I'm going through a Faith test!
This word is encouraging me as i go through the test...
Rise above fear, flesh, and earthly things so that you can hear My voice, says the Lord. There are many things that compete for your attention. Yet, I do not compete, but stand quietly by waiting for you to come and seek My face so that you can get the wisdom and direction that you need. Focusing your view on things not spiritual will only lead to confusion. But, discernment by My Spirit will lead to good judgment and righteous direction.
1 Corinthians 14:33 For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.
Beloved, you have been laboring under an undefined sense of oppression for some time and have not been able to overcome. But, now you will be able to begin to see the light dawn where darkness has prevailed. You have turned the proverbial corner where hope will replace gloom and despair. Hold on to these first rays of spiritual light, and resist the devil's attempts to pull you back into the realm of hopelessness, says the Lord.
1 Peter 1:13 Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ
Online journal of missionary/school administrator Roca Cruz: insights, on the road, behind the scenes.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Be prepared to give an answer
I got this from Hank Hanagraaf's blog.. it spoke to me.. it will speak to some :)
A common mistake that Christians make is to suppose that someone, by your apologetic or by your well-reasoned answer, be talked into the Kingdom of God. The motivation might be sincere but the consequences are often devastating. No matter how eloquent you may or may not be, you can't change anyone else's heart. Only the Holy Spirit can do that. Thus, while it's your responsibility to always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have, it is ultimately God who changes the heart.
The problem is not that people cannot believe - it's that they will not believe. In other words, it is often not a matter of the mind. It is a matter of the will. As Jesus Christ explained, "This is the verdict. Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates light and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed." This is Jesus talking.
The Christian faith is reasonable, but as Jesus Christ made clear, reason alone will not compel a person to embrace our Lord. I'm utterly convinced that if we're prepared to give an answer God will bring into our paths those whose hearts He has prepared. So it's our responsibility to prepare ourselves to be the most effective tools in the hands of almighty God. That's what we're doing - preparing. We're getting ready to give an answer. Then pray that the Holy Spirit will use our answer as the means through which He transforms a life for time and for eternity.
We often, in our thrill-oriented society. We're looking for the next experience. You want a real experience as a Christian? Try learning how to give a defense of the faith and then see God use your well-reasoned answer as a springboard or an opportunity to communicate the Gospel and see a son or daughter of Adam come into the Kingdom. Let me tell you, there is no more wonderful experience than that. You will be exhilarated. What you thought was a duty will become a delight.
All too often the Christian church has missed the experience because they're looking for experience in all the wrong places. They go to Pensacola or to Toronto or now to Lakeland, Florida, and I hear about barking in the Spirit or laughing in the Spirit or the gold dust revival. God is etching crosses on gold teeth today. And people buy into it and wait in line for it and they get all jazzed up and all worked up, and a week later they are more depressed than ever before because they bought into something that over-promised and under-performed.
But if you get back to basics and get into the Word of God and get the Word of God into you - now that takes some work, but there is a reward. There's a real payoff. It will enhance your witnessing, your prayer life, your counseling, your relationship with mother and father, with husband and wife, with siblings and with friends.
Try it sometime. Try becoming an equipped Christian. Your life will be revolutionized, a foretaste of what will happen when you cross the veil into eternity and meet the person that God brought into your path, and you were able to share the Gospel or provide it for ministries like this that did so, and realize that you had a part in that process, and then hear Jesus say this to you: "Well done, good and faithful servant."
A common mistake that Christians make is to suppose that someone, by your apologetic or by your well-reasoned answer, be talked into the Kingdom of God. The motivation might be sincere but the consequences are often devastating. No matter how eloquent you may or may not be, you can't change anyone else's heart. Only the Holy Spirit can do that. Thus, while it's your responsibility to always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have, it is ultimately God who changes the heart.
The problem is not that people cannot believe - it's that they will not believe. In other words, it is often not a matter of the mind. It is a matter of the will. As Jesus Christ explained, "This is the verdict. Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates light and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed." This is Jesus talking.
The Christian faith is reasonable, but as Jesus Christ made clear, reason alone will not compel a person to embrace our Lord. I'm utterly convinced that if we're prepared to give an answer God will bring into our paths those whose hearts He has prepared. So it's our responsibility to prepare ourselves to be the most effective tools in the hands of almighty God. That's what we're doing - preparing. We're getting ready to give an answer. Then pray that the Holy Spirit will use our answer as the means through which He transforms a life for time and for eternity.
We often, in our thrill-oriented society. We're looking for the next experience. You want a real experience as a Christian? Try learning how to give a defense of the faith and then see God use your well-reasoned answer as a springboard or an opportunity to communicate the Gospel and see a son or daughter of Adam come into the Kingdom. Let me tell you, there is no more wonderful experience than that. You will be exhilarated. What you thought was a duty will become a delight.
All too often the Christian church has missed the experience because they're looking for experience in all the wrong places. They go to Pensacola or to Toronto or now to Lakeland, Florida, and I hear about barking in the Spirit or laughing in the Spirit or the gold dust revival. God is etching crosses on gold teeth today. And people buy into it and wait in line for it and they get all jazzed up and all worked up, and a week later they are more depressed than ever before because they bought into something that over-promised and under-performed.
But if you get back to basics and get into the Word of God and get the Word of God into you - now that takes some work, but there is a reward. There's a real payoff. It will enhance your witnessing, your prayer life, your counseling, your relationship with mother and father, with husband and wife, with siblings and with friends.
Try it sometime. Try becoming an equipped Christian. Your life will be revolutionized, a foretaste of what will happen when you cross the veil into eternity and meet the person that God brought into your path, and you were able to share the Gospel or provide it for ministries like this that did so, and realize that you had a part in that process, and then hear Jesus say this to you: "Well done, good and faithful servant."
Friday, October 10, 2008
Thursday, October 09, 2008
What i cannot do!
Building on the Atonement
. . . present . . . your members as instruments of righteousness to God —Romans 6:13
I cannot save and sanctify myself; I cannot make atonement for sin; I cannot redeem the world; I cannot right what is wrong, purify what is impure, or make holy what is unholy. That is all the sovereign work of God. Do I have faith in what Jesus Christ has done? He has made the perfect atonement for sin. Am I in the habit of constantly realizing it? The greatest need we have is not to do things, but to believe things. The redemption of Christ is not an experience, it is the great act of God which He has performed through Christ, and I have to build my faith on it. If I construct my faith on my own experience, I produce the most unscriptural kind of life— an isolated life, with my eyes focused solely on my own holiness. Beware of that human holiness that is not based on the atonement of the Lord. It has no value for anything except a life of isolation— it is useless to God and a nuisance to man. Measure every kind of experience you have by our Lord Himself. We cannot do anything pleasing to God unless we deliberately build on the foundation of the atonement by the Cross of Christ.
The atonement of Jesus must be exhibited in practical, unassuming ways in my life. Every time I obey, the absolute deity of God is on my side, so that the grace of God and my natural obedience are in perfect agreement. Obedience means that I have completely placed my trust in the atonement, and my obedience is immediately met by the delight of the supernatural grace of God.
Beware of the human holiness that denies the reality of the natural life— it is a fraud. Continually bring yourself to the trial or test of the atonement and ask, "Where is the discernment of the atonement in this, and in that?
Oswald Chambers
http://www.rbc.org/utmost/index.php
atonement definition:
Amends or reparation made for an injury or wrong; expiation.
Reconciliation or an instance of reconciliation between God and humans.
Atonement Christianity The reconciliation of God and humans brought about by the redemptive life and death of Jesus.
. . . present . . . your members as instruments of righteousness to God —Romans 6:13
I cannot save and sanctify myself; I cannot make atonement for sin; I cannot redeem the world; I cannot right what is wrong, purify what is impure, or make holy what is unholy. That is all the sovereign work of God. Do I have faith in what Jesus Christ has done? He has made the perfect atonement for sin. Am I in the habit of constantly realizing it? The greatest need we have is not to do things, but to believe things. The redemption of Christ is not an experience, it is the great act of God which He has performed through Christ, and I have to build my faith on it. If I construct my faith on my own experience, I produce the most unscriptural kind of life— an isolated life, with my eyes focused solely on my own holiness. Beware of that human holiness that is not based on the atonement of the Lord. It has no value for anything except a life of isolation— it is useless to God and a nuisance to man. Measure every kind of experience you have by our Lord Himself. We cannot do anything pleasing to God unless we deliberately build on the foundation of the atonement by the Cross of Christ.
The atonement of Jesus must be exhibited in practical, unassuming ways in my life. Every time I obey, the absolute deity of God is on my side, so that the grace of God and my natural obedience are in perfect agreement. Obedience means that I have completely placed my trust in the atonement, and my obedience is immediately met by the delight of the supernatural grace of God.
Beware of the human holiness that denies the reality of the natural life— it is a fraud. Continually bring yourself to the trial or test of the atonement and ask, "Where is the discernment of the atonement in this, and in that?
Oswald Chambers
http://www.rbc.org/utmost/index.php
atonement definition:
Amends or reparation made for an injury or wrong; expiation.
Reconciliation or an instance of reconciliation between God and humans.
Atonement Christianity The reconciliation of God and humans brought about by the redemptive life and death of Jesus.
Monday, October 06, 2008
left by the plane
san diego trip fil am fest
goofing around with raquel and trixee willy santos famous skateboarder



morse h-school sand castle inn kitchie and fox news
We had a great time in Fil-Am fest!! Thank you to the people who took care of us Tita Leila Compuesto, Edward, lilyanne, JR, virgil, andrea, kat, gerald and the rest of the Kalusugang, FTS, and Fil-am comunity.
I'd like to thank Boyet, mike, polly and dodge who played for us during the festival.
Life charisma church too! i always feel that God is taking away borders of church comunities :)



morse h-school sand castle inn kitchie and fox news
We had a great time in Fil-Am fest!! Thank you to the people who took care of us Tita Leila Compuesto, Edward, lilyanne, JR, virgil, andrea, kat, gerald and the rest of the Kalusugang, FTS, and Fil-am comunity.
I'd like to thank Boyet, mike, polly and dodge who played for us during the festival.
Life charisma church too! i always feel that God is taking away borders of church comunities :)
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