Usapang Mesa.

It was Tuesday night and I arrived in our house, tired and hungry because of a whole day’s worthwhile activity. Habang naghahanda ako ng hapunan, dumating si Mama mula sa Bible school at inimbita kong kumain kasama ko.

After 10 minutes, my sister Abby arrived as well, and also my father who’s removing his shoes outside as both of them came from a Christian seminar from Bacoor Government Center.

Tas nagbihis si Papa ng damit pambahay. Inaya ni Mama na sumalo siya sa amin kumain, at umupo siya sa tabi nito.

And I started to strike a conversation with my parents.

“Tsk, parang naninibago ako sa mga ginagawa ko ngayon. Mukhang kailangan kong mag-adjust.”

“Galing ka bang training niyan?”’, usisa ni Mama.

“Oo, ‘ma. May dalawa pa kong papapirmahan para matapos ko yung courtesy call ko sa mga officers. Pag nakapirma na sila, official na akong makapagsimula.”

“May ginagawa ba kayo doon?”

“Sa ngayon, wala kasi ayos pa naman yung mga helicopter nila, pero kapag kailangan nang check-up-in, saka sila huhugot ng mga trainee para tumulong depende sa workload. Since marami ding OJT dun ang mi-minsang naka-standby, plano ko kapag may driving sa church, mag-drive muna ako. Pag may mga araw na bakante ako pagkatapos ng klase, saka ako papasok para di sayang oras.”

Biglang nagsalita si Papa habang kumakain ng vegetable tocino na ayaw kong kainin, “Mapapagod ka ng husto niyan, Paul. Pano yung NTC mo?” 

“Pagsasabayin ko na lang. Ang kagandahan naman ay flexible ang oras ko dahil mahaba yung duration ng training. Wala akong hahabuling oras. Kailangan ma-manage ko ng husto yung oras ko sa ibang bagay.”

“Ganun na nga. Tiyagain mo na iyan. Open door na ni Lord iyang training mo at timing na nakapasok ka diyan. Ingatan mo lang yang katawan mo. Balansehin mo lang. Dapat magbawas ka na ng commitments mo.”

“Siyanga, Pa, paunti-unti. Kailangan ko nang makapahinga ng maaga para may laban ako kinabukasan. San pala kayo ni Abby galing niyan?”

“Diyan sa munisipyo, may inatenan kaming seminar. Ang ganda ng shi-nare nung faliciteyto, ano ba yun? Falici….”

“‘Facilitator. Tungkol saan yung shi-nare niya?’”, usisa ko. Nakinig kaming dalawa ni Mama.

“May tatlong tanong yung facilitator na nag-seminar sa amin, pero heto yung tanong na nag-stick sa akin na ipinasagot niya sa seminar. Sabi niya, ‘Kung dadating si Hesus sa harapan niyo ngayon at kausapin kayo, anong itatanong niyo o sasabihin niyo sa kanya?’ Pinakinggan ko yung sagot ni Abby, sabi niya, ‘Pa, tatanong ko kung bakit ganito ako mag-isip, ganito ang ugali ko, bakit ako yung pinili mo.’ Ngayon ko lang na-realize na ganun kababaw pa yung faith ni Abby sa mga ganong bagay.”

“Sa akin nga ‘pa, kanina medyo nadi-discourage ako habang nandun ako sa loob ng compound, para akong pinanghihinaan ng loob kasi parang back to square one ako uli.”

“Alam mo’ nak, ang kalaban, magbabato sa iyo ng thoughts of discouragement, pero tapatan mo siya ng salita ng Diyos. You declare the word of God.”

“Siyanga ‘tay kanina habang nandun ako nag-declare ako, ‘Thank you Lord that you do not given me a spirit of fear, but of power, of love, and of a sound mind.’ Yung sound mind dun is the discipline para magpatuloy.”

“Tama iyan, ‘nak. Ideklara mo yung Word pag nakaka-encounter ka ng ganyang mga bagay. Yung tipong balisa ka tas di mo alam gagawin, say the Word. Heto kasi iyon eh, maraming tao ang may alam na may Diyos pero hindi nila nararanasan yung personal intimacy na dapat meron tayo sa kanya. Ako ‘nak, sa tagal ko nang pagiging Kristiyano, napatunayan ko mismo na hindi ako pinabayaan ng Diyos, naranasan ko yung intimacy ng aking relasyon sa kanya. 

Why do you experience yang mga bagay na iyan? Kasi it is an opportunity for you to know him deeper. Lumalalim pa ang pagkakakilala mo sa kanya and you are becoming more dependent on God. Marami kasing iba, kahit Kristiyano na, pag may problema saka lang lalapit pag may kailangan, pag na-solve na o natanggap na, sila na uli ang may kontrol ng buhay nila.

"Sa mga ganyang pagkakataon, you declare the Word and faith arises from your heart. You begin to learn na mag-depende din sa Holy Spirit. Tanungin mo ang Holy Spirit pag nababalisa ka, ‘Lord, ano po ba ang dapat kong gawin? Lord, ano po bang gusto niyong ipaunawa sa akin?’ And receive it and apply it. Para maranasan mo yung truth of God’s Word sa buhay mo pag isinabuhay mo kasi kapag pinatotoo mo iyan, powerful iyan, may impact iyan sa iba kapag shi-nare mo.”

Bigla akong nahimasmasan. Ani ko, “Oo nga no, ‘tay, bigla akong naliwanagan dun ha. So good to be reminded, Pa.” (Dahil I was thinking for the past few days how will I juggle my commitments and I’m a bit anxious and unsettled). Then I whispered a short prayer of repentance against self-sufficiency while he’s still exhorting. I was greatly reminded of those simple things and right there and then, I felt in myself that I retuned back on my track.

"Ganun kasi iyon anak ang advantage mo sa mundo pag kasama't kilala mo na ang Diyos. Nakikita mo yung mga bagay based on God's perspective. Kapag you have the wisdom that comes from God, it brings life, and light sa mga nakakarinig, leaving them encouraged. As you grow in God, madi-discern mo yung mga bagay na dapat mong maintindihan at malaman as you have this journey with God.

“Ganun pala yun no, Pa. Kaya nung nag-pray ako and I declared that verse, biglang umaliwalas yung ulap na maitim dun sa barracks at nawala yung parang veil sa isip ko.”

“Ayos iyan anak. You are growing more and more. Yan ang gusto kong matutunan niyo habang nandiyan kayo sa edad na iyan.”

Then I paused for a short while and ate a spoon full of rice and hot noodles while still pondering what my dad talked about. Then he continued.

“Balik tayo dun sa sharing kanina. Natuwa lang ako sa mga sagot nila. Pati sa sagot ni Abby. Pagkatapos nilang sumagot lahat, ako yung huling sumagot. Sabi ko, ‘Maganda yung lahat ng mga sagot niyo. Pero kung ako tatanungin, isa lang sasabihin ko.’

“Salamat Panginoon at pinili mo ako.” 

“Hindi niyo ba na-realize na sa dami-dami ng tao sa mundo, sa dami-dami ng mga taong busy sa labas at nagtatrabaho, kumakayod at nag-uubos ng oras sa iba’t ibang bagay, lahat tayo ay nandito sa lugar na ito para makinig at makatanggap ng buhay mula sa kanya? Na tinatanggap niyo yung napaka-importanteng bagay sa buhay na hindi natatanggap ng iba? At dahil pinili ka niya, mula sa kadiliman, inilipat ka niya sa kaliwanagan? Hindi ka niya pinili dahil mayaman ka o qualified ka. Pinili ka niya kasi may plano siya sa iyo. Gusto ka niyang bigyan ng buhay. At kay sarap pasalamatan ang ganoong pribilehiyo.”

“Natuwa ako dun eh, nagpapakanta si Abby dun sa praise and worship kahit na may ugali pa na dapat mabago sa kanya. Pero ayos lang yun, nasa proseso pa si Abby ng pagkaunawa.”

“Oo nga kuya, napaisip ako nun nung tinanong sa amin yun kanina”, ani ni Abby na nagsusukat ng bagong bigay na damit galing kay Tiya Buleng sa aming malaking salamin.

“Kaya nga pasalamatan niyo na pinili kayo ng Diyos, kasi yung mga bagay na tinanggap niyo simula nung na-Born Again tayo ay hindi kayang tumbasan ng pera. At habang lumalaki kayo, sa ganyang edad maigi nang nauunawaan niyo ang mga bagay na iyan”, ani ni Papa na matapos kumain ay tumayo sa upuan at pumunta sa sala.

Napansin kong tapos na din kami kumain pagkatapos ng maiksing usapan na iyon. I saw in my father’s eyes the joy of giving us that simple wisdom that encouraged me and Abby as well. 

At nang nanahimik na si Papa, nagpulasan kaming dalawa ni Mama sa mesa, dala ko ang kinainang pinggan, tinidor, at kutsara. :)

Get Up.

Without further a due, let’s go straight on the simple yet relevant revelations that I saw in this verse. This are as follows: 

Arise. – What makes you rise up every day in the morning? What gives you the reason to get out of your bed and start a new day? It may be because of your family, friends or your loved ones. Or you want to do something significant or forget the past and start all over again. It may be a hope that something great will happen to you this day. Or you’re one day closer to your success. Whatever the reasons may be, it’s certain that it will not be the opposite and contrary from those reasons that will lead you to get up. We don’t need to be crippled by fear, inferiority, brokenness, discouragement, depression, and prostration in which circumstances have kept us. You don’t need to be stuck by the memories of your past. Rising up is a matter of choice. And that’s what God expects us to do. It is a word spoken in the lines of hope. Every single day is an opportunity for us to arise and see what our loving God has in store for us. Never miss that by not pulling yourself up and stay where you are staying. 

Shine. – I believe that we’re not meant to live just to survive in life. We’re meant also to thrive in life. Therefore, we cannot afford to live in mediocrity. Be the best person that you can be in your sphere of influence. You can stand out beyond others if you chose to be one. It becomes transpired as you decide to live it out day by day. Discipline is formed and faithfulness is produced through time. Tapping on the grace of God gives you the empowerment to conquer every mountains, break every obstacles, and reach your goals. And this time, not on the basis of competition or achievement but for glorifying Him. Also, the only reason why we can shine in this earth is because there is someone who lives in the inside of us that in His life brings light in us. Which leads us to the next phrase. 

For your light has come. - The fact that Jesus, being the light of this world, lives and resides in the inside of us, we are meant to shine. Not only that, we are called to bring light and enlightenment in this darkened world. And imagine if all of us will unite the light that we have, we can make darkness that tries to invade in every area and aspects of life be dispelled. In Him there is no darkness, and as we position ourselves in His light, it radiates us and brings us into the place of revelation that will bring us to clarity and direction and purpose in our lives. 

And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. – That word “glory” in the Hebrew means weightiness that which is substantial or heavy; power, authority, wealth, magnificence, fame, dignity, riches and excellence. We as believers must be the coolest and the greatest people in the face of the planet. We have no reason to settle for less, to live defeated and discouraged lives. Take note that it is risen upon us. The fact that we have Jesus makes God’s glory to be deposited in us. The only hindrance why we can’t experience it is due to the fact that we failed to understand and grasp the reality of the glory that He has bestowed upon us through Christ. We tend to sleep, dim, and let darkness hover in our lives. That must not be so. We can always experience His glory as we purpose it to invade our lives and to become dependent of the Holy Spirit. You can’t help when you are filled with His glory but to move.


We do really like to dwell in the bittersweet caress of our issues as if there is a radiance of glory that we will get from it. But we are not mandated to live like that. Shifting our perspective to what God expects us to do removes all the drama. The only grounds why we can arise and shine in this life is attributed to those things mentioned above. Try to find another reasons from these and it will leave you frustrated and wandering in this life.

We are exposed in an environment where we are susceptible to be bogged down. But when we are committed to this verse that God tells us to do, you are helping yourself to become a conqueror. It does not leave you as a victim in life. You position yourself to become a victor in life.

Oh, by the way, the verse is not conveyed in a requesting manner. It is a persuasive command. :)

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         “Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.”

                                                                                                                           Isaiah 60:1

Identifying Your Identity.

We tend to look in different meanings for us to define who we really are, thus, searching for our identity which determines the purpose that we want to live. Admit it or not, most of us have associated ourselves with different things, places, events, and people that implicitly affect our sense of identity.Which when left unguarded makes our thinking and seeing of ourselves become different and be influenced from how God thinks and sees of us.

Yes, we have heard it a lot of times that our identity is found in Christ. But how from that hearing it has produced faith in the inside of ourselves and experienced the fruition of it?

Even the Apostle Paul was not exempted in this tussle between who he was and who he really is. He has the rights to brag on what he has acclaimed in his life back then and he thought that the identity he’s living out in the past will fully define the course of his life. Until he encountered Christ.

Through revelation, a new identity was birthed out from the inside of him. So strong to the point that he forsook his earthly identity in order for him to gain his identity in Christ. Take note that his ardor in his mission to do what God has called him to do didn’t relied only when he first knew who He is in Christ. It was produced when he claimed and grasped it for himself.

He realized that what he knew wasn’t enough to sustain him from every circumstances that he faced. And for him to withstand all of it, he made an effective way to affirm himself His purpose as to why He has gone too far for this. The secret was he did not settle himself by just knowing who He is. He identified and claimed himself fully rooted in Christ. 

From the place of knowing, he progressed in the position of identifying. 

And that strengthened Him completely that made him endure it even more until the end. And his words written in Galatians reflects the gravity of it.

Yes. It’s a good thing to know first who we are in Him. But it does not need to stop there. The situations, your circumstances and this world will try to undermine your godly knowledge about who you really are. And as we are continually growing up in Christ, unless we fully identify ourselves in the knowledge of who we are in Him (and who He is to us) and claim it, we cannot see the fruit of our knowledge produce its effect in our lives, leaving us in a state of frustration and exasperation.

But the rules of the game begins to change when we fully identify ourselves with Him. It starts to liberate us from the influences and the prejudices of this world.Knowing your identity makes you discover what you can do but identifying your identity establishes who you really are. Claiming its reality for yourself changes everything.

It is noteworthy for us to know that we are loved. Accepted in the beloved.A new creature in Christ.The righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Having the mind of Christ. A child of God. Forgiven. Redeemed.Free.Sanctified. Victorious. More than conquerors. Blessed. And so on and so forth.

The Apostle Paul spoke that and claimed that, and so do you. All of those things mentioned above are a fact stated in the divine old book. By having this grasp of identifying our identity that’s solely anchored in Christ, right then and there only that those insecurities, anxieties, and worries in our lives become dispelled.

By the way, this identity is not something that you have struggled to achieve. It is who you really are.You just need to identify it in yourself. It’s yours already. Just activate it. Through Christ.

Vanity of Vanities

        How ironic it is for the wisest person who ever lived on earth to pronounce such statement as this. And how humbling it is for the four of us to see this statement posted in this mirror to make us put in our minds that we don’t need to be too much proud of what we have done, or where we were placed that day. I know these three girls will agree with me as they read this (with fingers crossed). Hehe.

Rather we remind ourselves that it is indeed a privilege to do what we are supposed to do that day. That makes us remember the reason why we have added our supply in this event. Our motivation is not to become famous, or letting other people tag us as one of the coolest as they see this (even though that thought can be unavoidable).

I can absolutely say that what we've done is one vanity of all vanities. Vainglorious to be exact. That can happen only and only if we had lost sight of the right motive and the true purpose why we’re there.

 Special thanks to: Becca Music Inc./SAVED Ministries.
Photo credits to: Ish Cocjin.

Taken at CCF Center, Ortigas, Pasig City. June 3, 2016

Starting from left:

Me, Ricka Raga, Ish Cocjin, and Najee Chua.

               Ish’s vain act of capturing as I reflected paved the way to address the reason why we were there. It is to become servants (like Jesus) and make Him be seen in us as we serve. And that in turn makes this vanity become significant.

              Sounds simple, right? But Solomon failed to get it when He exchanged his purpose to the things that he can gain from people and the world. We must not follow the same.

                I know that this will not be the last event that we will work together again as volunteers. We may be dispatched into different assignments in the next events but one thing is for sure, we will never let our true mission be dwindled away. We will see to it that we will be doing what we are doing for the Lord wherever we may be placed at. 

                And to those who are out there wondering if there’s this hope for you to be promoted in the posts that you want to reach, well, I have a good news for you. Yes. There is.

                The secret of it lies on faithfulness. And through it, God can promote you into those posts that you never imagined you will be doing but you will have because you remained faithful at what you do. Never belittle your humble beginnings. It will really lead you elsewhere.

                To wrap this up, do not become so driven by vain motivations. Keeping yourself in the right purpose defends you from the vain realities this life may throw at you. You wouldn’t want to become like Solomon who forgot his purpose, won’t you?

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“And I applied by heart and mind to seek and search out by [human] wisdom all human activity under heaven. It is a miserable business which God has given to the sons of man with which to be busied.”

                                                                                                 Ecclesiastes 1:13 (Amp)