Posts Tagged “Jesus”
One of the most influential persons in my life just passed away this week. What we had was not close to being perfect but it was with a purpose. I came to know Jesus because of him. He was more than a friend and a classmate. He was a brother in Christ to me.
The last time we saw each other was last November in the hospital. We prayed and shared our faith just like what we did when we were still together in college. Indeed, God has a great way of turning a mess into a message. And that message will always be in my heart forever because it was not just Ron’s message to me… It was Christ’s.
As an encouragement, I’d like to share this devotional to everyone who has experienced losing someone in their lives.. I received this in my email a day before he left this world. I know it was so timely and I did realize that it was God’s hands that were comforting me. I just can’t write here everything that happened to me before getting this email and after receiving the news. All I can say is the Lord is just amazing! He not just takes away our sins… He also wipes away the tears. Indeed, Ron was instrumental in my relationship with God and I am forever thankful.I know they’re both together now… happy and free.I know it’s hard to say goodbye but letting go is always a beautiful thing most especially when you know where the person is going. And yes, I am very sure that he’s in better hands now. I know we’ll meet again someday. See you!
The Devotional that I’d like to share:
GOD’S PERSPECTIVE
by Max Lucado
“We want you to be quite certain, brothers, about those who have died, to make sure that you do not grieve about them, like the other people who have no hope” (Thessalonians 4:13 JB).
The Thessalonian church had buried her share of loved ones. And the apostle wanted the members who remained to be at peace regarding the ones who had gone ahead. Many of you have buried loved ones as well. And just as God spoke to them, he speaks to you.
If you’ll celebrate a marriage anniversary alone this year, he speaks to you.
If your child made it to heaven before making it to kindergarten, he speaks to you.
If you lost a loved one in violence, if you learned more than you want to know about disease, if your dreams were buried as they lowered the casket, God speaks to you.
He speaks to all of us who have stood or will stand in the soft dirt near an open grave. And to us he gives this confident word: “I want you to know what happens to a Christian when he dies so that when it happens, you will not be full of sorrow, as those who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and then came back to life again, we can also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him all the Christians who have died” (1 Thess. 4:13–14 TLB).
God transforms our hopeless grief into hope-filled grief. How? By telling us that we will see our loved ones again.
Isn’t that what we want to believe? We long to know that our loved ones are safe in death. We long for the reassurance that the soul goes immediately to be with God. But dare we believe it? Can we believe it? According to the Bible we can.
Scripture is surprisingly quiet about this phase of our lives. When speaking about the period between the death of the body and the resurrection of the body, the Bible doesn’t shout; it just whispers. But at the confluence of these whispers, a firm voice is heard. This authoritative voice assures us that at death the Christian immediately enters into the presence of God and enjoys conscious fellowship with the Father and with those who have gone before.
Where do I get such ideas? Listen to some of the whispers:
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far. (Phil. 1:21–23 NIV)
We don’t like to say good-bye to those we love. But if what the Bible says about heaven is true, and I believe it is, then the ultimate prayer, the ultimate answered prayer, is heaven.
It is right for us to weep, but there is no need for us to despair. They had pain here. They have no pain there. They struggled here. They have no struggles there. You and I might wonder why God took them home. But they don’t. They understand. They are, at this very moment, at peace in the presence of God.
PS: I have a lot of things to share but I can’t seem to write it down yet. One thing is certain: I am forever grateful for his life that changed mine.
RON ANTHONY VERANO PARADELA
10/06/1986-01/26/2009
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…AND I NO LONGER LIVE, BUT CHRIST LIVES IN ME.
GALATIANS 2:20
JESUS
you’re
all
this
heart
is
living
for.
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This life that I have is so fragile. Any moment, I might lose this. Any moment, sadness might come running straight to me. When I look around, there is so much imperfections. When I look inside of me, there’s so much sin to confess. Everything is just lacking.
Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD. -Psalm 31:24
God never promised security in myself or in the world that I see. God commanded me to be strong and courageous, not because I am self-sufficient or that the world itself is already complete, but because He knows that I have a tendency to be weak. He told me to draw strength and courage from Him. Again, that is PUT YOUR HOPE IN THE LORD. Do not put your hope in other people, in your money, in your career, in your family, in your self!
There must be a reason why this verse is found in the Bible. God knows for sure that as human beings, we tend to give up and give in. We are weak creatures, created with emotions. We feel. We hurt. We are not perfect. We get tempted. We get sad. We cry… and yes, we die! We are just so fragile. That is why there is a God. A God who knows our weaknesses and fills the gap inside of us. Look everywhere and you’ll only find temporary happiness and rarely will you find answers. But look up and realize that there is one who is in control. He is telling us to put our hope in Him. The economy and insurance companies may fail but never God’s love for us. The only sure thing that we can hold on to is God… and I am glad that He is just a prayer away.
Written last October 31, 2008
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I am writing this now as I think about the many unpredictable things that are happening around me. I have problems, unfinisheds tasks and unanswered questions. Deep inside of me, I am not losing hope because of only one reason: I have never been and will never be unloved. How do I know? Because His Word tells me so.
Romans 8:38-39 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
What an assurance that we have from a God who is perfect! Despite our sins and weaknesses, our Savior tells us that they’re not enough to take us away from His loving arms. Whatever failures, sin, pain, disagreement or disappointment, remember that we are not alone. The God who loves us will never leave us. Whatever disease, challenge, exam, news or event may come our way, remember that God is in control. The God who loves us will never lose us in His hands.
Our world is full of things that will deceive us into believing that He already abandoned us. But do not be swayed for He who formed you won’t be separated from you. Let us rest in this fact that whatever happens, our Lord did, does and will love us.
written last November 22, 2008
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The more I get alone
The more I see I need to get alone more, more
Cause just when I think that I’m alone
Your Spirit calls out to me
And even silence has a song
Cause that’s when you come
Sing over me
Still, let me be still
Let me be OK
With the quiet in my heart
Still, I want to be still
I’m so quick to move
Instead of listening to you
Shut my mouth
Crush my pride
Give me the tears
Of a broken life,
Still
Oh this world, it falls around me
And flutters all it’s beauty in my eyes
But let me choose the solitude
Simplicity has always simply changed my life
Cause even stillness makes me move
Cause that’s when my heart
Learns to dance with you
Still, let me be still
Let me be OK
With the quiet in my heart
Still, I want to be still
I’m so quick to move
Instead of listening to you
I’m your child
Tame my heart
Obedience
To me impart
Still
La la la la la, Hold me
La la la la la, Cleanse me
La la la la la, Change me, Oh God
Change me while I am
Still, let me be still
And know that you are God
And you are always enough
Still, I want to be still
To take all that I am
And simply lift it up
Shut my mouth
Crush my pride
Give me the tears
Of a broken life,
Still
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Christ’s life unfolds, in part, as we learn to appreciate the gifts He has given us. How easy it is to blame others for our unhappiness, but we are only unhappy when something other than Christ has become our life. (For example) The husband or wife who has Christ as their life, comes to their spousal relationship already satisfied. They do not come continually looking to made happy by another person’s attention; they bring Christ’s life to their spouse.
~Francis Frangipane
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Here I am so close to you
Know my voice, I’ll never leave you
For I have loved you since before the sands of time were made
I love you still and always will.
You’re chosen as MineMy Father wants to bless you now,
Receive from Him all that you’ll ever need.
Come spend eternity with Me. My heart’s full of love for you.
I love you still and always will.
You’re chosen as Mine.
Cries in the desert, My child, I hear them.
Tears in the valley, My lovely, I count them.
You’re so precious; you were on My mind as I died.
I love you still, always will.
Chosen as Mine.
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My internet connection is crazy.
Believe it or not.. i can only post here in my blog when it’s morning– when friendster or when my internet provider is not busy.
Same goes for yahoogroups. So.. that’s why. Even though I want to post badly, I still have to wait for the sun to shine. But amazingly.. GOD provided a way for me to post tonight.
Here’s my diary for today. Come and look. You’re allowed! 
***********
12noon
The 4th year yoROCKERS met. I realized that we’ve never been this close before. GOD provided me with friends that would be with me to rebuke me and encourage me. We can open up to each other, pray together, read HIS Word together, laugh with each other… GLORIFY HIM TOGETHER! Don’t get us wrong,we are no perfect people. We are sinners who are willing to admit that we are in need of SOMEONE to fix our imperfections. These yoRockers are my future neighbors in my future HOME. So I believe that what I have in them is not just an ordinary friendship, but an ETERNAL one. I just love them with the LOVE that the LORD has provided!
************
3pm
I went to Church with Doris. The message was for the youth. The message was for us. I don’t know how to explain it. I want to say it in person to those who are interested. The LORD provided a message. The LORD provided a way for this generation to rise!
I was so blessed! Jesus indeed made a way for me to be in that Church at that time with THAT message. Amazing! You think HE is telling me something? Yes! HE’s telling US something.
************
5pm
I went to Abellana. hahaha! I broke my record. I was able run 1 round MORE than my usual capacity. Amazing! Hehehe. The LORD provided enough oxygen.. enough endurance! See??!! HE is the GOD of MORE than enough. Believe and you can go the extra mile. Just like me. Hehehe.
************
9pm
I read Doris’ testi for me. I was extra touched. Heheh. I just want to thank the LORD for making a way for us to be friends. She has inspired me and I know that the LORD will provide for her.. The same way that the LORD has provided me with a loving extra-sister, Doris.
Again I came up with a conclusion: My GOD is an extraordinary provider. Yes HE provides! ..To the point of providing us life by giving up HIS OWN SON.
************
9:45
I close this diary. I need to meet with my PROVIDER. I need to thank HIM. I need to tell HIM something. I need to…….. Ummm.. I need HIM.
bye!
=)
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The UpWords Weekly Email Devotional
MaxLucado.com/newsletter/
3/16/06
_____________________________________
HIS FINAL PRAYER WAS ABOUT YOU - - -
by Max LucadoAs Jesus stepped into the garden, you were in his prayers. As Jesus
looked into heaven, you were in his vision. As Jesus dreamed of the
day when we will be where he is, he saw you there.
His final prayer was about you. His final pain was for you. His final
passion was you.
He steps into the garden, and invites Peter, James, and John to come.
He tells them his soul is “overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of
death,” and begins to pray.
Never has he felt so alone. What must be done, only he can do. An
angel can’t do it. No angel has the power to break open hell’s gates.
A man can’t do it. No man has the purity to destroy sin’s claim. No
force on earth can face the force of evil and win—except God.
“The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak,” Jesus confesses.
His humanity begged to be delivered from what his divinity could see.
Jesus, the carpenter, implores. Jesus, the man, peers into the dark
pit and begs, “Can’t there be another way?”
Did he know the answer before he asked the question? Did his human
heart hope his heavenly father had found another way? We don’t know.
But we do know he asked to get out. We do know he begged for an exit.
We do know there was a time when if he could have, he would have
turned his back on the whole mess and gone away.
But he couldn’t.
He couldn’t because he saw you. Right there in the middle of a world
which isn’t fair. He saw you cast into a river of life you didn’t
request. He saw you betrayed by those you love. He saw you with a
body which gets sick and a heart which grows weak.
He saw you in your own garden of gnarled trees and sleeping friends.
He saw you staring into the pit of your own failures and the mouth of
your own grave.
He saw you in your Garden of Gethsemane—and he didn’t want you to be
alone.
He wanted you to know that he has been there, too. He knows what it’s
like to be plotted against. He knows what it’s like to be confused.
He knows what it’s like to be torn between two desires. He knows what
it’s like to smell the stench of Satan. And, perhaps most of all, he
knows what it’s like to beg God to change his mind and to hear God
say so gently, but firmly, “No.”
For that is what God says to Jesus. And Jesus accepts the answer. At
some moment during that midnight hour an angel of mercy comes over
the weary body of the man in the garden. As he stands, the anguish is
gone from his eyes. His fist will clench no more. His heart will
fight no more.
The battle is won. You may have thought it was won on Golgotha. It
wasn’t. You may have thought the sign of victory is the empty tomb.
It isn’t. The final battle was won in Gethsemane. And the sign of
conquest is Jesus at peace in the olive trees.
For it was in the garden that he made his decision. He would rather
go to hell for you than go to heaven without you.
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3. When was the last time you went to the mall? 
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