BATO-BATO PICK!

Stone (bato). Rock. They conjure a number of images.

God promised to change our heart of stone with one that's sensitive and obedient to Him.

Jesus said, if we refuse to worship Him, the very stones around us will fill up the void and exalt Him.

Luke 19;40 (Message Bible) "But he said, “If they (people) kept quiet, the stones would do it for them, shouting praise.”

Jesus is the Rock of our salvation.

Psalm 18:2 "The Lord is the rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my strength, in whom I trust; my buckler and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower."

Psalm 18:46 "The Lord liveth, blessed be the rock and let the God of my salvation be exalted."

Those who take refuge in Jesus are secure.

So the next time you see a stone or a rock, remember these:

1) Your prideful heart He can break and mold anew. But the breaking must start with you. A broken and contrite heart He will not despise.

2) Jesus is the Rock of ages. Unmovable. Immovable. Lord of all your days. Eternally here for you.

Amazing God! Amazing love!

OH YE HANGNAIL AT 2AM

Has this ever happened to you? 

Too sleepy, you slip under your fuzzy blanket. 

Then you realize: you have a toenail hangnail and it's playing tangles with your blankie. 

Already too comfy and snoozy, you decide, "I'll deal with this tomorrow." Wrong! Because you're constantly awake, that itty-bitty hangnail still tangling with your blanket. Arrgh! 

Sin IS like that. Put off dealing with it, you're soon tossing and turning, unable to sleep. Guilt hounds you. Your peace and joy stolen.

So I snipped off ye pesky hangnail in the middle of the night—anyway. Took me ages to decide. Tried to do it in the dark. Didn't work. Turned on the light. Snipped! Whew! 

Don't let the sun go down on your sin or your anger or your hate or your angst. Because every little sin entangles. 

Jesus is your light! While still entertaining that itsy-bitsy sin in your mind, snip it. Nip it in the bud! Temptation's that way. Itty-bitty, unless cut off, soon engulfs you. 

Repent. Be back in the Savior's good grace. That's the peace that allows sleep. I'm back to dreamland. 😌😌😌

LAMINATED, BARCODED

A lot of stuff happen because they should. 

An egg can't be an egg apart from its shell. 

Onions would be blah without their skin. 

A fetus won't thrive outside the amniotic sac in its mommy's womb. 

Skin covers us from the elements like the sun's rays and microbes. Can't imagine how monstrous-looking we would be without it.

So you see, we've all been created with some kind of laminate—for our protection. 

Having worked in the packaging business for sometime in the past, I learned to value good packaging as key to a product's extended shelf life. 

But we're no onion or pickle or egg. We're humans created in the image of the One who manufactured us. Yes, we have our skin to cover us from the elements, our physical environment.

Yet He breathed His Spirit into us to make us the crowning glory of His creation. And as spiritual beings, we need a second layer of protection. 

Something not fleshy or carnal. And it's far more enduring than anything we can depend on for our security. It's a must for our very survival—eternal endurance.

Put on—clothe yourself with—Jesus, commands God. 

Ephesians 6:11 "Put on the whole armor or God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil."

Jesus's sacrifice on the cross makes it all possible. He not only shields us from sickness and the schemes of the evil one. The blood of Jesus is our guarantee of salvation. 

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that those who believe in Him might have eternal life. John 3:16

This means means we have spritual victory and will always be with him even beyond our mortal lives.

Jesus dwelling in our hearts is the only image heaven will scan upon our entry into the pearly gates. 

Have you been Jesus-barcoded? What image will heaven's scanner read when our eternal Cashier checks us for authenticity? 

Repent. Acknowledge Christ as your Savior. Put your faith in Him. Obey. That's heaven's stamp of approval. 

Your shelf-life depends on it. 

DISCERN

These are all too eerily familiar: 

Political leaders promising to unify their people or bring order amid chaos, yet turning around to exterminate populations or jobs or hopes without regard for people's—even the unborn's—right to live or prosper. 

image credit: history.com

Businessmen hailed as philanthropists yet siphoning wealth into their own pockets through elaborate schemes.

History is full of them. Nations are full of them. Industries are full of them. 

They just take on new forms and names and titles. Like plastic bottles thrown into the ocean, they get washed back to shore. Filthy as ever. 

Marxism or communism is renamed "the new global order". Power vested on people morphs into totalitarianism. The free marketplace becomes a haunt for greed-motivated schemers, scammers and money-launderers. 

Look closely and you'll discover the same self-serving, sinister tactics: expert and rather cool and flawless manipulation, control, lying and truth-twisting, saying one thing to the right and another to the left of them.

So believable even so-called intellectuals, university students, especially gullible young people, are lured by them. Remember Hitler's youth volunteers?

You shall know them by their fruit, says the Bible, no matter how highfalutin and self-righteous they sound. 

Jude verses 12b&13 describes them as "... shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead. They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever."

1 Samuel 24:13—" Wickedness proceeds from the wicked."

Yet why do they prosper? We ought to remember: 

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms," Ephesians 6:12. 

There's more to their praise release or what we hear them say. 

Spiritual forces have set shop in the high places—in prime ministers' residences and kings' palaces, in towering corner and penthouse offices. Where power resides, darker powers encamp too.  

Thirst for power is quenched only with the begetting of more power. 

So we need to rightly discern those we give our allegiance to or elect in public office. 

We are in the last of the last days. Jesus talks about these times when men, offering themselves as the solution will deceive many, leading people as lambs to the slaughter. 

Our only anchor? The Truth! The Word of God. 

Hebrew 4:12—For the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 

Examine everything you hear or see through your scriptural lense and hear what the Spirit of God says. 

Your next question of course may be this, "Why does God allow schemers, murderers and megalomanics rise to power?"

And Sherlock's answer to that is, "A very good question, Dr. Watson. But that's for another blog."

Prayer: Lord, forgive me for my wrong decisions. Help me to pray, listen to You and discern between veiled manipulative words and the truth. Apart from you I can do nothing. So Jesus, be my anchor. Holy Spirit, teach me, guide me into all truth. Amen. 

WORSHIP

Will you allow me a bit—just a tiny bit—of self-indulgence? 

I love to sing. Always have. Always will. I'll probably be eternally singing. And that's no joke. But read on.

In high school, circa nineteen kopong-kopong (a long long time ago), I dreamt of being a Broadway star. The next Julie Andrews or Barbra Streisand. When I started working—my first and second jobs being a copywriter in two TV networks—a popular TV director spotted and auditioned me for a TV musical show. "The next Nora Aunor," he proudly proclaimed to his crew. 

Yet I chickened out. The thought of being in showbiz seemed demeaning. Proud, yes, I admit. So my Broadway dream went pfft.

But God is a God of second chances. He did not allow this gift to go to waste. One Friday evening 34 years ago, in a concert where my dear friend Cyd invited me, a gospel song so touched my heart that for the first time in my life, I knew, really knew, "God loves me!"  

That born again experience turned my life around. Proud and self-centered me experienced a peace which passed all understanding. I noticed that fearful-worrier-complainer me was turning more joyful, calm and more tolerant of others, and uh... humble?! Hey, I'm a work in progress. 

And He gave me new songs to sing! 

I found myself later on leading worship in a Christian church. And that's what I've been doing for a long time until recently.  

Singing worship songs brings one into His very presence—where there's fullness of joy, strength, healing, anointing, peace. Imagine yourself sitting at the footstool of King Jesus, Creator of the heavens and the earth. 

Broadway and the adulation of audiences don't even compare! Because your audience is almighty God! 

I've fought and lost, but mostly won, many of life's battles, by His amazing grace and the praise and worship songs which carried me through tough and terrible times, even through my current bout with the small "c".

So I refuse to be nonchalant as far as worshipping the Lord is concerned. Because I know that when He calls me home, I will be in the most holy place, worshipping my Savior. 

This is the beauty of worship: He's after your heart, not your voice. You may be disintonado (off-key), mispronounce or even forget the words. Worship Him in Spirit and in truth. That's all He cares about. And He'll let you in.

How to worship Him in Spirit and in truth? Put your faith in Jesus. Repent of your sins. Acknowledge Him as your Savior and Lord.

Prayer: Jesus, I commit my life to you. Forgive my transgressions. Come into my heart. Be my Savior and Lord. Lead me. Guide me. Be my Rock of refuge. In Jesus' name..