Empty Only To Be Filled

It's been over a year and two thanksgiving ago when we moved to the United States. I spoke to a friend yesterday who was in need of comfort and prayer over the phone apparently he was going through a trial so intricate that it obscures his focus on his walk with the Lord. I spoke to him about how I went through almost the same situation when I had just moved, I looked at life living here the first seven months incredulously. I battled depression upon depression to the point to where my marriage and family life became very shaky. My friend obviously was down on the dumps and kept asking God the question Why, What???? I told him it's time to shift to asking Who Is In Control? you see my friend is a "take charge" fellow suffice it to say sometimes he is full of himself but not in a boastful kind of way (I don't know if that makes any sense?), however one night he found himself crying and surrendering everything to the Lord. I told him "you know that is exactly the kind of state where God wants you to be in order for you to experience His power made perfect at this time of weakness." That was how i went through and survived my seven month ordeal of transitioning myself when I moved. God wants us to be broken and emptied that way He can fill us with His love and presence in our lives. Are you going through a big funk in your life to where you think you can resolve it on your own even if it is remotely possible? ... It's time to move to the passenger's seat and let Jesus take the wheel (as Carrie Underwood would sing). Let Him drive and enjoy the ride!

I used to end my radio talkshow back in the Philippines by saying these words..."Jesus is just a prayer away". I never thought it would create such a huge impact in the lives of my listeners. I would recieve text messages and people telling me how much these words meant to them and how it made a difference in their lives. This motivated me to start (with God's help) the first Christian Bible Based Radio Talk Show on a Commercial Station in the city where I used to live. To this day that show still continues to excist with my Pastor/Friend Chaz Yandall on the helm and my dear friend and former Radio Station Boss who recieved Jesus a few years after I joined the Radio Industry, Phillip Rodriguez assisting him. The title of the show?..."DEEPER"

1 C0r. 10: 12-13

2 Cor. 12

A Smile Worth Millions

Friday, November the 23rd was a very busy day in our store it was the "After Thanksgiving Day Sale" and so was Saturday the 24th. I was asked by my boss to come and report on a Friday and Saturday daytime shift to help them out for the big two day sale. I was assigned by my boss on the 3rd floor of the store as a CPU (Customer Pick Up), what the CPU does is to assist the customers with their purchases if they bought more than one item that becomes a handful for them to carry. Most customers were very nice but about a few were ridiculously impossible to deal with. That being said, on the afternoon of the 24th I was asked to assist a lady who had just purchased a tall Christmas Tree and she needed help to bring the tree to her car parked at the 2nd level parking of the store. Long story short, I brought the tree (tiny as I am) all the way from the 3rd floor to the 2nd level parking area with much agony as there were no more carts available to transport the tree (I had to do it manually). As soon as we reached the the area where her car was parked we tried to squeeze the tree inside of her backseat and I had to come up with some adjustments in order for the tree to fit inside the car. When we finally succeeded in our rather interesting endeavor the lady customer gave me a heartfelt "Thank You!" and a "smile" that I would never forget up to this day. You see with all the pain and soreness of carrying the tree she purchased ... that smile was more than enough to make my day, it was worth beyond millions to me. Several blogs ago I mentioned that the job that I have right now is something that I am not used to doing and this has never been my background but now I realized that the opportunity in this workplace is endless if only to become a beacon of light.

The greatest among you all will be your servant.

Matthew 23:11

...for he who is the least among you all is the greatest

Luke 9:48

Philippians 2

Bring Out The Turkey

And there won't be snow in Africa, this Christmas time
The greatest gift they'll get this year is Life
Where nothing ever grows
No rain or river flows
Do they know it's Christmas time at all.

From the chorus of the song "Do They Know It's Christmas" recorded in 1984 by the group Band-Aid consisting of popular British and Irish musicians. This was to raise awareness and money for the famine in the African Country of Ethiopia at that time.

Do not worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God about what you need and Thank Him for all He has done.
Philippians 4:6

Before you bring out the turkey today remember the many who could not even so much as to have a piece of bread to eat. Count your blessings...the greatest of which is the gift of salvation.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Bruised But Not Broken

Almost a year ago I recieved an e-mail from the wife of one of my missionary friends who was once assigned in the city where I used to live in the Philippines. It was a very disturbing letter to say the least, you see they are now living in India in an area very close to the border of Nepal. My friend's wife wrote about how her husband was conducting a bible study in one of the villages within the area where they are based when minutes after a mob of extremists attacked the village and disrupted their bible study. They clobbered almost everyone including my friend, after beating him up they confiscated his laptop computer containing all of the datas on their mission itineraries as well as very important documents such as his passport. In the midst of all of the flurry he and his companion were able to escape without getting caught and managed to return to their families alive. My friend continues to live in that area hoping to win more souls for Jesus in spite of what he had gone through.

"The church has an unconditional obligation to the victims of any ordering of society. There are things for which an uncompromising stand is worthwhile".

Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Hung in Germany for resisting the Nazis
1945

1 Thessalonians 3

An Opus For A King

I was asked by a friend of my impressions whenever I witnessed an individual performing as a way to evangelize through a song and hits the wrong notes. I don't pretend to have a significant amount of cognizance when it comes to such performances. However it is important to note that one does not simply perform for the sake of performing. One performs for an audience of One ...Jesus! which brings us to the question, if I was asked to play my Djembe drum in front of the President of our country would I give it my best? You bet I would! let alone performing for the King of Kings but here's the kicker, preparing an opus before God's people should take a lot of heart and a lot less pride. Egos the size of Texas have no place in the Kingdom. One has to draw the line between a performer and a worshiper. Better to have the right heart and hit the wrong notes than to hit the right notes but have the wrong heart. Of course practice makes perfect especially when preparing an Opus for the King who died for your sins.

"But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as Pleasing Men but God who Tests our Hearts".
1 Thessalonians 2:4

"Pride comes before destruction"
Proverbs 16:18

1 Thessalonians 2

Direct Line

Remember back in the 60s and 70s when one couldn't make a Long Distance call without going through an operator? By the early and late 80s the Direct Dialing was made available to phone consumers so that it became more convenient and easy to make Long Distance calls around the world. Then came the era of cellular phones and the information superhighway or the internet, now the webcam and the i-phone. All these technology is making the world smaller and more accessible.

We can therefore deduce that we have a direct line to our Heavenly Father...we don't need an operator to place our call.

If we confess our sins. He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

John 1:9

Ezra 10

The Tale Of The Bale

Two days ago I was working at the docks of a department store in Dallas and I was assigned to work on the "bale". For those of you in Blogland who don't already know it, the bale is a machine where empty boxes are being thrown so it could be recycled. I was taught about twice already by my supervisor how to empty the machine if it becomes full. But that one particular day I didn't do it right not just once but twice. The first time I did it I sought the assistance of a guy named Arthur and he gave me a disdained look and it didn't take an "Einstien" to figure out that he wasn't pleased with what I had done. But to give him credit he did try to help but gave up in the end, in contrast my supervisor and manager, Al and Terrie were very gracious in the way that they assisted me. They told me that even though I was briefed about how to handle the machine it would take some time before I could really familiarize myself on how it should be operated properly. Al and Terrie's demeanor reminded me of how God treats His kids, yes there is grace but there is also the expectation of performing profeciently at work. We will fall and make mistakes and just like the "tale of the bale" we ought not to remain oblivious on how to operate the machine the right way ergo the same thought process should follow in our walk with God.

We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do - this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me.

So I find this law at work; When I want to do good, evil is right there with me for my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! who will rescue me will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through JESUS CHRIST our LORD!

Paul, The Apostle
In his letter to the church in Rome
Romans 7:14-23

Ezra 9