Anyways, for a long time since I entered community… our website has been way outdated and rarely made current.  But with more and more Elim startups popping up all over the world, we felt that our website should be given a fresh feel and better content.

So, we started from scratch and rebuilt the entire Elim Global website… a cleaner, simpler, homier look for dwellers and non-members alike.

Now that our site is up and running, you can check out our promo video below:

You can check out our new and improved Elim Global website by clicking here.

I, likewise, would like to share my joy with such a wonderful Elim Global team who worked tirelessly day after day in order to meet the Aug.16 launch (in time for our community’s revival anniversary).

I pray that you enjoy visiting the new Elim Global website as much as we enjoyed creating it…

All glory and praise to God almighty whose grace has been the only reason why we were able to complete this site in such a short span of time.

I’ve been away from my blog for so long that I am kinda feeling my way around it again… so many things have happened since my last blog post but truly this previous hiatus was productive for me spiritually.

Imagine… in a span of (ummmm)… about 7 months… I have switched jobs and my spiritually has deepened to a new level.  So much to say that I cannot put into words all at the same time so I guess I’ll be slowly talking about them in the coming posts.

What matters for now I guess is that I have a better and much deeper relationship with the Lord and that I am now in a happier place, work-wise, compared to where I was earlier this year.

God is great! All glory to Him who is deserving of all praise and honor!

More posts to come… Just wanted to share my joy with everyone who has been here and probably wondered why I haven’t been updating this blog for sometime now.

May the Lord be with you all. 

Feng shui experts started giving their advice on how to bring in “good luck” and how to fend off negative vibes. Rolling fruits on the floor just before the stroke of midnight and writing your wishes on paper and tucking them inside a small chest (container) wrapped in aluminum foil… posting good luck stickers on doors and displaying a particular type of buddha figurine.

Ok, so maybe the Chinese have a bunch of beliefs in order to attract fortune and prosperity… but what I saw on television were Filipinos… Catholics and renewed Christians alike listening to feng shui experts!

The most common phrase I heard from most of these “so-called” practicing Christians when asked why they follow these Chinese feng shui rituals: “Wala namang mawawala eh” (in english, “There’s nothing to lose”).

On the contrary, MUCH is to be lost! Haven’t they read the Ten Commandments? They need not go through the entire list to figure out that what they’re doing is an abomination to the Lord. The first part of the list states:

Do not have any other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God.

Now tell me, how does believing in superstition, in other religions and beliefs (such as feng shui) and all the rituals that go along with it not equate to idolatry? Doesn’t that clearly violate what God so clearly commands of us Christians?

To put things in perspective… let’s pretend you’re married to someone (assuming you still aren’t)… what you clearly expect from your spouse is that he/she be faithful to you… to not falter or waver but to be steadfast. Then one day you learn that your spouse has started to “play the field” so to speak… and starts dating other people… her reason being that he/she needs a fallback in case you fall short or aren’t able to deliver on your promises. How would that make you feel? Then he/she ultimately justifies it by saying “Wala namang mawawala, eh” (”There’s nothing to lose”)…

Tell me… is there really nothing to lose?

The Lord never said, “Do not have any other gods before me… but just to play it safe, it’s ok to also put your faith on good luck ornaments, crystals, figurines, coins and mystic advice in case I fail to deliver.”

God delivers.  Indeed, He most certainly does… to those who are faithful and obedient.  You see, His love is unconditional… but His promises aren’t.

You can be the most generous person during offertory… even the most consistent tither, but without obedience… it is all for naught. Without absolute obedience, sacrifice is empty.

In 1 Samuel 15:22 it reads:

“Does the LORD so delight in holocausts and sacrifices as in obedience to the command of the LORD? Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission than the fat of rams.”

Total surrender to our Heavenly Father is not just something that is said… it isn’t just something that comes out of your mouth… it is an everyday decision… a continuous and conscious effort… a daily act that you must carry out every minute of your life.

Remember, we (Christians) aren’t called the “bride” of Christ for nothing. The Lord expects nothing less than absolute and unconditional faithfulness to Him.

To be recognized as a Christian is not simply in being tagged or labeled as one… it is in how you live your life.

There is no such thing as a pseudo-Christian… or a semi-Christian. Either we’re Christians or we aren’t. There is NO middle ground. No compromise. No “playing it safe”

Try as they may, there is no possible justification to these acts. Nothing. Only complete and total repentance.

Because if they, as Christians, believe in life everlasting…

…there is EVERYTHING to lose.

Please read the message that follows and be faithfully vigilant.

BEWARE!!

If you have children or grandchildren, work with children at church, or you have neighborhood children whose parents you know, please take note of the information below and pass it along to others. Schools are distributing this book to children through the Scholastic Book Club.

The name of the book is “Conversations with God”..

James Dobson talked about this book twice this week. It is devastating. Parents, churches and Christian schools need to be aware of it. Please pass this information on to church/e-mail addresses, Parents, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, friends.

Please pay special attention not only to what your kids watch on TV, in movie theaters, on the internet, and the music they listen to, but also be alert regarding the books they read.

Two particular books are, Conversations with God and Conversations with God for Teens, written by Neale D. Walsch.

They sound harmless enough by their titles alone. The books have been on the New York Times best sellers list for a number of weeks, and they make truth of the statement, “Don’t judge a book by its cover or title.”

The author purports to answer various questions asked by kids using the “voice of God”. However, the “answers” that he gives are not Bible-based and go against the very infallible word of God.

For instance (and I paraphrase), when a girl asks the question “Why am I a lesbian?”.

His answer is that she was ‘born that way’ because of genetics (just as you were born right-handed, with brown eyes, etc.). Then he tells her to go out and “celebrate” her differences.

Another girls poses the question “I am living with my boyfriend. My parents say that I should marry him because I am living in sin. Should I marry him?”

His reply is, “Who are you sinning against? Not me, because you have done nothing wrong.”

Another question asks about God’s forgiveness of sin.

His reply: “I do not forgive anyone because there is nothing to forgive. There is no such thing as right or wrong and that is what I have been trying to tell everyone, do not judge people. People have chosen to judge one another and this is wrong, because the rule is “‘judge not lest ye be judged.”

Not only are these books the false doctrine of the devil, but in some instances quote in error the Word of God.

And the list goes on. These books (and others like it) are being sold to schoolchildren through (The Scholastic Book Club), and we need to be aware of what is being fed to our children.

Our children are under attack. So I pray that you be sober and vigilant about teaching your children the Word of God, and guarding their exposure to worldly mediums, because our adversary, the devil, roams about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8).

We know that lions usually hunt for the slowest, weakest and YOUNGEST of its prey.

Pass this on to every Believer you know. God bless!

And, if you are in doubt, check out the books yourself.

It is by the Lord’s LOVE and GRACE that we are redeemed… by sending His only begotten son to be born on Christmas day and dying for the sins of mankind.

We don’t merit such immense love and mercy… and yet our Lord chooses to do so.

What a wonderful God we have.

All glory and honor to You who has been eternally faithful to an undeserving people.

Praise to You forever!

In Jesus name…

…Even if life brings me pain
I remain forever true
I’ll accept it just the same
If it brings glory to You…

An excerpt from a song I wrote for our community’s music ministry entitled, “My Prayer (A Love Song)”.

Maybe you’re wondering as to what has been happening the past few months in my corner of the world.  A whole lot actually.  Lots of changes… in every way, shape and form.  During my short blogging hiatus, I have been led by the Lord through a road that felt more like roller coaster tracks that twisted and turned more times than I could count with my fingers.

Ups, downs, trials, tests…

But understandably so… knowing that the deeper my surrender to the Lord becomes, the greater the afflictions.  It wasn’t anything I did not expect… in fact, in Sirach 2:1-6 it is written:

“My son, when you come to serve the LORD, prepare yourself for trials.
Be sincere of heart and steadfast, undisturbed in time of adversity.
Cling to him, forsake him not; thus will your future be great.
Accept whatever befalls you, in crushing misfortune be patient;
For in fire gold is tested, and worthy men in the crucible of humiliation.
Trust God and he will help you; make straight your ways and hope in him.”

Since the last time I posted an entry… my kids have already moved into a new school, my wife moved into a new company, I took on a desk job (which I am very happy with… but that’s a whole different blog entry), I was able to fly to Cebu for the first time in about 15 years (yeah, it’s been that long!), and we are moving into our new home in roughly about 4-5 days.  These were the more notable changes and events that have taken place… major shifts in our day to day lives.

But change… IS good.  Only for as long as it is the Lord who allows these changes to happen.  Even if it means the Lord needing to drastically humble me in order to for Him to achieve His plans in my life.

You see… it’s all about HIM… and never about us.  We’ve heard this countless times.  You’ve even probably concurred to this notion… but until you’ve actually embraced and allowed yourself to be consumed by this wonderful concept, it only comes out as lip service.

I’ve been bent, broken and remolded by God… and I’ve gladly and willingly let Him.  He needs to work His perfect will in my life before I can be an instrument that would better serve His purposes in this world.

And with all the uncertainties that come with change, I’ve learned to depend all the more on my Creator… a vital trait that the Lord desires to be instilled in each and every one of us… “dependence”… absolute and unconditional dependence on Him who is provider of and answer to everything in this life.

So, as you better your faith… as you walk towards God… and as you slowly and completely open your heart to Him… welcome change.  Even if at first you perceive some of these changes to be unfavorable.

Welcome change.

“Study the generations long past and understand; has anyone hoped in the LORD and been disappointed? Has anyone persevered in his fear and been forsaken? Has anyone called upon Him and been rebuffed?” - Sirach 2:10

Be confident in Him who, in His infinite wisdom, knows what’s best for you… in Him who sees farther and knows better.

Change IS good… you can be sure of it.

Because God is.

Praise God…!  Revival has arrived to Baguio City!

We could already feel the Spirit during rehearsals in the venue… it was unmistakable!  Praise and worship run-throughs were already powerful and the entire production crew could already feel the intense atmosphere during setup and preparations.

Though we only had the chance to stay for about 3 days… the climb up was well worth it.  May revival spread all over northern Luzon because of this empowerment by the Lord.

But you will receive power when the holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”  -Acts 1:8

He pulls you away from one direction and leads you to another… and you just have to trust that He has your best interest at heart.

Earlier this afternoon, things have unraveled so fast that I kind of got lost in the flurry of how my life was turned upside down and inside out by the Lord… and only this evening have things started to sink in…

It kind of popped up in my mind already much earlier today but I kind of brushed it off during that moment… but it was once again triggered as I was talking with my wife over dinner.

I hurriedly sought advice and guidance which I badly needed to help me get over the depression that was building up inside of me… and the answer was clear:  To rejoice and delight in God’s will… no matter what.

So now, though extremely saddened to part with people whom I have grown to love and care for, I faithfully submit to my Lord’s divine will as he opens a new chapter in my life.

I just praise and thank Him for the wonderful opportunity He has given me to serve in an area which has opened my eyes, my heart and soul… a place which will always be close to my heart… and for giving me the chance to meet people and kids whose strength and resilience through faith have greatly ministered back to me.

I look forward to the day when I shall once again be reunited with them.

To my Rosario family… I already miss all of you.  You guys will always be in my heart and in my prayers.

Not to mention that I totally lost my voice 2 Sundays ago right after Community Mass.  I was part of the music ministry that performed the church songs during that event.  And my throat bled right before we started.  Soon after, as the final bar of the closing song was winding up, I realized that my vocal chords had started giving up on me…!

Praise God it didn’t happen DURING service.  Whew! 

By evening, I was voiceless… it was frustratingly funny.  Frustrating for me… funny for those who could hear me struggle to barely let out a sound.  It’s been about 2 weeks already since I lost my voice and I’m still on the path to recovery.

My doctor told me it was a severe case of Pharyngitis.  The nasal drip caused by congenital nose problem (yes, the bridge of my nose is bent to the left obstructing air passage on my left nostril), has finally irritated my vocal chords to the point of acute swelling and bleeding.  Sounds bad, huh?

I am currently taking medication combined with steroids and a nasal spray that’s supposed to alleviate the pain and irritation.  I was advised to stay away from dust and possible sources of allergy.

But just what is PHARYNGITIS exactly?  According to the Medicalook website it’s as follows:

Pharyngitis is commonly referred to as a sore throat. It is a very common ailment that may signal a multitude of other possible illnesses. Strep throat, the common cold, ear infections, and many respiratory illnesses all tend to begin with discomfort in the throat, which we call a sore throat.

Pharyngitis is not a disease, but a symptom of another problem within the body. It can be tremendously uncomfortable, and can be difficult to deal with during an average day. Many over the counter treatments may help to alleviate the symptom, but ultimately the patient should seek to find the cause of the symptom and then proceed from there.

If the cause is a bacterial infection, which happens only a small percent, then an antibiotic will help alleviate the discomfort and the cause. However, in most cases, a virus is to blame which renders the antibiotic useless.

Rarely does pharyngitis occur as the only symptom. Other symptoms either accompany a sore throat or are soon to follow. Symptoms such as fever, cough, runny nose, headaches, and fatigue often indicate the common cold or the flu.

Because of this, I missed one Wednesday of Elim, Rosario (A place we go to on a weekly basis to serve and hold praise and worship gatherings for our dwellers there).  But I’ve been serving again… I’ve bounced back to my old routine… I’ve even managed to get back to singing during team revival and was even able to sing during our recent Couples Time Out Gathering last Friday.

My voice (and throat) isn’t back a 100% yet but I’m getting better.  Praise God.