A Victor's Chant

A Victor’s Chant
31st July 2011
Krispy Kreme – Robinsons Galleria, Ortigas
--enticingconundrum.blogspot.com--


Afraid to look beyond
What is left and gone
My peace is ebbing away
Like the sun losing its glare.

All that I have is stolen from me
And my fortress has always failed me.
What else could this life offer
When my mind is in deep stupor.

Amidst these impossible dreams
Bring my hopes back, Oh Lord.
Before these mountains
Give powers to my words, Oh Lord.
For when the sun rises tomorrow
Your glory will outshine my sorrows.

As I resolve to wait for Your coming
Let my tongue speak of Your majesty.
Keep my spirit in perfect peace
Even when the storms become unrelenting.

So have Your way in me, my God
My Comforter, my Rock
Search every corner of my heart
And let your strength not depart.


Amidst these impossible dreams
Bring my hopes back, Oh Lord.
Before these mountains
Give powers to my words, Oh Lord.
For when the sun rises tomorrow
Your glory will outshine my sorrows.

Is God For Us?

Is God For Us?
30th May 2011
Dennie’s Room
9am

Looking at the tragedies of this world makes me wonder how God is making sense with the things He promised as opposed to what we experience in this troubled world. God’s unpredictability is so unnerving most of the time but could also be humorous sometimes. Acknowledging my cerebral frailty, I know that God’s nature is both unformulated and uncalculated that neither angels nor Da Vinci could decode it. All I know is that we are all passer-bys on this planet and one day, just like the others and just like my Mom, we shall all have our eternal journey to a place where we truly belong.


Ask a Scientist about the future of this planet and they will give you objective answers about our finite destiny here. The Polar Shift phenomenon, climate change, calamities, galactic collisions and finally human annihilation are inevitable based on their studies and data. They may have valid data to vouch for these claims but you see these are all human calculations and they are undoubtedly flawed in some aspects. I am not saying that these things are not possible because they are. In fact even an ordinary pilot can say that the earth has tilted based on their navigation system and the sad thing is that it continually does so bit by bit. Could this tilting have also affected the behaviour of mankind that we have suddenly unlearned our “human” language and has consequently caused war, murder, conspiracies, and deceit amongst us? Well, I guess not really (unless our modern Einsteins would think otherwise). We have changed our moral values in exchange for wealth and fame, we hold on to things that we think are important to us but neglecting our spiritual identity, and most of all we have started to doubt God’s existence in this present world where everybody has ways of explaining and rationalizing the things that happen around us. The modern world has made us understand that we create our destiny and that things happen based on the law of nature. The things that happen in our lives are both consequential and part of God’s plans, it’s not because we are all victims of either Polar Shift or Climate Change but we are accountable for every single thing we do on earth. In any case, we all have to go somewhere when all things fade on this planet.


God says that we are not of this world but we will suffer the same way as other people suffer. He never promised His children a storm-free life for if it were then we would have not acknowledged our need for a Saviour. The paradox of His plans for mankind is unexplainable, perhaps even crazy but it is not our responsibility to fathom His thoughts for they are much, much higher than all of Einstein brains combined. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and it is through this wisdom that we make the right choices but since God’s will contradict our earthly desires we then make the wrong choices. Our choices ultimately gratify the “SELF” in us. Sometimes we even convince or even try to hypnotise the God of the Universe that our wants are the same as His plans for us. That is totally funny, and I am so guilty of this!! (I’m just making confessions, ok?!) But you see, even if we make the wrong choices GOD MAKES IT RIGHT FOR US (eventually) because we are His children, we may experience the consequences of our wrong decisions but He gives us the grace to go through it and the wisdom to embrace the learning points. However, I am not saying that this should give us the license to deliberately make wrong decisions, there are times when things are unclear to us but we have to make decisions right away. God knows that we can never be good enough and because our human minds are clouded with confusions and worries, we may not always hear God. God is always for us no matter how many times we err in this lifetime, He has promised us that ALL things work together for GOOD (even if we make wrong choices) to those who love Him. This means that no matter what we experience here on earth (both good and bad) He will orchestrate things to make everything right IN HIS TIME. Our response is to TRULY trust God and know that He is sovereign and that He sees the end from the beginning. Since we are not of this world, when the time comes that we will finally meet Him face to face make sure that you have all the list of questions you want to ask and it we will all have EUREKA! moments with Him.


You may have also wondered why good people suffer and God is not lifting a finger to alleviate their conditions. Well, firstly the Bible says that in this world WE WILL HAVE TROUBLES, it does not say that ONLY THE UNGODLY will have troubles but it says WE will have troubles. As long as we are here on earth where sin is so apparent, we will experience the enemy’s whippings against our God-given lives. God wants us to have a full life but the enemy is here to steal and destroy all that God has given and planted in our hearts (including our hopes, faith, joy and material blessings). God is not the giver of these problems but He allows things to happen so we would depend on His grace and abounding love. It is only through our struggles that we can recognise how BIG God is and how He can command our storms to still. We are no threat to the enemy UNTIL WE LET GOD RULE OUR LIVES. The enemy doesn’t care even if bad people are being blessed (God’s blessings are free for ALL) because he knows that these people are his and will not recognise God in their lives no matter how much they are being blessed. It is when a person acknowledges and accepts the Lordship of Jesus in their lives that causes the enemy to tremble. THE ENEMY KNOWS HOW MUCH GOD CAN USE YOU once you have the Word planted in your heart. The enemy is out there to steal everything that God will bless you with including your hopes, your dreams, your faith and most especially your joy. However, our response is to rejoice and be thankful IN EVERYTHING and remain still for He who promised is faithful and will not delay. God is NEVER late in accomplishing His promises in our lives but He has His own timelines that we need to respect. Whilst we are going through our struggles on this planet, believers must hold on to the thought that GOD IS SOVEREIGN and that HE IS IN CONTROL. Although I know that it is not easy to stay calm amidst turmoil, but just like the Polar Shift we need to ask God to shift our belief systems to His character knowing that He will fight our battles. God is not a liar, He is faithful to His promises.


Has God given you a promise that you have been holding on for years or decades now? Well, do not grow weary He will NOT DELAY. As you wait for His promises to unfold always declare His faithfulness and remind the enemy of his destiny (he’s long been defeated and his future is counted). I pray that whilst reading this looong pseudo-sermon of DENNIE, God will remind you how special you are to Him and that His faithfulness will remain even after the world fades.

Is God Unfair?

Is God Unfair?
By: Dennie Comia
13th March 2011 – Starbucks, Galleria


How many times have we asked ourselves how unfair life is? How God can look down from the heavens and see the cares of this world without lifting a finger to fix them? You see, everywhere we look at, good people suffer and the not-so-good ones prosper and exalted; children are starving across the globe, marriages fall apart despite the genuineness of their vows, and the list goes on and on. People make choices for this is something that God can not steal from us, but should this omniscient God push the STOP button if He knows that the choices His children will make will ultimately bring them one step closer to oblivion? Look fellas, I am just as naïve as some of you to ask these questions and I am no EINSTEIN to give you an equation to answer such questions. However, please allow me to be your preacher just for this moment and I will endevour to put some Slurpees on your bewitched heads.


We all have stories to share about our struggles in this life. I used to think that watching drama movies and “tele-seryes” was a waste of time for they only magnify the intricacies of life to attract viewers who could relate to the stories. But hey, they may be real you know. While you become so affected with your longstanding personal loans and unsettled credit cards, or your relationships sapping your energy out, or even your boss bringing out the devil in you (pardon my French, will ya?!), other people are hardly living because of the sour consequences caused by other sapiens’ selfishness, bondages, and ungodliness. You see, God never desires to see us begging for His blessings or worse is expecting for our breakthroughs in vain. We are all His children yet most of us have never even had a glimpse of oasis in our own wilderness. How come Christians suffer and those who curse God ultimately prosper in many ways? Can the enemy bless God’s children abundantly so they could continue their waywardness? Hmmm, that’s a toughie, y’know. But the enemy only steals, destroys and kills God’s children, it is not in his nature to bless people especially God’s children. In this way, people should see the very nature of Christ, faithful and loving. He can’t deny His nature, He blesses people regardless of their character. Now you may call Him unfair!!! He blesses the not-so-good ones and forgets His children?! Isn’t that soooo unfair? God has His ways to let us realise that He is after all in control about the things in this world. The problem with us is we always try to understand God’s plan for mankind with our limited reasoning. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts and therefore we will not be able to calibrate our interpretation against His wisdom. God has separate plans for each and every one of us, they are unique to oneself and the timelines are also different. Others have died without even experiencing their breakthroughs in their lifetimes (so they thought!), but that doesn’t mean that God wasn’t present all those years. His timelines may mean forever to one person or it could extend to another lifetime (to your descendants). One thing is for sure though, our patience and obedience to God will be rewarded while we are here on earth or it could be extended to the lives of other people or to our children. Abraham did not see the Promised Land but God remained true to His promises and to the people of Israel. After years of wandering in the wilderness, He remained faithful not just to Abraham but to His descendants. He provided everything they needed, He protected them, He sustained their strengths, but despite God’s faithfulness to them, they were ungrateful and impatient. Some of them may have died in that exodus but God kept His promises. They reached the Promised Land after several years, although Abraham did not see it, his obedience to God and God’s faithfulness to His promises led his people to that land flowing with milk and honey. Do you honestly think that all the Israelites who were part of that exodus really deserved God’s blessings? I think not (this is just my opinion, ok?!), but you see, God’s character is true and faithful. He let them see all the breakthroughs because it was what He promised to the people of Abraham. He did not knit-pick on people who should be left behind, because that was what He promised. We ask the WHY’s because we look at people differently, their lifestyle, their practices, their beliefs, etc etc and then we tell ourselves that they don’t deserve God’s blessings because of their sinful lives. Before you even judge them, think again, God looks at us differently. He looks at a murderer differently; He blesses liars just like He blesses other Christians; He prospers the greedy just like He supplies the needs of His disciples. But this does not make Him unfair, every blessing He gives to a person is combined with an opportunity for that person to see His face differently. If one misses that chance and goes on with his filthy ways, that person will reap curses perhaps not in his lifetime but in the lives of other people whom he/she loves or worse is it could be extended to the lives of his descendants. I can’t re-emphasise enough that nobody can ever explain the mind of God, but if we continue to hold on to our faith and trust that God is in control in everything that happens around us, then these questions will not haunt us forever.

My prayer for all of you is that you will feel excited about what God will do in your life and to the lives of your family in this lifetime. It is nobody’s responsibility to compare and interpret the will of God for other people, the best thing for us to do is to TRUST that God is in the works of molding the character of His people no matter what and how long it takes.

The Endless Race

The Endless Race
Lyrics By: Dennie Comia
30th January 2011
The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf – Galleria Ortigas

All my life it seems like an endless race
Running through the track with a losing pace.
All I have ever desired for is to be with You.
To be in Your place where strength is renewed.

Breathe on me when my strength is fading.
Run with me when everyone is running past me.
Show me the way leading to Your comfort
And when hope is unseen
Let Your presence find me.

The troubles of this world have made me forget
The passion You have in pursuing me.
Open my eyes to the beauty of Your light.
Open my senses to the freedom You bring

The more I let loose of Your Hand
The more I see Your wounds.
Take me back to the Cross
Where freedom was won.

Breathe on me when my strength is fading.
Run with me when everyone is running past me.
Show me the way leading to Your comfort
And when hope is unseen
Let Your presence find me.

May Your goodness reign
In this endless road of brokenness
Make my life whole again
As I get up from this mess.

False Identity

False Identity
By: Dennie Comia
24th January 2011
Abelardo’s Diner – Wack Wack, Mandaluyong

Every day you wake up but you find no reason to get up. Then you will try to remember about what you read and heard from motivational speakers who taught you to be invincible, to unleash your potential, and to become a hero of yourself. But no matter how much effort you exert, you end up feeling frustrated for not being able to overcome your limitations. Then you realise that you are simply masking your pains, it may have desensitised your emotions but it never truly takes away the fears, the insecurities, the nightmares of your past and the uncertainties of your future. You ask yourself, “Is this all I can expect from a God who cares?”, “Is life all about finding your place under the sun?”, “Does being happy mean being intimate with someone or being in love with a person you truly care for?” Although, I will not endevour to find answers to these questions (as my experiences may be limited compared to those whose lives are spent with greater struggles) but I will simply put a sketch of God’s face on your weary souls. The only Face that can truly quiet my troubled soul.

Looking at the reviews done by techy-addicts on the performance of some famous Android/Tablet products that have recently gone out, they always use a benchmark for comparison. Usually it’s the very first product that was ever launched in the market that is used for benchmarking, in this case it’s Apple’s iPAD. The new gadgets like Samsung’s Galaxy Tab, BB’s PlayBook, etc. are simply a pastiche of features and specifications of other android phones and iPAD. Although I am not in the position to really compare these products because for one, I don’t own any of them and secondly I am overwhelmed by the features they present to the hungry techy predators out there. It scares me to even know the cost of one at this time, so I am forced to love my not-so-reliable touch phone (unless some of you would like to bless me with a Tablet, **clears throat**!!!) Well, my point is companies will always find ways to create a need for everyone to make our lives a lot easier, quainter, and much classier (talking about status symbol). It’s all about situating their excellence at the forefront of everything, getting attention and having their names embedded in the minds of the public. If finding one’s identity under the sun is all that matters on this planet, then it is frightening to see how chaotic this world could become. I guess it has already started, or I may be wrong. I am an ordinary person with nothing much to brag about except the fact that He has blessed me with a loving family, but just like every-“sapien” else on this tilting planet I feel so concerned about not being acknowledged, remembered or simply not being important to some people. To me, that appreciation by people may somehow complete me and make my day happy, but since I don’t get that much attention I feel that I’m just hovering up in the air unnoticed by all, defying the laws of gravity and trying to create my own fantasies in a more ideal world. However, we will all leave this place and will not be able to testify the truth behind that ideal world. In our world, bad things happen to good people, lives are broken, relationships are temporary, and happiness is hardly found. We take different routes hoping that the road will be kind to us and will allow us to meet the person who can truly substantiate our existence on this planet. For some behaviourists, they justify these ways to help people move on and help them strategise their lives by human efforts. I hope you will not get me wrong, God has commissioned these people and their belief systems in pulling the people out from the ruts but they surely will fall short from God’s promises to those who love and devoute their lives to Him whom our true identity belongs. If you are struggling with identity or always wanting to find purpose in your life then you may be traversing through a wrong path. If you think your accomplishments will embellish your basic understanding about life and eternity then perhaps you have been fooled by earthly wisdom. The only way to really see the invincible is to be blinded by the glitters of this world, and the only way to your resting place is to be chased by Him. God wants us to have a full life but it is not our task to understand the insufficiencies and incompleteness we feel every day. It has also been a struggle for me to rationalise everything to help me ease the pain of being alone (in some aspects), His silence makes me wonder, doubting everything I read about His words and His character but I can’t force God to do things according to me own terms. Instead, I am slowly learning how to TRULY put my trust in Him and depend on Him. I have nothing but He is my Everything. I may not be able to understand most of the things that transpire in this world but His wisdom will help me understand the only things I need to see my destiny. Faith is the linchpin of living a full life according to His will, it is believing that God has our best interest at heart no matter how painful and lonely our lives have become. In His own time, He will unfold His face to you so you’d see everything that is to be seen.
Finding real happiness by knowing your true identity is never a bad thing, but if you benchmark it with how the world defines it then you will never be able to reconcile your identity in this world and to whom your identity truly belongs.

FLY

Fly – Lyrics/Poem by Dennie
2nd June 2010
3pm - Living Room
enticingconundrum.blogspot.com


Losing so many battles
My strength has worn out, Oh Lord.
And to search for Your resting place
Is just as difficult as a maze.

Lord I am so tired of living
In this world where hope is a myth.
But I know You are the answer
For the things I truly hope for.

So Jesus take my hand
When my strength is not enough.
And when shame is all around me
Wrap me up with your steadfast love.
I want to fly with Your Spirit
Oh Lord, I want to fly with Your Spirit.

My mournings have subdued me
With nothing left for myself but a heartbeat
But with this remaining hope
I shall vow to seek your face.

So Jesus take my hand
When my strength is not enough.
And when shame is all around me
Wrap me up with Your steadfast love
I want to fly with Your Spirit
Oh Lord, I want to fly with Your Spirit.

I will never stop believing
For the promises You have given
You will give me wings to fly
And feet I can use to climb
But should I fall again
This I should know best…..

Jesus take my hand
When my strength is not enough
And when shame is all around me
Wrap me up with your steadfast love
I want to fly with Your Spirit
Oh Lord I want to fly with Your Spirit.

Oh Lord let’s fly!

Your Light - A POEM by Dennie

Your Light – A POEM
enticingconundrum.blogspot.com
26th May 2010
5:23PM
Starbucks Megamall


Each day the sun rises
My hopes are not awakened
Lord, the path I have taken
Seems deserted and forsaken.

Will I truly see Your countenance
Amidst this road of hopelessness?
Will Your voice still speak to me
Now that I have lost Your assurance?

When love is so far flung
Will Your loving kindness give warmth?
Lord, unleash Your power
To bring my heart out from this slumber.

I don’t want to see death
If death means losing You.
Despite this life You have nurtured
Still my eyes could not see my future.

Now I wonder what it means
To be consumed by Your light?
When a heavy smoke is all around me
How could I get a glimpse of Your sight?

In this world of confusing tongues
Speak Your language aloud
Silence the Babylonians’ mouths
And let Your language resound.

Lord, a piece of Your light
Is worth a million starlights
Satisfy this longtime desire
And in my heart, let that Light abide.

Desperation – Lyrics by Dennie
March 07, 2010
Galleria, Ortigas



If winning every battle means self denial
Catch me as I fall down.
If being saved is close to being abandoned
Keep me into Your arms.

I need You, Lord
In my deepest longings
Seek my soul.
I need You, Lord
In my discontent
Satisfy my soul.

Show us Your heaven
When darkness plagues men.
Let Your countenance amaze us
When brokenness taints our lives.

We need You, Lord
In our deepest longings
Seek our souls
We need You, Lord
In our discontent
Satisfy our souls.

Let my tears be Your tears
Let my pain be Your pain
Oh Lord, I am desperate for Your mercy.
So desperate for Your love.

To The Faithless

To The Faithless – A Poem
February 21, 2010
SM Megamall


People fight for power
Feeding their souls with greed.
Leaving marks of hatred
To their ever feeble spirits.

But Your ways, Oh Lord
Have bridged that gap
Showing us the answers
To this faithless generation.

Dismissing Your existence
By minds You created
Still our hearts can not deny
Our longingness for a Saviour.

If only people could truly grasp
The science of Your unfailing love
Cords shall be broken
Lives will be restored.

It takes one perfect love
To cast away the curses of this world
It takes one great sacrifice
To make us worthy of His love.

But none of our efforts matter
To put meaning into our lives
N or the goodness of our hearts
Will bring us closer to paradise.

So have Your way in us, Oh Lord.
This we pray
Restore our land
And let Your glory unfold.

Wounded

Wounded
February 01, 2010
11:02am
Shell Office, Makati City


As I come closer to see your face
My brokenness is magnified.
Feeling naked and wounded
My eyes cry.

I am a captive of my own afflictions
And my soul is fleeting away.
Oh Lord, I am helpless
Rescue me from this den.

They say I am a fighter for nothing
For I have never declared any victories.
My fortresses have failed me
Losing my kingdom’s glory.

Left with a dying courage
Amidst this cloudy road
You see my agony
You restore me.

With no words spoken,
I see Your tears falling.
With your outstretched arms
I experience grace overflowing.

Search every wound, Oh Lord
And heal every pain they cause.
Remove any hinge of suffering
That only I have inflicted.

Your compassion amazes me
And your love convicts me.
In Your grip of grace
I shall see eternity.

Countless Times - A Poem By Dennie

Countless Times
December 29, 2009
12:02pm
Shell Office, Makati City

Countless times, I have hurt you.
Countless times, I have nailed you on the Cross.
But Your mercy never fails
And your grace sustains me.

Will I ever fathom your steadfast love for me?
For every time I choose to follow my ways
Your Spirit chastises me
And Your goodness causes me to fall on bended knees.

Countless times, I have challenged your precepts,
But only to justify my humanness.
My mind may disprove Your existence
But my spirit truly desires Your fortress.

So today I set aside my earthly cognition
And embrace Your Spirit’s comprehension.
The works of Your Hands will forever amaze me
They will remind me of Your unfailing love.

Countless times, You have comforted me
Your Presence assures me of your providence.
Countless times, You removed the clouds above me
Your Glory illuminates my ignorance.

Let my tongue speak of Your faithfulness.
Let my life be the temple of Your goodness.
For in this lifetime, I shall see Your greatness
More than a countless time.

For Real - A POEM by Dennie

For Real - A POEM By DENNIE
06th November 2009
--Starbucks Megamall--


Years have gone by
Tears have dried up
Yet the thought of you
Remains painted in my head.

In this lifetime
I have never grasped the answers
To the questions
Behind your mystery.

Some say it’s foolish to look for you
Yet others find you.
Some think you’re too good to be true
Yet others experience you.

But from the shores of my heart
Your waves bring a message of hope
That somewhere beyond the yonder
Your face will soon unfold.

And so I let go of all my fears
Except the fear of losing you.
But should you hide your face from me
My future will become bleak.

I shall wait here to prove your existence
I shall see your wonders in the midnight sun.
And in the daybreak, my hands will reach for you
So come take me to your wonderland.

Spiritual Acuity

Spiritual Acuity
27th October 2009
Dennie’s Room

The acuity of one’s eyes is something that can be measured off the bat. It does not require any medical preparation other than a chart with letters of varying sizes to be read with only a single eye. I don’t have a 20/20 vision but all I can say is that my eyes are clear enough to see the things that are visually pleasant and not-so-pleasant, what is black and what is white, what needs to be fixed and the how-to-do’s of fixing it, and the list goes on and on. However, a normal visual acuity does not always lead us to an accurate way of analysing and interpreting things, as it is not very uncommon that we see a lot of optical illusions around us. If we always believe on what we see on the visual realm we might end up impairing our judgment.


Our perception is a result of a single unified awareness derived from sensory processes (sense of sight is one of them) while a stimulus is present. These communal conversations from the different senses are critical to how we respond to certain stimuli and if we get to see and experience the same stimulus over and over again our brain creates an automatic response to a single stimulus without analysing it (awesooomee, isn’t it?!!). It is so amazing how the brain, culture, and genes make up the human psyche - - however, I do not want to discount the fact that one’s spirituality greatly impacts the way we understand things and how we behave as individuals. Hey wait-a-sec, I am not here to promote the undying duel between Science and Religion because I believe that both these disciplines could be married given the right explanation (or I maybe wrong, cut the crap dennie!)


How many times have we been bamboozled by our perception just because our eyes were so hallucinatory? We judge things based on what we see but most of the time what we see is never quite what it seems, hence, an impaired judgment. The same is true in our Christian living, our spiritual eyes are so stringy about what they see on this earth and judge them so easily. This is simply because they think that those eyes are so capable of seeing things the same way God sees things. Just because we are not from this world does not mean that our eyes shall only see the things that are holy and any deviation from what is holy is an infection that needs to be isolated and worse is quarantined. The humanness of mankind may be very sinful, but it is through this very nature that the Son of God embraced humanity so that people would likewise embrace eternity with Him when our heavenly Father summons our spirits. It is, however, so frustrating that some Super Christians have a microscopic visual acuity that even a miniscule of dust could easily be magnified. They keep an eye out for their fellow Christians who will stumble and fall into sin and criticise their lifestyle; they then make a permanent perception about that person and the worse part is that they influence other Christians through this holy and perfect perception.


How many times have we heard Christians harshly commenting about their fellow Christians who are being rumored as an adulterer, a fornicator, a drug user, a homosexual, an alcoholic, a smoker, a party-goer, a feigner, a sexual addict, an immoral, etc etc. This is an ugly truth that we often see inside the church – an ecumenical paradox that even church leaders found themselves ensnared by. It all starts with some degrees of impairment in one’s spiritual acuity and if this is not corrected, it will result to a more debilitating effect on one’s (the person being judged) battles against addiction (and the others that the Bible considers as ungodly) and eventually loses his hope of being recovered from a bondage. I am not saying that Christians should have a sense of indifference on these things, in fact seeing and identifying a possible aberration in one’s Christian walk is just the first step of dealing the issue. The steps after that are as equally critical as the first one, as this would make or break a person’s faith in God. I said POSSIBLE aberration because some people think that their practices are right (perhaps culturally or according to one’s personal beliefs and preferences), others are simply clueless that their practices contradict the standards of God. The rule of thumb is that you do not spill out nor pass judgment against one person if you have identified a possible aberration. You pray for guidance so God can give you wisdom on the how-to-dos of rebuking a person, needless to say, this needs to be subtly done. You do not dictate to a person how he should become, how he should act, how he should go about his life, but you need to give him options, explain to him how you feel about this contradiction in relation to his Christian walk. The worse thing that you could ever do as a counselor or friend is to make that person feel condemned. Nobody is perfect and since every individual is unique, you can NEVER feel and understand how and why he/she does those things that you consider as ungodly. There are a lot of things that contribute to such behaviours and being so superlative about Christianity is not and will never be a powerful tool to make a person feel that we have a loving and gracious God (another paradox, huh!). Don’t get me wrong with what I said so please allow me to explain this deeper…. Although most if not all Christians know that we are still prone to committing errors (at least that’s what we tell to our brethren), some of us STILL find it so hard to accept that these spiritual glitches are possible. These Christians are being rumored, ridiculed, persecuted (oh yes…… by their fellow Christians!!!!) and condemned. Wheeeew!!! Some people!!!!! Christianity does not equate to perfection, it is a continuous battle between human affliction, shortcomings and God’s amazing grace.
I know some of you are raising your eyebrows or perhaps even way too itchy to respond to this ideology, some of you might even ask who my Small Group leader is but this I tell you “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone!” The next time your spiritual acuity tells you that something is wrong about a person’s life, practices, etc. ask yourself these questions “What kind of person are you when nobody is looking? Is your spiritual body bleeding because of the chains you have been secretly nurturing? Will your words destroy a person? Is your mind filled with filthy thoughts? Are you equipped with the tools you need to be able to subtly rebuke a person? If you claim to be a Christian, then perhaps judging a person straight off the bat should never be your expertise. Pray for wisdom. Speak words of enlightenment and not confusion. Be a friend, and above all be fair!

A Road To Seven

A Road to Seven
September 9, 2009
01:02pm
Coffee Bean - Megamall

I find it so comical when adults look for (beauty) perfection in seven days when what is circulating around their Somas are nothing but wasted cells, impaired nuclei and free radicals. All these are by-products of years of desecration to one’s body or perhaps even due to the famous wear-and-tear principle, but in any case perfection or near-perfection can not and will never be attained in just seven days unless if you are God. If it were true, then you would probably see me painting myself with these enchanting creams, Lolz.

The world’s view on beauty is somewhat universal (usually based on superficiality), in fact according to other theorists there are mathematical equations that could be used to determine a certain ratio for beauty and imperfection regardless of race and other demographics. Leonardo Da Vinci’s drawings of the human anatomy, for instance, also empasised the relationship of beauty and symmetry. Hence, anything that does not fall under these so-called “Objective” evaluations for beauty is considered an appalling mistake of God’s creation…. Ouccch!! Guess that’s a beastly description of being unattractive (Now you know how much I despise Brad Pitt, nyahahahaaha - - Kidding!)


Regardless of how many equations there are in measuring beauty, I will never allow myself get fooled with any of these for I know that my Creator has patterned me into His likeness. I was beautifully and wonderfully made by the One who created the universe and so why bother. Beauty, according to the common adage, is in the eyes of the beholder but knowing whose eyes we consider as a benchmark for this saying is more important than staying attractive all the time just to please everybody - - - although, I can do that effortlessly, nyahahaha!! (Pardon my narcissism, I know I need a Shrink!!!) You see, the “beauty” of things goes through stages; an alchemist knows that a certain insignificant element could be transmuted to something precious like gold or silver, but still it has to go through fire to remove all the impurities before it becomes an exquisite stone desired by all. The butterflies that we adore went through ugly metamorphoses; a baby goes out from a woman’s womb wrapped in blood and full of mess; and a flower begins with a single insignificant bud before it blossoms and expose its glory, you see the point is that nothing in this world begins with something pleasant and adorable. We need to go through a complete mess before we can truly appreciate who we are and whose we are.


People always have this burden to make things beautiful beyond their might. We have embraced the fact that humans are extremely intelligent that we can figure things out ourselves and resolve every conflict, every struggle, every painful memory, and every confusion just to make our lives beautiful according to our own standards, that is the world’s standards for beauty. However, I am not saying that we should not use our God-given intelligence and just accept things as they come; my point is that the circumstances in our lives can NEVER be beautiful enough and attaining perfection is insanity. God has blessed mankind with wisdom to make our lives beautiful in His sight and I reckon that it requires faith and patience to actually see that transpiring before our eyes and the eyes of the people who see us. However, there are things that look so sour on the natural despite one’s steadfast faith to God and they seem so unbearable. This is the metamorphosis of our Christian living; often times we need to experience a complete mess before we can truly see the glory and the power of God lifting us up from an IMPOSSIBLE SITUATION.

What happens when we lack faith, obedience and patience and do things our way? We look for other avenues and embellish our lives with worldly accomplishments such as accolades from our peers, a nice job that nourishes our wallets, tons of academic certificates and degrees, and so on and so forth. These are all worldly attempts to make our lives beautiful before the eyes of this world. Remember that the world’s standards are not God’s standards for we can never understand His ways and the vastness of His knowledge is immeasurable. Often times, God is directing us towards His will but when we see the arid wilderness ahead of us we ask God, “Lord, is there any another way?” We do not see what God has prepared for us at the end of our journey, but one thing is certain, God is preparing a golden mansion for each of His children, a kind that is incomparable to the wealth of this world. We should not settle for the kind of beauty that this world promises us to give, but let’s anchor our faith on God’s promises while we go through our ugly metamorphoses until we finally meet Him face to face. I am not rallying against self-improvement as God also wants me take care of myself and improve the condition of my life. All I am saying is that we need to put God into our equations and not to do it our way and present our accomplishments to Him as if we were much omnipotent than Him.


God has His own timeframe before He lets us see the beauty behind our obedience and patience. Rest assured though that He will make things beautiful in His own time. Your life may be passing through an ugly phase and you are so tired of waiting for it to finally see its breakthrough, what you should unceasingly do is to pray that God will sustain your strength as you wait for His plans to uncover. Giving up on our faith by proving to ourselves and the people around us that we can do it without God is a world’s strategy to achieve perfection. Later on you will see that you merely settled for a hut compared to what God has desired for you to have. Beauty creams and SPFs can never adorn our lives, real beauty is hidden in a bud or in a cocoon waiting to be laid bare according to God’s perfect time.


“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NIV)

Where Have You Been?

Understanding Human Adversities


Congenital Abnormalities are usually caused by some genetic aberrations that are somehow unpredictable and at a certain degree even inevitable. Although there have been medical journals explaining why such anomalies occur during conception, these scientific endeavors have fallen short of satisfying the ultimate question of WHO OR WHAT CONTROLS THE BEHAVIOUR OF THE HUMAN GENOME. As a result of this gap, mankind has learned to embrace these challenges by inventing medicines and/or prescribing prosthetic devices to help the individual carry on with his daily activities.

The goal is to become functional while attempting to sustain one’s longevity on this planet. I, for one have this congenital blood condition called Beta Thalassemia, what it is and how it affects me is something you need to research on - - - c’mon we have Google for free just make sure your spelling is correct **Lolz** - - -. I have lived with this disorder since I was born but this does not in any way affect my work nor my relationship with people, but for those who have severe and chronic physiological anomalies they would probably wish for “premature death” (for a lack of a better word) than to suffer with such abnormalities. I am not here to discuss how Genetic Engineering could detect and correct a possible aberration, as I have no desire of winning a Nobel Prize to bring pride for my lineage, lolz. This is simply to share with you how God wants us to respond on things that are hard to explain or for those that even Sciences could not fathom.

In this lifetime, there are never-ending questions we face in our unguarded moments. We ask why bad things happen to good people, why marriages fail, why prayers don’t get answered, why men of God experience persecution and misery, why some children suffer the consequences of their parents’ failures, why others are blessed and you are not, and the list goes on and on. A lot of people have died without ever understanding why they struggled despite consistent prayers and devotion to the One they have always considered as Almighty and All-Powerful God. In this lifetime, I have somehow learned to acknowledge the frustrations of Christians when God is silent amidst turmoil; we obviously want a response from God after pouring out our emotions unto Him but what we get most of the time is a deafening silence.

Where is God? Is He for real? Does He see my afflictions? Does He understand human strife?

Although these questions are valid considering that every person is facing adversities left and right, it is not our responsibility to understand God’s prerogatives but for us to become more dependent on Him in our weaknesses and brokenness. Remember that His thoughts are higher than our thoughts and His ways are totally different than ours. Just because God is silent doesn’t mean that He’s not there. It is through adversities that God is making His power and faithfulness become so apparent. God is always in the process of engineering circumstances through which He can reveal His true face to each of us. How we respond to these adversities is far better than understanding the WHYs of life. If we are deeply rooted to God’s word then no matter how strong the winds are they can only make you sway but they can never uproot you.

The story of Lazarus in the Bible strongly depicts God’s power and faithfulness during adversities. Lazarus’ sisters (Martha and Mary) were praying so hard to God for Jesus to come by their place and heal their brother Lazarus who also happened to be Jesus’ friend.

In our lives today, how many times have we prayed like that every time we are helpless, how many times have we acknowledged that it is through God that our struggles could be vanquished perhaps all the time but the sisters’ prayers were left unanswered and Jesus was silent and He was nowhere to be found. Although Jesus had heard of His friend’s health condition, still He was not there physically to deliver Lazarus from this affliction and so he died. Just imagine how much pain Lazarus’ sisters must have felt at that time, they probably even thought why God allowed Lazarus to succumb to this earthly demise considering that he was a faithful friend to Jesus.

In the story, Jesus knew everything that was happening and this was also the time when Jesus wept on His way to Lazarus’ place. Remember, just because we do not feel God’s presence doesn’t mean that He cares less for us and that his indifference will only lead us to an inevitable despair. The Bible says Jesus wept, all along He knew everything even if He wasn’t there physically.

God sees your brokenness, God feels your hurt, He weeps over our sorrows as well, God may be delaying everything because there is something magical that He’s going to perform for you and the people around you. It is our response to adversities that God wants to see. When Jesus finally came to Lazarus’ place, he had been buried in the tomb for 4 days. The sisters showed one thing that they were still 100% human to their very cores, they told Jesus “Had you been here earlier, our brother Lazarus would have been healed.”

Again, how many times have we said this to God? Perhaps every single day, perhaps you have already started doubting God’s existence long before you even asked that kind of question. But you see, in the eyes of men Jesus was late and Lazarus had already died and there was nothing else to do. God sometimes does this kind of strategy because He is about to accomplish a miracle, something that will all the more prove His power and great love to those who put their trust in Him no matter how mankind defines the statement “It’s Over!” God’s ways are unfathomable, whatever He is in the process of accomplishing through our sufferings and brokenness will always be for our best interest.

Going back to the story, Jesus asked Martha to remove the stone, which covered Lazarus’ tomb, but she was quite hesitant to do it because the body had been buried for 4 days, but Jesus told her “If you believe, you will see the glory of God.” Had she refused to do what God wanted her to do, Martha would have missed one of God’s greatest miracles. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead! God’s ways are not our ways! His thoughts are unfathomable! He is an amazing God!

Friends, God’s silence in times of our adversities and great despair is not indicative of His involvement in our lives. He is working in every aspect of our lives even if our prayers don’t get answered in a fashion that we want Him to do. Let Him do His ways not ours and as we wait for His glory to show up before our very eyes, our response is to always put our hopes in Him knowing that He has our best interest at heart. He is building up a character in you while you’re facing that tragedy, a kind of character that will elevate your faith to the next level. As you persevere in finishing your race, God’s promise is a life of contentment and an immeasurable joy regardless of your condition. God Bless you my dear friends!




“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” James 1:2-4