Hype: Your Identity

Hype 1 Hype: Your Identity by Daniel Carandang written by Ana Andres When we hear the word “party”, what usually comes in to mind are things such as; music, DJ’S, dancing, alcohol, and maybe even drugs. We live in a liberated generation where there’s no stopping as long as there’s no hurting. “We can’t stop and we won’t stop!” as Miley Cyrus profoundly declares. If you put that song of hers in to simple words, it is basically about indulging in the pleasures of partying and never wanting to stop. After the release of its music video, it has gained millions of views and several criticisms for its explicitness. Despite tremendous hate, she continues to expose indulging in pleasures and sexuality through her music and videos and there is definitely no stopping her.  Why is she perceived so negatively? This is who she is. Why does partying usually connote immorality? This is who we are. We can’t do anything about it. We’re here to have fun and there’s nothing wrong with that. Why does it seem to be such a bad thing? But more so, is this who we really are? Is this what we’re really made to be? WHERE ARE YOU GETTING YOUR IDENTITY? You see, it says in the bible that God created us (Genesis 1:28) and because God created us, it is only right that we find our identity in Him. He designed each and one of us for a purpose and not unless we know and seek God, we will never know what that is and will continue to find our identity in the wrong things. To illustrate this let me ask a rather foolish question, if you have an Apple iPhone, would you use the Nokia manual to figure out how to operate the iPhone? Of course not because Nokia isn’t the maker of the iPhone and likewise with us, God is our creator and therefore He has authority to determine how we ought to live and function. If we function based on another “manual” other than God, we are wasting away the precious “features” we have  and not be able to carry out our real purpose. So what? I want to live life the way I want to and nobody can tell me to live otherwise.  You have to understand that, “..we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” - Ephesians 2:10 You have to understand that we are God’s masterpiece. We are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14)! We are made for greater things and there is so much more to the temporary happiness we experience by living life in our own terms. And because you are GOD’S MASTERPIECE.. YOU ARE EXTREMELY VALUABLE Whether you believe in God or not, you are extremely valuable to Him. Even despite your filthy past or even present, you are valuable to Him just the same. Nothing can reduce your worth because your value is in God. Therefore if you truly understand this and see your life as valuable, you won’t waste your life away. You will take careful heed of your actions and you will continue to pursue the greater things you were made to have. You will no longer try to identify with the matters of the world because truth is, the world does not care about you. It gives temporary pleasures and happiness but in the end, will leave you feeling empty.      2. YOU ARE DEEPLY LOVED  God’s love for you is relentless. Only His love will fill that void in your heart. “How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I could count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you.”  Psalm 139:17-18 He is deeply and madly in love with us that His thoughts about us are more than the grains of sand. He knows everything about us; all of our pains and all of our sorrows. He hurts for us more than we do. Often we don’t understand it but that’s just because His love for us is  immensely vast and our limited being can not contain all of it. If that does not convince you, know that “..God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” - Romans 5:8  He loved you although you hurt Him and He continues to love you despite constantly failing Him. “But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.”  Isaiah 64:8 God made you and He made you for a purpose. Seek Him and unravel the mysteries of His love and then see the masterpiece that you truly are!

WIN: Holy Spirit, Great Companion

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Holy Spirit, Great Companion

by Julius Rayala

written by Ashley Petallano

Nobody wants to be a nobody.

Being alone is not exactly the situation most of us would want to be in. Who in the world wants to be forever alone? When we're all alone in our seats at the school cafeteria, we can't help but feel vulnerable and...well...alone. Even CR breaks require us having a companion.

Nobody wants to be alone!

Humans are meant for human connections. It's vital for us to be with someone- be it one person or a whole group. Though some of us claim to be loners, we cannot deny the fact that we still crave the affection of other people- our families, friends and others. When we're alone, it's as if anything can tumble us down with one flick. 

We don't want to be alone.

The same can be very said in one part of our Christian faith: sharing Christ with our friends and families. Even though we have heard the Good News of Salvation, we refuse to share it with our friends...especially when we are alone. We're afraid to share when it's just by ourselves. The fear of being ridiculed or rejected by others stops us from sharing the Word.

8 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

Christ promised His disciples that the power of the Holy Spirit will come upon them. Similar to them, we will receive His power, be His witness and we can win a soul. 

Focusing on the first part of the verse, it makes one wonder why we need power. 

16 “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

Matthew 10:16

Sheep are known for being defenseless animals. They are the dumbest of the mammals, that's for a fact. Should they stumble on their own, they cannot get up on their own. If you throw a lonely sheep against a ferocious wolf, we know that dinner will be served in a few. A single sheep is defenseless against a predator but according to Jesus, an army of sheep is not. 

You can't share the gospel alone. We're not talking about always being accompanied by friends when we do so- it's all about the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Together, we can spread the word of God with help from the Helper He gave us once Christ ascended to heaven. It's not easy to win your campus, but even without the help of other people, you can do it, along with the Holy Spirit.

Success doesn't come from people- it's from the Lord. It is through His power, His strength that we can share His Word.

The Holy Spirit plays a big role in our lives. It is everything; Christ left it for us. 

2 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[a] as the Spirit enabled them.

Acts 2:1-4

After that fateful day, the disciples of Christ made it their mission to spread His Good News- wherever and whenever...in spite of the risks involved. It's interesting (and amazing) to note that despite the life-threatening road blocks they faced, not one of them backed down till their deaths. Most of the disciples died for His word and their demises were not pretty ones- being crucified upside down, stoned to death, beaten up, skinned alive, etc. Only John managed to die of old age but even he experienced grueling torture (he was boiled in oil. Can you imagine?).

Not one of them backed out. They were serious for the cause. 

Let us be assured that the Holy Spirit who guided these men is the very same Holy Spirit who will guide us in sharing the Word. It's not promised that we won't be faced with rejection or persecution but let's remember that the Lord trumps over whatever factor there is on this planet. 

How can you maximize sharing the Word?

14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. 

Acts 1:14

PRAY!

You just have to seek God and His help for this. It's the only way :)

A number of souls are wandering alone in this world- they're just not aware. Your school mates think that YOLO is the anthem of life when you know full well that it won't get them to heaven. They are clueless of the saving grace of Christ and His love for His children. Will you let them never know this beautiful fact?

Don't let you're loneliness hinder you. Remember: you're not alone. The Holy Spirit is with you. The Lord will guide you as you WIN souls for His glorious kingdom.

WIN: Discipleship: Why and How?

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Discipleship: Why and How?

by Jeremy Sanchez

written by Aggy Apolinario

How do you think Peter Parker would have reacted if he knew he was going to be Spider-man? He could’ve run away, and trapped himself in a room where he won’t be bitten by a spider. After all, who would want to put themselves to danger?

How about you? How will you react if you were given a big responsibility—a mission?

And what more if it’s God who’s asking?

“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.””

Matthew 28:18-20

In this verse, Jesus wants to tell us that He has done His work on earth—his mission. Now, it is time for us to do ours. He wants us to let people know about the victory that we can have through Him. He wants us to share the truth and hope that we can have in Him. We already know about it. We have experienced it. And now, He wants us to share it.

God is commanding us, and as His followers we must follow Him. Like what is stated in John 14:15, “If you love me, keep my commands”. AND making disciples by sharing the gospel is obeying God.

You see, God wants to work with us in making His disciples. Isn’t it such a great privilege? To be the one to share His truth to those who still don’t Him, to help and guide them live their lives according to the gospel, and to let them experience what we are experiencing.

Let us let them know of the amazing experience that we had when we met Jesus, when we let Him enter our lives, because we all know that our old life can suck it up for our new life with Him is better in every way we can imagine.

“All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation”

2 Corinthians 5:18

Sin set us apart from God. But because of His death on the cross and resurrection, we were reconciled with Him. Everything that was torn and broken was mended.

He said in Matthew 28, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”.

Baptizing isn’t a means for us to be saved. It is not the key to our salvation nor is it the way. It is simply a declaration that we believe, that we know what God has done for us, and that we are saved because of Him.

Knowing this truth, He wants us to go out there and share His truth to others because DISCIPLES SHOULD MAKE DISCIPLES.

It’s a beauty and a privilege to take part in making disciples of Jesus Christ. But oftentimes, we are discouraged to do so.

Why?

Maybe it’s because there’s a sin that we don’t want to let go. It’s hard for us to stop doing it. Like what most people say, “old habits die hard”. But that doesn’t mean they can’t.

Or maybe it’s because we’re overconfident. We think so highly of ourselves. But remember, God opposes the proud.

But most of the time, there’s this voice in our heads saying, “I can’t do it. I want to, but I can’t.” Sometimes, we even make excuses like, “I don’t know how. Wala akong alam”, “I’m not ready”, “I’m shy”, “Di ko kaya”.

There’s fear in us. That is why we must ask God to remove it. We should put our trust in Him and what He can do through us and not what we can do on our own.

What are we afraid of?

Is it our struggles?

We have struggles and issues in life, but we shouldn’t let them get the best of us. It’s not a question of whether we have them or not, but of whether we follow Jesus despite them or we love our struggles so much that we lose ourselves to it.

So let’s ask ourselves, are we letting it control us? Yes? Then, let’s get back up through God.

Or maybe it’s our thinking that we must be perfect before we lead?

You don’t have to be perfect. You don’t have to know everything immediately. You don’t have to be an Einstein. We’re humans. It’s inevitable for us not to fall. But what’s important is that we continue to seek God and follow Him.

We must not let fear be a hindrance. It’s always not big enough, because God is and will always be bigger. God will take care of us, and the journey that He has set before us. We just have to trust in Him.

When we lead, there’s good pressure.

Because as a leader, we have to step up our game. And that’s good for us because we know Him more and what He wants to do with our lives.

After all, our Christian life is like a marathon. We have to keep moving forward towards the goal—the goal of being more like Jesus Christ. We should progress. We should improve every step of the way.

As Jesus said it, “the student is not above the teacher, but when fully trained will be like their teacher”.

Let’s be a step ahead of our disciples, so that we’ll be able to help them in times of need. This is why there’s good pressure on us, because it makes us want to become more like Jesus.

Now that we know all this, we ask HOW?

How do we do it?

1. Spend time with them

“After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized.”

John 3:22

Jesus could’ve been an introvert, and not mind His disciples at all. But He chose to spend time with them because He knew the power of having quality time with His disciples.

Like Jesus, we, too, should spend time with our disciples because discipleship is a relationship. It’s not always about bible studies or theological information, but it’s about bonding and having quality time. We should bond with them through different activities. And before we know it, our relationship with will grow deeper. In return, they will learn to trust us more when we show them what a life lived according to the gospel is.

It won’t happen in a snap of a finger. It will take time. But we’re sure that it’ll be worth it.

2. Share what was shared to you

“And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.”

2 Timothy 2:2

We must share what we learn in our dgroups. Like what was said earlier, their trust in us will grow when we spend time with them. From there, we can find trustworthy people who will also share the Gospel and God’s truths.

We don’t have to know everything to share. Knowledge is important, but sharing what we know, and are still knowing, is what’s more important. We don’t have to become an Aristotle. We just have to know the gospel, to live it out, and to share it.

Like what was stated in Matthew 28:20, “Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

3. Challenge them

“After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go.”

Luke 10:1

Jesus exemplified his disciples, but He didn’t stop there. He challenged them.

Make this as an example. We should challenge our disciples. Let them do the devotional once in a while. Have them vision their future dgroups. Have them vision for their campuses, families, and friends. Remind them of the mission God gave us: Go and make disciples.  We are bombarded by a lot of things. It distracts us, and oftentimes, we tend to forget, which is why it’s important that we remind our disciples of this mission.

So let’s challenge them by reminding them of these things, and engage them on how they could partake in this. We should encourage them to get out of their comfort zones because no man will grow if they don’t get out.

Maybe God is telling you to step up and share, but your fear of getting teased by your friends scares you. So ask God, “Lord, what comfort zone am I in that you want me to get out of?”

4. Accept them

Ever heard of the saying “No man is an island”?

We are relational beings. We need other people. Even the most introverted person in the world needs acceptance.

“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.”

Romans 15:7

This doesn’t mean that we have to agree with them. They may be saying one thing, and we may be saying another. But this doesn’t mean that we don’t and won’t accept them.

In Romans, it is said that we should accept those who are weak in faith. Even if you think they’re not mature like you or even if when you think they’re not all that. We should accept them because Jesus does.

When we accept, it means that we’re letting them enter our hearts, and that we’re welcoming them no matter what they’ve done or who they are.

The problem with us is that we tend to be judgmental. We shouldn’t be like that. We must accept them as someone who Christ died for. Accept them even when you think they’re hard to accept, even when you think they’re too much to handle, because you never know what God can do in them through your leading and guidance.

5. Love them

“It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.”

John 13:1

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

John 13:34

Love them the way Jesus loves you. Show them the love Jesus also has for them.

Knowing these truths, go and make disciples.

There can be a lot of motivations. It can be pride. Maybe, we’d want to prove that we’re good, and that we can do anything. These things can be motivations, and may succeed. But in the end, they will all burn out.

That is why we should make love our motivation. God loves each and every one of us. In turn, we should love them as well. Because when love is the motivation, it will NEVER burn out. Yes, NEVER.

A lot of people are hurting. Maybe through you they’ll know the hope there is in Jesus. So, as we go and make disciples, let us look at people in view of their need and their eternity.

ETERNITY

It’s such a big word, isn’t it?

That’s because we have a big God.

An amazing God who loves you and me.

WIN: Discipleship

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Discipleship 

by Daniel Carandang

written by Ashley Petallano

School has begun once again. We've said our goodbyes to our beds, the refrigerator that fed us for three months and our beach memories have been kept in boxes. No longer are we professional bums; we've become students once again!

Back in the campus where identities are formed and social groups are established, you can't help but wonder: WHAT ON EARTH AM I HERE FOR? The jungle life in school can be so energized, busy and a tad confusing that we find ourselves lost. What is your purpose in life as a student? To be popular? To be the most-liked, macho-gwapito stud? To be the brightest student who gets nothing but perfect scores? Get those latest running shoes to enhance your athletic skills?

In the Bible, King Solomon commented on money, pleasure, ventures and relationships. You know what he called them?

MEANINGLESS.

Everything in this world can be meaningless.There is no doubt that one day, all of these (fame, money, relationships) will fade...become forgotten memories of the past. It's like hearing stories about your great great grandmother. Sure, you hear them now but let's be honest, it's meaningless to you. It's the same with the things we cling on as a student. We hold unto them now but one day...they will become meaningless.

You have a higher purpose, dear student. Don't forget!

We should not be living for any temporal earthly purpose that will fade away. We should not invest our lives in something that will not last. We should pour out every second of our life in something that will last forever—a purpose that is eternal—we should live our lives for God and His purpose! More than just earning high grades, getting involved in extra-curricular activities, & preparing for a future career, God has a higher purpose for each and everyone of us in the campus. That in the limited time we have as students, He would use us to reach out to others, share the Gospel to them, and disciple them.

Our mission is stated here:

“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

 Matthew 28:18-20

Who is a DISCIPLE?

A disciple is not a mystical person who performs magic- it is someone who puts his/her faith in Christ and decides to dedicate his/her life in servitude of Him. Disciples are God's helpers in spreading the Word about Christ in this world. There are still thousands of people who do not know about Christ, therefore, as His disciples, it is our mission to proclaim His name.

God is calling us to reach out and WIN each and every people group in this planet! Not just the tribes, but first and foremost the people around us, closest to us--our family, and schoolmates! It’s time to step up and fulfill our call to go and make disciples in our respective campuses.

So, how do we begin?

1. To make disciples, you have to be a disciple.

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go

Matthew 28:16

Before you can go you first need someone to disciple you. It's vital to have someone mentor you about Christ and His Word before you set yourself in teaching others as well. Jesus invested His life in mentoring his disciples. He taught them about Scripture, the importance of prayer, how to overcome sin and basically, how to believe. We need people who will also invest in our lives and teach us how to face the world with Christ as our shield. 

Remember: disciples are not born...they are MADE.

Discipleship is the process of leading someone to Christ, and helping that person grow in their relationship with Him! God desires to use you to reach our and disciple others! But step one is for you to make disciples.

2. God's will for His disciples is for them to make disciples.

Want to know what God's will is? Primary source is the Bible.

“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,..”

Matthew 28:18-20a

Making disciples is Jesus' command. The problem is we don't live a life of obedience because we don't have a clear understanding of Who Jesus is. Some of us do not know Him well at all. Our wrong interpretation of Him could lead to us treating Him differently.

Jesus is described here as having all authority in heaven and earth! No one is above Him, more powerful than Him--most "powerful" person on earth: NOTHING. There is NOTHING He can’t do, He has no plan He can’t accomplish—no one and nothing can stand in His way and prevail. That is why we must have  a HIGH & PROPER view of Jesus.

Our view of Jesus impacts the way we respond to Him. Our responses to discipleship is really an issue of Lordship.

WHO is The Lord of your life? Is it Jesus..or yourself? WHOSE WILL has priority? God's or yours?

A lot of us are fans of musical bands. One Direction, All Time Low, Super Junior...you name it! Some of us are even super fans: every day we stalk our favorite personalities on Facebook, follow updates and tweet them endlessly till we get a response! That is a solid FAN! However, Jesus does not desire fans (or stalkers). He wants FOLLOWERS.

Are you just a fan? Or are you a follower? IF you are really a follower,  WHY are you not making disciples? If there's something hindering you..what are you doing about it?

If we see this as mere religious obligation, then we're missing the point. We're not just workers for Him, we are lovers as well.

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 

Matthew 9:35, 36

The Jewish society was very religious and followed strict rules implemented by Law-intellectual Pharisees. They gave 300 rules for the Jews to follow. That's like having 300 rules in your classrooms. It was all about the law rather than what really mattered the most.

Jesus was burdened about the spiritual state of the crowds..it was what consumed His heart. And so as a response to the condition of the multitudes, after commanding His disciples to pray for more workers, Jesus empowered them to reach out!

ARE YOU INTIMATELY ACQUAINTED WITH GOD'S HEART?

When we are in love, we're willing to go the distance for our loved ones. The same should apply with the Lord and His great commission. We should bear compassion and responsibility for our disciples. God knows that the ONLY way for a person to be changed is for a person to be discipled.

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you..” 

Matthew 28:19, 20a 

Baptism is an outward declaration of a person offering his life to the Lord. It is assumed that the Gospel has already been shared to the person. Also, the verse talks about teaching our disciples to obey in the Lord and in His will. People need to be discipled because of our sinful natures. No seminar, livelihood program, or wellness conference can change a person's life. These are good, but will always fall short.

Discipleship is God's strategy & solution for genuine transformation!

Jesus was so passionate about this, that of all possible things He would leave His people to do before He ascended to heaven, He asked them to go and make disciples. That is why we should GO AND MAKE DISCIPLES.

3. God promises to be with us as we make disciples.

“..And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Matthew 28:20b

One of the reasons why we don’t make disciples: FEAR.

Discipleship is a matter of faith. Jesus promised to be with us until the task is finished in the end of the age. He isn't like us: we break our promises. The Lord does not. If He says He'll be with us, He will be. 

“But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”

2 Corinthians 12:9

Paul had a weakness, a “thorn in the flesh”, and was pleading for God to take his weakness away. But God said, instead of taking away Paul's weakness, He will give His grace so that Paul will depend on Him and His power will become very very real. Same applies to us. We say we are weak, unfit, not for the job but God promises that He will be with us.

God can do this on His own..but He has given us the privilege to partner with Him and be His hands and feet in reaching the world and reconciling the world to Himself. If you're a follower of Christ, God’s Word for you is…GO and make disciples!

Unshakable: When Is Jesus Coming Back?

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When is Jesus Coming Back?

by Daniel Carandang

written by Ana Andres

Life is but a fleeting moment and to some, all they await is death. For us Christians, we await for the return of our Messiah for he promised that He would come back.

When is He coming back?

 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” 

Matthew 24:1-3

It is very clear in those verses that there is ABSOLUTELY NO ONE but only the Father knows when Jesus Christ is coming back. With that, we must be very cautious when hearing predictions because it is an absolute lie. We must be careful to be grounded in the truth we know because people are deceived, as they have no knowledge of this truth. Although we will never really know when He will return, he didn’t leave us to our impressions. He gave signs that would indicate that the end is near, which are;

- Influx of false teachers (Matthew 24:4)

- Wars and rumors of wars (Matthew 24:6)

- Earthquakes and famines in various places (Matthew 24:7)

- Persecution of God’s people (Matthew 24:8)

- Many will turn away from the faith, wickedness will increase and love of most will grow cold (Matthew 24:11-14)

All of these seem to be happening right now but then again, no one knows! Therefore we are to keep watch. Just imagine if Jesus was to return at this very moment. What would he find you doing? We didn’t wait a lifetime for Him to see us doing something dishonorable, right? We want Him to find us faithfully serving His Kingdom but most importantly, we keep watch of the people because His second coming will be swifter than lightning. By then, there will be no longer a chance to repent and their choice has determined their eternity.

How then do we keep watch?

First is to have a heavenly perspective.

Have you ever tried to unroll a toilet paper until only the cylinder cardboard is left? That would take some time to finish, wouldn’t it? Now imagine unrolling and imagine that it goes on forever. Let’s use that illustration to represent our eternal life. On the other hand, a piece of that toilet paper represents our life here on earth. If you look at the overall picture, our life here on earth is nothing but a dot compared to our life in eternity.  We only get this one tiny chance, which ultimately determines the rest of forever. That being the case, we are to run this race like a runner, having our eyes on the prize, which is Jesus Christ.

Now if we have truly grasped this, we will be faithful in what He has called us to do. We will be good stewards of our time, our resources, our talents and everything that He gave us. We will share the Gospel, love one another, and resist sin and temptation. As for the Apostle Paul, he gave up his everything to fulfill his mission. He forgot about the “good” things here on earth and decided to look to the good things in eternity because really,

EVERYTHING ON EARTH IS TEMPORARY.

All of our pains, all of our sufferings will soon be gone. It will be replaced with eternal joy. He will give us a crown that will last forever and we will be with Him for eternity. Nothing can ever compare to that. Not even the happiest moment we’ve ever had here on earth.

At the end of it all, when you come face to face with Jesus, will you be able to say that you lived your life faithfully?

Unshakable: The Bible is TRUSTWORTHY

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The Bible is TRUSTWORTHY

by Daniel Carandang

written by Ashley Petallano

Our circumstances can sometimes freak the living daylights out of us. When life gives us lemons, we don't know how to make decent juice. Unexpected events can break us: loss of a loved one, heart-breaking conflicts and the likes. We're in search for answers and if we're not grounded in the truth, we are easily shaken.

Majority of our questions in life can be found in one controversial book: THE BIBLE.

For years, many have doubted the reality of it being the Word of God. Those who stand against God and His truths have tried to disprove its trustfulness. But they are wrong. Because no matter what happens- the BIBLE will always be TRUSTWORTHY.

There have been many incidents proving the Bible:

In 1947, a young Bedouin found himself faced to face with a cave, known as the Qumram cave which was located near the Dead Sea. His young goat had gone inside the mysterious cave. The young boy, hesitant at first, finally decided to go inside. Little did he know, he was about to bump into the greatest discovery of all time:

THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS

It is significant due to the fact that these scrolls are the earliest known surviving manuscripts of works later included in the Hebrew Bible, all the deuterocanonicals and extra-biblical manuscripts. Original biblical manuscripts that is.

In 1950, the Ebla tablets of the Ebla archives were discovered. These tablets proved that Sodom and Gomorrah did exist. Another amazing account would be that of an Ossuary discovered to be that of James, brother of Jesus.

ALL ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES AFFIRM THE BIBLE!

Even in the field of science, the Bible has proven its worth.

Centuries ago, people believed that the Earth was flat. A society was even formed base on this belief. Those who dared to say that the Earth was not flat, rather it was round, were killed. But the prophet Isaiah says otherwise:


He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,
    and its people are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the heavens like a canopy,
    and spreads them out like a tent to live in

Isaiah 40:22

The truth of the Earth hanging on nothing is also written in the Bible.

He spreads out the northern skies over empty space;
    he suspends the earth over nothing.

Job 26:7

Even something as complicated as the hydraulic cycle is also written!

“He draws up the drops of water,
    which distill as rain to the streams[a];
28 the clouds pour down their moisture
    and abundant showers fall on mankind.

Job 36:27-28

These seem impossible but they are only possible with a God who spoke the Word.

When it comes to prophecies, the Bible is unbeatable. All three hundred prophecies stored in its pages have been- wait for it- FULFILLED. Every single one of them. The possibility of two of them occurring is considered impossible but all three hundred?

Let's take a look at two major prophecies:

There was a period in time when the nation Israel did not exist. The Jews wandered from one place to another for 2000 years. With all the exiles and the turmoil the nation went thru, its people were forced to disband and settle all over the world. But according to the prophet Ezekiel, the Lord would not allow His people to be disbanded forever. He will gather them.

A man named Lord James Belford introduced the idea of rebuilding Israel as a nation first but the idea was scrapped during latter years. When Adolf Hitler rose to power, six million Jews died under his reign. World War II caused them to run for their lives and be separated more. However, at the end of the war, President Harry Truman of the United States declared that it was time for the Jews to return home.

In 1947, Israel was born.

It all took place in one day. Impossible?

Who has ever heard of such things?
    Who has ever seen things like this?
Can a country be born in a day
    or a nation be brought forth in a moment?

Isaiah 66:8a

The next major prophecy concerns the most controversial character of all time: JESUS.

There have been a number of prophecies concerning Jesus that have been fulfilled. Here are 8 of them:

- Him being born of a virgin
- being born in Bethlehem
- riding through Jerusalem in a donkey
- betrayed by Judas for thirty pieces of silver
- the same 30 pieces of silver thrown in the temple
- His crucifixion (Psalm 22)
- buried in a cave (Isaiah 53)
- His ressurection

The probability of one prophecy coming true in a man's life is already a big deal and quite the impossibility but the probability of eight? The chances are (in statistical terms)1 x 10 to the 17th power. 17  ZEROES! Imagine! It is unthinkable, unimaginable! Except God intervened. The Bible's prophetic nature testifies to its supernatural nature.

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