I’m moving on to a new blog site , the KKBlogs, positively positive blogs by kkbmovement.org (but I will still post here, I’m just one of the authors there).

Kindly read my first post: The Death of  Me (part 1 of 4) /click link

In 1992, a young man was favored to win the 400-meter race in the Barcelona Summer Olympics.

However, disappointment came about 250 meters from the finish. His hamstring tore, he hobbled into a halt, and then fell to the ground…in pain.As stretcher bearers made their way over to him, he knew he had to decide. So despite the pain, he stood up and began to hobble along the track. Suddenly a large man pushed through the crowds, fighting back the security. The man was his father.

“You don’t have to do this”, he told his weeping son.

“Yes, I do.” The son declared.

“Well then,” replied his dad,” we’re going to finish this…together!”

The father wrapped his name around his son and helped him hobble through the track. Shortly before the finish line, the father let go of his son and the son completed the race…with a standing ovation from the crowd of 65,000.

Derek Redmond may not finished first place…but he managed to finish his race! Despite the pain, despite the tears…he determined to give his all motivated by a love so strong…of a father who picks him up when he falls.

What made the father do that?…to leave the stands and meet his son on the tracks? It was the pain on his child’s face. His son was hurt…but wanted to finish the race. So the father came to help him finish.

The bible says;

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.

For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

-Matthew 11:28-30

God is like that. When we are hurting and fighting to finish, He comes and help us.

How about you? How is your race? Are you in pain? Are you on the verge of quitting?

God wants you to finish strong …because He loves you. Will your open your heart to Him?

source: Godtube.com, Biblegateway.com-Matthew 11:28-30 NASB, Derek Redmond

I became very eager everyday, with my new passion on reading His words, on what He will say to me the next day, and the next day and the next day. With this new revelation, I didn’t notice that I became contended on that. I became contented on that state, because of the thought that I already have Him. I became complacent. I myself neglected my prayer of “putting the desire of needing Him more in my life”. The revelation became a “thought” that I only remember when I was about to read my bible, but I forgot its essence, its real meaning, “Needing and seeking Him more!”. . I remember the song When God Ran.

Second verse:

The day I left home I knew I’d broken His heart
And I wondered then if things could ever be the same
Then one night I remembered His love for me
And down that dusty road ahead I could see
It was the only time – it was the only time I ever saw Him run

Bridge:

I was so ashamed, all alone and so far away
But now I know He’s been waiting for this day

I left “home” when I left the word that God has given me. I was ashamed and ask God for forgiveness. I really thank Him for bringing me back and make me realize that gaining knowledge or wisdom about God is not enough and meaningless without its true essence…God Himself!

And I was really comforted when He said that, “He’s just waiting for me to come back”, in our secret place, seeking Him and waiting for Him (though He is the one Who’s waiting for us).

The bible will help us to know about God, but the thing is, without really knowing the true meaning of the text, without God giving its meaning, the bible has no difference with the other books that we read. It may help us to “get” an idea of who God is, but knowing God is always a personal encounter and experience that’s why it varies in every person. We can never know God in one encounter. Maybe we have noticed that when you got a verse in the bible and God revealed it’s meaning to you, then read it the next day or the next week and another revelation will come to you.

My prayer to God right now is the same prayer I prayed before, but I’ll add to it “Put also in my heart the excitement of knowing You deeper, personally so that I can serve You better, and grant me the commitment to meet You everyday.”

Did those bread pictures made you feel satisfied, or made you hungry even more? We’ll, to tell you honestly, even though I’m not hungry, just looking at those pictures makes me crave for them. If we want, we can easily drop by at any store and buy food that we want and we like.

Now, take a look at this picture.

This is a picture of a  starving young man, a victim of war. We may not be in a literal war here in our country, but we see many starving young people, children in the street everyday. And what do we think when we see them?

• “Where are the parents of this children?” or;
• “If I gave them money, would they buy food, or would they just spend it on drugs and alcohol?”

What do you think Jesus might want us to do when we see these people? Perhaps He might want us to pull into Jollibee, McDonald’s or the nearest store across the street and buy them something to eat. Jesus was always concerned about the physical needs of people. That is why He spent so much of His time healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, and feeding the hungry. Don’t you think He wants us to do the same?

Jesus wasn’t just concerned about empty stomachs — He was even more concerned about empty hearts. One day, after filling the empty stomachs of over 5,000 people, Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst” . Jesus was telling them that He came to give his life so that they could have everlasting life — if they would believe and trust in Him.

As we share our bread with the hungry, let us also share the story of Jesus, the Bread of Life, so that they may eat and never die.

…thank You Lord for the desire that You have given us to read and to study Your word. To take delight in them. That we may grow in Your grace and knowledge, so that we will be able to know You more and to serve You better.

sources: Sermons 4 Kids

I was wondering why, then suddenly, I realized that my heart and my spirit longs to seek the Lord that very moment. It was urgent. While I was praying, I want to read the bible. But I don’t have my own bible (I was held up two times, and I lost two bible). Then again, I cried to the Lord, “I don’t have my own bible Lord”.

Surprisingly the next morning, the Lord heard the deep longing of my heart to His word, a blessing came! My New Bible!

Not only that, when  visited Ate Gracia Lopez at OMF Pergola (where I bought the bible), she even treated me for siesta (grilled sandwich and ice cream).

At the end of the day, I prayed that I could be “more” thankful for everything He has done in my life. Though we do not deserve it, yet He is still faithful to us.

Thank You Lord!

The song is entitled “Only Grace” by Matthew West from the album “History”.

There is no guilt here
There is no shame
No pointing fingers
There is no blame
What happened yesterday…has disappeared
The dirt has washed away
And now it’s clear

There’s only grace
There’s only love
There’s only mercy and believe me it’s enough
Your sins are gone
Without a trace
And there’s nothing left now
There’s only grace

You’re starting over now
Under the sun
You’re stepping forward now
A new life has begun
Your new life has begun

An’ there’s only grace
There’s only love
There’s only mercy and believe me…it’s enough
Your sins are gone
Without a trace
And there’s nothing left now
There’s only grace…

And if you should fall again
Get back up, get back up
Reach out and take my hand
Get back up, get back up
Get back up again
Ohh…get…back…up…again…

There’s only grace…
There’s only love…
There’s only mercy and believe me it’s enough…it’s enough
Your sins are gone
Without a trace
And there’s nothing left now
There’s only…there’s only…grace…

There’s only mercy and believe me it’s enough…it’s enough
Your sins are gone
Without a trace
And there’s nothing left now
There’s only…grace……
So get back up…get back up again…
Get back up again.

Get back up again...

For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. – Romans 6:14 (KJV)

05/25/2010

23:59

God was really amazing! When I was having my devotion, I started with this prayer;

Lord, I thank You for healing my throat.

I also thank You for healing my mom,

my aunt and my family.

I prayed that because I remember last week, we have a healing service on our Power House Wednesday. We have a series that talks about the Miracles of Jesus, and our topic was the Miracle Healing Power of Jesus (Lk 17:11-19). God reminded me to thank Him for healing my swelling throat, for the successful operation of my mother, for the healing of my aunt and my whole family.

I pray that You may heal me completely

from all sicknesses and diseases.

Heal me “holistically”, my body (sicknesses and diseases),

my soul (emotion), my spirit (from death to life, heal me from sinning).

Then, in my devotion, chapter 5, verse 14 of John, it says there that, “Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee”. The verse hit me. Then, I smiled and prayed again, “…that’s why I’m praying Lord that You may heal me “holistically”.

Then, I sang the song Heal me, Oh Lord by Don Moen.

And then it seem’s like there’s a tickle that I felt after that (for I was still smiling after I prayed). After that prayer, I continued on reading, in verse 26 it says that, “For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself”. And in verse 24, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”

Ah, answered prayers. The Lord is really answering all my prayers. With the smile in my face, I ended up thanking the Lord for everything. But when I was praying, God reminded me again of my other prayer.

God, help me to experience a Father-son relationship.

Teach me and help me to do Your will.

Not my will or my plans or

the way I want it

I’m so tired of my hands in the way

So reveal to these eyes the true heart of my Father, today

Lord teach me how to pray

Some part of the prayer was from the song Teach Me How To Pray by Jason Upton.

This message was also given to me last week, in John Chapter 1. The Lord was speaking to us, all we have to do is to listen, to remember, and to obey.

The story was about Carlos Whittaker, an artist in California and Danny, a homeless guy in Atlanta.

While Carlos and his team are having a shoot of his EPK (Electronic Press Kit) for his new record/album, the Ragamuffin Soul, Danny happened to walk up on Carlos. While Carlos was singing the chorus of the song…God of Second Chances, Danny came, kneels down…starts crying…puts his hands up in the air and…(this is what happened…)

Carlos took the chorus of the song from a book of Puritan prayers. He don’t quite understand (or didn’t understand, as he states) the prayers from the book for according to him, they wanted something extra. Until he met Danny.

The conviction was so strong (as Danny sing’s it, “The Holy Spirit is moving just like a magnet, He’s moving here, He’s moving here, He’s moving all over the atmosphere”)that every time I watch the video, there’s a stirring that’s happening over me, and I know it happens to everyone who’s watching it. I even read a testimonial from  Pkborn. Here’s what he said:

“I have no idea why, and i don’t even go to church.. but that man Danny gave me a desire to get back with God after this whole time of disregarding Him in my shame. Don’t frown on me because of what i have done, but instead love me for what I’m about to do.”

If you’d notice there’s a cut in 2:14, here’s what happened…

He kept singing,

Hallelujah is the Highest praise

Hallelujah is the Highest praise

So jah, remember me, when I go down on my knees to pray ***

God of mercy, mercy, mercy…

Clap your tiny hands for joy…

I was crying when I first watched this. That even a homeless guy still finds his way to praise the Lord while us, mostly lacking of nothing, find it hard to worship our God, our Creator, our Father.

I was reminded of a particular chapter in the Bible,

Psalm 103

“Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;

Bless the LORD, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the LORD, O my soul.“

But even when we forgot all of these things and even forgot that passage in the Bible, it’s impossible for us, not to find a way or reason to worship Him. Others did, homeless Danny did, even in one of the hardest way.

About Carlos:

Carlos (with the guitar while shooting his EPK) and Danny, a homeless guy worshiping the LORD.

Carlos was at  Sandals Church in Riverside California where he served for 10 years as the Pastor of Worship and Creative Arts.  Sandals Church is an authentic community of believers whose goal is to be real with themselves, others, and God.  His passion for leading the church into a relational worship experience each and every Sunday was his hearts goal.
Carlos lives for this…

To ignite a movement of authenticity among all generations of Christians that morphs the face of the evangelical church into a place of being real with yourself, others, and God.

At the end of the clip:

If you listen carefully at the end you hear me saying this to Danny.
“Keep trying to make it man.”
He looked me square in the eye…cocked his head sideways with a confused look on his face…and said,
“Trying to make it? No man. I ain’t trying to make it…I’m making it. Jah puts His soldiers everywhere. Jah says, Yea though you walk through the valley of the shadow of death… So He places some of us, in that valley.”

You, are you a soldier? A question that Danny (though not literally) has left us.

Notes:

*”Jah” might indicate his is rasta, one thing stands out that indicates he is not. He refers to the Holy Spirit as a being present in all the atmosphere. Rastas belive the exact opposite…that the holy spirit was incarnate in haile Selassie.

source:  Carlos Whittaker, Save Us From There Comforts-Danny’s Story,

The KKB Main’s Creative Arts Management and Worship Arts Ministry brings back the KKB CAM-WAM Workshops for ages 13-25! Maximize your potential to glorify God in six intensified sessions of either of the eight workshop streams.

DESCRIPTION:

For creative arts:

1. Events and Production Management (May 24, 25, 27, 28, 29 and 31)
Topics include: Events Management, Production Management and Assistance, Timeline, Marketing, Checklisting

2. Basic Video Production Photography (May 24, 25, 27, 28, 29 and 31)
Topics include: Basic Videography, Basic Photography, Genres, Editing

3. Basic Graphic Designing (May 24, June 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5)
Topics include: Adobe Photoshop, Design principles, Art history, Art appreciation

4. Writing and Blogging (May 24, June 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5)
Topics include: Blogging, Writing for TV, News writing, Feature writing, Devotional writing

For worship arts :

1. Musical Instruments (May 24, 25, 27, 28, 29 and 31)
Workshop stream options include: Keyboard, Guitar, Bass guitar or Drums

2. Dancing (May 24, 25, 27, 28, 29 and 31)
Topics include: Hip-hop, Jazz, Streetdance

3. Performance for broadcast, film and theater arts (May 24, 25, 27, 28, 29 and 31)
Topics include: TV hosting, Acting for film and TV, Acting for theater, Events hosting

4. Singing (May 24, June 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5)
Topics include: Theories, Fundamentals, Worship leading, Showmanship

All workshops will be held at the KKB Youth Center 4/F LPJ Bldg. 532 Dalupan St., Samapaloc, Manila (near LRT-2 Legarda Station).

Deadline of registration is on May 23, 2010.

Deadline of payment of registration fee is on May 29, 2010.

For inquiries, please contact the following:

09072028273 for all Creative Arts workshops
09054075670 for Singing
09272118787 for Performance for Broadcast, Film and Theater Arts
09174405096 for Dancing
09154207377 for Musical Instruments
All workshop details are subject to change without prior notice.

Registration fee is P300. The slots are limited, so register now!

According to The Party-list System Act (Republic Act 7941):

Section 11. Number of Party-List Representatives. The party-list representatives shall constitute twenty per centum (20%) of the total number of the members of the House of Representatives including those under the party-list.

(a) The parties, organizations, and coalitions shall be ranked from the highest to the lowest based on the number of votes they garnered during the elections.

(b) The parties, organizations, and coalitions receiving at least two percent (2%) of the total votes cast for the party-list system shall be entitled to one seat each: Provided, That those garnering more than two percent (2%) of the votes shall be entitled to additional seats in proportion to their total number of votes : Provided, finally, That each party, organization, or coalition shall be entitled to not more than three (3) seats.

Two percent of the votes is 549,568.20. Using this threshold, CIBAC with 608,711.00 votes (2.2152337%) will probably get one congressional seat.

CIBAC submitted 5 nominees to COMELEC as mandated by law including Atty. Sherwin Tugna and Atty. Mic Borje. Congresswoman Chona Cruz Gonzales will remain the frontliner nominee. Cong. Joel C. Villanueva will continue to sit as CIBAC Partylist President.

ABOUT CIBAC

CIBAC is a multi-sectoral organization dedicated towards fighting graft, corruption and cronyism in government. It is made up of people bound together with the common belief that such diseases must be stamped out in order for true national development to commence.

Formed in 1997, CIBAC has grown into a nationwide organization through the efforts of the idealistic and dedicated men and women who compose it. But the fight against corruption is no easy task, it is for this reason that CIBAC continues its invitation for nationalistic, law-abiding and God-fearing citizens to join its cause and contribute towards ensuring a better future for our country.

In the 2004 elections CIBAC got 495,193 votes (3.8924% of the nationwide vote)  and got one seat. And in 2007 elections, CIBAC  receive 755,735 votes (4.72%) and won 2 seats in the nationwide party-list vote.

via – CIBAC, gmanews.tv