The Saint Communes

I sort of have quite a lot on my mind lately, and coupled with (yes I'm VERY SORRY D:) a bit of laziness, I won't be writing this supposed Saint Communes post.

Instead, I'm leaving you with the passage, and let the Spirit talk to you :) Allow God to reveal Himself to you through His word.

Yes, I have a post planned for the passage I'm going to be giving, but since I myself have a LOT on my mind (being quite redundant) I've decided it will be a whole lot of blabber if I were to write it now.

And I realized, nothing is more powerful than His word, so why not try it firsthand? :)

So here are the passages:

Ecclesiastes 2: 1-11

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ecclesiastes%202:%201-11&version=NIV

and

2 Corinthians 4: 16-18

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Corinthians%204:%2016-18&version=NIV

They're written by two different people who lived two VERY different God-lead lives... Yet somehow, they speak of something similar. :)

Okay guys, God bless on your personal time communing with God :)

(P.S. I'm not really sure if there are people who read my blog, so I feel kind of silly writing to people I'm not sure are there... But nonetheless, I hope you guys are out there :) Leave me a comment to let me know you're there :>)

Saintly Notes

When life has lost its meaning, and you can't even decide what's what? It's probably time to go back to God... It's when only He will make sense.

The Saint Communes 5 (3.2)

Coincidentally, today's passage both for the Love Series and the Saint Commune is one and the same! (Talk about God knowing?! :D)

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John 13:33-35

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john%2013:33-35&version=NIV

In this passage, Jesus gave the disciples a NEW command:

LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

Why?

Well, firstly, of course, IT'S A COMMAND. We have to follow, we are servants after all!

Secondly? Well, let's see what Jesus has to say:

"By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another." (Jn. 13:35)

This is our mark, it's that which sets us apart. LOVE.

This world is very keen on love, yet it never really understood it. If you'd ask me? In this world, without God, there is no love. It's just a complex chain of Social Exchange taking place. It's when people do things JUST BECAUSE they benefit from it, and/or they're getting something equal to that which they spend/give out.

So if we only do such, what then sets us apart? We are after all, citizen's of Heaven, Bride of the Lamb!

The answer? Jesus Christ clearly said it: LOVE.

If we learn to love others, only then can the world see we truly are loving.

Thing is, love is not something our humanness can handle, so how can we love?

If, and only IF, we get to know His love for us. (1 Jn. 4:19) We cannot give what we don't have, and love is not something we humans are capable of.

So at the end of it all? It still is all about our relationship with Jesus. The more we know Him, the more we experience His love; and the more we experience that, the more we learn to love others; the more others we love, the more people will come to know Him; and the more people coming together in Him, the more love goes around!

So, LOVE ON! But be sure to get it from the right source!

Oh God, :')

Psalm 91:4-5 "He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection. You will not fear the terror of the night, or the arrow that flies by day." ******* Saw this in my mail today, and well, a picture is worth a thousand words. :)

The Saint Communes 4

Talk about God being awesome? Just after posting the Saintly Notes? I read the bible, and these are the passages He gave...

“Remember this, keep it in mind,

take it to heart, you rebels.

Remember the former things, those of long ago;

I am God, and there is no other;

I am God, and there is none like me.

I make known the end from the beginning,

from ancient times, what is still to come.

I say, ‘My purpose will stand,

and I will do all that I please.’

From the east I summon a bird of prey;

from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.

What I have said, that I will bring about;

what I have planned, that I will do."

Isaiah 46:8-11

and?

The LORD reigns, he is robed in majesty;

the LORD is robed in majesty and armed with strength;

indeed, the world is established, firm and secure.

Your throne was established long ago;

you are from all eternity.

The seas have lifted up, LORD,

the seas have lifted up their voice;

the seas have lifted up their pounding waves.

Mightier than the thunder of the great waters,

mightier than the breakers of the sea—

the LORD on high is mighty.

Your statutes, LORD, stand firm;

holiness adorns your house

for endless days.

Psalm 93

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He's definitely reminding me of His greatness, and the most basic of all basic: that HE IS GOD.

Now, as to why He's telling me that, is a different story. But think about it, why did God let you "stumble upon" these verses? What is HE trying to tell you?

Saintly Notes

Well, this is a short break-ish from the Saint Commune stuff I've been posting.

I realized, that I kind of want to just make this post a normal (sort of?) blogpost, where it's more personal that the Saint Commune posts...

So yup, I've just had a very tiring day from helping out as a volunteer at our local church for the VBS (Vacation Bible School) this week. What's so tiring?

I'm handling PRE-SCHOOLERS! :O

Yes, they're cute and cuddly... But they are quite a handful.

So what about it? Well, if you guys saw the video I posted just before this post? The VBS includes a whole lot of catchy tunes, that's selected to emphasize the themes and lessons to the children. If you watched the video, it IS really for children, and a pretty upbeat tune to it too.

So imagine, quite a bunch of those songs, about 13-15 songs like those? Some are slow, some are fast, but all are catchy, all were action songs, and all had videos of children having fun singing and dancing them.

What about it?

Well imagine, songs like that I posted? I ACTUALLY HAD TEARS WELLING UP WHEN I FIRST SANG THAT. Yup... And even while the kids were singing, jumping up and down having fun? I was with them, but trying to hold back the tears. This was the scenario for almost ALL of the songs...

And I know, there's only one reason for that...

I am coming back to a place where I am in awe again of just who He is... :')

The songs all had a message of His love; very understandable, I mean these activities are conducted largely because of its evangelistic nature. And a great way of opening people (most especially kids) to God's salvation, is to expose them to God's great LOVE first.

For these songs to have such an impact on me? (Well, I am a very emotional person... And I know there's something when I'm singing for Him and it just feels... Different. ) I must have really strayed from Him, or at least His face, for way too long: He had to remind me of His great love yet again.

It's so easy to get caught up in a LOT of things that we end up forgetting who God is, and what He is to us. Yes, our minds keep what we know about Him in storage, and when asked, we all know what to say... But when circumstances are already there? Do we really know these truths? Or do we KNOW them? Its something else to have it implanted onto you heart through experiences, compared to just being able to read/hear about them (like in this blog for instance).

There is a reason for everything, me volunteering, the songs, and even the lessons.

Well, I'm sort of the teacher's assistant for the pre-schoolers... And so, that means, I got to ran-through the bible stories we'd be teaching the children. As always, (for those who know me) I'm late again. I only confirmed to be a volunteer, 3 days before the VBS starting day! So I only got to run through everything awhile ago.

To my surprise? While reading aloud the script for teaching the stories which I grew up hearing (like Jonah, Elijah, etc) I was, again, holding back my tears!!! Talking about how God sent fire for Elijah when he prayed, about Jonah and how God watches over him, and many more ACTUALLY made me cry.

I was like this ... ARGH! I don't think I have an illustration for such.

Ah! Think about being away for so long, and then all of a sudden you see a video of your family when you had Christmas years ago... And then you see how much they cared for you, how much it all meant to you, etcetc. But even that doesn't capture the exact feeling... With God? It's just different.

I guess I still haven't learned my lesson that He had to bring me to VBS for a week and learn with all these toddlers about Him.

Sometimes? Its the simple truths that mean the most... The most complex doctrinal truths mean nothing if the truth about YOU and GOD, His Love, His Son, and your Salvation are not in place. Somehow, we tend to be over confident and think that we are spiritual mature, so much so that these simple truths, we refer to as "baby food" now. But then again, God's word is God's word. And there's a reason why God is making me go back to the simple truths, and making me write it for you to read it.

God is speaking, its time for us to listen...

The Saint Communes 3.1

A little something more about LOVE. Before you could even think about knowing more about LOVE... You have to remember, how MUCH He loves you!

The Saint Communes 3

Well, this was supposed to be another "fast-food take-out" until I got to read the passage again, and realized how there was SO much more to it than I first saw.

I read this passage last night, and after reading, I went straight to a long prayer (the kind where you feel like you're just on the phone talking to a friend? yup, that!) and we talked about this passage. He did enlighten me, but then again, His word really is ALIVE; so after reading it again now for this post ... It took on a whole new form.

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1 John 4:7 - 5:1

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20John%204:7%20-%205:1&version=NIV

Yup, if you clicked the link and read: The topic is unmistakably LOVE.

So what about love? That was my very first question the first time I read that.

The answer? What NOT about love?

I mean LOVE is the very foundation of our faith. Salvation and the cross is founded on LOVE. God is even called LOVE.

Talking about gifts? Paul talked about the "GREATER GIFT," it being? LOVE!

Love is a very overrated word, given the kind of world we live in now. But as it turns out, for our faith to be founded on such a word? There must really be something to it.

Love is much more powerful and mysterious than we give it credit for. Sure, Hollywood makes a ton of money out of it, but even THAT kind of love is nothing compared to the love John tackled in today's passage.

I actually planned on writing a little bit more on the importance and meaning of this "Love;" but I guess I want you guys to think about it for yourself...

1. Do you know what Love is? Not love, but LOVE?

2. Do you know how to Love?

3. What does loving mean? What does it entail?

4. etc...

How much do we really know about this LOVE?

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For me? It was actually a heads up. A heads up that times are going to require me to learn to really LOVE my neighbors and start reflecting love to others... Which, I got to actually test just a few hours ago. But details are not necessary.

Anyways, then after reading it again, God reminded me that I really don't know a LOT. I mean, REALLY LOT.

Like for example, me being all stressed about decisions and stuff = me not loving enough. YUP.

He reminded me of how loving He is, and that His LOVE encompasses all that, now, if I were to keep stressin' about tomorrow? Its either I doubt His love? Or I don't love Him and don't trust Him at all.

What else? Love is that thing which I should crave more of. (Not in the "I-need-someone-to-love-who-loves-me-back-so-badly" kind of way!) But that I need to crave that He would increase this Saint's LOVE. For others, for Him, and probably even for myself...

For it is in LOVE, that everything would mean something, and that power is more than any power this world has ever known. To have Him increase my Love, would mean empowering me to do greater things for Him, and overcoming a LOT more things.

Someone once told me, that his prayer right now was to have God increase his love. He'd trade any, even all, of his gifts for the Gift of Love. And I guess, that is something God is making me realize now... That there is more to that prayer - SO much more.

A Saint's Prayer

The Saint Communes 2

The Saint does it again :)

I feel like I'm just doing enough to get by though, someone once told me I do "fast-food" instead of "dinning." I want to change that, but I have no idea how to... Or maybe I just can't? I don't know. I'm trying.

So here it is again, what the Saint has heard from Him up above.

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1 Corinthians 10:23 - 11:1

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians%2010:23%20-%2011:1&version=NIV

So what's my reminder from Him for today?

IT'S ALL A MATTER OF HEART!

Heart? Yup, heart! Whatever you do, be it in front of others, for yourself, or what-not... It does not matter how it looks from the outside – God is looking at the heart, the intention as to why it was done.

Sure sure, it is important to keep a good testimony, but testimony in itself is just a show if not from the heart.

After all, the Pharisees in Jesus's time had AMAZING testimonies when it comes to how Scripture based they were. Washing their hands before eating, eating only the things allowed in the first 5 books of the Old Testament, praying and fasting as often as it is required for them, and the likes. As far as laws are concerned? I'd say they have AMAZING testimonies!

But we all know what Jesus called them...

HYPOCRITES (Matt. 6)

Their hearts were only set on one thing – PLEASING themselves and EVERYONE around them. If the Grammy's were back in their time? They'd always have Best Actor bagged! Everything they did was just a performance. There was no heart to it.

It is important to obey God's word, even Jesus emphasized this. (Matt. 7:21) But who can say if someone has really, REALLY done God's will?

Only Him who searches the heart! (And of course, only Him whose will is the one to be done!)

Jeremiah 17:10 has that in clear black and white – He looks at the heart!

He wants us all, to PLEASE Him. After all, we are Saints are we not? (1 Cor. 1:1-3) And that is what we are called to do!

Now if I were to enumerate the reasons why we have to? It will take all eternity for me to write this, and another for you to finish reading it. So let's stick to the passage, what does it say about glorifying Him?

FOR OTHERS TO SEE HIM THROUGH US!

That's what we are, His glory reflectors. For those driving in the dark to see where they're supposed to go; and for those already going where they should, to be able to stay on the right track.

St. Paul tells us to follow him as he follows Him (Christ). Its a call for us to (1)of course, imitate his ways; and (2) to challenge us to be able to say the same someday! For us to be able to lead others to follow Him, and not to stumble...

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I guess He really is still reminding me of the status that I now have; which I may have neglected.

And by the looks of things? He's slowly reminding me of the things I have to do.

Now I really feel like the prodigal son (Luk. 15: 11-31).

After wandering off, when he got home, he was welcomed with love and much expectancy!

BUT, I'm pretty sure, he's not the "newly-returned-son" for longer than a week (okay, given that it's back in Jesus's time, maybe a month?). So what happens after that week?

Everyone is still happy he's finally around, but that doesn't mean people will be waiting on him hand and foot like when he just got home from a very, very bad choice. I'm pretty sure, after the celebrations were over, he starts to become a son again. Yes, all the love and affection of the father are still there; but, his responsibilities are also back.

Somehow, I feel like that's where God is taking me now. I've been away, and now that I'm trying to find my way back, He's welcoming me with promises and reminding me of my status as LOVED. And then slowly reminding me of how I should be. Fathers are not just all lovey-dovey, they're also disciplinarians.

Above all these though? I'd say this Saint, is REALLY, REALLY LOVED! <3

Times - Tenth Avenue North

This reflects what I feel, SO well...

The Saint Communes 1

Yup, the Saint is finally doing what he should've done LONG AGO

Communing with Him who mattered most :)

So read on, and I hope that through OUR moments, He would also talk to you :) Commune is such a strong word after all <3

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After weeks of being lazy and plain bummed out. The Saint finally decided to catch up with Him up there.

To be honest? I was expecting a rebuke or something like that... But I guess He does know me all too well -- I'm such a big baby that being mad at me won't do me much good.

So here's what He gave me.

Revelations 21: 1-5

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=rev.%2021%20:1-5&version=NIV

1. We are His betrothed wife.

Someone engaged to someone should only be with that someone they're bound to -- no turning left nor right. Lately, I have completely lost track of this status of mine. After reading those five verses, that was the first thing that jumped at me. The word "bride" just burned through my mind. No turning back when I made a commitment to be a Saint, and now what on earth am I thinking forgetting my vows?? I am His bride, and I should not forget that; my actions should reflect that, and my heart should confirm that. See how loving He is? Even in the midst of me wandering off, he reminds me of my status in Him!

2. He is with US.

He did say that He will never leave us nor forsake us. (Heb. 13:5) This does not mean that the roads ahead will be smooth, nor does it mean that there will no longer be difficult decisions... BUT His presence will always be with us. Things may never be easy, but I guess things became tougher for me, simply because I forgot the only survival guide I had -- HIM. I may be torn, I may be wandering, I may be disoriented; but He still is with me.

3. He has my pain.

He does not send His soldiers into battle like a chess player plays with his/her pawns. He knows our pains, He knows my pain. My tears don't flow unnoticed, whether they be from my eyes, or from my heart. (Ps. 56:8) As if His presence wasn't enough? He had to add the fact that He did have every pain that I have ever felt in His heart. Nothing I go through I go through alone, He goes with me, and He feels for me.

4. He'll make all things new.

He created everything, and He can remake them. I'm living a new life the moment I acknowledged the cross and what its worth. He made things new then, He can also make things new now. I just have to let go and, SERIOUSLY, LET GOD. Also? I'm living a new life here, and its scary, but that doesn't mean this life won't be like the one He directed for me back in the Philippines. It's still the same God, just a different country.

5. There is hope for a future.

This is Revelations after all, and the passage IS talking about the new heaven and new earth. Literally, that means there IS more to come. This Saint has to stop stressing himself out on stuff of this world, it's not where my heart should be. This world, this life, these problems? They're all temporary. Something's bigger out there waiting for us! Soon we'll be home! :)

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His grace is just SO great. These promises remind us of the status we have -- we are Citizens of Heaven. That should be more than enough to go through a busy life right?

After days of going astray, He welcomes me back with promises! I guess, I'm the only one who can't truly forgive myself -- even after the King Himself has moved my sins away from me.

His love is just too great! Bask in it :)