Sisters In Faith

"Then Jesus came to them and said, “All the authority in heaven and on Earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age.” -  Matthew 28:18-20 How are we going to do this?     I believe that there are many ways and many tools to evangelize. Some Christians roam around a vicinity to talk to people and share the Word, some others ride at each public vehicle to announce the Good News to the passengers, others invite their families, friends and enemies at the church services and some others hold concerts, seminars, or outreach programs to insert the knowledge about Jesus. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with doing all these to advance the Kingdom of God, but there is one guaranteed way on how we can fish for people: BY LIVING LIKE JESUS.  

What we anticipated may not always take place. Have you experienced a day when everything seems to go wrong? When all are going against what you have in mind? What if the things you expected to happen did not come to pass? What if the ideal did not become real? What are we supposed to do?  WHAAAAAAAT?!? There were occasions in my life when the things I expected to happen did not hapen. I've been through struggles when my faith has been extremely tested. I was praying for certain things but it seemed like God was not doing anything. It felt like God was not listening. So, I wondered. Is God mad with me? Have I done too much to displease Him, He already decided not to listen to me? At first, I thought I was unselfish. I want things to happen because I want to be able to bless other people. Now, I realized I was just using that as a reason to defend the motives behind my plans. But God truly knows our hearts. So He exposed the selfishness of my plans. He told me that, th

If the Lord had not been on my side, I would’ve been a loser since I was born. If the Lord had not been on my side, my family would’ve remained in poverty and we will not have enough food for ourselves. If the Lord had not been on my side, I wouldn’t be able to study at the University of the Philippines. If the Lord had not been on my side, I would’ve fallen real hard on every relationship I had. I would’ve had a family at an early age. If the Lord had not been on my side, I wouldn’t have been a good teacher. I wouldn’t have a lot of patience for the children. I would’ve been a strict and snob teacher without the Lord. If the Lord had not been on my side, I wouldn’t gain this much knowledge and wisdom that the Lord had given me. If the Lord had not been on my side, I’ll surely live a miserable life. BUT I HAVE THE LORD. HE IS WITH ME AND HE IS ON MY SIDE.  -Judie

This is Part 2 of "Life of the Beloved". So now we know that we are God’s chosen people. What’s next? We go to Nouwen’s second main point: BLESSED. What does it mean to bless someone? People usually associate blessings with the material things one receives. But then, Nouwen pointed out that blessings are not always tangible. Words can become blessings. When someone gives us compliments, doesn’t it feel good? When someone, tells you you’re cool, isn’t it awesome? Saying “Thank you.” to these people doesn’t mean we are being proud or lofty. These are blessings in form of words. There are people who like speaking good things to others as a way of blessing them. But are we still being humble if we take people’s compliments? Yes, if we give credit to whom the credit is due – and that is to God. We thank the people for the appreciation but we thank God even more. Accepting the good things people say about us is not arrogance. And if we give God credit and recogniz