Kairos

Yesterday's goods, spoiled and rotten.
I choose today.
A while ago is soon forgotten,
I choose today.
Woke up on the wrong side of the bed, a lot of thoughts on my head,
but I choose today.

Today I am given, a gift it can be proven,
Tomorrow's not here yet, can I plan ahead?
I'm here to stay...
Enjoying the moment,
Seize opportunity,
Redeem the time.
These are the days, my friend, that you don't want to waste.
It's here, right now, Grab hold!

You're given one chance,
You're given one shot,
This is the day, This is the day

The storms ahead may come, but now is what counts.
Can't you see what's standing right in front of you is a gift,
It's called the PRESENT.

Moment by moment, Strength to strength
Keep the faith. Now is the time.

Wedding Story

That wedding dinner, everything seemed to go well until I arrived – I realized I wasn't on the guest list. Memory gap. I'm a friend of the bride, and I hadn't recalled that she asked me to choose whether I would attend the morning wedding rites and reception, or the dinner programme. It was too late since I didn't show up in the morning, and I had to think fast. Being overseas, I felt the stress. It happened that the wedding coordinator tried to arrange a seat for me. Despite our pleas he placed me at a table – away from my friends. I sat there, made friends with the guy next to me, and even begged the waiter standing there to try to transfer me with my friends – the answer was SORRY, NO. After about 10 minutes the coordinator came to me again and said, “You are being transferred.” I was moved to the table with my friends, and enjoyed the rest of the evening. Then I remembered God's grace. It's not because of our efforts – we've been invited and adopted into His family because He chose to do it. And one day, we will be at His wedding.

"Therefore, as [the] elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering;" - Colossians 3:12

Good Leg, Bad Leg

During my last trip to Guimaras, I was privileged to meet a man who had been the patient of my friend who was with me. My friend is a former physical therapist, and he had been rehabilitating the man's left leg that broke. I listened as they talked to each other about how the cane should not be used on the left part of the body where the bad leg was, with the left hand holding it. Instead, the cane should be held on the right side of the body where the good leg was, with the right hand holding it. People wonder why the cane should not just support the bad leg by being used on the same side. But the logic is simple: Strengthen the good leg, and it will have enough strength to carry the bad leg.

Instantly, God spoke to my spirit as I had that insight. And my heart's desire as a servant of this church is to strengthen the good leg. God has not called me to be an evangelist, but to be an encourager and an exhorter for the body of Christ. And as God strengthens the local assembly, it will be more equipped to the work of reaching out to others(“bad leg”) for Christ. May you strengthen a good leg today.

“...speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head--Christ--from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.” - Ephesians 4:15-16

Hearing Aid

As I was buying medicine, I asked for the price of a gentian violet. I thought I heard the pharmacist say “forty” (and then some) so I was calculating in my mind the total price I was going to pay since I was also buying vitamins. It was pretty high. When I was given my change, to my relief, she actually said “fourteen.”

Sometimes our hearing can be the root of our problems. We don’t listen very well, and we miss out on things. Even when we try to listen to God, maybe we only hear half of what He’s saying or not hear Him right at all. May the Lord unplug our ears from any clutter and may we be still and know that He is God (Psalm 46:10). That way we can hear what He is saying by His Spirit (Revelation 2:7).

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”

- Romans 8:14

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

Hair today, gone tomorrow. Yesterday I had my hair shortened after more than two years of wearing it long. It takes a while to get used to. Such is the characteristic of seasons in our lives. Things constantly change, and what was once the present is now the past. As Christians, we have to move on. We cannot stay in the exact same situation we were in last year, or even in yesterday. Each day is a gift from God, and He desires that our path shine brighter as we walk with Him.

Seek the Lord's will for your life today. Let Him put His desires for your life into your heart as you soak in His presence. God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. Hats off to the past, coats off to the future!

“...'It is a good land which the LORD our God is giving us.'” - Deuteronomy 1:25

Baggages

During our recent trip to Cebu for the pastors and workers' conference, going back to Iloilo was a learning experience for me. As we went to the pier to get aboard the ship going to Iloilo, security had to inspect all our things for deadly weapons. As I was passing through the metal detector, it kept beeping on me! The guard won't let me pass through until there was no more beep. So I had to remove my cellphone...then my coins and keys...lastly, my belt that had a metal buckle. Finally, the detector went silent after I removed all the metal objects attached to me. The lesson: Don't carry too much metal on my next trip.

Sometimes in our walk with the Lord we carry too much extra baggage. This can come in different forms like bad habits, bitterness, or anxiety. But it can also come in good packaging such as activities that don't really help us stay focused on God's call upon our lives. Sometimes good things become the enemies of the best things that God has for us. Let's seek the Lord for His perfect will for our lives and lay down anything that can hinder us from running our race. - RJ Alobba

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us” - Hebrews 12:1

UseLESs rUsH

"See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil." - Ephesians 5:15-16


Recently, I had to rush some errands for my office and I didn't have a lot of time in my hands since I decided to do it on my lunch break. I had to go to the mall to buy lunch, get a staple gun, swing to the other office to drop some supplies, pick up the laptop the company issued me, and go back to my office. All this has to happen in one hour.

12:00:01...12:00:02...12:00:03...12:00:04...

The following occurs between 12:00 P.M. and 1:00 P.M.

Preparing to rush out the door, I picked up the plastic bag that I thought were the supplies I needed to deliver. I got to the mall parking lot and I took a good look at the bag -- it was the wrong one, since I picked up the plastic bag containing the trash instead! I then had to go to plan B.

12:59:57...12:59:58...12:59:59...01:00:00

In the world we live in today, things are rushing. Even on this remote island in the Philippines were I live in, things are already starting to be fast-paced. Life just keeps demanding, doesn't it? Still, we are called to be wise people. We Christians live by a higher standard and we live by faith. No matter what happens, let's take time to wait on the Lord, to pray over things, and to make decisions based on a Biblical world view, and not the view the world tries to plunge down our throats.

RJ
Iloilo City, Philippines