, He just wants me to just come to Him, period. He wants me to come to Him– completely surrendered and ready to take His marching orders. He wants me to come to Him– to seek Him, to be fully satisfied with Him.
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”
From there I have no doubt I will still end up with a list after the fast– but this time it will not be a list of what I want to ask Him for, but a list of His desires made my own. It will be a list of His plans revealed for me to obey. It will be a list of His promises for me to just walk into. Breakthrough will be inevitable then, and just like the Psalmist says…
“SURELY, goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life.”
Our church is currently going through the Book of Ephesians. For the next six weeks, we will be discussing all six chapters of this book. I thought it best to put my personal Bible reading plan on hold and read Ephesians for the next six weeks too, for me to grasp as much as I can from this book.
As expected, the first chapter alone is so rich! Last sunday, the preaching was focused on the spiritual blessings we have in God. A lot of us go through life not enjoying the fullness of all that God has for us, because one, we might not be aware of what we already have in Him, or two, we might be so caught up in trying to acquire things this world has to offer us, that we fail to receive the best that God has already given us. I have nothing against getting good stuff. Material blessings are still blessings. But we must be careful that in an effort to acquire these things that money can buy, that we do not lose sight of the things that money can’t buy.
It is a wonderful thing to be reminded of the spiritual blessings we have in God— we are adopted as sons and daughters, chosen, redeemed, forgiven, and loved. But there are three verses that our eyes tend to just skim through after we read all the blessings– verses six, 12, and 14 tell us that we are given all these blessings “to the praise of His glorious grace.” To say it plainly, we must keep in mind that the main purpose why we have been given these blessings is to showcase God’s love and glory. It is for His praise and His glory. Paul not only reminds us that we are tremendously blessed by God; he also reminds us why we are tremendously blessed— to the praise of His glorious grace. In short, the main character of this story is still not us. We become recipients of the benefits (yay!!!), but we are not the star of the show.
We have been given grace to enjoy, but as we enjoy, let us remember: we are to live our lives to the praise of His glorious grace. :)
I’m just dropping by to say that I MIGHT not be able to drop by for the next five more days.
——– brain halt —— and then light bulb moment —————
Oh, yeah. Since I am already here, I might as well briefly share with you what I have been preoccupied with lately.
Every start of the year, our church goes through seven days of prayer and fasting. This isn’t something that’s required, really…but we do highly encourage our members to join us. Every year we see more and more people in our prayer meetings, and every year we hear more and more stories of incredible and almost impossible things happening in people’s lives. We hear about instantaneous healings, relationships being restored, financial breakthroughs, freedom from addictions….so many stories that remind us that we do have a God who is alive and who is in the business of changing people’s lives.
I have not been able to join our church for the past five years of fasting because I got pregnant, then on the second year I was nursing Alyanna, then I got pregnant again, then I was again nursing for the next two years after that. SO this year I am so happy that I am finally able to join everyone else! It is just the beginning of the year, and I am already experiencing some wonderful surprises from God! I couldn’t wait to experience not just more of His surprises and blessings, but to experience and get to know more of HIM. I just know that He is about to reveal Himself in a greater way this year! I just know that He is about to do such amazing things this year— things that even seem impossible to man. He will do all these things so that when all is said and done, there will be no denying it that it is God who did everything….so that HE will get all the glory.
I apologize if this post sounds religious (well, you should have been warned by the title)….but I can’t help it! Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks (or the fingers type), right? It’s just like when I am so excited about the food I eat, I keep telling people about it…only this is way better than food! I cannot help but tell people about this God I am living for!
Did everything I just typed answer the question about what I have been preoccupied with lately? Hehe…I think not. Or maybe that’s just it— since I haven’t been eating, there’s really not much that I have been doing, nothing much to pass the time with. LOL! Seriously though, I would like to really take this time to read some books that I have set aside specifically for this time, and just savor my moments with G.
If you’re a member of our church and you’re fasting with us (or even if you’re not, and you’re just someone who happened to drop by here), do let me know some of the things you’re believing God for. I’d love to pray with you!
PS:
Here are some other random thoughts while fasting…
This has been one awesome Sunday! This month has been so full of activities that for the past two Sundays, I haven’t been able to attend our weekend services. I can’t even begin to tell you how much I missed worshiping and singing at the top of my lungs, seeing my spiritual family, and of course listening to my dear husbandry preach the Word.
So today was quite a comeback! This weekend marked our third year as a church in Greenhills. There were no gimmicks at all, but in celebration of our third year, we just launched our third service! Yes! Three on three! God has been so faithful to us as a church and I am just so amazed at how He has been moving in the lives of all the people. I am just super kilig with you Lord. Ibang klase ka talaga!! *siiighhh….*
Anyway, aside from the three services, one of the highlights of this day for me was hearing an amazing woman’s testimony of courage and strength. Raissa Laurel, one of the victims of the La Salle bombing a few months back, is a member of our church in Ortigas and there is no denying that this woman exudes with so much grace and faith. I’m posting a video of her testimony that our friend took earlier. (Thank you Carlo!)
(*side note: this was her first time to give her testimony in church so she made it really short. Hehe…I got the privilege of hearing the extended version over dinner.)
“Be careful what you pray for.” God takes our prayers seriously. Not only that, God is never mediocre when it comes to answering our prayers. No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind can know what God has in store for you. When you start praying life-changing prayers, better be prepared for life-altering and faith-stretching answers.
PS: Dennis did a great job,too!!!! I attended the last service and I know it was quite a stretch for him to be preaching three times in a row, but he pulled it off! *clap!clap!*
I just heard it— the phrase I told myself I would not allow anyone to say about my children.
“Anak ka pa naman ng pastor.” (a not-so-direct translation: “And you call yourself a pastor’s kid??”)
Early on, I knew I couldn’t escape the possibility of someone making this remark about my kids. I knew that people generalizing the behavior of my children is somewhat bound to happen. If either of them behaved exceptionally well, people would say, “Wow. Anak ka kasi ng pastor” (“Ah. That’s because you’re a pastor’s kid”) . If any of them acted defiantly, people would also be quick to reprimand, “Uy, be good. anak ka pa naman ng pastor!” (“Be good. You’re a pastor’s kid!”)
Let me just say this once and for all:
My goal for my children is not to raise them as moral people-pleasers, who are only concerned about holding up a certain image because they are “pastor’s kids”.
Nuh-uh.
My goal for my children is to raise them as God-fearing, Christ-centered individuals, whose primary concern is to love God with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength. My goal is for them to understand the extent of God’s love and the fullness of the power of what Christ has done for them on the cross, thus enabling them to live lives that are a blessing to those around them, and that will give their Heavenly Father– not their pastor dad, the glory.
I wouldn’t want my kids to feel that false burden of trying to live up to a certain standard that the world demands of them by virtue of their dad’s occupation. I don’t think this is fair for them.
Besides, no one ever says to a doctor’s kid, “What?! You don’t know how to use a scalpel and save a life yet?? You’re a doctor’s kid!” or “You’re a lawyer’s kid, surely you memorize the constitution already!” To make this kind of generalization is simply absurd.
It’s no different for “pastor’s kids”.
They are, like all other kids, child-like in behavior, and still childish in many ways. They are, like all other kids, a work in progress. In and of themselves, they are sinful and selfish. In and of themselves, they are bound for hell. Like every other kid, they are in need of their parents’ love, guidance, and discipline. Like every other kid, it takes some time for them to correct certain attitudes, habits, and behaviors that are wrong. Like every other human being, they need God’s grace in their lives.
I have said that I wouldn’t want my children trying to live up to men’s expectations of them. I do, however, require my children to live by Biblical standards simply because of who their God is.
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts…” – Deuteronomy 6:4-6
The last thing I would want to happen is for my children to grow up being morally good yet missing the whole point– that the Lord is their God.
Let me say that again… Lord, THANK YOU for placing me in a wonderful spiritual family!! Thank you for surrounding me with people who are overflowing with your love!
I know I keep mentioning this, maybe to the point that some of you might be thinking, “Spiritual what??” or “What’s the big deal about this…’spiritual family’ you keep talking about??”
…or maybe not. Maybe some of you know exactly what I am talking about and understand what I mean. Maybe some of you can very well relate to how I feel about spiritual family. (If that’s you then come say it with me: “Lord, THANK YOU for giving me a loving spiritual family!!!”)
Hehe…okay, that’s enough. I really do not want to sound all “spiritual” on you now, even if I just mentioned that word too many times in my first few paragraphs!
I really just wanted to take this time to appreciate all the people that God has surrounded me with. I have always appreciated my church family, but all the more this past week. As some of you may know, Dennis was away for a week. This was the firsttime since we got married that he was away that long, and out of the country at that. I was anxious about the thought of him being away. I really imagined how lonely it would be, since welcoming him home every dinner time is always one of the highlights of my day/night. To tell you frankly, though, I did not miss him THAT much (hehe, sorry love!)… mainly because I was preoccupied with bonding with good friends who are really almost like family to us. From the time he left to the day he came home, I was spending time with other people who I love so much— some invited me and the kids to go out with them, while some, I invited over to our house. Next time, I know what to do in case Dennis has to leave again: First, make a list of things I’d want him to buy for me (*evil laugh*) and second, set dates and maybe even sleepovers with friends.
After Dennis came home, Mika got sick. I wrote all about it in my previous blog. The whole day I was comforted by the fact that I knew people really cared and prayed for Mika’s fast recovery, and wow! ….I must say, PRAYER REALLY WORKS! The doctor told us to expect more vomiting for the next three to five days, and more diarrhea up to 14 days. But none of that happened. As of today, I am declaring that Mika is COMPLETELY HEALED. Her appetite is getting back to normal, her stools are back to their normal stinky state (hehe), no more vomiting, her energy level is picking up…and I know it is because God has heard the prayers of His people. I think He also saw that Mika simply cannot afford to lose any more weight than she already has! We prayed that there’ll be no need for her to be admitted to the hospital, and God answered it. We prayed that there will be no need for any IV intervention, and there was none. Thank you, thank you again to everyone who prayed and encouraged us. We love you all so so much!
Thank you Lord for my spiritual family.
If you are reading this and you cannot really relate to anything I just said, then I highly encourage you to become part of a church family where there are genuine relationships— where people have truly experienced God’s unconditional love, and in turn, are eager to pour out their love to others as well. I highly encourage you to build relationships with people who have one sole purpose, and that is to honor God– by first loving Him with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength; and then by loving others, just as He has commanded, with the kind of love that He himself has demonstrated….unconditional and unselfish.
It is my prayer that you not just find, but that you become part of such a community.
