Lovestruck: The Perfect Love

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The Perfect Love

Message by Daniel Carandang

written by Jen Uson

It’s that time of the year again where people all over the world either go crazy over buying flowers, preparing the perfect dinner date for that special someone or picking out the perfect film for their single awareness day movie marathon. It’s Valentine’s day, folks! 

Us too, Zooey. Us too.

Valentine’s day is known for being one of the most awaited occasions all over the world because it’s all about (drum roll please): love. 

We often see this occasion as an opportunity to make grand gestures towards the people we like and care for and make them “kilig”. It’s safe to say that we all like the feeling of being in love.

Even though it’s Valentine’s season and we see people receiving unlimited stocks of chocolates and flowers, how come there are still some who feel bitter, unloved and empty inside? Let’s face it: people will always have the tendency to disappoint us. Whether it’s your crush, your friends or sometimes even your family may disappoint you, and that’s because we’re all human. We’re not perfect, but for such imperfect people we desire the most perfect love. The problem is, we keep searching for love in all the wrong places. 

We are all lovestruck. Admit it or not, we crave for “a short-lived passion” and as humans we desire an unfailing love. The question is, does this “unfailing love” really exist?

Of course it does!

According to the Bible,

 “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

John 3:16

The unfailing and perfect love we've all been searching for is God’s love. Can you imagine sacrificing your son to be able to save other people from their sins? That my friends, is what I’d like to call an unfailing  love.

God’s love unlike those flowers will not wither, God’s love unlike those balloons will not burst into thin air and God’s love unlike those boxes of chocolate will never run out. God’s love is a love that will last for a lifetime.

Isn’t that amazing?

Now that we know that God’s love will never falter, I think we should start doing our parts as His children and continue aiming to become the kind of men and women God wants us to be, and to show that we reciprocate His love for us.

The problem with our generation is that we have so much misconceptions regarding what it takes to become “real men and women”.

Nowadays for a person to truly become a “real man” he should regularly go to the gym, be brave and adventurous, win in a fistfight and so on. But what does it really take to become a real man in God’s eyes?

REAL MAN = MACHO, MASCULINE, DOESN'T CRY?

In 1 Kings 2:2b, “So be strong, act like a man, and observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go”

In this verse, King David, who was the standard of what men should be at that time, gave his son Solomon a list on how to act like a real man. He said that a real man should love and follow God, be prayerful, humble and be willing to admit their mistakes and has self-control. This is how real men should act.

Real men are not those who are merely just fearless and do not back out from fights, but men who  know how to follow God and love him.

Now women on the other hand also have a few misconceptions regarding how we should be. People often think that for you to be an acceptable woman your body shape has to be perfect, your skin should be fair, your eyebrows should always be on point and many more. We're not saying that it’s bad to care about these things, though. 

You know what we're talking about

But is external beauty the only thing we should care about? Of course not!

According to the bible,

In 1 Peter 3, “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves.”

The bible is not condemning external beauty because we should always take care of ourselves and do things that make us feel more confident as women. What this verse is trying to say is that we should prioritize our inner beauty more. Real women prioritize their inner beauty by being peaceful and considerate to others.

In Proverbs 31:30, it says:

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;

    but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

A woman who fears the Lord is to be praised and this is of great worth to Him, she knows that God will never leave her nor forsake her and she will always be secure because she knows that her inner beauty is imperishable.

It takes supernatural strength to follow God. It is not for the weak hearted. So we must always take note of these things and continue aiming to be who God wants us to be.

Here’s to having hearts that are strengthened by the love of the Lord alone!

Fearless: No Such Thing as Impossible

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*images taken from Google and Giphy

No Such Thing as Impossible (with God)

Message by Daniel Carandang

written by Ana Andres

Have you ever been in an impossible situation?

Perhaps you’ve had a medical condition with no cure, a terror professor who gives failing grades, or as simple as a crush who never seems to notice you.

Whatever it is it’s just…

Many, many years ago, a man named Abraham was also in an impossible situation. Abraham wanted to have a son. This was his greatest dream. Problem was, Abraham’s wife, Sarah, was barren and Abraham was old.

This was an impossible situation. There was no way Sarah could conceive a child. She was physically incapable of such. Nonetheless, God promised Abraham a son.

Wait, WHAT?!

In this situation, we see the reality of our own limitations as humans. Truth is, we are really weak and powerless on our own. For an instance, we are helpless towards natural catastrophes and death or maybe sometimes we’ll feel like we’ve given it our all but we still fall short. At one point, we will reach the maximum of our limited capacity and there are some things bigger that we just aren’t able to control.

But unlike us, GOD IS ALMIGHTY.

“Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am GodAlmighty; Walk before Me, and be blameless."

Genesis 17:1 

“El Shadday” is the Hebrew translation of “God Almighty”; “El” meaning, powerful and strong and “Shaddai” meaning, all-powerful and all-sufficient. God is limitless and therefore there is nothing that He is unable to control. When He promised Abraham a son, He also intended to fulfill this promise. He has the ability and power to do so!

“Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what He had promised. 2 Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. 5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.”

Genesis 21:1-2;5

You see, nothing is impossible with God!

We are weak but our God is able!

God can do more than this Darth Vader

How should this impact our lives then?

 “Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; Walk before Me, and be blameless.

Genesis 17:1

Knowing and genuinely believing that our God is Almighty, we are able to depend and trust His Word with all our heart. We won’t be afraid to walk where He leads us and we won’t be afraid to walk before Him and be blameless.

13 years before God gave Abraham and Sarah a son, they compromised and sinned. They were getting impatient and they thought foolishly, “let’s not wait anymore, let’s ‘help’ God”. So Abraham slept with Hagar, handmaid of Sarah. This was widely accepted in their culture back then but just because it’s accepted, does not mean it’s right. Biblically, this was still considered as sin as it was fornication and adultery.

When we compromise, we lose sight and forget that God is Almighty. We no longer acknowledge the fact that God is able and that is why we step in and do it our way. This doesn't only dishonor Him but it also hinders us from seeing God’s mighty power and receiving His blessings.

How we see God ultimately affects how much we trust and obey Him. If we depict God to be small, then our trust and obedience will be small but if we see Him as the STRONG, POWERFUL, ALMIGHTY God that He is, our trust and obedience will be greater.

We can count on Him and His promises because He is more than able to fulfill them!

Are you willing to walk before God and be blameless?

Open your heart. Pray and Obey!

See for yourself the wonders He’ll show you!

GOD IS AWESOME...AHHHH!

Fearless: Fears Be Gone!

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*all images taken from Google images

Fears Be Gone!

Speaker: Julius Rayala

written by Ashley Petallano

There are two kinds of fear: fear of the uncertain and fear of the certain.

When you fear the uncertain, you're simply scared of the unknown. For example, you've been liking this friend of yours for years. It's not just a crush, it's a MEGA CRUSH. It's such a burdening crush that you want to tell him/her. But you're stopped by the fact that all your efforts might go to waste due to the FRIENDZONE.

#friendzoned #ouch #ithurtssobaaad

When you fear something certain, it means you're scared of what's already sure. It's like being told that your mom is sick with terminal cancer. Three doctors confirmed that she's got less than months to live. The reality that you might have to live without your mother soon is terrifying. And you think to yourself: this isn't fair.

When we live in fear, everything stops. We don't want to move or do anything extreme simply because we are scared. The problem is fear can limit us. It hinders us from doing things beyond our capacities. Also, they stop us from pursuing what God wants for us. 

An example would be the fear of running out of money. Let's face it: MONEY IS ESSENTIAL. It's no wonder why we're afraid of losing some. If we do, we can barely do stuff that are important to us such as pay for school, the bills and food. We're initially stumped when we don't have the means to pay and we panic.

But if we want to survive this world, we cannot afford to be enveloped in fear. Being fearless requires not inhuman strength, swords or muscles. Nope. One is fearless when he knows who is God is. When you know that God is stronger, your fears are laid to rest.

PHEW!

Our God is a limitless God. He is not weak like us. He carries us on His shoulders. It helps us relieve ourselves from worries when we believe that God has a plan for us whilst we are in the midst of terrifying situations. He is beyond our realities.

When you believe that your God is beyond reality 

How are we assured of this?

 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

Matthew 7:11

When faced with fear, always know that you can turn to God for everything: support, advice and prayers. If you accept Him and allow Him to control your life, you are welcomed by Him with open arms. His children can come to Him freely with their burdens. 

7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

Matthew 7:7

As His child, God is concerned with your welfare. He is a Father, remember? Like what Matthew 7:11 says, if our earthly fathers can provide what we need, God can surpass their efforts. Now we're not saying that God is a genie. He is a Father who will approve matters that will benefit you and glorify Him.

No father matches God. He gives us what is good. Bad things are not His doing but ours. We are sinful beings that usually allow sin take control and ruin God's plan. 

God is always faithful but as His child, we need to do our part as well. 

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Acts 1:8

We are called to be His witnesses, martyrs of faith. We should spread the Word about God and His Gospel. Of course, we must also obey God. He reminds us constantly of what to do through the Bible and our prayers. Also, learn to give for His kingdom through tithing.

God provided Christ for us so that all our fears will be laid to rest. No more fear of being sent to hell, of unforgivable sins, of Satan winning this battle. All our fears are nothing compared to God's power. He is enough. More than enough. 

If our God is with us, then who can stand against us?

God takes over our fears!