BETWEEN THE LINES

I dont believe in disposable relationships. Does friendship need to end if things do not work out right? There's nothing even final. I still believe friendship matters the most in any kind of relationship. But does one have to stop to give way to the other? Can't they not co-exist? Shouldn't they thrive despite of uncertainty? Shouldn't it continue to flow like a river? Shouldn't it last till the end? Should there be choosing?

Pains, hurts and uncertainties in life comes. Escape is the best medicine. At least for some. But the strong one's stand up and believe for the best. A friend always hopes, always trust, always protects, does not keep a record of wrong and it always perseveres. A friend is a person who loves at all times. Not because of something to be received in return. But a friend is a personification of love. A friend always loves. That is why we have a friend in Jesus.

When everything else goes out of bounce. When something else will be greater than friendship. I doubt it will last. Friendship must interweave every relationship. It must flow. It must be normative. It must be found in sports teams, churches, companies and marriages. It's the best relationship we can share with the person till the end. Nothing could be best. That's why I dont believe in "I hope we can be more than friends." A friend has no agenda. A friend is always there. Always trust, always hope, always persevere. It never fails. Friendship must not leave in pursuit of the other. For it to be understood one must read between the lines. 1 Corithians 13 "A friend."

WHERE?

Lately, I realize something new and something strange. I don't know if it is reliable or not but this one I can deny not. I tried shaking it off my mind and it won't go. I did not see this coming. I did not see this happening. I don't know if in the process I am aware or not. But this something I really don't entirely see coming to me this time in unexpected way. I don't know if I like it. But I do.

What started to be just ordinary years back I did not see could affect me this way. Am I over analyzing? Or I'm already caught? I smile at the thought of writing this. She's a good friend. So kind, so thoughtful, so fun to be with, just every friend you could ask for. I enjoyed her company. I know she enjoys too. She knows all my secrets, my frustrations, she listens to every little silly details, she knows my dreams, she knows my plans, she doesn't complain, she bears all through, she doesn't object, she is amazing. I think she loves me telling her all that's in my mind, all my life.

Along the way, we hit a hard road! A very hard road that almost changed it all. Unguarded, immature, reckless, giving into. Our road must separate. It did! We lived lives on different sides of the world. Totally unknown, shut down, drowned. We both conceded for what is right. Counting days, counting weeks, counting months. Though totally silent yet I know never forgotten. She crosses my mind more than a dozen times. But I choose to shake it off. Maybe there is a new life for us both apart from each other. Life must go on. Life must roll. Cherish the second chance. There must be something different.

Life after the hard road finally found a safer harbor. The world we lived in is but just small. Common friends, common spheres common interest. Life could never stretch us both apart into total oblivion. So situation brought us closer again. So we saw the silent moments taught us. We saw time healed. Time changes things. The hard road did not really yield an irreversible effect. But it really did not change what we have for each other after all. We were still the same friends. I still enjoy her company. And I know she does too. I love her. She loves someone else!

Another hard road! I was insensitive I know I become in the years past. I was selfish and I was reckless. So someone came into the picture. She got her eyes to someone else. At first, it really did not bother me at all-atleast emotionally. Aside from the fact that she really had a very, very bad pick! Laughing through her choice I found something inside of me strange. Could this be I am losing my guards. Why does it pain me like an arrow into my chest? This is crazy! I become overly affected.

Her plans met few challenges enough at least for her to have it all halted. Will she forever stay with me or again leave for i dont know? From here the story gets blurry. I know the idea of us being together now is not atleast the best. What will be the next part of this story? Where will our friendship lead? Only time can tell. Only heaven knows. For now I have to be satisfied with the idea that The Lord will lead us closer to His will. Atleast make it right this time. For now, I watch the clock click time out to reveal where this more than five years of friendship find its place in our lives. At least for now,

this time....I have something for her. I'm fine.

Where does the road meet for both of us? 

Time Well Wasted

Why you need downtime and how to spend it?

Most pastors don't waste enough time. At least that's my conviction. But wasting time well is an acquired skill, because there is good wasting and there is bad wasting. Bad time wasting is the hang around/watch TV/perform random online search kind that leaves you with less life than you started with. You may be doing it right now. I don't need to say any more about that, except to stop. The good kind of time-wasting will actually lead you to be more connected with God and more full of life. But it's hard to engage in, because there are always more pressing matters. This isn't really wasting time, of course, but our culture makes it feel as though it is.

There are three categories for these well-wasted times.

1. The discipline of solitude.

I used to think that solitude would involve pure, unadulterated prayer and intense spiritual activity; and because it is not, I never do solitude without a sense of wasting time. I have learned that wasting time is fundamental to solitude. People often want to know what you're supposed to do when you go into solitude. But this is the wrong question. The point of solitude is what you don't do.

Spiritual disciplines can be categorized as practices of abstinence and practices of engagement. In abstinence I refrain from doing what I normally do. In engagement I practice what I normally do not do.

Solitude is essentially a discipline of abstinence. In solitude I withdraw from relationships and noise and stimulation and see what there is when I am alone with God. The point of solitude is not what I do—it is what I don't do. I get away from all the voices and demands of my life and find out about what my little life is like when all the distractions are removed. The primary gift I find in solitude is freedom. After time alone, I begin to remember that what other people think of me really matters very little. Those people all have their own lives; they will all die one day and take their applause and criticisms with them. I'm always aware of this, but in solitude I come to feel it deeply. I feel a sense of peace that I treasure. A Bible or a journal may be fine for solitude, but they are not necessary. The primary thing to remember about solitude is just don't do anything.

(Interestingly enough, the Sabbath was described in Exodus in terms of "not-doing"— "on it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals … ")

2. Musing.

A second form of time-wasting is musing, or listening. Here I bring before God what I am concerned about. Often for me it involves either family or ministry. I am worried about one of my children. I am concerned about the health of my team. I am unsure about whether our ministry is functioning well. I spread these out before God, and then I listen. This listening is a form of prayer, but it is prayer than involves thinking and imagination and asking questions. Often I will ask God at the beginning of it for wisdom regarding next steps to take. I might write some ideas down. It will often lead to plans. It's important not to mix up solitude as a discipline with planning or musing. When I plan, I am hoping for an outcome. But by its nature, solitude as a practice requires letting go of all outcomes. When I am engaging in solitude for God's sake, I am not trying to get anything out of it; the pressure of wanting something keeps me from the very freedom God wants to give. But when I am musing over a concern, I am very much hoping for some next step to take.

3. Production enhancement.

The best example of this third kind of time wasting is a cow. A cow is a miracle on four legs, producing milk that fuels all kinds of people. But if you look carefully at a cow through the day, it looks remarkably unproductive. It spends hours chewing and then re-chewing. It takes less than five minutes to download the milk that it took 24 hours to produce. But when you're creating milk, you just can't make it go any faster. There are limits in the creativity game. If you are going to create, you need some time to chew the grass and stare into space.

In my experience, the more creative people are, the more space-staring they need to do. You can make instant coffee. But milk takes time. For me, production-enhancement time wasting usually involves some activity that I love just for its own sake. I read history. I go to the ocean and stare at the waves. I do a crossword puzzle. I call up a friend. I put a fire in the fire pit outside. I play the piano. How do you waste time badly? How do you waste time well? Are you wasting time adequately? If you find yourself feeling inwardly free, if you find yourself with all the ideas you need for planning, if you find yourself in a creative ferment, then you should probably stick to your current schedule. If not, you might want to re-think how you're wasting time. Enough for today; time to go back to work.

Written by:John Ortberg 

Editor at large of Leadership and pastor of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church in California.

RANDOM REVELATIONS - DAY 1 Prayer and Fasting

I was writing this with lights-off in my Green Apple notepad as I'm talking with Lord during my seclusion time in our Day 1 Prayer and Fasting. May this edify and encourage you church as it did to me. I categorize each message for. 

CHURCH

I am seeing two services to happen at ATS this year, morning and afternoon services. There will be a great harvest from the community who are really serious and committed about God and a handful of harvest from the workplaces and campuses.

God wants us to prepare our basket for the great harvest. He wants the leaders ready, the facilities ready, the workers ready, the hearts ready, the passions burning, the compassion on high levels, hearts are broken and engaged for the lost. Leaders who are selfless and ready to serve. Leaders who are passionate about the cause of Christ and to Jesus Christ Himself. We should ready our basket and train our leaders in heart, in intimacy with God, in holy living, becoming salt and light, to have a servants heart and all out for God!

I'm seeing two services filled with people passionately worshipping God. I see an excellent worship team Spirit-filled and playing excellently engaging the hearts of people to connect to God through singing songs. I dont know why I am seeing Kath Gadjamil leading worship at ATS in full room attendance!I see a Spirit-filled church. I sense a church that is so sensitive to the heart of Jesus. I see a church that lives a life of modesty that reflects the character of Jesus Christ as a community of faith.

COMMUNITY

 I see ATS chapel filled with people in both morning  and afternoon services. I see people from the talents who truly encountered God and they go to church not anymore because of food but because they are impacted by the love of God and desire to commit and surrender their live to Him. I see families with their children coming to church! I see leaders rising up in the communities and lead community groups!

WORKPLACE

I see faces from the young professionals group from the workplaces whose lives have been impacted and hooked by the Gospel and teachings of Jesus. They are led by leaders who model a life that reflect Jesus. I see a handful of them coming  from Eastwood. I see them engaging and serving in the church and growing in their relationship with God. I see them holding to their faith in Jesus not giving up in the challenges of life, trials and persecution. They will be a new batch of those who will rise up winning the workplaces. From among them will rise the next batch who would give up professions and careers and join the full time force because they see the beauty and potential of the local church that far more outweighs any job and career in this world. From among them will rise the future pastors, passionate preachers, leaders and world changers!

CAMPUS

I see a harvest of students from Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) and University of Makati(UMak). I see students joining the force! I sense a little struggle but the leaders will be willing to pay the price and soon conquer the universities and take their portion! The vision for the campus will be birthed and captured by these leaders. From among them will rise dreamers and history makers!

I need to level up. i need to be equipped more. I need more of God! I pray to be a better leader. One who understands the culture and engage it without compromise. I will lead leaders who are even older than I am from the business sector. I pray God will do more equipping in me and have a greater grasp of the vision! By the Grace of God and for His Glory!

#2013yearofgreaterthings!

10 THINGS TO THANK GOD FOR THIS YEAR

As I look back and reflect what transpired in my life this 2012 the only words I can say from the bottom of my heart is...THANK YOU LORD! I am indeed overwhelmed. Even as I'm typing this I am very emotional. Everything is because of His love and His grace! Let's do the countdown!

1. Thank you Lord ....this year I am always in good health. Hindi po ako nagkasakit (aside po dun sa usual na ubo and sipon...and sorethroat) Really, Im alive, alert and enthusiastic this year! Energy lamang!

2. Thank you Lord ....this year I am very much blessed materially! Bagong cellphone, nakapag pa brackets narin nagipin ko, daming bagong damit and pants, daming pairs ng shoes (vain na ba?) Libreng bahay sa Manila, libreng gamit sa bahay, hindi ako nag-zero talaga! Blessed nyo po din yung mga nagbless sakin Lord!

3. Thank you Lord ... this year I learned most of my valuable lessons in life. First and foremost to trust and obey you, to honor my parents all the time, to remain calm amidst uncertainties, to be patient with my critics, to bless those who hurt you, to trust in Your timing, to love and value the people around me, to grow in every aspect of my life holistic mindset kumbaga, to honor and respect the ladies,to be patient with my love-life, to pray more, to rely in Your love.and many more!

4. Thank you Lord... this year nakapag-aral ako sa Asian Theological Seminary. At last, nagkaroon narin ako ng opportunity to study sa isang bible school. To add that thank you for blessed me to be a scholar this second semester! Thank you po talaga! Im very humbled and honored despite and inspite my performance!

5. Thank you Lord... this year inallow nyo po akong makapagserve pa sa inyo! makapagplant ng church sa Metro Manila. Sobra na to! And binless nyo po ang church more than I can imagine! 

6. Thank you Lord ....this year nagpadala po kayo ng mga tao sa JAMC-MANILA nasobrang blessing po talaga sa ministry. Their dedication, commitment and love for God and the church is very evident! naeencourage po ako lalo na ipagpatuloy at gawing excellent ang pagserve sa inyo!

7. Thank you Lord...this year there were 30 people po ang nagcommit sa water baptism and nakagshare po kame sa mahigit 100 na people about the good news of Jesus Christ.

8. Thank you Lord...this year nakausap ko po yung mga taong dapat kong makausap before mag-end ang year and okay na po yung relationship namin ngayon. You are indeed a God who heals and restores!

9. Thank you Lord...this year I'm celbrating Christmas and New Year with my family. Thank you for the blessing called family. Thank you for giving me my mom and dad, they love me so much! Thank you for the awesome brothers Dennis, Gil Joy,and Ian they are my bestfriends close to my heart! Thank you for this family.

10. Thank you Lord...for YOUR love and grace that overwhelms me everyday! Thank you for always being there. You never cease to amaze me. You are more than enough!


Sa totoo lang po, kulang talaga ang 10 to list down how God has been so faithful and good...Kayo po, are there things you want to reflect and thank God before the year ends? Blog na!

THE TOP 10 BOOKS I READ IN 2012

Reading has indeed been a part of my life! At first, I thought reading books are only for the nerds and lame. But for every leader who wants to grow and expand their potential for the Kingdom of God you have to indulge into this habit. It really pays to learn from the wisdom of many people distilled throughout years and ages and make it available in print. Books help me so much than I could imagine. It helped me make decisions clearly and makes me rethink many times. It serves as my guide, my mind-buggler, rebuke and most of the time it inspires me to be the person that God wants me to be. So here's my top 10 list this 2012, not in order.

1. DIVINE MENTOR by Wayne Cordeiro

This book is a treasure! It led me to my knees in my quiet times with God.It reminded me of my first and foremost mission that if done, the rest will just follow! There is nothing more essential for every leader and pastor than to stay close to heart of His God, learn from His words and be consumed by His presence. It helped me thousand times more than I can imagine! Highly recommended!

2. TRANSFORMING GRACE by Jerry Bridges

Grace! Amazing Grace! We sometimes think we know it all but there is a lot about grace that is needed still to be unveiled for us Christians! It does not only save us but it transforms us! Commonly misunderstood because of its unhumanistic standard of dealing with things. But grace is not the idea of man but the idea of God. Grace is Jesus himself. It's what the new, the maturing and all christians in different spiritual spectrum needs! Grace is power to live the life that God wants us to live. Without it, I don't where I would be! With it we are eternally secured! Grace is all you need! Life transforming book indeed!

3. GRACE AWAKENING by Chuck Swindoll

Another Grace themed book. Twice in a row! I cannot get enough! The highlight theme of this book is, grace is  not being preached because of its nature to be misunderstood. But if indeed preached in its purest essence it will lead to genuine transformation. Many good-intentioned Christians disqualify themselves because they are measuring themselves on a wrong standard. The legalistic standard not the love standard of God. As a result they are living a life in bondage and guilt not of freedom and victory! Read this and you will experience the blessings of God's freedom and grace!

4. DIRT ON DATING by Hayley Dimarco

Let's go side bit first! This book is for those who are ready to make the BOLD MOVES! Yes, love life po ang topic nito. When you start holding this small book of about more than a hundred pages I assure you will finish it in one seating. Ang mahal po nito almost 500 ang thin lang. Magnet po and sobrang karelate ka talaga! Seasons of waiting for the one is there but it shall surely end and a season of pursuing comes in! KHAMOWN! So reading this book gives us practical and Christianly tips on how to pursue a girl and gives also tips on how girls must respond. Essentially this book aims to let every knight and princess avoid the dirts of dating! I'm pretty sure, I'm ready for the bold moves! but....in time! Hey, just wait!

5. INVITATION TO A JOURNEY: A ROAD MAP FOR SPIRITUAL FORMATION by M. Robert Mulholland Jr.

This book is a required reading for our spiritual formation class. It's so simple but very powerful. It reminds us of the basic and makes us think of the things we think we already know yet did not really have a tight grasp. It talks about the process of conforming to the image of Christ which is God's desire for every Christian. Its grace-filled approach and not legalistic. Spiritual living and maturity is a process. It gives us hope that we will soon arrive there, where God wants us to be by His grace!

6. WHO WROTE THE BIBLE? by Richard Elliot Friedman

Another required reading book at Asian Theological Seminary in our Theology 1 class. This book is a shocker! It tells us that Moses is not really the sole author of the Pentateuch (first five books of the OT). And  its investigative nature is very inviting for readers to go for the next page. It asks questions about the book we all love that we have not asked before. If you are not so founded,you might sign-up in the athiest club. But when fully understood it makes us appreciate most that indeed the Bible is the living word of God!

7. THE GRAND WEAVER: HOW GOD SHAPES US THROUGH THE EVENTS OF OUR LIVES  by Ravi Zacharias 

This book is phenomenal. It came to me just when I needed it most. My 2012 was not at all great. As a matter of fact I experienced many drifts and turns! And I was at the darkest night of my soul. Is God still there? Is He still holding me and for me? Is this game-over? But this book shines bright in the darkest night saying that God is sovereign and in control! He never panics. One thing always remain: HE LOVES YOU! Yes, there are pains and lessons. They serve as pearls and gems to be kept and learned from but not drive us 360km/hr towards the wrong direction. When you know God is in control and He loves you no matter what... You will have peace and you'll love God more!What the enemy meant for harm God turned it for the good! GOD RULES! Do you have dark nights of your soul? Read this book and soar once again!

8. SEVEN DEADLY SINS OF SMALL GROUP MINISTRY by Bill Donahue and Russ Robinson

A very helpful book for every pastor who wants to see the kingdom of God advancing and keeping people in growing in their relationship with God. The small group concept has been around for many years but there are still many questions lurking in the minds of pastor on how to make this concept work to the full. This book provides essential principles that will keep us from experiencing the pains and struggles of starting and keeping an effective small group ministry. It lessens the mistakes we will commit as we launch this concept in our churches. It must be at the shelf of every pastor and church leaders!

9. CHURCH PLANTING IS FOR WIMPS: HOW GOD USES MESSED-UP PEOPLE TO PLANT ORDINARY CHURCHES THAT DO EXTRAORDINARY THINGS  by Mike Mckinley

I took a 360 degree turn at the middle of the year to plant a church in a very challenging location in the Philippines - METRO MANILA. A guy who does campus ministry in a local university reluctantly commissioned to plant a church. Not to mention, I am not really in a good shape this very season of my call! That's another story to tell. But this book inspired me that God can do great things through unlikely people. It is evidenced many times in the Bible. I'm no Spectacular. I'm a sinner saved by grace! So if you think you are not qualified, read this book. It gives you helpful ways to start a church and how it could impact in many ways!

10. THE HOLY BIBLE by THE HOLY SPIRIT

Absolutely the best among the rest. I believe no one would argue with that! I love the bible. It is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. I navigate my life on the basis of this book says. It encourages, lifts, rebukes, reminds and changelife! This is the book among books! This should never depart from any Christian! Devotion to the word of God is first and foremost!

There you go?! What's your book this year?!

GRACE GROWS THE CHURCH

GRACE GROWS THE CHURCH

By Judah Smith

It was the morning of October 27, 2007 and my prayer time had degenerated into a venting session. I was the youth pastor at The City Church in Seattle at the time, and in my opinion the youth ministry wasn’t growing big enough or fast enough. My team and I were all trying our hardest, but we had hit a plateau and couldn’t seem to break through.

The book of Acts with its supernatural stories and explosive church growth wasn’t blessing me so much as it was frustrating me. “Why, God? Why don’t we see these things here in Seattle? How can we make our youth group and church grow?”

My prayer time ended and I got in the shower, still frustrated, still complaining to God. He’s used to that, I’m sure. David was a great complainer. The entire book of Psalms can pretty much be summed up by: “God, why do the wicked have all the gold, glory, and girls, and here I am running for my life and you don’t even care; please, please, PLEASE help me . . . actually, come to think of it, you are God and you are good, and I trust you and sooner or later things will work out for your glory and my salvation, and I guess I’ve got a great life after all and I love you. Selah.”

When I stepped out of the shower, God spoke to me. Not audibly—if He ever does that I’ll probably hide under the kitchen table—but a phrase branded itself on my brain: Grace grows the church. Immediately I remembered Acts 4:33: “And great grace was upon them all.”

I didn’t think too much about it at the time, but looking back, that was a defining moment in my life and ministry. I began to see grace everywhere I looked: in the Bible, in my church, in God’s dealings with me.

I didn’t know that a year later I would become the preaching pastor of our church, or that two years later I would take over from my dad as lead pastor. Leading a church with a weekly attendance of over six thousand, a staff of over a hundred, and a multimillion-dollar budget is more than intimidating, and without that revelation of grace, I wouldn’t have survived.

While the transition has not always been easy—change never is—God’s grace has been more than enough. Our attendance is up, dozens are getting saved each week, giving has increased even in the midst of recession, and lives are being changed.

Grace is the central theme of the Bible. Taking grace out of the Bible would be like taking speed away from a running back: you wouldn’t have much left. Fourteen New Testament books begin with a reference to grace and fifteen end with one. The message is clear: start with grace and end with grace, and you’ll get the job done.

Think back to the origins of the church in Acts 2. A group of uneducated and fear-struck nobodies were filled with the power of the Spirit, and in one afternoon three thousand people were saved. Soon the number grew to five, ten, twenty, one hundred thousand. In the words of their enemies, they turned the world upside down. Two thousand years later, two billion people are called Christians.

Was that the ingenuity of a man? Were the disciples holed up in the upper room, plotting how to create a worldwide phenomenon that would span two millennia? Did they just get lucky? Or was great grace upon them all?

Forget the spreadsheet, calculator, and pencil—you won’t figure out how the Early Church grew with logic alone. It’s no coincidence that the first time we see church growth mentioned, we hear that “The Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47).

Please don’t misunderstand me: I’m not dismissing the importance of strategy or hard work. But they must begin and end with grace or they won’t last. If I have to be smart enough and tough enough to do this all on my own for the next thirty years, please, just shoot me now! As I’ve told my church more than once, if you were thirty years old and had six thousand people showing up every week expecting to hear something new, profound, and biblical, you’d be preaching grace too!

Our greatest efforts and best-laid plans won’t accomplish in a lifetime what God’s grace will do in a moment. His grace is the reason we are serving Him in the first place. It’s why we care about the lost and why we minister to people—even the mean ones. It’s grace that draws in hurting people who need to belong before they can believe or behave.

It’s grace that grows the church.