A New Way in Christ

While in Batanes, I was introduced to a new way of eating, using the "Kabaya." It's a leaf of a breadfruit tree. It is thick enough to even hold water and use it as a cup. Folding the leaf in the manner shown in the picture makes it easy to handle while eating. It was new to me but it proved to be a useful and effective plate substitute.

When was the last time that we tried something new? When Christ taught the disciples about "loving your enemies (Mt 5:44)" it was a new concept since they were raised to believe that it should be "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth (Mt 5:38)."

How open are we to change our old ways and embrace the new ways of the Lord? How can we start to adapt the new things our Lord is teaching us?

1. Pray for Renewal from the Holy Spirit.
Through His power, "be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new self (Eph 4:23-24)." Only by desiring God's transforming love can we become new in our ways. It will help to join a Christian Life Program.

2. Form a New Habit
Making God's ways as a part of our lifestyle will not be easy. We will have to make it a habit to say no to the things that destroy our souls and say yes to the things which leads us closer to Him. Like food, the more we eat cholesterol and fat, the more probable that we will get sick. But if we are in the habit of eating nutritious food, then we will become stronger. Let us have the habit of nourishing our souls with God's daily bread for us, the The Word of Life.

3. Teach others about the New things you have learned.
One of the best ways to imbibe a new way is to try teaching it to another. In community, I fully understood and internalized the talks I received, when I started giving them. It's like Math, when we tutor others, we bring it upon ourselves to fully understand it so we can be effective teachers. Giving is a way of mastering the new things we have learned.

Praying for renewal, forming a new habit, and teaching others can help us to be transformed in Christ and to embrace His new ways. Let us be open to the new things our Lord is teaching us today.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" 2 Cor 5:17

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A World of Relationships

We live in a world of relationships.  It’s amazing that if you actually have a network of about a thousand friends on facebook, you are loosely connected to 800,000 friends of your friends. Imagine if all your friends reposted your status, then it would have potentially reached 800,000 to a million.

There is great power in the network, and I’m not only talking about the social networking sites, but relationships in general.  It’s so important to nurture our relationships.  If we sacrifice a relationship because of pride and unforgiveness, we are not only giving up one person, but also potentially the friends of this person.

Somehow we are all connected. What you do makes a ripple to the rest of the world in different degrees.

How are we taking care of our relationships?

How are we using our network to do great things for God and country?
Are we easy to sacrifice friendships? Do we bother to mend our broken relationships?

With the argument above, I conclude therefore that no one is insignificant.  We were created to matter.  What matters to you may matter to millions out there.

What is surprising is that many of us sacrifice the most important relationship: our relationship with God.  God who created us and loves us immensely, is someone whose relationship we should continue to build and nurture. Prayer is our way of communicating to Him. He is the ultimate relationship and believe me, he has the greatest network in the universe.  He is a friend we shouldn’t “unfriend.”  He can inspire others to come to our aid as an answered prayer or even tell the sea to calm down if we are afraid (like Peter and the apostles in the boat) and even stop sun from setting (Joshua).

In a world of relationships, we are to connect to each other and work towards building God’s kingdom.  Let us have a humble, understanding, and forgiving nature, so we can overcome relationship hurdles and build stronger ties.  May God bless the people we meet along our journey towards heaven.

God's Gift of Imagination

God's gift of the human imagination is limitless.  We can go on a "date" with our brains, alone in a coffee shop and fly to a land of possibilities.  Armed with pen and paper plus an open mind, great things can be created.  Albert Einstein said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge." Knowledge, we can learn from books and people, but imagination is unique to each one of us.  There can never be two same imaginations, like a thumbprint or a voice print.  A good imagination gives us an edge.  Like mastering any craft, imagination needs practice. The lesser you use it, the shallower it gets.  The more you use it, the broader your vision becomes.

The challenge  is closing the gap between our imagination and current reality.  Achieve this and we'll have progress.  Robert Orben wrote, “There are only two kinds of people in this world. The realists and the dreamers. The realists know where they are going and the dreamers have already been there.” 

It is good to store ideas in a notebook or on an online journal. Many of these ideas may not seem relevant today, even bordering to crazy funny.  But as time progresses, these ideas if anointed, will take root and bloom at the time most needed.  Just watch Back to the Future and you'll realize that some things there, like talking face to face on a screen, are already happening today.  

Don't be afraid to dream, for if the vision is clear, the resources will fall into place.  People contribute to something they believe in. Just look at the amazing amount of knowledge people share for free to Wikipedia or the solutions people provide in online forums, or the story of how the American people contributed to finance the Statue of Liberty. In faith, they just need to see what you see, and believe in what you believe.

Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” John 20:28

Are we a "doubting Thomas?"  We need to have great faith for God's plans in our lives to happen.  In the 3 years of Christ's ministry on earth, many times the Lord described the vision of the Kingdom of God in ways we can understand, through parables.  Christ shared His vision, the Father's will, and people followed and contributed.  

It's amazing that even if we take a shot in imagining how great God is, the reality of His greatness will still be unfathomable. He is beyond imagination. 

Let us use God's gift of imagination to do great things for Him. After all, God invented imagination, and we are to utilize it to build His kingdom.

Rainy Days

It was raining hard and I was trying to get a ride, hoping not to be late for my appointment. I had no choice but to get a taxi. I had to spend more than the usual commute fare. I guess that's why they say that we have got to be prepared for the "rainy days."

In the "rainy days" of our lives we are forced to spend more money, exert more effort, use up more time, and be in discomfort.

So how do we prepare for the rainy days? What are we to do in these situations?

1. Save. Just like the ants, they store up food for the future. Although our intelligence is far greater than these creatures, they have it in them to prepare for the rainy days. I have heard that it's not how much you earn but its how much you save.

2. Adapt. We have to be flexible to the situation and find ways and means. There is a tendency to complain more rather than to find a solution. When in trouble, its easy to play the blame game. We have to manage and adapt. If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.

3. Pray. In these "rainy days" we will be faced with instances where our human capacity reaches its limit. There is nothing more we can do, but there is something more God can do. That is why in the lives of the saints and the faithful, there are always miracles. We have to believe in God who saves us.

Noah was prepared for rain. He saved by storing up food in the ark and by gathering the animals. He adapted to a life in the ark. He prayed for hope and salvation to come. There is always the glory of the rainbow after the rain, a sign of God's promise fulfilled.
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