Levi's Genes

And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him. Luke 5:28

I have several questions for you, Mr. Levi. So brace yourself. I still am wondering what's in your genes. I need answers. I have questions.

What did you see in Jesus that made you leave everything? He walked by you, you were sitting at the customs post, He said two words only and just like that you walked out and gave up everything. Levi, in our time, partial of that may happen. I can leave some things for Jesus. Someone may leave few other things for Jesus. But not leave everything. Actually, we have heard not only two words from Jesus or about Jesus but lots of bible and personal stories many of which we can't even remember. It's just too hard in our days to leave everything behind. It seems not practical. It seems not logical. Yet you did it. May our eyes be like yours to see what you saw in Jesus.

What is in your heart that made you think you can be a follower of Jesus? No pun intended but it's the tax season as I write this. You are a tax collector! You were considered a sinner. You are unworthy of stepping on His footsteps. In fact, the church leaders point to you when they spoke about sin. Yet you did not remain seated, you got up. You stood up despite you are a sinner and followed Him. Levi, during our days, many are still seated. Many are still sinners but not followers of Jesus. We shun His call for we tend to believe we can not follow Him. How can He accept us with our filth? How can Jesus love us in our sins. We tend to think that followers of Jesus are not sinners but saints. Tell us, Levi. Can a sinner be a follower? Or can a follower be a sinner? May we have within us whatever is in your heart.

Who are you that you had the nerve to give a great feast for Jesus in your own house? You showed Jesus to your family and friends. You told your co-workers about Him. You and your troops ate with Him. You were courageous in the midst of probable ridicule. You were brave in the midst of indifference. You showed Jesus to them like the sun shows at the crack of dawn. In our days, Levi, Jesus is like a wallet in the pocket. We take Him out only when we need Him. We don't show Him off to our family and friends. We don't introduce Him to our co-workers. If we have Him, we keep Him to ourselves. We don't give Him a banquet, we ask Him to do that for us. Convince us to do the same. To be careless and live our lives like throwing a party for Him any given day. May we have the nerves to be strong like you.

May your genes be ours. Leave everything. Get up. Follow Him.

He Took Our Place

For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him. 2 Cor. 5:21

Llevame a mi en vez. Take me instead. These were the words of Big Jorge Reyes Sr. at the courthouse where his son, Little Jorge Reyes Jr. was being arraigned for a crime of recklessly endangering another person. Big Jorge cried and cried for his son to be given a second chance. He was willing to pay notwithstanding the amount. He was willing to take his son's place in prison.

Such is a father to a son. He had big dreams for Little Jorge. Little Jorge was living those dreams. He was pitching for the Oregon State University baseball team, the Beavers. In his freshman year, he pitched for the Beavers to win the College World Series. Added to that, he was named Most Outstanding Player. Little Jorge has his father's dreams coming to life. He had a future. Until, he was charged with that crime. In his second year, together with two of his teammates, he was arrested for unlawful use of a weapon when they were gun firing at beer cans in their neighborhood upon which one bullet entered one neighbor's window and landed on the bed. Though he served jail for only fifteen (15) days, Big Jorge was willing to give up everything he has to give Little Jorge his dreams.

Jesus took our place. He gave up His space in heaven to step up in our place. He gave himself up. He willingly did. Jesus died on the cross. He gave His all for us. He came to claim our shame. He carried our cross. He suffered for our sins. Big God died for little men. He was being worshipped in heaven and was being mistreated on earth. And Jesus did this for us. And who we are? We have no future. We do not deserve a future. We sin against Him again and again. We follow ourselves rather than follow Him. We pleasure ourselves rather than please Him. Our crimes against Him warrant more than our lifetime.

Just like a father to his son, Jesus gave everything for us. He gave us salvation, salvation that is dependent in God not in man. He gave us forgiveness, forgiveness which is unconditional and accessible. He gave us direction, becoming righteousness of God in Him. He gave us life, life that is new and abundant. He gave us hope, hope that is everlasting. He gave us a future, a future that is eternal and heavenly. All because, He took our place.

The Comforter

When cares increase within me, your comfort gives me joy. Psalm 94:19

For two nights now, I have been sleeping in my daughters' bedroom. They took turns in being with their mother for the rest of the night so I was booted out of our room. No, I am not complaining. In fact, their comforters in their beds are thick and new. Compared to the ones we have in our bedroom, these comforters gave me a very good night sleep. I found refuge inside these comforters. They were a shield to the drying cold outside and inside. In the midst of the winter cold and low heating temperature setting in our home, it felt warm. It felt comfy. In the morning, I was refreshed and rejuvenated.

Are you in discomfort nowadays? Are your cares within increased exponentially? Well, seems they don't decrease as much as we live day to day.

Cares about loving God. Concerns about being faithful to Him. Issues regarding sins against the Lord. Anxieties in being useful for His work. Concerns about health. Cares with your family. Issues at work. Worries at school. Anxiety about tomorrow, about next week, about next month, about next year. Financial constraints. Your credit increasing and your income decreasing. Your visa extension. Your labor certification approval. Stability of the company you work for. Or even minute details like rodents in your house. Driving in the snow. Keeping the plants in your yard alive.

Cares and worries increase within us. Anxiety fills our minds and hearts. But God is our comforter. He is our refuge and help. He assures us everything will fall into place. He gives us reason to go on in spite of the mounting concerns. We can rest in His bosom and sleep like a child amidst escalating issues of life. He is our shield and defender. We allow Him to cover us with His love and grace. We discover peace in between wars of daily grind.

Most of the time, we just need to go out of our own room and join Him in His. Step out of our discomfort zone into His loving presence of assurance. Be refreshed. Be rejuvenated.

We find comfort in His joy. We find joy in His comfort. God is our comforter.

Undercover God

For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me. Matthew 25:36

After watching the 24th Superbowl, the program shifted to a new series called, "Undercover Boss". In this program, the main top guy of a big company does undercover with his ordinary employees. He plays to be an entry level employee. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) becomes a clerk on one day. The next day, he shares lunch with the field supervisor. On the third day, he assists the truck driver to get things done. For the fourth time he under covers, the boss suits up to be another helper for a lowly guy of the company. On the last day, he spent his day working with the front men and women who shares their time mostly with their customers. The CEO's experience opens his eyes to the hardworking life of his employees. He creates some decision and changes some policies after his undercover work to impact better working environment in the company. Of course, at the end the boss is revealed to the employees he has worked with throughout the week. The employees' faces illustrate shock and surprise however it gives them importance as their CEO displays concern for their work as a whole.

Jesus illustrated how our God does undercover. He will take the person of the hungry. God will ask for water to drink. He will be a person without a roof in His head. He will need clothing. He will be sick and needs attention. God will be imprisoned and will need a friend to chat with. He is God, He is King yet He will be needing help. He who at the top of all things will be at the bottom of the list.

What does this mean for us? We can serve God. We will serve God. He deserves it.

Be ready. Share your food with Him. Quench His thirst. Welcome Him in your home. Give Him shirts and pants. Help to heal Him. Make a visitation to His prison. Not just for a week but everyday, any day.

Don't be surprise at what God will do for us to serve Him. God won't be surprise at what you will do to serve Him.

Heart Hunter

And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, 'I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.' Acts 13:22

In the past weeks, I had experiences with head hunters. Head hunters are recruiters for companies who are in need of top caliber employees. They do not work for the company you might end up working with but they work in behalf of that company. Let me explain. They would browsed up professional networks to scan prospective candidates who could fill up the position inevitably. They would go after people who have good scholastic records and appropriate experience required to the job description. No, the chosen candidate won't work for them, the head hunters are only bridges. However, since they keep and maintain a network of experts in their hands, they are the ones who scout the labor market. Experience tells, if they get you, they will not negotiate for you, you will have to negotiate for yourself. The head hunters get you, but you have to pick yourself for things to workout. So you must have the intellects to make things right, after all, it was your head their after.

Well, God is not after our heads. He is after our hearts. When He raised up David to fill the position of a King, He looked at his heart not his head. He scanned David's heart and found it was after God's heart. He found the would be great king to be a man ready to do His will. Jesus recruited a bunch of fishermen as His first disciples who were merely blue collared workers. God does not count on your education or achievements for you to follow Him. God is not after your education, He is after your devotion. Jesus might have saw the fishermen's hearts which were willing to leave everything behind to walk with Him and to be with Him. God is not after experts, He is after followers. When God chose Paul, He did not leave him in the middle of the race. The Spirit empowered Paul to finish the game. God does not choose who deserves, He choose people who serves.

So friends, let's clear up our heads, our God is after our hearts.

A Mother’s Prayer

Soon a woman whose daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him. She came and fell at his feet. Mark 7:25

She has the guts. She was a Kapampangan in an Ilokano home. She was a Filipino in an American gathering. A Canaanite woman in a Jewish community, well, this is the real case. In spite of this, she came and fell at Jesus' feet not for herself but for her daughter. She begs for healing and cleansing for her daughter. Maybe she feels what her daughter feels. Maybe she came for she has no one to turn to. Maybe her child's condition is above her love and care. Jesus told her it was not right for her to receive that blessing, yet she persevered. Upon her persistence, Jesus healed her daughter. Jesus was amazed with her faith, she was amazed with Jesus' power.

I was in belief when we go to the church every Sunday with our mother, she was praying for her kids. She was kneeling and whispers prayers to God enumerating her eight children. She would take a peek on one child after another as she would recite her petitions. When we pray the rosary as a family in our home, she would keep in her heart her dreams for each child and lift them up to God. Whenever she would take her time, before going to bed, she would come to God and ask for blessings for her eight kids. Whenever she makes rounds to do the last look at night on her children, she would say a short prayer for them to Him. She prodded us to be close to God as she was. She taught us the way to the church same as she taught the way to God.

Imagine what a mother would do for her children. Going to unfamiliar places to seek God's blessings and guidance on her children. Imagine what a mother would pray for her children. She would wrestle with God and justify her requests until God grants her intercessions. Imagine what a mother would do before God. She would bow and bend her being to declare God is her Lord and King.

Selfless is a mother. Selfless is a mother's prayer.

Unpatterned Recognition

As they were leaving the boat, people immediately recognized him. Mark 6:54

If you are a computer science graduate, a computer engineer or a deep to the bone statistician, you might know pattern recognition. Pattern recognition is a branch of artificial intelligence which recognizes pattern in a given set of data. It's that simple. If my data are numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, the code will recognize a pattern which may be increasing by one or decreasing by one. If my thumb mark is given in a universe of thumbs, and NCIS traces my thumb print in a crime scene, pattern recognition will help them match my thumb with my thumb. Again, it's that simple. However, my thumb mark is one and only. It is unique and no other thumb will look like mine or will have a pattern like mine. So pattern recognition must recognize my thumb trace to match it with my thumb mark. So, it's not so simple, after all.

The people quickly recognize Jesus. And there is a pattern here. Jesus and his followers were healing the sick. They were driving out demons. They just gave feast enough to feed five thousand men. Thirteen people were leaving a boat yet they recognize one person immediately. He was only putting his left foot or right foot on the sand and He heard, "There's Jesus!"

I wonder what if Jesus has not cured the sick. What if Jesus and the big Twelve did not drove out demons? What if the five thousand starved at that remote place? Would we see this pattern?

I better ask you. Would you recognize Him, if you were not healed? If you were not provided with much would you recognize Jesus? If your work is not that well paying and rewarding, would you see Him? If your community does not appreciate your service, would you acknowledge Jesus? What if your family life is in chaos, would you quickly say He is the Lord of your home?

I know have a lot of questions now and you have a lot of praying or thinking to do.

Bottom line is we must quickly recognize Jesus. Unpatterned.

Defiled and Defiling

Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile. Mark 7:15

This morning I got tired of listening to the whining and silly crying of my younger daughter, Bless. I scolded her in front of breakfast. She was crying about not wanting the clothes she was wearing. She was complaining about her sister agreeing with her mother's opinion on her clothes. She was whining about being late and miss her school bus that she left out her winter clothing like her head cover. I shouted to her and her mother just to let her see how cold it is outside without having a head cover. She left our house crying but made it to the school bus. In the afternoon, she called me on the phone to tell me they were home from school. I asked her why she was crying and whining in the past days. She answered me, "I was thinking nobody wanted me that's why I cry." It came to me like a Pacquiao punch. I was scolding her and was shouting at her that made her feel that way. I was making her insignificant in her own understanding.

Do not get me wrong. There is nothing bad about giving correction, as long as the act comes with love. But when it is done in a manner of distress and impatience, the person correcting is defiled and the person being corrected is defiled, too. After I let my anger out, I felt very bad. I felt like I was a hard father to his children. I felt like I was putting on my child my stress from work or from somewhere else. On the other hand my child felt bad, too. She went to school with a bad beginning. She came to her class feeling no class at all. She sat in her room with her classmates but felt alone and unwanted. Jesus is right. Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile (Mark 7:15). Since I let out what is within me, I was defiled. In turn, I defiled my child.

Today, God gave me an important lesson. Instead of watching my kids whining and crying, I should watch my heart. Instead of being occupied with the negative around me, I should be mindful of the negative within me. To focus on what I can change within me and not on what I can change around me. If not, my words and actions would make me defiled and can make me defiling.

Dwelling in His House

Happy are those who dwell in your house! They never cease to praise you. Psalm 84:5

As Filipino immigrants in the United States, we decided to keep our native language be spoken in our home. My wonderful wife and I would like our daughters to keep on speaking Filipino national language, Tagalog, to keep one of our heritage. For our family to tell stories about our day to day lives gives us the feel of being at home, of being in the Philippines. By experience, other Filipino parents tell me it's a hard task to accomplish. Since children spend most of their time in school, they would be inclined to speak English and might forget even simple conversational Tagalog. Our elder daughter Praise is doing well in speaking in Filipino whenever she speaks to us and to her sister. She converses with our Filipino friends sometimes in Tagalog. Bless, our younger daughter, is having hard time to keep the native maybe because she is very young when we came here. She even, most of the time, would question what do we mean when we speak in Tagalog during our conversations. Given this situation, we still are resolute in speaking Filipino with our kids to feel we seem to be at home.

The psalmist exposed the language of heaven - Praising God. When you dwell in the house of God, you will never cease in giving worship to the living God. Or when you give Him glory and might, you dwell in His kingdom. When we speak the language of angels, we live in God's residence. This gives us the reflection that we are in heaven here on earth, when we raise our voices to acclaim Him as our God and King. When we live to praise His name, we speak heaven's dialect. When we do our job for His glory, we shout the Father's worship. When our day to day routine is done for His exaltation, we proclaim God's lordship over all. When your life spells Jesus' life, you declare the mighty King of Kings. Sometimes it would be hard to bless His name, sometimes it would be easy to give Him praise. But in both times, we can choose the way to God's address. It's not about to feel being in His house but it's truly being in His presence.

Keep speaking heaven's language. Never cease to give Him praise. We can dwell in God's house right here, right now.

Prized Catch

When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him. Luke 5:11

They were in the middle of the lake throughout the night yet not even a single fish hop into their boats. Not until Jesus gave them the direction where and when to put the nets. When they did what He told them, the nets were almost teared apart. One boat was not strong enough to catapult this catch so they have to bring another boat to pull out the fishes. Luke describes in this account that even the boats were in risk of sinking because of the great catch. If I was in Peter's boat, I would be ecstatic about this night. Business is booming. There must be a great colony of fish around this lake. Given this prized catch, I can stay every night sailing along keeping my nets low and wait for another almost-net-breaking and almost-boat-sinking prized catch. But that is me, that is not Peter. Who got the fisherman's attention, the fishes or Jesus? What or who is the prized catch, the fishes or Jesus? Peter and the other fishermen left the business and followed Jesus. They made Jesus' business their business.

Now on our part. During these challenging times, the same question is posted for us, what or who is your prized catch? What or who catches your attention? Is it your career? You may have a dream job which may boosts your career to greater heights. You are raking the fruits of years of education and hard work. Your friends dream to be in your desk. Is it your business? Recession pulls down many companies but not yours. Your company surpasses the shakes and tremors of the unstable economy.

In one way or another, Jesus has directed your path. Jesus has pointed to this part of the lake and you followed Him. Business is booming. So what's your action? Will you stay or follow Him?

The fishes were not the prized catch. So is not your work and not your business. Jesus is. Make His business your business.

Yes Bo, We Are Parasites

"Yours, O LORD, are grandeur and power, majesty, splendor, and glory. For all in heaven and on earth is yours; yours, O LORD, is the sovereignty; you are exalted as head over all. "Riches and honor are from you, and you have dominion over all. In your hand are power and might; it is yours to give grandeur and strength to all." 1 Chronicles 29:11-12

Bo Sanchez, a popular preacher and financial freedom mentor in the Philippines, sent an interesting email to all subscribers of his soul food. Since I'm an email subscriber I received the said email. In this message, Bo details how one relative would come to their home to ask for various financial help. Tuition fees, house rent, utility bills, school projects, dental expenses, and school shoes are some of the items this relative would cite to gain aid from Bo's mother. When the parent became old, the daughter and her son took the role of coming over to enumerate their financial woes which Bo's mother would mitigate by helping out. Bo points out that these dole outs turned their relatives to become parasites. Always on the receiving end but not on the giving end.

David, a popular Biblical hero and king, sent a message to God's people twenty centuries ago, "Yours, O LORD, are grandeur and power, majesty, splendor, and glory. For all in heaven and on earth is yours; yours, O LORD, is the sovereignty; you are exalted as head over all. "Riches and honor are from you, and you have dominion over all. In your hand are power and might; it is yours to give grandeur and strength to all." 1 Chronicles 29:11-12. This is clear - all in heaven and on earth is God's. This is crystal - riches and honor are from God. Everything we had, everything we have, and everything we will have comes from God. Our financial prosperity comes from God alone though we work our butts out yet our skills and talents which we use to get compensation belongs to God. His strength is the strength when we apply our education. His wisdom is the wisdom we share to innovate. God's resources are the resources we have in order to do work may it be to provide food for your family or to spark inspiration to your brothers and sisters. All achievements and credentials which give you honor comes from Him.

We are at the mercy of the Owner. We depend on His dole outs. We are always at the receiving end and never on the giving end since anything we give to Him is from Him.

Yes Bo, we are parasites.

Stand Up

John had said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." Mark 6:18

In your face. A king being told by an ordinary man of what is lawful and what is not. Herod took his brother's wife thus John the Baptist told him, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." Herod has the power to judge who will live and who will die. John has the call to say what is right and what is wrong. In Herod's face, John stood up. John did not stand down. No sugarcoating. No dilly dally. No beating around the bush. He told the king what has to be told even at the risk of his earthly life. In my mind, John gave the correction in a loving way, for if not, Herod would not kept him in custody but sent him to death right away. However, in the end, John died for standing up.

The world nowadays is colored gray. Black and white are mixed up. Often times, we stand down to opportunities to standing up for what is right or wrong. If my boss does what is wrong then I join him. If my father is a womanizer so let me be one. If my friends do pre-marital sex, I jump into it. If abortion is legal, just do it. If divorce is accepted, let me apply it.

And this is all happening in our face. And the call is the same - stand up. To stand up is to die like John. Die with our fears of getting ridiculed because we take a stand. Die with fears of not being accepted when we straighten up our feet. Bury our fears of not being heard because our voices will be overcome by their voices. Bring your fear of futility to rest for nothing is wasted when we stand up for God. Let our fears and worries die so we may bring life in others.

Do not take wrong by sitting pretty. Stand up.

Family First

But he would not permit him but told him instead, "Go home to your family and announce to them all that the Lord in his pity has done for you." Mark 5:19

My cousin was very proud of me. He was my class mate from elementary to high school, so we share some common things. We were in a family gathering and he was telling everyone I was the manager at DZYA, a local radio station in Angeles City. I have to hurry to stop the mistake he was spreading. He was misguided and might have misunderstood that I was working for the radio station. I told him I was working for CYA and not DZYA. CYA is Christ's Youth in Action a movement for college students committed to bringing young people to the Lord Jesus Christ. At that time, I was serving and managing several staffers covering the whole Central Luzon. After we spoke, it hit my heart. How many times, I have told a stranger about my experience with the love of God but passed by cousin or an uncle who needed to hear the same good news. I spoke at retreats and prayer meetings about the life in Jesus yet I have not even volunteered to say a prayer before meals in a family gathering. I was giving bible studies to friends while I keep my mouth shut in a family gathering discussion. I find it easy to tell about God to others but when it comes to our family, I have this hesitation.

The man, who was healed by Jesus because he was possessed with unclean spirit, was instructed by Jesus to go home and tell his family the good news. The man pleaded to Jesus that he might stay with Him. Jesus pointed - go home and tell your family. Bible scholars believe the man did what Jesus told him. He went to off to Decapolis and proclaimed what Jesus did to him and everybody were amazed with his testimony. And why not? They are his family who knew him before.

Jesus is telling us an important life lesson here. He encourages us to proclaim His work within our homes. He is giving us the direction to share His goodness in our family reunions. He is calling us to speak about Christ with our children in our dinner table. Jesus is prodding sons and daughters to spend time enumerating to their parents what God has done to them.

Share God's love to everybody. Tell what He has done to you to everyone. To your neighbor. To your friends. To your classmates. To your office mates. Make sure tell your family first.

Fear of "It's Not God"

But when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried out. They had all seen him and were terrified. But at once he spoke with them, "Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!" Mark 6:45-52

We thought we will be living and serving with our brothers and sisters in Angeles City for a very long time or for the rest of our lives. For 16 years, we have been living together in a way of life called for us. From college days to being single people, we hand in hand followed and loved God. When some of us got married, we still met for worship and fellowship. When our marriages bear fruits, our children flocked and run around our prayer meetings and events. When we were still studying in the university, we shared how we will grow old loving God and one another. We have the vision to continue living as Christians in a covenanted community set-up. Our family's activities were surrounded by the relationships we had with the rest of our brothers and sisters. It was a stable condition of the present and future, shall I say.

In 2007, we heard God's call for us for expansion. The discernment was going beyond what we expected for. April of that year, I applied and was offered a job in upstate New York, USA. By the last quarter of the year, my family of four was living in that place. It was a smooth sailing at the start. We live in a good place and found new friends. My work provided well for us. We attended a charismatic community with Filipino lineage. And then the waves came…instability.

Recession hits the US. Recession hits us.
The company I work for tightened its belt. So, we have, too.
The community we were attending had completely different approaches compared with what we have grown with thus we made the decision to stop participating.

At this point, I started to wonder. Did we hear something from God? Or was it from a "ghost"? Same thing happened with the disciples. They were on the shore which was stable. Jesus made them to get into the boat. When heavy winds blew the boat, they saw Jesus walking on water. They were terrified since they thought it was not Jesus, their initial identification was that Jesus was a ghost. But at once he spoke with them, "Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!" (Mark 6:50). We heard the same words when we met up with brothers and sisters who came from different branches of Ang Lingkod ng Panginoon (Lingkod) in the Philippines who were now living in the northeastern part of USA. Jesus identified himself to the disciples as the one who made them to get into the boat. Jesus made sure we are on the same page with the disciples as we came into deeper relationship with these former Lingkod members. After heartfelt prayers, we are now part of building a ministry for single men and women with the same former Lingkod brothers and sisters.

The disciples were terrified and feared it was a ghost, that it was not God. We also had that fear - fear of "It's not God". And in both occasions, Jesus said, "It is I." We will have courage and be not afraid.

Not a Coincidence

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you. Jeremiah 1:5

In the opening scene of the film "Sister's Keeper", Anna narrates about babies being born as coincidences. That there are millions of babies floating around the universe waiting to be attached to a female body. Looking deeply into this thought, every human being exists because of coincidence. Every man or a woman is an accident. You look at yourself or you see someone in your house or at the streets, all are not meant to be there. You have a family, your parents or your siblings and those people you love are all coincidence. You look at your dearest own children and your neighbor's kids, based from this birth coincidence, there is a chance you might have swapped babies at the hospital.

God told Jeremiah , "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you." With God's stand point, we are not a coincidence. With God, nobody is an accident. He knows us before we were formed in our mother's womb. He has a plan for us to be with Him. He has a holy scheme for us to be empowered to serve Him in His kingdom. This is not predestination. We have choices or options to make. And whatever path we take, God meets us there to fit His plan with our choice. God has a plan for us to be born and serve Him as missionaries to the nations.

You have been given an entry to US for a holy purpose.
You are in Singapore to expand His kingdom.
You are a medical practitioner in Europe to care for His people.
You decide to stay in the Philippines to do God's work.
Middle East is your mission place as you work as an engineer or an accountant.

Every time, you look at the mirror. Every time, you look at your child's face. Take heart the grand design why you and I exist. To know God. To be dedicated for God. To make God known. That is not a coincidence.