An Extraordinary Birthday Celebration

It is always a tradition as well as a challenge to save the best for our (Nard and I) birthdays. We want our gifts and even preparations be surprised and this is the most surprising gift I received. He handed me the book I long to have though actually the book itself is not a surprise for he already informed me not to buy that book for he would do it for me. What surprised me is the note which you can read below:

March 9, Year 29, Reason 9

Farcical was I by the age of fourteen

When proposal I made to a girl from Palaming

I know the shame being under that chico tree

Don't laugh when now, to you, it's through poetry

My antecedents here are generally childish

Like a boy losing against Yuri's Skirmish

But please endure and persevere to the end

I am just setting the stage for my message to send

First, you know that we both are already tired

Of students and friends asking if we're tied

Instead of stepping through miles of NOT

At least it will already suffice with a nod

Besides, Finals is near and fast approaching

I need someone who will assist in the checking

I don't want Mel, Anj, and Stan making a grin

When my class records to them appear clean

Allow me to state that I need a potential refuge

From a skinny guy who maybe needs the dude Freud

Don't want him to think of an imaginary reason

That her beloved Jean Grey is my obsession

For this next item, I fear to be misunderstood

For I envy those whose kids are so good

Christine Joy already has two nice Añonuevos

While our bellies to pageants will surely lose

I am perplexed how they change their status much

Considering mine is the same since Game and Watch

I am curious and to this river I want a sip

And see in my Facebook, "...in a relationship"

"Why on my birthday?" is a question you may raise

But it's known that dates on my head can't place

For one brain cubicle, March 9 will save me

Less I forget and make you upset or even angry

Moreover, March 9 is a perfect pocket asylum

For anniversaries' expenses not being premium

It will be nine days after we receive our last pay

And we need to be thrifty until the sixth day

I guess you now find it hard to follow through

That reason eight states my pity for you

Because today, you are just a step down 30

Drawing nearer to the words of Carolyn McCulley

Your bestfriend you know even before second grade

You know there is no grim in these rhymes I made

Enough of making these tiring stanzas silly

For my mood changes, now I am drafting sincerely

The Lord taught me how to see Authentic Beauty

Eventhough, not like you, I don't read Ludy

I fully rest on the Bible's infallibility

Exciting me to see your charm even at fifty

In you, united are orthodoxy and domesticity

And even apologetics and catholicity

I can't help but appreciate you to be pretty

For the GOD of glory defines you as lovely

You may doubt, as an abstract noun, it's not superb

But I promise my love will be an active verb

Times will be testing but there is a GOD of grace

So won't you affirm and to courtship with me say Yes?

==================

my answer is here

While True Love is Waiting

This was part of my lecture delivered last February 11, 2007 to the young people. Almost everybody is celebrating this day so in order to grab this time and yet not to spoil my (unfinished yet) lecture for the young people on Friday, I wanna share this first.

This was titled while true love is waiting because many young people are asking what they are supposed to do if they are not to pursue romantic relationship early. But before we answer that question, let us clarify first why we need to wait.

Why true love waits?

Waiting until I’m ready for commitment before pursuing romance is just one example of letting Christ’s love control my relationship with the opposite sex. (Joshua Harris, I Kissed Dating Goodbye, p.20)

In Song of Songs, Solomon defines love as strong as death (8:6). The power of love is beyond human comprehension and comparing it to death is the proof of its power.

The wisest man on earth is the same man who acknowledged that there is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven (Eccl.3:1). And there is even a proper time to love (Eccl.3:8a).

1. Waiting is obedience.

Waiting for the right time to love the right person is not a violation of man’s freedom to love. But treating/seeing your brothers/sisters as potential “partner” or spending time to seek for the right man/woman is a violation. It is disobedience towards God for not loving one another as Christ and it is sinning against our brothers/sisters for not portraying the love of Christ for them.

2. Waiting is trusting God.

Rushing is not trusting God at all. Our primary concern should be to seek first the kingdom of God (Mt.6:33a), not to seek who is he/she that God has prepared for us. Because if the latter is our concern, we don not trust God that all these things shall be added unto you (Mt.6:33b). We don’t trust God He knows we need and long for someone to love us. We forget to see that God knows the inmost part of us, we neglect to remember that Adam didn’t ask for Eve, God knew it is not good for him to be alone (Gen.2:18).

3. Waiting teaches us to be patient as we learn to acknowledge God’s sovereignty.

In the book of Ecclesiastes it says, there is a proper time and procedure for every matter (8:6a). And our Sovereign God is the Author of that perfect time and procedure.

4. Waiting is submission to God as you allow Him to mold you until the proper time.

Joshua Harris says that the right thing at the wrong time is the wrong thing.

5. Waiting is an opportunity to enjoy singleness as a gift from God.

This is the moment for every believer to grow in Christ and serve Him with an undivided devotion (I Cor.7:32, 34).

How to know the right time?

And the wise heart will know its proper time and procedure for each matter. (Eccl.5:5b)

The Bible doesn’t tell us to weigh our emotions and feelings to know if he/she is the right man/woman. It tells us that a wise heart will discern it. That is why, we need to pray and seek for the wisdom, not to seek him/her.

We need to guard our hearts (Prov.4:23a) especially that the heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure (Jer.17:9). Let us pray for God’s guidance and blessing of a wise heart. A wise heart is a patient heart. A wise heart is an obedient heart. A wise heart is a heart that loves like Christ.

“Waiting for God’s timing requires trusting in His goodness and wisdom. We develop patience as we trust that God denies us what we think is good only because He has something better for us- both now and in the future.” (Joshua Harris, I Kissed Dating Goodbye, p.81)

And While True Love is Waiting…

Waiting for the day, ‘til I hear You say, “Here’s the one I have created just for you.”

(Jaci Velasquez, I Promise)

I will celebrate in its due season, and wait for the one who’s waiting for me.

(This Promise I Made)

While waiting for the proper man and the proper time, what are we supposed to do?

Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. (Eph.5:15-17)

In Genesis 24:10-66, it is not the sign prayed by the servant that has made Rebekah the chosen girl for Isaac. God has already made Rebekah to be for Isaac even before they were born. What made Rebekah perfect for the perfect timing of God is that she was just doing her daily tasks without knowing that God was already arranging every scenario of her love life.

Greg Harris said that Rebekah was able to meet God’s divine appointment for her life because she was faithfully carrying out her current obligations.

What are our current obligations?

• Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. (Matt.22:37)

It’s easy to say that we love God and we trust Him. The following are just some questions that will help us evaluate our relationship with God now:

1. How intimate or deep do we know our God?
2. How much time do we spend in a day with God?
3. Is God our first thought in the morning and the last thought before we sleep?
4. Do we enjoy reading God’s Word and do we meditate on them?
5. Do we enjoy our prayer time and do we have our quiet times?

The evil in desire typically does not lie in what we want, but in that we want it too much. (John Calvin)

It is not a sin to desire for a future partner. It becomes a sin when it already strips our focus on God’s glory and sovereignty. When longings and imaginations fill our hearts, when discontentment enters our hearts and that we long for someone and fails to see God.

A relationship with God through faith in Christ is the answer to the insecurity of our earthly life. (Jim Elliff)

Let us pray for satisfaction in God, the contentment for His love in us, and the assurance for the hope we have in Him is secured in His hands. Be a godly man, a man after God’s own heart.

A deep and an intimate relationship with the Lord will make us secure even if the people around us pressure us to be like them, even if they all have partners and we don’t have.

God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. (John Piper)

If we are committing ourselves in service to God, in devotion to prayer, and in meditation of His Word, we are sure that we are on His will. And God is most glorified if we are contented and satisfied in His love.

• Love your neighbor as yourself. (Matt.22:39)

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. (Rom.12:10-11)

Next to God, our current obligation is our duty towards our brothers and sisters in Christ. Paul reminded the Romans to be devoted to one another in brotherly love. God gives us godly people not for us to pinpoint who, among them, is our future partner. God wants us to grow with them, enjoy the fellowship as we glorify God in loving each other as Christ loved us.

We need to develop pure and genuine friendship with others. C.S. Lewis defines friendship as two people walking side by side toward a common goal. For Christians, this common goal is the growth in Christ’s likeness as they glorify God.

Treating others as friends, as brothers and sisters in Christ, will help us demonstrate Christ’s love. It is greatly encouraged to develop deeper friendship with the same sex to avoid any romantic intimacy. Yet, opposite-sex friendship is not discourage, for there are some things that you may learn from them also. However, this friendship requires greater accountability and responsibility for both sides of men and ladies.

The Responsibility

Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters with absolute purity. (I Tim.5:1b-2)

Men’s responsibility

It is the nature of a man to be protective and gentleman, especially to a person so dear to him. Yet, men should take an extra care to consider the vulnerability of a woman’s heart. It is your responsibility to be very careful with what you do or say with a woman. You need to guard the heart of a woman against any arousal of unwanted feeling and expectations. You have the accountability with your sisters to share with their burdens but take a lot of care for them (us) not to be dependent on you, lead them back to the cross always.

Do not treat any of your sisters as potential girlfriend. Any special treatment you show to a girl might distract her from her focus on the Lord. Her focus will not be the service you are doing for her, it will be you.

Girls’ responsibility

The responsibility doesn’t lie on men alone. Girls, we need to guard our feelings against any romantic attraction or much emotional dependence. We should not misunderstand nor give extra romantic reasons for every action our brothers do to us.

Any single idea of seeing a brother as a partner will lead us away from the will of God. And being intimate with someone, especially in the opposite sex, is quite dangerous. It is our responsibility to draw a line between friendship and intimacy. We are more emotional and fragile to affections.

It is our weakness to desire for the excitement of romance and we love the comfort and the feeling of being liked and loved by someone. Infatuation may focus us away from God.

Let us take seriously this warning from Joshua Harris:

Instead of making God the object of our longing, we wrongly direct these feelings toward another human. We became idolaters, bowing to someone other than God, hoping that this person will meet our needs and bring us fulfillment.

Don’t Waste Your Femininity

It was during our New Testament Survey that while my brother was discussing I Timothy chapter two when this blog topic was conceived.

God created women with the same purpose as men; that is, to glorify God (Isaiah 43:7). One of Elisabeth Elliot’s quotes that I love says, “The fact that I am a woman does not make me a different kind of Christian, but the fact that I am a Christian does make me a different kind of woman. For I have accepted God's idea of me and my whole life is an offering back to Him.” Thus, Christian women should not use our distinction from men to justify sins or idolatry. Using our being woman to reason out that we have greater needs and demands doesn’t glorify God. We may be even wasting the very purpose of our creation. Please bear reading this blog post and I pray that my meditations will help you not waste your femininity.

I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God. (I Timothy 2:9-10)

Don’t Waste Your Femininity on Flamboyant Clothes

Women are mostly given the taste for artistry and creativity; that is to be used for conducive homemaking. It can also be used for one’s physical outlook. Nonetheless, artistry and creativity doesn’t require the compromise of immodest dress. You don’t invite attraction and appreciation with low cutlines, miniskirts or even short shorts; rather, you provoke lust.

Christian women, know the struggles of men regarding lust and you will be helping them a lot by not enticing them to fall or even struggle with it. You are created not only to complement your partner/future partner. You can do so even among your brothers in faith. You can glorify God even with the choice of clothes you wear. (read more here)

"In the world's philosophy people dress in order for other people to notice them. But the Christian philosophy is that we do not dress primarily for others, but to please God. If He is the one we're trying to please, our objective should be a desire to reflect his glory, even in the way we dress.

In the world's philosophy the purpose of clothing is to reveal the body. The purpose is for sexual attraction. Some do it overtly and crassly-exposing most of their bodies. Many of the women in our churches would not do that. But some have adopted the philosophy of showing a little bit to tease. That can be just as seductive, if not more so, to Christian men than some of the more extreme forms of immodesty on the covers of magazines at the grocery store check-out. The Christian understands that the purpose of clothing is to cover the body." (Nancy Leigh DeMoss)

Don’t Waste Your Femininity on Material Temporal Things

Women are so much hooked now on how they may improve their hairs, how to have fairer skin, how to loss weight – all for the physical yet temporal beauty. Paul reminds Timothy that women are not to be much with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes. It is not bad to braid our hairs or use accessories but Paul rebukes those Ephesians (specifically the women) because they are imitating how the prostitutes dress. They dress to entice men and the Ephesian women are starting to make these fashions as their standard. In Colossians 3:2 Paul says, Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

"…the world promotes the philosophy that beauty is physical and external, whereas the Word of God helps us to understand that beauty is fundamentally spiritual, and therefore, internal… The woman who adopts the world's philosophy, believes that her body is her identity. It becomes the basis for her security or insecurity. So you knock yourself out trying to achieve this beautiful model's figure, and that becomes the basis for your security." (Nancy Leigh DeMoss)

Don’t Waste Your Femininity With Ungodly Deeds

After Paul rebukes and reminds what are not supposed to be the passion and pursuit of a godly woman, he then tells what is appropriate for her – to adorn herself with good deeds. Good deeds will glorify God (Matthew 5:16) and they testify that those who do them are wise (James 3:13).

King Lemuel’s mother reminds him that an excellent wife or woman is far more precious than jewels and one of her characteristics is that she does him good all the days of her life (Proverbs 31:12). At verse 30, she exhorts that charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

You waste your femininity when you do not do good deeds. That is because you are not a woman living for this world’s approval; you are a woman living for the glory of God.

Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)

It is advised that you acquaint yourself with godly men and women whose aim is for the glory of God. And as I conclude, let me share some challenges and wisdom from godly people I respect:

"Does your hairstyle, clothing, or any aspect of your appearance reveal an excessive fascination with sinful cultural values? Are you preoccupied with looking like the latest American Idol winner, or the actresses on magazine covers, or the immodest woman next door? Are your role models the godly women of Scripture or the worldly women of our culture?" (C. J. Mahaney)

"The world's philosophy is if you want to be loved, you have to be beautiful, sensual and alluring. Now I grant that women who are sensual and physically stunning will likely receive a certain kind of male attention and love. But physical beauty will never get you the kind of love you were created for, the kind of love and attention that your heart as a child of God really longs to have. The Christian woman recognizes that she's already loved by God in a deeper and richer and more meaningful way than she could ever be loved by any human being. Therefore, our hearts as Christian women should fundamentally seek to be beautiful for God, i.e., to cultivate the kind of beauty that he finds attractive.

The world's perspective on clothing is driven by fashion. But the Christian's philosophy is driven by the heart and the Word of God. Now, let me ask which of those philosophies is revealed by your physical appearance and your clothing choices. What are you communicating? When people look at you, what do they learn about what you believe? Christian modesty is first and foremost a way of thinking. It's a way of thinking that manifests itself in the way that we dress, talk, and act. So ask yourself based on these two philosophies, "Am I living according to the world's way of thinking or am I reflecting God's heart and his way of thinking?" (Nancy Leigh DeMoss)

Don’t Waste Your C.I.

Christmas Institute or commonly known as CI is the most awaited event among the young people in The United Methodist Church. Who will want to miss this event wherein you’ll be having a 5-day camp with fellow brethren in Christ? As Methodist youths from different areas are given the chance to know Christ deeper, everyone is also sharpened by one’s faith and love.

Nonetheless, this significant event can be wasted. It can be enjoyably spent but not God-glorifying. It may be a time of knowing about God but not knowing God Himself. And worst, sometimes busyness for the CI work may deprive us of solitude and quiet moments with God.

I am attending the CI since 1997. And though I am not already part of the UMYF, this upcoming CI will be my 13^th time. My dear adings, I am praying that CI will not be wasted by you. I will mention three things that may help you not waste this CI.

GOD above all

UMYF’s motto is Christ Above All! Actually it is very familiar to you. But shouting Christ Above All is not just a motto; it is a lifestyle. It means God should always be the priority and the focus of your life. CI can be an avenue to be Christ-centered but attending the Bible studies, the lectures, the games, the devotions and other activities prepared by the EXECOM doesn’t mean that you are already Christ-centered. You may be there but the mind or the heart is not there, what’s the use? You may be attending but you are hunting for girls/boys and not seeking Christ. You may be listening about God but not interested to have a deeper relationship with Him. You may be singing praises but the heart is far away. You may be crying He is the Lover of your Soul yet the lifestyle denies Him the throne in your heart. May you never forget the most important commandment: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength (Mark 12:30).

Grab every opportunity in these five days that you have to know God deeper and to indeed love Him with all of you. He is the reason why you are attending the CI; do not waste it by emphasizing more of yourself.

The passion of the unwasted life is to joyfully display the supreme excellence of Christ by the way we live…The way we display the supreme worth of Jesus in our lives is by treasuring Christ above all things. (John Piper)

Others above you

Think about your co-campers more than yourself. We always tell campers from our church this principle: ‘Wag kang papayag na may mas mabait sa’yo. It does not mean that you should compete with others. It is an encouragement that you give your best for the welfare of others. CI is an opportunity to minister to others. And ministering to others is not just being BS facilitators or lecturers; you can do something for others. Words and conversations which are Bible-saturated are soul-edifying. Good actions will give God the glory. Jesus says let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16). God-glorifying lifestyles will speak that Christ is your treasure. Do they see Christ as your treasure? Do you encourage them to treasure Christ as He ought to be treasured and magnified?

Grab every opportunity in these five days that you have to minister unto others. An author naming John MacArthur says that a person with deep conviction is not hunting for something to say. Rather, he is hunting for someone to say it to. Indeed, if you breathe for the glory of God, you will have every chance to display that there is little of yourself and much of Him in your life. Do not waste this CI by just focusing on what you want and what you enjoy and minding your own business and avoiding things that you think will deprive of your enjoyment. Rather, make this CI an avenue of self-denial by putting others above you.

You - His Beloved

Yes, this is now the time for you. You can enjoy this CI even by placing yourself last. Many people are deceived by pursuing happiness outside of Christ but if you want genuine happiness, then you should be drawing nearer to God, the Source of Perfect Happiness. When Jesus was asked by the teacher of the law which of all the commandment is the most important:

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:29-31)

Where is self here? Is God concerned about our happiness or enjoyment? Yes. Love God and love your neighbor. Christ above all and you will find the only one who can quench the longings of the soul; the one who can soothe the aching heart. The joy of knowing and treasuring God is found the moment you learn to deny "self". The call of discipleship is an invitation to exchange fleeting and mundane niceties of this world for that which truly satisfies the human soul: intimacy with God. (John MacArthur)

Therefore, don’t waste this CI by prioritizing yourself than others. Don’t waste this CI by following your heart’s desire than obeying the will of God. Don’t waste this CI, my brothers and sisters.

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*This post is inspired by John Piper's book Don't Waste Your Life.

*Image is made by my brother Donnie.