Journey to God in Small Steps

The Creator God was and is a God of diversity. Scientists estimate that there are between 3 million to 100 million of species on the planet, of which just 1.2 million species have been registered. There are 7.77 million species of animals, 298,000 species of plants and 611,000 species of fungi, among others. 1   The world population as I've seen recently in the US Census is pegging at around 7.2 billion individuals alive. 2  There are about 196 countries in the world, 3  and there are more than 5,000 ethnicities counted. 4   The Word of God is true when He says  " A nd he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, " (Acts 17:26). He is a God who created diversity .  The first human being was created by the work of His hands: " Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the bre...

This message is a very cost-ly message to write for me. It's not without cost. And it's not the easiest thing in the world to do  –  to let an offender go and bless them, but that's exactly what I have been taught the past few days. I lost an iPad that was given to me by my mother in the summer of this year April 2014 (summer time in the Philippines is different than in the States and other countries). I was going to work riding a shuttle van last Friday and I was the last passenger on board sitting in front. My iPad was placed on top of the van's dashboard and as I got off the van, I did not realize I stood up without it. And then an hour or so later, I finally realized to my horror I left the device in the van. When I came back to look for it, it was already Monday (I had schedule conflicts and I couldn't get there on time to report it and I wasn't sure if they were operating on a weekend.) Believe it or not, I was having faith that the driver of the van ...

I want to share a story about this certain plant in our garden. We have this plant that looked more like a bush of leaves than a flower variety, simply because it just didn't bloom that much flowers! We probably had that plant for more than a year now. And to me, it was just a bush. Until one day, in just a short time, after a week-long healing retreat, this "bush" suddenly mushroomed tiny white flowers in the left and bottom side. Now it looks like this: "I thought it was just a bush." What went from an ordinary bush (to me) is now a plant that blooms new flowers each morning. The reason why it wasn't blooming flowers earlier was because it was growing buds all along. And at just the right time, each one of those buds would become pretty white flowers. It makes me think about this verse in  Genesis 26:12-13: " Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold , because the Lord blessed him . The man became rich, ...

I think leaders do really struggle with wanting to do what's best and yet there's something within us that feels we're not always capable to come out perfect and make the right decisions each and every time. And I wonder if there is such a thing as being lonely when that happens. Sure it's easy to make a lot of friends who pat you on the back when you are on top of the world. But when it comes to pressures, decisions that could have been failures in other people's eyes, I wonder if real leaders feel a sense of loneliness after that. Is this something that real people face, hence the phrase, "It gets lonely at the top."?  These are just my honest questions. At one point, I know strong leaders can handle it. At another point, I feel for them (if they do feel it that is). Ever had these questions run through your head? " Do people see me for me?" "Do people see me for more than just what I can give?" "Do people se...

Today's mobile devices have what they call "geolocation" functionalities which pinpoint exactly where we are and help us to go from place to place. Do you know that God also has the right place for you? That was our topic in our small group last night. There are several reasons why God's place for us is the best place to be: Reason #1. God's place has God's PEACE. "And the work of righteousness will be peace, and the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever." Isaiah 32:17 (NASB) Reason #2. God's place has God's PROVISION. My pastor once said the place of obedience is the place of our blessing. In the desert, God rained down manna from heaven for the Israelites (Exodus 16:11-30). The first instruction God gave them was to gather the manna only in the morning and not keep it for the next day or else it will rot. And it did. The Israelites had to gather their food by the day. This shows that God was teaching ...

Jesus replied,  “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again." “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” Jesus answered,  “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.   Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.   You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You   must be born again.’   The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." John 3:3-8 (NIV) In the story, Jesus was teaching Nicodemus, a follower of the law and a Pharisee. Born into a religion which he upheld up to his adult life. And yet, when Jesus met this man, he said to him "You must be born again." This is a truth to Christianity. In fact, it came ...

World Watch prayer request - June 24, 2014 Hello! Please pray for the new UN climate agreement that is currently being negotiated by and with country leaders around the world. Why it matters: The new agreement will supersede the Kyoto Protocol and will set new targets for countries to reduce their emissions from 2020 and beyond. For reference, you may check this article written by The Christian Science Monitor: http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Global-Warming/2014/0621/Global-warming-Can-post-Kyoto-climate-pact-work-by-taking-a-different-tack Prayer points: * that they will have peaceful negotiation talks ** that country leaders be given wisdom to set targets and an implementation plan to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions *** that they will have unity, camaraderie and cooperation that is needed to achieve a binding agreement (to be signed in 2015) that will be beneficial for all countries. Stewardship of the Earth is our kingdom mandate " God blessed them a...

The Holy Spirit is impressing upon me a window today. It can be a closed one or an open one like the one below. Credit: www.photo-dictionary.com Windows provide vision of what is inside or outside but it takes a door (obviously open) before you can enter or exit to that which you are seeing on the other side. Sometimes God would give us a windows experience, declaring what is possible - it can be the potential of a future, something on the horizon, the potential of a person, a country or a company - but He would have us wait for the right door of opportunity to pass before we can enter. Or sometimes we were just meant to appreciate the view but not really enter it as there is a different door for us. Some of us visit houses and see the windows of what is inside but not really go in as we are just travelling to our own destination (and our own doors). I will explain this in more detail later. God has a plan for your life. Whatever it is, the L...