When we were young and were part of Christ Youth in Action (CYA) catholic charismatic groups for young people in the Philippines, we always prayed that God will make us His vessels of mission and vision for impacting the wider church. Not withstanding the boundaries of our country, God has bestowed in us the call to bring and share His work beyond the Philippines.
Please see full article - We asked for the world and God gave it to us
When I came to the United States, being alone, I always needed encouragement. I have to go without my family since they have to wait for their interview and approval of their visas. I was coming to a place where I have no relatives or friends. I was not even sure of the surrounding or the environment where will I stay in. Sure, I was employed in a company where there are Filipinos but I felt the need of support I have always had back in my catholic community in the Philippines.
On the second week of my employment, the company rented a car for me. When I turned on the car radio the FM was set to KLOVE Christian radio station. The motto of this station is Positive Encouraging. They play songs of encouragement to the lonely Christian soul all day and all night. Songs of worship and praises to God where loudly introduced by the DJs. DJs most often provided reflective inputs on each song and even with the current events. Tremendous positive encouragement is what I felt and feel every time I listen to this station. I felt that God was with me all along. I was really positively encouraged by what I am hearing from the songs and short reflections from KLOVE. Even now that my family has joined me here, our car radio is glued on this radio station.
Paul wrote in Philippians 4:8-9 "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you." From KLOVE radio station, I was encouraged positively because I was listening to true, noble, right, pure, lovely and admirable. My mind was always filled up with praiseworthy Christian values every time I tune in to the radio station. By God's grace I have tried to live out and practice the things I was listening to as time progresses in my "new" life in the US.
Every Christian needs positive encouraging messages. When you belong to a church or a community, someone will need positive encouraging words. They will come to you for advice and counsel and seek to be positively encouraged. People would love to hear affirmation and a push towards doing what is holy and good.
But sometimes we get to the wrong direction. When others who needed positive and encouraging words sometimes stumble on people who gives the following:
o Positive discouraging - wanted to encourage but with the wrong choice of words the listener gets tangled with ill emotions
o Negative encouraging - wanted to encourage but the speaker focused on the darker side of the story
Brothers and sisters, fill your hearts and minds with the word of God. Fill your hearts and minds with whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable. Time will surely come that a friend, a brother or a sister will need your positive encouraging words. And be sure to speak those words with LOVE.
P.S. You can listen live streaming on the web - http://www.klove.com/
God everyday invites us to have a feast with Him, to have a life full of joy with Jesus Christ. Sometimes, we ignore His invitation, we send Him our RSVPs. And we shun His invitation because we have more important to do or to attend to which is in this case we choose the second best, our siesta. The contending rival of the best choice is the second best option. Second best is not necessarily wrong but it prevents us from choosing what is best of the best. We settle for false contentment. Many people in our current times ignore God’s invitation because they might have everything they need or want - cars, good family, house, good employment, etc. When Jesus invites us to His feast, He only wants what is best for us. To come into His presence, talk and listen to Him cannot be compared to any riches that this world can give.
Or maybe, God has been inviting you to step-up into a higher degree of service for Him and His people. And you feel much of comfort in your own area of service right now, your siesta. If you respond to this invitation, you are thinking that you may have to spend more time, have more meetings in a week, and sometimes you will have to share more of your financial resources. God prepares and enables His people for His service. He will not lead His army into a battle without His grace and strength. And when we go to a greater war, God goes with us. When we get comfortable in the things we are doing for Him, He has prepared us for a higher call of service.
Our God is an inviting God. We should respond to Him positively when He calls us because He has prepared for us a fiesta which is meant for our lives to be fulfilled and to be satisfied. Choose the fiesta over siesta or miss out on a lot of things.
Lagi-lagi nating naririning ito bago pumasok ng sinehan – balcony o orchestra. Kung may sobrang pera ka, of course, dun ka sa balcony. You don’t want to have your neck bending backwards to look up which is kapag nasa orchestra ka. Kapag nasa balcony ka kasi, you are in level or a bit looking down the screen. Also, ayaw natin yung masyado kang malapit sa screen kasi hindi comfortable sa eyes.
It’s a simple rule, we don’t want to look up for a long time. Instead, it’s convenient just to look at the same level or look down. Our physical bodies are designed not to look up but look at the same level.
But this is not true with our spiritual beings, as Paul wrote to the Colossians in 3:1-4, “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.”
When Paul said – things on the earth, this is about looking at the same level or downwards, parang nasa balcony. Looking at the world is the same thing as looking at the same level. We are hampered with what’s happening in our lives when we just look at the same level. We are concern on the things of this world and in this world.
As renewed people in Christ, we are urged to look up, tumingin sa taas, parang nasa orchestra. Look for the things that are unseen. Seek for the things that every Christian hopes for. Holiness, faith, brotherhood and sisterhood, salvation – these things may not be easily grasped by now but we have God’s promises as our assurance. It’s hard to look up, not comfortable, because any worthy endeavor must be hard enough but we can endure by the grace of God.
So, the next time you are face with any given situation, hard or easy, that gives you an option – balcony o orchestra, saan kapatid?
