Adventure of a lifetime

October 24, 2017

Luke 12:35-38

35 “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, 36 like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. 37 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. 38 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak.

Today’s gospel reminded me to:

1.) Always be ready for service –  The Lord will always call you to where he needs you to be and by saying Yes, we are allowing our own selves to be used by God to spread his message. We may doubt and be worried but we have to trust God that he calls not the qualified but he qualifies the called. He can transform us to be better and we should be available to serve, always prepared and be spiritually ready for battle because we are God’s warriors.

2.) Keep our lamps burning – We should take care of our lamps – the heart, the source of life, filled with love and our inner passion to do greater things for Him. We should purify our intentions and fill our hearts with love to keep us going and by emptying our hearts with all the negative things and distractions. As we serve, we experience a lot of trials and difficulties and the posture of our heart and intentions are tested. We should keep our lamps burning by nurturing our passion, keeping our faith and expressing/receiving love to continue the journey by never giving up and finishing the race.  

3.) Be watchful while waiting – We don’t know when our time will come but as long as we are alive we should cherish every moment. We should give our all because our God highly deserves it. We should always be ready for service and keep our lamps burning for the Lord may come at an hour we don’t expect. Let’s make ready our hearts to welcome the King!

The journey towards God is a tough one for we will not be spared from being questioned, from rejection, from pain, from insecurities and even from being stripped off anything that we have. The only thing we hold on to is the promise of eternal life with Him in Heaven and the genuine love and happiness we receive after serving him fruitfully. The other blessings we receive are bonuses from Him and who are we to say no to that? Indeed God is a generous Father, he will really take care of you as long as you faithfully serve Him through his people.

I am blessed to become a part of this community and this has been God’s greatest gift and blessing to me. Ever since I started my journey in YFC way back 2005, God has given me what I thought I needed and I never realized that it was only the beginning. I came to UAE last 2011 and finally moved to SFC and how time flies very fast, I’m almost 6 years in SFC. Indeed a lot has changed and it just keeps on getting better. God has molded me to become an instrument and a channel of his love to others. I may not be his perfect disciple but I know that I am still trying to be good in my own way. I am thankful for the many blessings God has given me, my family, the community, my household, my friends, my work, my fiancé, my life, the fun adventures and everything I have. Being in YFC and SFC has been an amazing adventure and it is by God’s grace that soon we’ll move to CFC. I am more excited for God’s revelation for the next chapter of my life with George and we are 151 days away! -March 24, 2018 #SGAdventures

Thank you Lord and for that may God be praised! 

Say Yes to God’s sweet invitation

Last August 4, 2017, the moment I woke up early today was a gift and blessing from God, and today being a Friday was a bonus since its day off! It was 5:50 in the morning, for some reason I still wanted to sleep more but since I was invited, I felt guilty to reject the invitation since it was not the person who invited me but our dear God who did. I quickly hurried getting ready and was even picked up from the place where I was staying. Together with me was Ate Shane, Ate Phiel, JJ and Aimee. So before going to the “retreat”, we had a heavy and big breakfast at McDonalds first then we drove to St. Mary’s Muhaisnah. Then we were brought to the place and where we were warmly welcomed by the St. Paul sisters. The place was very peaceful and calm. They even offered and prepared breakfast for us which we had for the second time. So we had a short discussion / briefing about what we will do that day and then we went to their chapel to pray.

After that, each of us had to share something about ourselves and answer the question “Who Am I?” The question made me think deep and I prayed to God for me to be honest with my answers. Before answering the question, I introduced myself. I am Sarah, from Capiz and nearly 6 years as an OFW here. I am 2nd from the 5 children. Currently planning to get married next year but I have emotional baggage that I need to clear for me to be able to face the next chapter and have a clean fresh start. We were ask to describe who we were through anything like animals or things we prefer.

So I think again and I realized I was like a dog in a cage. I am man’s best friend, I can be there whenever you need me and surely you can depend on me. Though I may not talk or complain, all my feelings are kept hidden. You can see when I’m happy through my tail and when I’m not, I will just stay at one corner, waiting for you to notice me and cheer me up when I’m down. I am loyal to my master and I treat them in my own special ways. There are times when I can run and play freely but most of the time, I am left in a cage or chained. I desire freedom, the freedom from past hurts and emotional baggage. I desire healing, openness and forgiveness. I feel that now is the best time to free myself from the cage or break the chains that prevents me from experiencing God’s ultimate grace and overflowing love. I will be going home soon and I am excited for God’s revelation and his leading for me and George. I know in my heart that this is his great plan for the both of us.

After our sharing, we wrote our journal then had a light snack and went to the chapel for it was the Holy Hour. The very thing I offered to God was not my achievements, my money or what I have or earned but for him to accept my broken and sinful self. God never left me in times when I needed him the most and he even accepted me despite and in spite what I have done and what I’ve become. Truly God does not look at our physical appearances but through our hearts.

The retreat was one way of assessing and instilling awareness on one’s purpose on earth. It was an instrument of God for us to ask questions and in return hear the answers. Attending this retreat made me realized how blessed I am to know my purpose. It is very important to discover your purpose so as to live your life fully with God’s grace. I then remember when I was younger, I dream of being able to help others. When I got to college, I dreamed of being a nurse and pursue that degree of helping the sick. When I entered the YFC community, I dreamed of being a missionary to evangelize people and bring them back to the Lord. When I came to the UAE, I dreamed of excelling in a different career to provide for my family and seek greener pastures. As I slowly matured, God allowed me to join in the SFC community where I continued to dream of leading more people to be close to God. I desire to become an inspiration and proclaim on how God has blessed and worked in my life with the experiences I have been to. Then again, God blessed me with a new dream, a partner and an answer to my ultimate purpose and realizing my deepest desire. Now I am dreaming to be a best partner, a supportive wife and soon to be a mother to our future family. With God’s blessing, I continue to dream big and trust his great plans for me.

It all started with a simple invitation, an invitation to do good or do bad, an invitation to follow or ignore and an invitation to either say Yes or No to him. We are called in many different ways and how we respond is what matters as long as it is pleasing our God. In saying your YES, it may lead you to different places where you can’t imagine, allowing you to meet different people, fulfilling various roles, pursuing or sharing Christ to others and enjoying the smooth yet sometimes rocky but worth it journey towards Heaven. I thank the Lord for continuously calling and inviting me to be part of the community, for allowing me to witness his transformation in my life, to be able to listen to his words and by following Him to where he wants to lead me. I am blessed to be invited and I in return will also invite others to discover that there’s more to life and there’s more in store for us when we accept and say Yes to God’s sweet invitation and when we do, then our life won’t and will never be the same.

For all of this, may God be praised!

 

 

Called and Empowered

This sharing was written a day after the empowerment that happened last Monday (March 27)

We had a powerful empowerment yesterday at Tita Grace’s residence at Sharjah. Everyone was surprised to see almost ¾ of the service team from SFC who attended. Before the prayer started, Tita Grace shared and exhorted about the battles we will be facing. She gave us a glimpse of what we will experience during this empowerment. The exhortation itself was empowering and somehow most of us were excited for what’s next.

We started the prayer by singing songs of praise and were praying in tongues. During the prayer, the Lord was telling me messages but it was not clear but I just felt it. Everyone in that room was moved by the leading of the Holy Spirit. Each of us prayed in tongues. There was a time when our hands were blessed with Holy water and even our bodies were sprinkled by that same water. It was a long and continuous prayer, before it ended we all surrendered and claimed the victory.

After the prayer, was the time for eating! Since it was nearly 12 MN, it’s time for us to go home since there’s work the next day. Tita Grace hugged us all individually before we left. When it was my turn, she whispered to me that: "Marami pang gustong ipagawa si Lord sayo..." English translated: “You have more things to do for the Lord”. Of course I was shocked and it was then that I realized what the Lord made me feel during the prayer. He made me remember and see both the bad and good things when serving Him like pain, frustration, struggle, doubt, worry and even joy, victory, love, fulfillment etc. He is expecting me to do more things for him before I settle down. Maybe he wants me to work for the mission and he even assured me that he will take care and lead me as we prepare for our upcoming wedding.

After that it made me think more of what I can do. I realized that I have to give my full force in serving God for he is expecting me and calling me to give more because he still needs me and who am I to say no? After all he has done and given me? I say yes for greater and bigger services for the Lord. I also realized before my services sometimes became my burden because I myself is serious enough to fulfill them. There are moments that maybe I partly enjoyed but now with all the experiences I have been through, I finally know how to handle them and I am enjoying. I am having fun because I need to feel the excitement when preparing and doing my service to Him.

Before the awaited desert camp, last Sunday I attended the meeting for KFC Family Conference. I was given a task and I just said yes because I want to give God the glory he deserve. My current service is not yet done for the Family Ties and here comes another responsibility but I know the Lord will sustain and prepare me to do what he is expecting me to do. I believe that my God is strong and faithful and I hold on to that truth. I hold on to His promises for I may fail but I know he never fails.

Sisters and brothers, I thank you for the support and love that you have for me. Thank you for being God’s instrument to me and altogether let's stand firm in the faith.