Jesus Christ is the most exciting person who ever lived…

Jesus Christ is the most exciting person who ever lived…

Norman Vincent Peale

            “…The most lovable man who ever walked the earth, the greatest brain that ever entered into human history, and the most incredible personality who ever came among us.” said Mr. Peale. Now, how would you feel if He shared a little bit of Him to you? This is the last part of my series 9 Fruits and I am delightful to receive positive feedbacks from most of my readers. I just want to grab this opportunity to thank you guys for reading my posts. You guys are my motivation. Your flattering comments fuel me to continue making better posts in the future. These past few days have been oh-so splendid for me; every day I felt like God was really blessing me with all the unexpected incidents that have happened. All of my problems suddenly evaporated right in front of my eyes leaving me in state of shock. That’s why I’m so inspired right now; I’m so excited I want to finish this thing right away, for there are more things that I want to share with you guys aside from this.

Faithfulness

For we live by believing and not by seeing. - 2 Corinthians 5:7

Do you believe in God, do you believe that God and Christ are with you and that They will help you? Do you believe in yourself and in life? Belief in a few basic realities is the important factor in building faith. When a desire is soul deep, when it is longing in depth, all of the inner forces of your nature conspire to bring about the realization of the desire. But when what you want is superficial, it remains as a frustration, for there is no gathering of inner power to achieve it. If with all your heart is the principle of attainment. If with all of yourself you want a strong faith, one that can move mountains, overcome the impossibilities and stand up to all; difficulties and lead you into the basic joys of this life, you can have it (Faith Builders: Guidepost by Norman Vincent Peale). Faith is a fight against disbelief and a struggle against doubt. I remember my instructor Sonny Laylo. He was the one who introduced me to Christ. That was way back when I was in Grade Four. My parents thought of entering me in a private Martial Arts lessons and Sir Sonny was referred to us by my Ninang Volet. Then it all started there. He taught me not only martial arts, but also things about God. I can still remember that moment when he said, “Will you accept God with all your heart?”

“Yes, I will.” I replied.

“Well then, from this day onwards, you are now a child of God; you have been resurrected and now you’re saved.”

            To tell you the truth, I never really understood what happened back then, but that has been one of my experiences that I couldn’t forget. Probably it was because it gave me the belief that I will be saved when that time comes. Faith was there. Even though I have no idea what was happening; I still believed in the thought that I will be saved. Sir sonny made me believe. No, I guess it was me all along. For up until now, I still have that faith in God.

Gentleness

Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. - Philippians 4:5

            Gentleness is the value and quality of character. To be gentle, in its most basic sense, is to be mild, calm, and tender. Being gentle is like being kind and good; however, it focuses on the attitude and outlook of an individual to life. I believe being gentle is a good start of everything. You can have peace by being gentle; be loved by being gentle; be trusted by being gentle. Elaine is arguably the gentlest person I’ve ever met. For me, she’s as gentle as the wind. For one, I have never seen her get mad or even say foul words, ever. Moreover, for all the years that I’ve been with her, she never got mad at me, ever. She was so gentle she didn’t even say anything when we decided to end things between us back then. She’s not capable of hurting anybody, and I really admire her for that. That’s why she’s so loved by many. Such quality is really something to be envious of. Not only will other people love and gravitate towards you more if you learn how to walk in this quality – but you will be at much more peace since you won’t always have to be fighting and striving with others when trying to help them out. Surround yourself with gentle people, and you will certainly have a peaceful and tranquil life.

Self-control

Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given to you when Jesus Christ is revealed. - 1 Peter 1:13

            We all live in a self-centered and materialistic world today. Many of us have a very weak sense of control – ruled by earthly desires rather than by the Holy Spirit. If you do not have God’s self-control operating through you – you will have very little victory over such things as bad tempers, judgmental and critical spirits, an unforgiving spirit, and vices such as smoking and alcohol abuse. Self-control is Discipline; and when I hear anything about discipline, I can only think of 3 words – Rodel Recinto Malaluan. He is the epitome of self-control. I have always been proud of my father. He was a naval officer. As I can remember, he entered Military School at a young age of 17. He told me numerous stories about his experiences there; unfortunately, forgot most of them. LOL. We know how it works in military academies. He told me one must have a good sense of discipline, for it is the key for survival. I experienced quite like this when I entered MP (Military Police) back in High School. I can still remember shouting out loud words such as, “What you see, what you hear, when you leave, leave it here!” and “Sa, wa, lo, pat, ma, nim, to, lo, yam, pu!” That was one of the highlights of my career. LOL. But I am proud to say that good sense of discipline made me excel and become one of the top candidates to be the Head of our squad. This specific quality is one of the major keys in being able to get any kind of victory over some of the lusts and desires of our flesh.

            These 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit not only have the ability to help you change, transform and sanctify you, but also have the ability to touch all those around you. If the Holy Spirit starts to release His quality of love into your personality, but you start refusing to walk and operate in that love in your words and actions to others – then He will start to pull it back from you after a reasonable length of time (http://www.bible-knowledge.com). Just a piece of advice, let the Holy Spirit flow voluntarily into your life and expect to see miraculous things coming. Whew! I'm almost done, but I felt kind of sad for I am now on my closing statement; nevertheless, I hope I gave justice to all these 9 fruits and wish you learned something from them. Good night! Always remember, God is with you!

Testimony: Gifts of the Holy Spirit are for free and are very powerful.

Life Lesson: Believe.

Godly Passion: Faith can move mountains.

Good News: Love will show you everything.

Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails

Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails

Proverbs 19:21

                This is the sequel of my 9 fruits trilogy. I decided to chop it down into three parts because discussing all of these 9 fruits would probably take me years and drain my poor mind in an instant. Now let’s get this thing done, for I’m so excited to finish this series. As an introduction, I cited three different people on this one. First one’s yours truly, the second was my favorite Preacher, and the last was the first Pastor I’ve met. They are with different fields and levels, but all posses gifts coming from one Mighty Giver, The Holy Spirit.

Patience

I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. - Psalm 40:1

                Patience is a virtue. If you have patience, you will realize how important time really is. Actually this is one gift that I’ve just discovered recently when I got closer to God. Again, patience is not the act of waiting, but it is how you act while you wait. Then I realized I have so many things to be patient with: His coming, the right person for me, and my future, to name a few. Just last week, my friend, Rence, and I met up to continue my one to one. Before that, He said we’d meet up at around 3:30 PM at the Center. I arrived at the Center earlier than expected, probably 15 minutes earlier, for I don’t want him to think that I’m acting sort of like a VIP. He wasn’t there yet. At first, I was like, “O.K., wait ka lang, papunta na rin ‘yun. Masyado ka kasing maaga pa.” So I waited for more minutes until I noticed it was already 4:00 PM. Then I giggled and said, “Lord, are you testing me?” After that, I thought of doing something while waiting for his arrival. I was a kind of hungry that time so I decided to find somewhere to eat and perhaps stay there while waiting for Rence. Luckily, there was a bakeshop downstairs and I ate siopao while waiting. Minutes passed, I noticed it was already 5:00 PM and he’s not yet there. One of the service crew’s already cleaning up my table, LOL; But still… I waited. After hours of waiting, he finally came and said sorry for he had some things to finish at work. What a relief! For the record, that was almost 2 hours of patiently waiting. What’s funny was I never got irritated waiting. Maybe it was because of my desire to continue my one to one so badly. God waited for that moment when I surrendered myself to Him. Almost 20 years of waiting for me to come back to His arms. There is no doubt that I will do the same for Him. I will forever be patient in Him.

Kindness

It is more blessed to give than to receive. - Acts 20:35b

                A friend told me the difference between kindness and goodness. I thought they were the same, but they’re not. The way she understands it, kindness is the way you treat others; if you’re polite, respectful, or helpful. It has something to do with others. On the other hand, goodness pertains to your soul; somewhat like your obedience to God; righteousness per se. I received a beautiful quote from a friend that says:

“We won’t always know who we inspire with our words… or who gets encouraged when we smile… or who’s strengthened by our presence. But let us keep doing them anyway; for we won’t always know it but sometimes we deliver a SLICE of HEAVEN to someone’s life.”

It is true. Never waste any opportunity to do good to others. Kindness makes a huge difference. Joyce Meyer has been challenging every people to make a commitment before God to do at least one thing, everyday, for somebody else. One day she felt like God wants her to pay for a lady’s earrings. She has no idea who that lady was. She even thought that the lady might think she’s crazy for doing such thing. Nevertheless, she got a 50 dollar bill in her hand and said, “Listen, I’m a Christian, and I just felt like that God wanted you to be blessed with. He wants you to know that He loves you, so this is to pay for your earrings.” Months later, that lady actually was with somebody who knew Joyce was and watched her on TV. And this lady had a neighbor who has been telling bad things about Joyce Meyer. Then the lady said, “Oh no, she’s for real. Let me tell what she did.” Then she told the story of Joyce paying for her earrings, and eventually that guy started watching Joyce Meyer’s ministries and ended up getting saved. Our simple kindness can even lead to their salvation. We can do good things in many simple ways. Honestly, I believe this is the easiest thing to have of all the 9 gifts. I have been challenged by Joyce Meyer, and now I challenge you. Would you sincerely do at least one thing for somebody else everyday?

Goodness

Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the way. - Psalms 25:8

                I attended last Sunday’s worship service and it was about the Goodness of God, Part 2 of the series Awestruck – the Greatness and Goodness of God. It said that the source of everything is God, and everything changes except for God. That is why we have to just trust Him in three things – in His words, His promises, and His plans and purposes. Always remember that God is good all the time. This goodness is just like righteousness. And by trusting in these three things will certainly lead you to the path of righteousness. If you can obey the 10 Commandments of the Lord, then you can consider yourself a good person. Pastor Rommel is probably my best example on this one. Aside from the fact that he is a Pastor, I can see that he does everything God wants him to do. He obeys every command, and trusts in Him completely. Can you imagine devoting your whole life and family to the Church and fulfilling what has been tasked for you to do – Honoring God and Making Disciples? That is not as easy as it seems. Since I met him, I learned so many things about life and God. Every insight or experience that he shares gives me this delight that God really is so good. If goodness is a disease, it is contagious; and it is the only thing that I am willing to be infected with.

                I hope you enjoyed reading this one. It’s kind of long though, but I couldn’t think of any way to make it short, yet beautiful. I want this to be special, for it is God’s gifts that I am talking about. I hope you have been enthused enough by this one to wait for my next post about faithfulness, gentleness and self-control – the last installment of my trilogy. LOL. Until next time, I have to dress up now and get ready for my small group later. God is with you. Stay safe!

Testimony: Patience is a test of Faith.

Life Lesson: Cherish every God-given gift that you have.

Godly Passion: Goodness is contagious.

Good News: Honor God, Make Disciples.

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control

Galatians 5:22

            It has been a week since I finally updated my blog. I am having a hard time with this one. I have other things in mind that can be much easier to write down, but I still wanted this one. I just thought that it would be nice if I discuss these 9 fruits on my 9^th post. Actually, I’ve already started writing this thing down days ago, but I ran out of words to elaborate this topic. Well it is because I don’t really possess all these fruits, so I can’t easily relate. However, I believe having a piece or two of these amazing gifts is really awesome. As what the verse said, these fruits came directly from the Holy Spirit, not from us. So imagine living each day of your life being blessed by God by imparting His qualities right up into your soul and personality. Praise God for this one. Since I don’t exactly have all these qualities, I decided to name few people that I remember possessing each of these 9 fruits. This is going to be exciting. For one, probably most of the people that I’ll be mentioning are not aware of their God-given qualities, but it is sometimes better that way. For these gifts are not given to be boasted; rather, to be nurtured and to be shared as well.

Love

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. - John 3:16 

            I wish all of us can remember this verse, for this has been the reason why we are saved. Before Christ was born, people kill animals and put them as sacrifices to the Lord whenever they commit sins. But this trend has already been washed away since the day that Jesus sacrificed Himself and saved us from all our sins. Can you imagine yourself today burning and sacrificing animals or whatever in repentance for your sins? That’s why we are so blessed. All of the sins of our forefathers going back to the sins of Adam and Eve have all been forgiven by Jesus’ Death. God so loved us that He sacrificed His only Son for the Greater Good.

            Love is defined as: Unselfish, loyal and benevolent concern for the well being of another. The only person that I can think of having these qualities is my mom. She is my real-life Wonderwoman. Unselfish – for all she ever wanted was to see us happy, nothing more, nothing less; loyal – for she has always been faithful to us; benevolent – for she has always been concerned not only to us, but also to other people. I admire my Mama and Papa for being so generous and concerned with their employees. I can still remember there came a time that the food and shelter of their employees have been somewhat like for free because they made it so cheap. I said, “Ma, hindi naman pwede palaging ganun.” Then she replied, “Hayaan mo na.” They never thought of doing things for their own good. Love is truly one awesome gift.

Joy

But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. – Psalm 13:5

It is far better to seek "joy." Joy is related to happiness, but it is a deeper experience. In the search for happiness the individual focuses upon himself, but joy moves a person out of a self-centered preoccupation and provides an orientation towards others. Joy is an experience which connects us to that which is "Greater" than we are. It connects us to the creative power that is more than the "I" or ego. Joy gets us out of ourselves and in contact with this "Other" and with others. Joy can sustain us throughout the four phases of life. If we are willing to give up the search for happiness, we may find joy. It exists near the center of the wheel where happiness and suffering meet and intermingle (http://www.lessons4living.com/joy.htm)

All I thought joy has the same meaning with happiness. But it is not. Now I got this understanding that if you are happy seeing other people happy, that was joy flowing into you, not happiness. This is what God wants us to have – a better, deeper feeling than happiness. It is one great gift to have Joy overflowing into your soul in an early stage of your life. Only few people I know have this unselfish quality. But the first person that came into my mind was Ma’am Neneth Canizares. She was my professor in Leadership, Management and Research back in College. I really admire her, for she is highly respected in the institution. Some may fear or hate her for her snobbish look and strict persona; but if they would only have the chance to know her better, they will see how caring and loving she is to her students. I can still remember before beginning every meeting, each one of us was tasked to read and reflect to the Word of Day. She wanted us to learn from each other’s experiences. I was always excited when it was already my turn to read and reflect, for I always wanted to share my experiences with my classmates. She always checked and asked about our performances on our Nursing Audit. She encouraged us when we were down. She listened to our troubles and problems. She always puts an effort with her works.  She was not our adviser, but she acted more of like a mother to us. She was always happy with us; even though she was not so vocal, we felt her love and care through her actions. She is really one of a kind. Most teachers are like that. They are proud to see their students excel and become successful in their respective lives. They have this joy of knowing that they became part of their students’ lives.

Peace

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. - Colossians 3:15

            Blessed are the Peacemakers. Jesus said, “God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called children of God.”  There is a huge difference between people who work for peace and those who are in peace. That is why peacemaking is a difficult task for not only you seek for peace, but you actively seek to resolve conflict as well. Most of us, to attain peace, avoid conflicts. That is not what God wants us to do, for that is cowardice. He wants us to extend our hands to everybody, resolve conflicts and restore any broken relationships. Always remember that Love is God’s Good News. He wants us to relate and love one another. Honestly, I couldn’t think of any person having this mentality. Even I am guilty of not having this gift. Many that I know of can be considered as persons who love peace, but working for peace, as what I’ve said earlier, is really far beyond just seeking for peace. I am happy that I don’t have any problems with anybody right now. However, there are still few people that I have broken relationships with, and I want it to be restored… maybe not today, but I am hoping that it won’t take forever for us to rebuild and renew what have been lost. I want to be a peacemaker; though it is not that easy, I know I can because God is with me.

            Sadly, I think I have to cut the long story from here and continue the rest of the 9 fruits to my next posts. At least, I can finally publish this one. LOL. I hope you and I will discover all these 9 fruits eventually. Always remember that these gifts have been given to us by the Holy Spirit. We should treasure them and use them to touch other lives as well. They are very powerful weapons to fight evil and live a life in a Christ-like manner. Alrighty then, I got to go. Waaa. I’m going to be late again on my worship service! Till next time! Have a blessed Sunday! God is with you.

Testimony: If it weren't for Him, I couldn’t easily forgive those who have sinned against me.

Life Lesson: Cherish every God-given gift that you have.

Godly Passion: Love your neighbor.

Good News: Live a Christ-like life.