(krŏn'ĭ-kəl) n. An extended account in prose or verse of historical events, sometimes including legendary material, presented in chronological order and without authorial interpretation or comment. A detailed narrative record or report.

Wednesday, 30 May 2012

My Joy- HIS GLORY


MARCH 30, 2009

12:56 PM

When the praise and worship ended, I believed, I was blown away, overwhelmed, awed, overjoyed!

People chose to worship Him. Some, as I have seen, just looked, or maybe just couldn’t follow the songs... but, standing there Lord, in the midst of Your servants, in Your presence, was an exceeding joy, to be lead by Your Holy Spirit… who am I Lord? But You chose me, us... with all my heart, thank You Father...

When You gave me the chance to be a living instrument and witness of people rising up as an army of Your Truth.

I was overwhelmed, by their act of worship, standing, praising and lifting up their voices, surrendering, I was speechless Lord... I was... and I am…

And all I could say is... thank You Abba… thank You for using someone like me… someone like us… thank You Lord... You are greater than the “us”

Teach me to fall in love with You deeper and deeper Lord, to love You more and more each day

To be used by You no matter what it takes...

You are my joy... it is my joy to honor You... in all I do, let me honor You,

Monday, 28 May 2012

My Prayer


MARCH 28, 2009

9:52 PM

Lord, tomorrow would be the worship service together with the delegates of the Annual Conference. The praise and worship will have its first time leading with the large worshipers Lord, ad I do admit that I loose track of “looking unto You alone”. I have been thinking of whether the songs that we are going to sing would be criticized or approved by them. I am forgetting Lord, that it’s not for their approval Lord, praise and worship is all about You and You alone. I’m more aware of what would people think rather than what will YOU THINK in our offering of thanksgiving. I am forgetting that it’s not about the SMUCM P&W leading, but on how Your Holy Spirit would lead by using us. We are just Your instruments Lord. Use us for Your glory alone Lord.

Abba, renew a right spirit within me... speak to me, teach me, show me the right way, remind me over and over again…

My sense of “intimidation” is overwhelming me, thinking of the great leaders of the church- different pastors, deaconesses, lay leaders and other servant leaders Lord, would be gathered to worship. I have these thoughts of “are we capable of leading these leaders since we are just youths?” I have fear and anxiousness. But Lord, You have graciously reminded me that You have chosen us, You have appointed and anointed us for this ministry Father… we are humbled for Your truth, grateful, honored for using “us”- our incapabilities, our fears, our doubts, everything Lord in us that may hinder form worshiping You in spirit and I truth.

But Your mercy endureth forever Lord…

Thank You for continually teaching us of Your truth.

I will praise You Lord with all I am!

The task is so awesome and overwhelming. May I not take the glory that is due to Your Holy Name!

Tomorrow Lord, we will stand for You,

we will sing only for You,

we will worship You Father.

To seek You always, may You be please...

If men would not be please in what we are going to sing, it will not hinder us form worshiping Yo, we would never allow their opinions or criticisms to hinder our desire and intention to give God the praise which is due to You and You alone…

Psalm 147:7

English Standard Version (ESV)

 7 Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving;
   make melody to our God on the lyre!

This is for You Lord

So, we will look only to Yu

Bless us Father, we long to see You high and lifted up..!”

Amen

Monday, 21 May 2012

Just For Who YOU ARE


MARCH 24, 2009

9:37 AM

Annual Conference will be on March 26-29, 2009, Thursday na! And it’s been weeks of preparation for this big event of hosting. Been practicing a liturgical dance entitled “EMMANUEL”, and a tambourine dance “YOU ARE GOOD”. Before, I was only thinking of these songs to be dance, now, it has come true! Humbled and thankful for the opportunity to teach. I do hope and pray that the dancers would be able to remember all the things that have been taught to them, the steps, including the reasons why would they dance. I want them to remember Him, while they’re dancing, to offer it up before the Lord. To glorify Jesus through dance.

In everything I do, I do it all for the glory of God.

It just amazes me on how God still uses me, and everyday is a learning lesson. I continue to learn from what God gives me, the patience that I needed,  the understanding and care, the motivation... to be a servant. But sometimes, I forget who I am, pride slips in, and then I sinned.

“Lord, humble me…”

I do believe in what the youths could do. I believe in their strengths, their passions. I pray that they may offer everything to Jesus. That as they dance, they may not see the people but look unto God, that the people may see You in them, and be blessed through them



Thank You Father, that though we are weak You are strong

We are poor, but You are our great provider

Though we stumble and fall, You lift us up again

This is our praise, this is our worship

Our thanksgiving, to You, and You alone...



This coming Sunday, March 29, the praise and worship team will lead the worship service... I remember my prayer a long time ago, that one day, I will stand in the midst of a worshipping congregation, a mighty army of the Lord, praising with one voice, one heart, worshiping at Your magnificent power, and Your presence will ever be present not just in Your house but the very lives of Your people... and on Sunday- this will be the reality.

Ngayon pa lang mangyayari sa akin, sa amin to Lord... and it humbles me, and amazes me for giving us this once in a lifetime opportunity to lead Your people. Different leaders, pastors, deaconesses, ordinary people from different places, different churches, different styles of worship... WOW!

All will be in “ONE” for the “ONE”.

Lord, what a wonderful privileged it will be. Prepare us Lord, prepare the praise and worship team, our hearts, our motives, our purpose… may we not be seen as one who entertains, but one who worships You Lord in spirit and in truth. We want them to see You as YOU ARE. May they LOOK TO YOU LORD. We are just Your vessel, Your living instrument of praise, a vessel of blessings to Your people…

Teach us to lay it all down.

It is my prayer, our prayer, that Your Holy Spirit will guide us, to teach us what we should do, to learn and hear from what You want to say to Your people.

We will be witnesses of Your goodness... and I long… oh... how I long to see You Father, lifted up by the praises of Your people, their adoration, their thanksgiving, with one voice, one heart, one body and soul, lifting up Your Holy Name…

What a beautiful and wonderful privilege Lord... I am in awe…!

Teach us to be sensitive in Your leading, to remember that it is not about us, but YOU.

Lord, we don’t; want to be enjoying alone in Your presence… guide us, lead us in leading them... that they may see and taste your goodness Father!

They may be onlookers God, may observe on us leading. But Father, You know our hearts, our thoughts our minds. Lord give them eyes to see Your beauty and your majesty. May this not be a hindrance of giving You our all in all. You are worthy to be praise and worship!

Oh Lord, have Your way... Have Your way…



I worship You

Lord just for who You are

Just for keeping me this far

You’ve been good to me

And I do worship Thee…

Lord I worship Thee…”

Amen.

Friday, 18 May 2012

THE BOARD EXAM RESULT


February 18, 2009

7:35 AM

Got up early at 6:00 am and the results are out….

And I am not

I am sad but not depressed….

I’m just sad but never dismayed…



Just as Job said

Job 13:15

English Standard Version (ESV)


15 Though he slay me, I will hope in him;[
a] 



Job 19:25

English Standard Version (ESV)


25 For I know that my Redeemer lives, 



Psalm 121


English Standard Version (ESV)

My Help Comes from the LORD

    A Song of Ascents.

 1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. 
   From where does my help come?
 
2
 My help comes from the LORD, 
   who
 made heaven and earth.

 3 He will not let your foot be moved; 
   he who
 keeps you will not slumber. 
4
 Behold, he who keeps Israel 
   will neither slumber nor sleep.

 5 The LORD is your keeper; 
   the LORD is your
 shade on your right hand. 
6
 The sun shall not strike you by day, 
   nor the moon by night.

 7 The LORD will keep you from all evil; 
   he will
 keep your life. 
8
 The LORD will keep 
   your
 going out and your coming in 
   from this time forth and forevermore.



I still know and believed that You are good.

This is just but one out of any obstacles I must face in this life… and I know I can face it with courage in my heart... for I believe in You, I believe in Your promises, O God.

Thank You for this opportunity... you made me see my weakness, and I know You would always be there to guide, hold and love me..

Thank You Father for my family, they will always be there for me too...



OH LORD I’LL STILL BE PRAISING YOU…



Exodus 15:2

English Standard Version (ESV)


2 The LORD is my strength and my song,
   and he has become my salvation;
this is my God, and I will praise him,
   my father's God, and I will exalt him.


Friday, 11 May 2012

A TRIBUTE TO OUR MOTHER


May 12, 2012

8:42 am

A TRIBUTE TO OUR MOTHER



She is a priceless gem, rarer by far than sapphire, ruby or diamond. Her radiance depended not on some earthly or external beam. Her glow is from within, shining from genuineness of character and purity of soul.

The dancing sparkle of her life resulted not from material stimuli. It comes from a heart that gives and gives and gives again with never a thought of receiving. It reflects a life that loves and loves until there was just no more love.

Her beauty is that of expanded unselfishness. Her whole life is others, her loved ones, her friends, her neighbors and her church. She knows no resting place. The needs are endless and her devotion always equaled the demands. Deep weariness of mind and body never deterred her.

The enormous wealth of her character shows most in her unstinting kindness. All who knows her felt it, witnessed it, experienced and believed in it. Everyone coming within the warm glow of her influence is cheered, encouraged, lifted and blessed.

Her beauty knows no vanity. She disdains the cheap, the tawdry, the make-believe. She loathes everything farcical and hypocritical. Her genuineness is transparent. She radiates reality. Life to her is neither a mummery nor a charade but a daily expression of untainted sincerity.

Her glory sprang from a love of life. Her activities never ceased and her energy seem boundless. Her spontaneous laughter and contagious smile delights all who met her. She enjoys being alive and her life has beauty and purpose.

She epitomizes the virtuous woman. She is clothed with strength and honor. Our heart safely trusts in her. She looks well to the affairs of her household. She burns the midnight oil. Her hands are never idle. Her mouth is full of wisdom and on her tongue is the law of kindness. We her children have risen to praise her.

She is modest, almost to a fault. Always the lady. Always the queen. She carries herself with poise and great dignity without pomp, piety or ceremony. Modern trends in styles are ignored if they offended her sensitivities or violated her convictions. She never sought praise or popularity, contented always to serve in a spirit of congeniality and selflessness.

She is the practical woman. Never lavish. Never wasteful. She shuns the unnecessary and the excessive. Satisfied with simple things, she avoids that which is foolish and vain. Sound judgments precede her decisions. Never one to parade, she abstains from the superficial, pretentious, needless and impractical.

Above all is the totality of her dedication. Devoted to her husband, her family, her friends and her church, she is supremely committed to her Lord. Her faith in Christ never wavered. Having trusted Him as a child, she loves Him more with every passing year. Her convictions hold firm in the face of a changing world. The variances of life’s vicissitudes never altered her course. She remains steadfast, immovable, abounding always in the work of the Lord. She is a rock. She is found faithful. She walks with God.

The light from her devotion and the aroma from her character continues to live to bless perpetually the lives of all who loves her. Her testimony and her commitment to Christ contiues. Her husband, her children and all her descendent rises to call her blessed.


DO NOT FORSAKE YOUR MOTHER’S TEACHING by: JOHN PIPER


May 12, 2012

8:04 am




DO NOT FORSAKE YOUR MOTHER’S TEACHING
John Piper

Proverbs 1:7-9
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and do not forsake your mother’s teaching; indeed, they are a graceful wreath to your head, and ornaments about your neck.

The book of Proverbs begins, “The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel.” He was a great king and the son of a great king. That means he was famous and powerful and supreme in all the realm. People bowed in his presence. They did what he said. He had immense authority and honor.

Even Great Kings Should Bow to Their Mothers

How did he treat his mother in this exalted role? You recall his mother was Bathsheba. She had married his father David under very ugly circumstances—very displeasing to God. But she was his mother, and this is what it says in 1 Kings 2:19,

Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah. And the king arose to meet her, bowed before her, and sat on his throne; then he had a throne set for the king’s mother, and she sat on his right.

Then they had their conversation. He rose for her. He bowed to her. And he called for a throne to be put beside his for their conversation. She was his mother. Even kings should stoop when their mothers enter the room.

Solomon was not a perfect king. He was not a perfect man. None of the writers of the Bible was. But God guided his insights and preserved for us true ones here in the book of Proverbs. And I want us to listen to God’s word through Solomon today.

Six Lessons: The Ultimate Issue Is God

There are at least six things he tells us in Proverbs 1:7–9. They all relate to God. They are not merely the kind of wisdom you might pick up in reading “mindworks” or Parents magazine or Ann Landers. They overlap with the wisdom of the world. But the absence of God in the world’s family-advice is ultimately a fatal flaw. Solomon means for us to hear his counsel as all related to God.

We often think of the book of Proverbs as a book of what you can learn from ordinary earthly life. And much of it is. But the point of the book is to bring all that into relation to God so that he becomes the center of it all.

Just one example. In Proverbs 30:8 it says,

Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is my portion, 9 Lest I be full and deny Thee and say, “Who is the Lord?” Or lest I be in want and steal, and profane the name of my God.

Do you see what this says about God? The wise man prays, “Guard me from riches and guard me from poverty.” Why? Because if I’m rich I might say, “Who needs God!” And if I’m poor I might steal. And why is that so bad? Because you might get caught and go to jail? Or because you might lose your reputation? No. He says, Because if I steal, I will profane the name of my God.

Riches are dangerous because the ultimate issue is God. And poverty is dangerous because the ultimate issue is God. The book of Proverbs—the most practical, down-to-earth book in the Bible—is written for God’s sake. That we might not deny God in our prosperity and that we might not profane God in the hour of need.

All six lessons in Proverbs 1:7–9 relate to God, and they are all intensely practical.

1. The Origin of Family

The family is God’s idea.

Solomon takes for granted that there are mothers and fathers and children related in relationship of unique accountability. Verse 8: “Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.” This is just a given with Solomon. It used to be with us too. But perhaps it can’t be taken for granted any more. Families are God’s idea. God’s plan. God’s way. They are not arbitrary evolutionary developments based on instincts. The family is ordained by God in creation.

In the very first chapter of the Bible, Genesis 1:27, it says,

And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 And God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth . . . “

How are they to do this fruitful earth-filling? By indiscriminate mating and pregnancies? The second chapter of the Bible (Genesis 2:24) gives the answer: A man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.

A profound covenant relationship between one man and one woman—a cleaving to each other alone, in a one-flesh union—is God’s idea of the heart of the family. When this is broken by a tragic death or a tragic divorce, there may have to be single parent families. And God has been faithful to millions of mothers and fathers who have had to raise children alone. But God’s original purpose for the heart of the family was one man and one woman cleaving to each other as husband and wife and becoming one flesh in fruitful sexual union. In that way he meant to fill the earth with humans who image-forth his glory, and with couples whose covenant-relationship shows the world the way that God relates to his covenant people in love and faithfulness.

The family is God’s idea and it is for God’s glory. Solomon assumes that here in Proverbs 1:7–9.

2. The Family as a School

The family is God’s basic school for instructing children how to live in the world.

Verse 8 again: “Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.” The father is an instructor and the mother is a teacher. Therefore the family is a school.

God ordained the family not just to be fruitful and fill the earth with people, but to fill the earth with instructed people and taught people. The family is the place where the next generation is born and where the next generation learns how to live.

Life does not come naturally for human beings. The sucking reflex comes naturally. The falling reflex comes naturally. The iris of the eye closes naturally in bright light. We don’t have to learn to cry when hungry. But that’s about it. And those skills will not get us very far in this world. Humans have to learn just about everything from the most basic skills of walking and talking and eating, to the moral actions of courtesy and gratitude and respect and faith in Christ.

The family is God’s school for this huge undertaking—teaching the next generation how to live in this world and be ready for the next.

And if a mother and a father seek help from others through relatives or nannies or day-care or Sunday schools or day schools or primary schools or secondary schools, the responsibility is still the parents’ and we parents will give an account to God for how the minds and hearts of our children were shaped and molded by the educators and care-givers we entrusted them to.

That’s point number two: the family is God’s basic school for instructing children how to live in the world.

3. The Fear of the Lord as the Unifying Theme

The foundation of family instruction is the fear of the Lord.

Verse 7: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” In other words if we ask, what’s the basis and beginning and integrating theme of the father’s instruction and the mother’s teaching—what is it that runs through all their daily modeling and counseling and explaining and correcting and disciplining that give unity and meaning to it all—the answer is “the fear of the Lord.”

The family isn’t just a place where children learn to hold spoons and walk on two feet and say” please” and tie shoes and read and look both ways and cut grass and put on makeup and drive a car. The family is where all of this and more begins in God, is guided by God’s Word, and is shown to be for the glory of God. The fear of God—the reverencing of God, the standing in awe of God, the trusting of God—is what family’s are for.

The family is God’s idea. The family is a school. And the unifying theme in the curriculum of this school is God.

4. The Responsibility of Both Fathers and Mothers

Under God both fathers and mothers share in the responsibility of this family instruction.

Verse 8 again: “Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.”

It does not say, “Fathers instruct, and mothers change diapers.” It does not say, “Fathers work at the office and so have no responsibility to teach their children.” Nor does it say, “Mothers work at the office and can turn the responsibility of teaching over to a care-giver.” It says fathers instruct, and mothers teach. They share this responsibility.

If it were Father’s Day I would probably trumpet a challenge to you fathers to take fresh initiatives at home. But it is Mother’s Day, and I want to encourage mothers that this responsibility to teach your children is an immeasurably significant privilege.

God has a way of nullifying the greatness of the great and exalting the lowliness of the lowly. In our culture motherhood is, I think, on the upswing. But only after decades of unusual lowliness and bad-press. The last five our six years have abounded with letters and articles like this one to Ann Landers:

I’m so tired of all those ignorant people who come up to my husband and ask him if his wife has a full-time job or if she’s “just a house-wife.” . . . Here’s my job description.

I’m a wife, mother, friend, confidant, personal advisor, lover, referee, peacemaker, housekeeper, laundress, chauffeur, interior decorator, gardener, painter, wall paperer, dog groomer, veterinarian, manicurist, barber, seamstress, appointment manager, financial planner, bookkeeper, money manager, personal secretary, teacher, disciplinarian, entertainer, psychoanalyst, nurse, diagnostician, public relations expert, dietitian and nutritionist, baker, chef, fashion coordinator and letter writer for both sides of the family.

I am also a travel agent, speech therapist, plumber and automobile maintenance and repair expert . . .

From the studies done, it would cost more than $75,000 a year to replace me. I took time out of my busy day to write this letter, Ann, because there are still ignorant people who believe a housewife is nothing more than a baby sitter who sits on her behind all day and looks at soap operas. (Ann Landers, May 1988, quoted in Mom, You’re Incredible, by Linda Weber, Focus on the Family, 1994, pp. 23–24)

That’s true. And it is good to have it said. But vastly more can be said. Let me give one great illustration from the New Testament: the effect of Timothy’s mother and grandmother.

Paul says in 2 Timothy 1:5,

I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois, and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well.

Then in 3:14–15 Paul says,

You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them [that is, your mother Eunice and through her from your grandmother Lois]; and that from childhood you have known the holy scriptures [because your mother taught them to you] which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

Now that’s a remarkable testimony. Timothy’s father was a Greek (Acts 16:3). He probably didn’t know the Scriptures. So Paul celebrates the great heritage that Timothy has through his mother and his grandmother. They did what his father could not or would not do. They filled him with the Scriptures, and the Scriptures brought him eventually to faith in Christ, and faith in Christ brought him salvation.

Timothy will live forever and ever because his mother and his grandmother were faithful to Proverbs 1:8.

5. The Submissiveness of Children

God calls sons and daughters to be submissive to their mothers and fathers.

Verse 8 again: “Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.”

These two commands warn against the two common temptations of rebellion. One is when a child is home; and the other is when he is away from home. If he is home, the temptation of rebellion is not to listen when his parent speaks. So Solomon says, “Hear your father’s instruction.” If he is away from home, the temptation is to forsake what he was taught. So Solomon says, “Do not forsake your mother’s teaching.”

Young people, when you are at home, listen to your parents. Do not write off what they say. Do it for God’s sake. This is so important in God’s eyes that he made it part of the Ten Commandments that sum up the whole law. Exodus 20:12, “Honor your father and mother.” Honor your father by listening respectfully when he speaks. And honor your mother by remembering what she taught you about right and wrong—about the fear of God—when you are away from home and no one can see but you and God.

6. The Promise of Reward

Finally, God ordains a reward for sons and daughters who do not forsake the teaching of their mother and father.

Verse 9: “Indeed [literally, "because"], they [hearing your father's instruction and not forsaking your mother's teaching] are a graceful wreath to your head, and ornaments about your neck.”

What this verse makes plain is that the instruction of fathers and the teaching of mothers, rooted in the fear of the Lord, is good news. Kids don’t always feel that. Sometimes parents have never grown up into grace enough to feel it either. But that’s what the verse says: hearing a father’s instruction and not forsaking a mother’s teaching will be a wreath of grace and glory and joy; it will be like gifts and prizes around your neck. In other words it will mean triumph and celebration and joy.

The apostle Paul said in Ephesians 6:2 that “honor your father and mother” is “the first commandment with promise.” All the commandments are full of promise, but God goes out of his way to make this explicit for sons and daughters. There is great promise in honoring your mother and father and embracing the fear of the Lord which they taught.

* “In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence . . . The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life” (Proverbs 14:26–27).
* “The fear of the Lord leads to life, so that one may sleep satisfied, untouched by evil” (Proverbs 19:23).

This is the wreath on your head and the ornament on your neck for embracing the fear of the Lord that your mother and father taught you—a fountain of life and strong confidence and deep satisfaction.



A Mother’s Crown of Joy

But since today is Mother’s Day, perhaps the way we should end is by reminding ourselves as sons and daughters—whether old or young—that the fountain of life, and the strong confidence and the deep satisfaction that come from honoring all the truth that our mothers taught us also comes back to them as a crown of joy and honor and blessing in their later years. “Do not despise your mother when she is old” (Proverbs 23:22). “Let your father and your mother be glad, and let her rejoice who gave birth to you” (Proverbs 23:25). Do not forsake the teaching of your mother. It will be a wreath of grace to your head and a crown of joy upon hers.