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Showing posts from June, 2005

Fruit That Lasts

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.” (John 15:16, NIV Let us praise God for the successful “Money Talks!” we held last June 18. Out of the 160 people who joined the seminar, more than 70 were visitors! I would like to thank all of you who worked so hard to ensure the success of the bridging event. Some of you may be a little discouraged because no one responded to your invitation. But I believe God knows your heart. God will reward all of us for our efforts. Only eternity will reveal the full impact of “Money Talks!” But the Lord wants us to bear fruit that lasts. He is looking for fruit that remains. Pastor Bill Kennedy of the Metro Manila Franklin Graham Festival said, “Preparation for the event is 45%. The event itself is only 10%. The preservation of the fruit is 45%.” Thus, we need to press on! Please help us follow-up our visitors. We have prepared “than

How's Your "CQ?"

There’s a story about a yuppie who met an accident. The 911 rescuers found him hysterical. “Oh, no! My Jaguar! My Jaguar!” he cried out. “Why worry about your car?” the rescuers said. “Look! Your arm got fractured because of the accident!” He looked at his arm and cried out, “Oh no! My Rolex! My Rolex!” Jesus spoke a lot about money. 16 out of the 38 parables or stories of Christ were about finances. That means in 1 out of every 3 stories, Christ spoke on money. In 1 out of every 10 verses in the Gospels, Jesus taught about financial management. Just imagine! There would be more verses about money that heaven and hell combined. Jesus talked more about money than heaven and hell. Of course, money will not bring us to our final destination. That does not mean that if you are poor you will go to heaven or if you are rich you would go to hell. That’s not the point. The point is, how we spend shows what we value in life. There are around 2,350 verses on wealth in the entire Bible. That’s tw

Spending So Much On Father's Day

Every third Sunday of June we celebrate Father’s Day. I laughed when I read how a boy defined Father’s Day: “Well, it’s just like Mother's Day… only you don’t spend so much.” Believe it or not, this special day for fathers was only a recent one. But you can trace its origin 95 years ago. William Smart, a Civil War Veteran, was a single parent. His wife died while giving birth to their sixth child. He did not remarry. Instead he lovingly and selflessly raised all his children by himself on a rural farm in Spokane, Washington. One of his kids, Sonora, wanted to honor the sacrifices of William after hearing a Mother’s Day sermon. Thus, she held the first Father's Day celebration on June 19, 1910. William was born in June. Since then, there were efforts to set apart the third Sunday of June as Father’s Day. But it was only in 1972 that President Richard Nixon signed a law making it an official celebration. But, with or without a law, honoring our parents is something we have to do

Salt of the Earth

Blessing! Jesus called us “the salt of the earth.” (Matthew 5:13, NIV). Perry Bowers in the book “Each One Reach One” wrote that as “salt” we are to “1) Add the flavor of a Christlike life so others could get a taste of what it is like to know the Lord; 2) Make people thirsty to know God in order to quench the gnawing hole in their soul; 3) Become a preserving influence to curb the rotting effect of sin in our world; 4) Be a healing agent of His reconciling love.” Now, on June 18, at 5:30PM, Makati Gospel Church will host a special seeker event titled “Money Talks!” Pastor Joby Soriano of Christ Commission Fellowship Alabang (who was a Harvard honor graduate) and I will speak on what the Bible says about our finances. We want people to “taste” the relevance of the Word of God, create a “thirst” in them to know more about God, become a “preserving influence” in the workplace that Satan is trying to corrupt, and “heal” people from the love of money. That’s why we are encouraging

Gift or Reward?

Last Sunday, June 5, we discussed the assurance of eternal rewards in our Sunday Bible Study. I shared to the group an e-mail which i sent to a friend. I pray that, like the group, you would be blessed also. __________________________________ Dear Bro. *****, Grace in the Lord! Just the other day, you sent me this query through text messaging: “Is eternal life a gift or a reward?” I just hope that my answers would not lead to more questions but rather would satisfy your quest for truth. 1. A gift is different from a reward. You don’t work for a gift. It is freely given. It is due to the graciousness of the giver and not due to the merits of the recipient. In other words, it does not matter whether you deserved the gift or not. You just receive it. “The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life .” (Rev. 22:17) [1] Dr. John MacArthur himsel

Such A Time As This

Blessings! “And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14, NIV) In 473 B.C. a power-hungry man wanted to annihilate the Jews. He deceived King Xerxes to issue an edict ordering their extermination. Now, it’s up to Queen Esther to intercede for them before the king. But she’s afraid for even if she’s the queen she needed an appointment to see the king. To show up without permission could mean death. Yet her uncle Mordecai reminded her that it was not an accident she became the queen. It was God’s providence. She’s their only hope. If you were Esther, what would you do? Now, let us fast forward to our time, the 21st century. Satan wants to control and corrupt the workplace. But the workplace belongs to God. Our work matters to the Lord. He wants to redeem it from Satan’s clutches. And the Lord wants to move in and through you. Billy Graham declared, “One of the next great moves of God is through the Christians in the workplace.” It is not