Blessing in Disguise

Have there been times in your life when you feel like God is not there with you? Times when you felt so desperate and said, Why God? Why is this happening? Why do bad things happen to good people? Why do disasters happen on this earth? I am sure many of us have been through tough times like this. But don't loose your faith on God because everything happens for a purpose. Sometimes God allows satan's plan to happen to teach us a lesson, to make us a stronger person, and to strengthen our faith and love to god. I call this, a blessing in disguise. 

I was on youtube the other day and came across a song that I always love listening to called How Great is our God by hillsong. This song reminded me of how God is greater than our problems. He is greater than what this world has to offer. How great is our God! God is always in control of our life if we believe and trust in him. There are many things in life that happen without our understanding. But just know that everything has a purpose.

We have to see the light in the dark tunnel. We have to see the positive things in life despite how negative it seems. We need to have faith in God in any situation we are in. Faith means believing without seeing, so we must believe that God is in control even though it seems like the situation is a disaster.

I had one friend come up to me about a month ago after the flooding that happened in the Philippines. She told me in tears, How could God let this happen? So many innocent people died..God definitely was not with the Philippines during that time. I also feel hurt about what happened in the Philippines and to the other natural disasters that have happened. But I know God is always in control. I'm sure it was not God's plan to ruin and kill many innocent people, but he allowed it to happen because he can see what we can't see. I know for sure that he knew something good will come out from this disaster. It could be that many people will call out his name, learn to lean and depend on him more, or maybe even for the people to unite together under the name of Jesus. We don't know and I don't know what God's purpose of letting the disaster happen, but I do know that God loves us so much.

John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in his shall not perish but have everlasting life." Sometimes we do things that hurt ourselves, but God will always come in your life and help you! But only if you let him. 

Romans 12:12 says, "Be Joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer." Have hope in the lord, be patient, and pray to him. His blessing will come in his time. During our life troubles and disasters, we have to be still in him. Trust in God because he loves you and he knows what's best for you. Allow God to be your refuge for peace and strength. No matter how horrible your situation may be, our God is greater than what your problem can bring. 

Blessings don't always come through peace and happiness. Sometimes blessings come through our pains and sorrow, through tears and troubles. You may say, why God? without knowing that God actually has a blessing planned out for you through the situation you are questioning. God works in ways we cannot see. So remember, there are blessings in disguise.

YOUTUBE Video:
Blessings In Disguise 

The Root of Giving

It's finally the Christmas and Holiday season! I am sure many of you are going shopping for your friends and loved ones. I love Christmas because it is the time to show our love to others through giving. I believe love is the heart of Christmas! Although many of you may be busy shopping and preparing for the holidays, don't forget to also give back to Jesus. This is the time to thank God for giving us his one and only son Jesus Christ, our savior.

Many of you are probably thinking, why is giving necessary? Why do we need to give tithings to the church? Why must we give back to God? Can't we just acknowledge his existence and believe in him? Well the answer to this is Love.  To truly follow and believe in Jesus includes loving him, through giving him our life and tithings. Many people hesitate the thought of giving money to the church. But truly, it is not about the money. The root of tithing is to show our love to God. We can't give money directly to God (because it would be useless for him), but we can dedicate our lives to him, support what God loves which is growing his Kingdom on Earth, supporting the church(financially as well), and spreading the good news of Jesus. This is how we can show God our love, through giving him our life! Just as you love your kids by sacrificing your time and money for them, this is how God wants us to show our love to him. Not just by words but also through actions. If you have a spouse, you should also give to one another as a form to show love. You can't love someone without giving something back to them. 

1 John 3:16 says, "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear Children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth." This verse shows us that we have to show love through actions and by giving to others. Christ led an example of giving more than he recieved. He spent most of his life healing others and preaching the word of God. At the end, he even gave up his life for our salvation. His love is greater than what this world can offer to us. The least we can do for God is give him back our love and life to him. We should also follow Jesus's example by giving to others. Acts 20:35 says, "In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, 'It is more blessed to to give than to receive.'" We should all focus more on giving to others more than to ourselves. You will have this happiness in your heart knowing that you gave and impacted others lives. Giving to others is like a everlasting cycle of happiness. When you give to others, they will be more inclined to follow your good example. At the end of the day, the true reason of giving is love. 

Follow the example of how Jesus loved. He's our best example of what love truly is, and I believe love was born on Christmas day. So remember, Love is the root of giving. 

Merry Christmas Everyone!<3

YouTube VIDEO: The Root of Giving
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugVW-eBFCLo

Why are we here?

Have you ever asked yourself the question, Why are we here? What's our purpose living on this earth? Is it to make as much money as we can and be successful? To accomplish our careers? To create a family and have a happy life? Although all these things are essential for us, it is important to not forget the most important aspect of our life: Love God with all your heart.

Luke 10:27 says, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind. " God wants us to love him with all our hearts, to love him with all our hearts means to give our life to him, to dedicate and devote our life to his word. Accepting Jesus as your savior is only the first step to a Christian life. The next step is to devote ourselves to him. We all love Jesus and know he exists, but are you really devoting your life to him? Devoting to him means being loyal to the word of God and making Jesus as a part of your everyday life. We will all fall and make mistakes, I mean we are all sinners including me, but it's important to realize our sins and to repent and change. Growing is part of the Christian life, so make sure you are growing your faith and love with God.

Why is devoting your life to Christ an important aspect of being a Christian? Well think of it as you wanting to be successful in life. To be successful in life, you need to devote your life to things that will lead you to success. For example, dedicating part of your time to studying, doing well in school, making connections, and being persistence with this will lead you to success. You can't be successful in life without devoting yourself to being successful in life. It just doesn't work that way, though it would be nice to be successful without having to do nothing. This goes the same way as being a Christian. You can't be a Christian if you don't devote yourself to being a Christian.

I went to a Hillsong Concert just 2 weeks ago. It was an amazing experience to praise God with such a large group of people. Being in the midst of God's presence and worshipping his name reminded me of the purpose of why God placed us on this earth. He wants us to learn how to praise and love him, because when we go to heaven, that is all we will be doing.  He wants us to learn more about who He is and more about his love. God gives us the freedom to live the way we want to live because he wants us to find and love him without force.

So remember, love God with all our your heart, which includes devoting every part of your life to him.