God has all the solution

November 30, 2021

Good News Today.

JOHN 14:27 | “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. . . . So don’t be troubled or afraid.

Friends, in Tanay, Rizal vast of the land area is classified as hilly land. To farm this land, you need to practice soil conservation measures. Many measures can be adopted. One is Terrace Farming. It is an efficient method to farm the hilly land. The advantages of this method are multifold. The importance of terrace farming goes far beyond cultivating lands that are not suitable for agriculture. Terrace farming prevents soil erosion and contributes to soil conservation. The method allows growing versatile crops, and its management is more comfortable with online agricultural software.

Friends, God provided us with challenges. Even in farming, which seems to be very simple yet if you engage in it you will realize, it is very complex. But God provided us with so many means to address the challenges. PSALM 46:1-2 God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. Suffice to say, God has all the solutions. Let’s continue to thank God.

God bless us all. Keep safe.

All-Season, Give thanks

November 29, 2021

Good News Today

Psalms 100:4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name.”

Friends, yesterday November 28, 2021, last Sunday of November, I delivered a message to the brethren of my home church Francisco Homes COC.

For my theses during the message I highlighted that as Christian, we need to develop the habit of giving thanks because this is the will of God. We can read in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God.

As William Law wrote, the most worthy individuals are not the ones who fast most or the one giving alms to the poor but the one who is always thankful to God.

Having said that, it’s a must for Christians to develop the habit of giving thanks. How do we do that? I listed here 6 points:

1. Regularly practice giving thanks.
2. Express gratitude regardless of the situation.
3. Thank God even when all is well.
4. Learn to see how bad experiences can produce good outcomes.
5. Make gratitude a part of your interaction with other people.
6. Lean into the strength that gratitude provides.

Friends, in everything there’s a season, season to be born and to die, to plant and to harvest (Ecclesiastes 3:-8), but for thanksgiving, we need to do it all season and in all condition.

God bless us all. Keep safe.

Make it a habit to say thank you

November 27, 2021

Good News Today.

Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Friends, as we continue to explore the topic of THANKSGIVING, I want to highlight that gratitude should impact our relationship with God and with other people. As Rick Warren said, “to appreciate means to raise value”. This is true for things and people. It means, if we give thanks to somebody, we appreciate them. It means we raise their value. They will feel they are important. We ought to appreciate people because it increases their self-worth.

If we are grateful to everything, God can get us to where we want to be. We may have some big barriers (people, or circumstances) coming against us, but we don’t have to be worried. We can thank God that He’s fighting our battles.

Friends, make it a regular habit to say thank you.

God bless us all. Keep safe.

Keep motivated even when you are persecuted

November 26, 2021

Good News Today.

2 Timothy 3:12 – All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. We should not have “persecution complexes,” unfairly accusing people of persecution. But neither should we think, “It won’t happen to me.” It can and it will happen, if you serve God faithfully

Friends, it’s Thanksgiving month. I thanked God for all the blessings. I remember a Church mate asking me, how many blessings from God I can handle. To be honest, my mind runs through to find a suitable answer. Then I remember the message of Joel Osteen. He said the volume of your blessings depends on how much persecution you can handle. If God saw that you can handle persecution then you are about to receive so many blessings. It’s limitless.

Remember, when God blesses us, not all people will be happy. Even your family may feel strange towards you if you are blessed. Most people around you will smile at your blessing but strong probability, they will not be happy. Then you will receive the amount of persecution.

Friends, overcoming persecution requires strong motivation. One motivation that helps us serve God despite persecution is our love for God. Another is our eternal reward. Luke 6:22-23 When men hate us, exclude us, and revile us, we can rejoice because we have a great reward in heaven. Persecution is never pleasant, but we can have a sense of joy throughout it because of the reward (eternal life) to which it leads.

Friends, when we are persecuted (physical violence, financial pressure, verbal abuse, illness) don’t be discouraged. Keep thanking God. Be motivated, profess God, we will have the reward of eternal life.

God bless us all. Keep safe.

Lean on the strength that gratitude provides

November 25, 2021

Good News Today.

HEBREWS 13:15
Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise — the fruit of lips that openly profess His name.

Friends, we continue to explore Thanksgiving. Our cited verse advised us to continue to offer the sacrifice of praise. As christian, we can lean into the strength that gratitude provides. (1 Cor 15:57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. ) I have seen many people who have been through extremely tough situations. I’ve noticed those who are the most grateful and have learned to see God’s work regularly show the most perseverance.

Thanksgiving is a superpower. It enables us to see past our experiences and embrace how God is moving. Not only are thankful people able to draw strength from gratitude, but they’re also able to empower others with their perspective as well.

Friends, when we say thank you to our friends, or anybody, we sort of empower them. They feel they have done something good and feel important.

God bless us all. Keep safe.

In all seasons, give thanks

November 24, 2021

Good News Today.

Colossians 4:2 “Keep on praying and guard your prayers with thanksgiving.”

Friends, some commands are specific, like, the command to forgive. The instruction for husbands to love their wives directly applies to you if you are currently married.

Yet it is striking how many of God’s commands are universal in their relevance. They apply to every human being, in every situation, throughout every day. They are to be obeyed whether you are young or old, rich or poor, working or retired, sick or healthy, male or female, married or single.

Every person is to love God and to love their neighbor. We ought always to be loathing what is evil and holding fast to what is good (Romans 12:9). We are to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

A command, however, that we unconsciously tend to relegate to the former category—appropriate for specific seasons or occasions in life—is the command to thanksgiving. We feel the obligation to be grateful when we receive a bonus at work, or a clean biopsy report, or an unexpected break in the weather. And of course, we are supposed to be thankful on Thanksgiving Day. The Bible, though, makes it plain that a grateful spirit is to characterize our everyday life, actions, aspirations, and motivations. “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Even our deepest longings and most urgent prayer requests to God are to be made with thanksgiving: “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6).

God bless us all. Keep safe.

Gratitude glorifies God

November 23, 2021

Good News Today.

Hebrews 13:15-16 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. When the peace of Christ rules in our hearts, thankfulness overflows.

Friends, while practicing daily thankfulness may seem like another chore, I hope to convince you the power of gratitude far outweighs the few minutes it takes to practice it.

Gratitude glorifies God.
This alone would be a reason to give thanks to God. Our gratitude glorifies God as we exalt not the gifts, but the Giver. Gratitude helps us realize all we have comes not because of us, but from God.

Friends, there are many benefits of being thankful but I believe that foremost when we are thankful, we glorify and exalt the name of God.

God bless us all. Keep safe.

Regardless of the situation, Give thanks

November 22, 2021

Good News Today.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Friends, yesterday (Sunday), me and my wife scheduled a trip to Mindoro. It will be a long drive, so we opted to use the “Door to Door” car services instead of bringing a car. In the initial arrangement, we were instructed to be at the meeting place at 9:00 am. Then, there was a change, we were advised that the pick-up time will be at 1:00 pm. All things set, but at 9:00 am again, we received a call from the driver, telling us to be at the pick-up place at 11:00 a.m. After a little clarification, we finalized preparing our things and then go.

The clock signaled 11:00 am, but no “door to door” car services appeared. At noon, then 1:00 pm, and every hour until 4:00 pm we made a follow-up. At last, at 4:15 pm, a little hope, the plate number of our supposed car service appeared. But to our disgust, we can barely fit in. A short discussion on why it is overload. The drivers explained that they are trying to earn as much because of the lockdown that shut down their services and income. He also said that he is very tired and sleepy.

I fully understand the reasoning but we can barely fit in and no more physical distancing. We can’t take the risk of being exposed. So, even if we have waited for so many hours, we informed the driver, we are not joining the trip because it does not follow health protocol adding to the fact that it’s very uncomfortable.

Many times, situations like that happen and give us stress and other unwanted feelings.

Our cited verse reminds us to “express gratitude regardless of the situation”. Paul tells us to give thanks in all circumstances because God wills it (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Why? We never see the full picture. We can’t look at every situation and clearly understand why it’s happening. We can only know God is at work in these situations and working them out for our good and his glory (Romans 8:28).

Friends, regardless of what’s happening, we can thank God for his presence. He is redeeming the situation and sustaining us through it.

God bless us all. Keep safe.

Practice being thankful

November 21, 2021

Good News Today

Colossians 3:17And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Friends, scripture says, rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is Gods will for you in Christ Jesus.

From the verse, it suggests that giving thanks should be a habit. It should be a routine for us. The question is, how do we develop such habit. I’m sure you can think of several ways to make thanksgiving part of our daily life.

For today’s Good News, I say practice makes perfect. So, we need to regularly practice to give thanks. We should make a habit of expressing gratitude. Thankfulness rather than criticism should be our default position. When you see something good in your life, point it out. Thank God for it. We all complain occasionally, but practice responding to your own complaining by finding things to be thankful for. This helps to rewire your brain to be as proficient at recognizing the good in your life as you are at identifying the bad.

Friends, we have power in our words. Rather than criticism, give thanks. It raises the value of everything and raises the integrity of person you are giving thanks.

God bless us all. Keep safe.

Speaks positive

November 20, 2021.

Good News Today.

Proverbs 25:18 Telling lies about others is as harmful as hitting them with an ax, wounding them with a sword, or shooting them with a sharp arrow.

Friends, the words that come out of our mouth go into our ears as well as other people’s, and then they drop down into our soul. The words we speak give us either joy or sadness, peace or upset. Proverbs 15:4 says “Gentle words bring life and health; a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.” So we need to talk positives. When we understand the power of words and realize that we can choose what we think and speak, our lives can be transformed.

God desires that our spirit be light and free so it can operate properly, not heavy and crushed. We can learn to choose our thoughts, to resist wrong ones, and think about good, healthful, and right ones.

We all have challenges in life, but we can make them better by the way we talk. Every day, as early as the beginning of the day, we say we are free, we are redeemed, we are strong, we are ready for the challenges, we are blessed and we are God’s people. What we talk about positively will not happen overnight but slowly, little by little, those things you speak positively for ourselves and others will happen. If you say positive things for yourself and others, it means you agree with God’s desire and you are learning to say what God says.

Friends, one thing is sure, speaking negatively could hurt, and speaking positively never will, so go with the positive and reap the good results. Our words have the power to transform our lives and that of others.

God bless us all. Keep safe.