Call Of Duty: Let's Not Give Up Meeting Together

Call of Duty 3

Let's Not Give Up Meeting Together

by Daniel Carandang

written by Ashley Petallano

Do you like being alone?

In school, most of the kids are huddled in groups. This is most obvious during lunch time when people find their friends in the crowd and sit at their tables. Are you the type who loves being in the company of others or prefers the quiet solitude?

Most of us, admittedly or not, love the company of other people. When we go out to the malls, play computer games online or have out-of-town trips, we'd prefer to have friends with us. Yes, we like having me-times but most of the time, we know that we need to be with people. 

Did you know that having people around us can also aid us in our walk with God? For us to be strengthened spiritually, more than it being enjoyable, it is actually a necessity for us to constantly surround ourselves with people who love God.

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Hebrews 10:23-25

The Book of Hebrews was written to encourage a community of Hebrews who were facing the possibility of intensified persecution because of their faith in Jesus, that tempted them to cast aside their identification with Him.

Have you ever been persecuted for your faith? You might have experienced being mocked for your belief in Christ. People at school laugh at you, maybe even dub you as the religious one for what you believe. Sometimes, even our own family question our judgment and unfortunately, taunt us. 

Christians in Iraq are being persecuted as we speak. Not only are they being ridiculed for their faith, they are being hunted down. The early Christians also suffered cruel persecution. Some were slain with swords, burned with fire, scourged with whips, stabbed with forks of iron, drowned at sea. Others had their skins plucked off, stoned to death, killed with cold, starved with hunger, hands cut-off or decapitated, fed to lions 

The writer of Hebrews is reminding them of Who Jesus is, His Supremacy, what His death on the cross meant—through these, he is encouraging them to hold on their faith. He also reminded us to do another important thing:

"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Hebrews 10:24-25

During that time, the church had two meetings: a big group that met in the Temple courts and another that went from one house to another. It was there that they worshiped the Lord, studied His word and had fellowship with one another. Nowadays, such meetings take the form of worship services in the church and small group meetings.

God saves us individually but calls us to be part of a community. Yes, it is a personal walk but you shouldn't do the walk alone. Here are two reasons:

1. We need to spur and be spurred towards love and good deeds

 “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,”

Hebrews 10:24

No, we are not talking about the recent NBA Champions :) 

A spur is a tool used to irritate a horse's skin for them to continue moving forward- a motivation. Believe it or not, we are called to be each other's spurs. We exist to annoy or to motivate one another towards two things: love and good deeds. 

Love, as used in the verse, express agape love. It's that type of love that is selfless- the very same Christ had for us. Many of us would like to experience this type of love. We are called to share such love to others but since we are born selfish, we do not. It's easy to love when things are a-okay. If not, it's a struggle.

When we are hurt, we struggle to love …and forgive.

When we feel tempted, we struggle to love …and say ‘no’

When there is an opportunity to share the Gospel, we struggle to love …and get out of our comfort zones.

We NEED to be surrounded with people who will spur & irritate us to not give in to our selfishness and even laziness. Many times, it’s a struggle to love God & others so we NEED people who will remind us of His love & to love others. Being spurred may not always be comfortable, but it’s for our good.

2. We need to encourage and be encouraged

We all get discouraged. Failing grades can immediately wipe the smile off our faces. So can people, like our classmates or even our own family. Disappointment is everywhere, and we're not safe from it. That is why we need the encouragement.

”And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Hebrews 10:24-25 

What do you do when you're discouraged?

Most times, we do things that will make us forget. Some of us frequent the local bars to drown our sorrows in alcohol, with the occasional cigarette, of course. Others choose to bum out in front of their video games or to watch endless episodes of their favorite sitcoms. But after the nostalgia from all of that ends, we're brought back to reality.

What we should do is not rely on temporary things. We should pray, spend quality time with the Lord and surround ourselves with people who will encourage us. Fellowship is very important because according to 1 Peter 5:8, the devil prowls like a lion, waiting to attack a sheep who wanders alone.

The devil takes advantage of our negative reactions to distort God’s image, character, and promises in our minds and tempt us to turn our backs on Him and forsake our faith. The Christian life was never designed to be lived alone. We need others. 

Don't give up on meeting with one another! :D

Call of Duty: Let God's Word Be Your Life

Call of Duty 2

Let God’s Word Be Your Life

by Alvin Lagamon

written by Aggy Apolinario

“Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.”

Psalm 1:1-3

It is in our human nature to desire things or even people. We may want gadgets, a car, new set of clothes, a passing mark, bigger allowances or maybe a special someone.

Whatever or whoever it is, it is just normal for us to have that kind of aspiration. But other than those things, there is one thing that we should most truly desire—God’s word.

As followers of Christ, we should desire His word. We should delight in it and make it our lives.

LET GOD’S WORD BE YOUR LIFE.

At first, we may find the bible restricting, confined, and sometimes boring. It may be because we find it somewhat confusing and difficult to understand. But when we spend time to read and study it, we will find ourselves eventually understanding and appreciating it.

“They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb. By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward.”

Psalm 19:10-11

Like what these verses say, the word of God is more desirable than gold and much more sweeter than honey. It is more desirable than any material or immaterial thing you have in your life.

Nothing can even compare. Not even our cellphones that we love so much. Our phones reflect our way of living; the Bible changes that. Our phones get old and deteriorate over time; the Bible doesn’t. Our phones oftentimes receive late messages; the Bible is always on time. Our phones need loads to work; the Bible is already fully-loaded. Our phones are important to us but the Bible has much more importance when and if we use it.

“but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.”

Psalm 1:2-3

These verses are telling us to delight in God’s word. Make it our desires, or what Gollum always say “our precious.” Because if we do, we will never fall nor falter. We will be fruitful in every aspect of our lives. We can be sure that we will not wither. And whatever we do, we will prosper.

God’s word is rewarding. It will be profitable to us. It will be as if we have a purpose in life, as if something is driving us on.

All these are only possible if we delight in His word.

But the question is: what does it mean to delight in the word of God?

1. You allow it to lead you.

Your perspective in life should not be of the ungodly. You should not abide nor follow the pack of sinners. Do not let yourself belong to the scornful. Your belief, behavior, and belongingness should not be of this world.

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

Romans 12:2

You should not conform to the world. Instead, let yourself be transformed through God’s word and let the world transform with you.

Take the letter L out of the world because it is full of lies, lust, and lures of the devil. Let God lead you instead. Delight and focus on His word, and let it transform you. Let it be your guide.

When you are tempted to do something that you know will be displeasing to God, resort to His word and ask for His guidance. It may be an anger that you can’t control, or maybe your laziness that you can’t seem to avoid. Focus on His word and let it guide you. It will not be specific. It will not tell us the exact words we expect to hear, which is why it is important that we understand the principles behind it. It may not specifically tell uswhat to do, but it will lead us into doing it.

So focus on God’s word because whatever may be bothering you at the moment, any question you have in your mind will be answered only through God’s word. It is the manual of life, and we should treat it as such.

With this, let us ask ourselves, “Who or what is leading my life?”

2. You let it inspire you.

Inspiration means someone or something that stimulates, motivates or encourages your heart. It is something that keeps you going. These days, we find our inspiration on different things and people. It may be the memes we see on social media, different personalities like Vice Ganda, Bob Ong, Papa Jack, or even the pages in Facebook.

There is nothing wrong with that. It’s not wrong to find inspiration from the people and things around you. But with that alone, you are missing out on a lot of things. If you do not resort to God’s word, there are a lot of things that you will not learn.

The things you learn from these people may inspire you but over time, you will find that these things are only temporary. They will be forgotten. Maybe not sooner but later on, it will be.  This is the reason why we should be inspired by God’s word alone.

When you feel the need to be renewed, read God’s word.

When you feel incomplete, read God’s word.

When you feel like you do not have joy in your heart, read God’s word.

You may not be able to feel it immediately, but as you go on in reading, you will eventually feel how God is slowly transforming you and your life.

The law of the Lord is perfect. It is faultless.

Even when you attend a youth service and you hear the message of the speaker, you may find yourself thinking that you’ve already heard that message, and that you already know it. This is not the right attitude that we should have. One reason that we are like this is because we may not have a personal relationship with God because when we do, we will not feel as if we’re sick and tired of hearing the same message again, or that we feel like we already know everything there is to know about it, instead, we should feel as if it validates God’s word—that it will make us remember how much God loves us as He guides us to do things that will make us the better version of ourselves.

3. You let it fill you.

Have you been feeling empty?

Sometimes, we get too busy with school or work that we no longer have time to spend in reading the Bible. After a long day, we sometimes want to just take a rest and doze off until we need to wake up again for the next day. And on the process, we neglect our quiet times, and we’re not even aware of it.

“Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Matthew 4:4

With this, we have to remind ourselves to spend time studying the Bible. We need God’s word. We, as this verse said, cannot live on bread alone. We should be like goats that chew on their food day in day out. We should chew on God’s word as if our lives depended on it.

We should treat it like the new restaurant we just discovered and which we’re dying to tell our friends about. We should be overflowing with so much of God’s word, that we can no longer help but share it to other people. We should be fully-loaded.

But maybe, we’re wondering how will we do it? Sometimes, it’s just too confusing that we no longer even try. But that’s the beauty in reading His word. We get to try different approaches. We can do journaling, poetry, or even sing the verses, if that’s what it takes for us to understand them. We can try new things every day. After all, having the same exact thing every day can get boring at times.

Let God’s word fill you because when you do, it will not leave you feeling empty nor drained, instead, it will make you explode with so much joy and fulfillment.

4. You let it equip you.

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

2 Timothy 3:16-17

God has a purpose for all of us. He has a reason for our existence. We do not live in this world just because we do. We have a goal and a mission. All these we can find in His word and in His word alone.

All of the scriptures are God-inspired. Every single thing we need, we can find in the Bible. We can be sure of this. This is why we could be assured that whatever we do, if we let God guide us, we’ll reach our goals.

Remember, if God brought you to it, He will guide you through it. He will be there every step of the way. His word will equip us with everything we need. We can be sure that we are fully-prepared for the battle that we are yet to face because God has given us the armor and weapon we need. All we need to do is to accept it and wear it.

God is giving us the sword through His word. The question is,“are we letting it equip us?”

“That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.”

Psalm 1:3

Like trees that need a constant supply of water, we need a constant supply of God’s word. We need it to lead, inspire, fill, and equip us.

So explore God’s word and unravel the things that you have yet to discover.

LET GOD’S WORD BE YOUR LIFE and you might be surprised of what God has in store for you. 

Call of Duty: An Intimate Communion

Call of Duty 1

An Intimate Communion

by Daniel Carandang

written by Sheresh Eunice Cortes

Life is a battlefield, we’ve all heard it. And so we are viewed as warriors, fighting everyday in the battleground. But a faint-hearted warrior wouldn't be capable of facing the war unless one goes through training. It is the same with one’s spiritual life, which is also a constant battle; one must go through such discipline to be spiritually fit.

“7 Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. 8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.”

1 Timothy 4:7-8

As spiritual warriors, we ought to undergo spiritual disciplines which are necessary in facing our battles. The first spiritual discipline- prayer- is often taken for granted by most of us. Some are embarrassed for doing it; some are too lazy, while some consider it as ritual. But what we don’t realize is that we are missing out on the tremendous blessing that it can bring.

Most people don’t like praying because they perceive it as something so formal and boring, or too complicated… something that requires much effort. But Jesus said in the Bible:

“5 And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like the pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.”

Matthew 6:5-8

For the longest time, people have developed misconceptions about prayer. Some think that it has to be full of big words, or has to be quite long or performed in a particular position, place, and time. But Jesus did not speak of these things. Prayer, foremost, is not some kind of performance or ritual. 

“Prayer is an intimate communication between us and our heavenly Father.”

There is nothing too complicated and boring about prayer! It is quality time with God, our bonding moment with our Creator. Flowery words are of no necessity when you pray, but sincerity of the heart. For God is far more interested in our hearts when we pray than He is in our posture, location, attire or words. In the simplest sense, just BE YOURSELF when you pray!

But I don’t know how to pray, say most people. Again, prayer doesn’t need to be complicated. The following steps will guide you on how to pray:

·    - Remind yourself of who God is

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

                                      

                                                                                                                               Matthew 6:9-10

Remind yourself that you are not talking to an imaginary being. God is alive! He is not some distant God but an intimate one. He is sovereign in the heavens and the earth, yet He gave up His precious Son so you could be saved. That is how precious you are to Him. And so remind yourself of these things, of the greatness of God whom you’ve been given the privilege to talk to.

·   -  Refocus your eyes to God and look to Him for your needs

“Give us today our daily bread”

                                                                                                                                        Matthew 6:11

Turn your eyes from your worries, and unto God who sustains you. Present your requests to God and surrender your distress. Surely, you’ve been told that worrying isn’t even a tad of help to any circumstance. But rather, it helps worsen the situation. So when you pray, quiet your heart and mind, and present your requests to God.

“6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”

                                                                                                                                      Philippians 4: 6-7

·         Repent; ask for forgiveness for sins

“And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors”

                                                                                                                                    Matthew 6: 9

Do not be afraid to talk to God because of the things that you’ve done. He is a forgiving God, and all you need to do is ask for His forgiveness. Do not be deceived by the evil one by not talking to Him because of guilt. For as long as you are sincere, and you turn back from all your wrongdoings, He is ready to absolve you from any stain of transgression. His grace and love for you is greater than the multitude of your sins.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

                                                                                                                                     1 John 1: 9

·         Rely on God for protection from the evil one and temptation

“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one”

                                                                                                                                     Matthew 6: 13

It is inevitable for temptations to come our way. That’s why it is important to rely on God for protection and strength to not fall into the trap of the enemy. The Lord has promised to provide a way out for us whenever we are tempted, so you don’t need to worry. If you find yourself in a situation where you are on the verge of giving up to a temptation, immediately ask for God’s protection and do not play with fire any longer.

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”

                                                                                                                                     Ephesians 6: 18

Prayer is a wonderful privilege to communicate with the King of kings and Lord of lords. It is a precious activity we all can freely do. Prayer is not about what you wear, what your position is, where you are, or what time you pray – it is something you can do wherever, whenever, however. Prayer is a valuable weapon a warrior can and should carry in the fields of war. Through this, a warrior can breathe confidently even in an uproar – he knows he’s not fighting his battles alone.