When hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, I was glued to the TV, wondering about my favorite state (I've never been there but I love it because it's the Jazz capital and I love Jazz). I looked at the pictures, heard the victims' stories, got mad when there was an issue with relief operations. I knew the statistics.
Last weekend, when typhoon Ondoy was raging, I was busily doing something else. We have the power up in this part of the province and it was just like an ordinary rainy day. I wasn't even watching the news. I wasn't aware that the city, about four hours drive from here was being savagely hit by the typhoon and that there were, and still are, a lot of people who are affected. It was the first time that the city had ever experienced that kind of flooding. Compared the Katrina, Ondoy turned out to be worse - a month's worth of rainfall in just six hours.
Was I being apathetic? When I finally saw the news last night, I realized how heartbreaking it had been for many Filipinos. Considering that there are more people living in poverty in Metro Manila compared to Louisiana, it must take a considerable time for them to get back on track.
What could someone like me do? If I don't personally know a victim of the typhoon, how can I encourage? Would a few pesos deposited to a bank account that helps the victims even make a difference?
"Thank you, dear God, for protecting us. May you look upon the victims of the typhoon with favor and grant them the comfort and peace that could only come from You."
J.B.
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I am a man of prayer (psalms 109:4)
Wouldn't it be great if i am known to be a woman of prayer? Somebody who is famous and looked upon because of that? Someone whose looks, degree, work are secondary because he/she is more known to be a person of prayer?
I wonder what romyne, my cell leader, would have said if that is the dream i wrote in the form she gave me? I am sure she will be surprised but happy.
I do pray that i will learn to kneel more and grow from there. Learn to close my eyes more and trust that God will lead my ways. Learn to pray first before anything else... before questioning...before grumbling...before getting hurt. Learn to listen as God talks to me.
I.T.
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with Ptr. Jon Almusara (3rd from left, front row)
Two ladies from Lakas-Angkan,N. Ecija share their insights on each quiet time that they have ever since they heard about "ampalaya".
DO SOMETHING
"Faith that does nothing is dead!" (James 2:26)
Faith is not the belief that God will do what you want. Faith is the belief that God will do what is right. God is always near and always available. Just waiting for your touch. So let him know. Demonstrate your devotion:
Write a letter.
Ask forgiveness.
Be baptized.
Feed a hungry person.
Pray.
Teach.
Go.
Do something that demonstrates faith. For faith with no effort is no faith at all. God will respond. He has never rejected a genuine gesture of faith. Never.
---He Still Moves Stones
Faith is not the belief that God will do what you want. Faith is the belief that God will do what is right. God is always near and always available. Just waiting for your touch. So let him know. Demonstrate your devotion:
Write a letter.
Ask forgiveness.
Be baptized.
Feed a hungry person.
Pray.
Teach.
Go.
Do something that demonstrates faith. For faith with no effort is no faith at all. God will respond. He has never rejected a genuine gesture of faith. Never.
---He Still Moves Stones
SOLE PROVIDER, SOLE COMFORTER (from The Applause of Heaven)
As long as Jesus is one of my options, he is not an option.
As long as you can carry your burdens alone, you don't need a burden bearer. As long as your situation brings you no grief, you will receive no comfort. And as long as you can take Him or leave Hin, you might as well leave Him, because He won't be taken half-heartedly.
But when you mourn, when you get to the point of sorrow for your sins, when you admit that you have no other option but to cast all your cares on Him, and when there is truly no other name that you can call, then cast all your cares on Him, for He is waiting in the midst of the storm.
As long as you can carry your burdens alone, you don't need a burden bearer. As long as your situation brings you no grief, you will receive no comfort. And as long as you can take Him or leave Hin, you might as well leave Him, because He won't be taken half-heartedly.
But when you mourn, when you get to the point of sorrow for your sins, when you admit that you have no other option but to cast all your cares on Him, and when there is truly no other name that you can call, then cast all your cares on Him, for He is waiting in the midst of the storm.
Single Professional Fellowship
with Ptr. Jon Almusara (3rd from left, front row)
visit the LAKAS-ANGKAN website!!
Amena Brown: Ressurection
What's AMPALAYA?
Ampalaya or bitter gourd is a vegetable which has a bitter taste but very high in nutrients and said to be good cure for anemics. For Christians, it is devotion, the essence of your faith - that which Christians almost never like. It is the reading and meditating on God's word. Our faith may be focused on good deeds and making the world a better place, but it is nothing without ampalaya.
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