Of Death and Blogs

Coy posted this on his Wall last November 12, 2013.
I was encouraged to know that he was reading the Word
a few weeks before his passing.

I never really had so much close encounters with Coy Caballes when I was still in Globe. In fact, I only remember having a short conversation with him during the launching of iPhone 5 in Glorietta. But when I heard about his passing, a wave of mixed shock and sorrow hit me for a moment. I realized, knowing a person only for a short while doesn’t really matter in the face of death. Knowing that you have met the person and was able to talk to him while he was still alive, and then suddenly he was declared lifeless, is actually both saddening and paralyzing.

When I heard about Coy’s passing, I immediately buzzed the people who knew him to tell them about the news. Our reactions are the same. Sad and shocked. Death brings both, I realized. Truly, it was like a thief in the night. You won’t know when it will come.

Death, no matter how certain, is something that not too many people will talk about nor prepare for. It was so sad just thinking about it. But I also believe that thinking about death, as much as life, is brave and wise. Again, death is certain. Knowing that it can strike you anytime, there’s no point not reflecting about it.

Coy’s sudden death brought about too many realizations to me. Through his passing, I was able to think more about death and was also, to my surprise, did not feel uneasy about it anymore, unlike before. I am very thankful that I was able to meet the Savior around 2 years ago and after that, death wasn’t a scary topic anymore. In fact, that day, I decided to look at it closer and observe what will happen while it’s in the air.

There are 3 things that I’d like to write about in this blog post. These are the things that I have observed from the day of Coy’s passing until now.

7 Things the Bible, LOTR and other Books Taught Me About Life, Friendship and Adventure

I woke up tonight, around 6:00pm, seeing visions of some scenes in the Lord of the Rings movies. The visions went along with mixed feelings of deep sorrow for some people who are special to me but I’ve lost along the way, and also a deep feeling of gratitude towards God for the gift of life that is full of adventure. Afterwards, I found myself writing a prayer enumerating the reasons why I am so thankful for this life. My first few words are “mountains to climb” and “seas to cross”. The next second, I was brought to thinking about the book entitled “Wild at Heart” written by John Eldredge, which I read around 3 year ago. In that book, he said that in every man’s heart is a battle to fight, a beauty to rescue and an adventure to live.

The Bible, Tolkien’s works, the movie adaptations of them, Eldredge’s book and Coelho’s The Alchemist are my inspirations in writing this blog post. I really believe that life is a great adventure and I am more than thankful that the God that we have is a God who gave us the freedom to write the chapter of our lives. With His guidance, I hope that we’ll be able to write a great story out of it.

A Date With God

This is the most "anti-religious" blog post I have ever written.

If you consider yourself anti-religious, I thank God that you have stumbled upon this place. I am an anti-religious too. A couple of months ago, I decided to drop religion and pursue a relationship with God. I believe in God and I know that He doesn't need my religious rituals and repetitive prayers. What He wants is my heart and after everything that happened in my life, I decided to give it to Him. From that day on, my life changed forever.

Don't get me wrong. I belong to a church because I also believe in building relationships with other people. I do not want to believe in a kind of god that doesn't want me to care for other people. This is why I believe in Jesus.

But I don't consider this a religion. Early Christians didn't. They even used to gather in their own houses and serve each other willingly and without compulsion. This, for me, is relationship. Relationship is not about obligation. Religion is.

In my pursuit of having a relationship with God, I believe He had led me to the people who had helped me a lot and also to some verses in the Bible that gave me a glimpse of His own heart. I hope that you will also give yourself a chance to experience what I have experienced. If you will only allow God, I believe He will lead you too to whichever will be able to help you.

Below are some of the things that some people do with God. These are not enumerated to be done as a ritual. The key is not in the act itself but it in your heart's desire to be in His presence. The key is in practising His presence. Then let everything flow from there.

I hope this list will be able to give you an idea in your mind on what you can do. Again, the key is in practising His presence. It's the beginning of everything.

1. Think of Him in the morning.

A lot of revelations are given to me by God during my dreams and whenever I wake up. Sometimes, I receive verses from the Bible and one time, there had been an instruction for me to check a particular verse. When I found it, it happened to be a very relevant verse that I needed to read during that time. When you wake up in the morning, practise His presence and He will lead you to many wonderful revelations that will amaze you.

5 Important Lessons I Learned from an Inspiring Missionary Couple I Met During the Viral Series

Viral. The most recent series in Victory is entitled as such. It spoke about the special role that we play as Christians in light of the Great Commission. As a social media marketer, this series held a special spot in my heart for it also spoke about using social media to spread the good news of salvation.

During the last installment of the series, I was blessed to have met a couple who shall be sent for a mission overseas. As they sat down, I saw them smiled at me. Then I smiled back. Little did I know that they will be introduced to the whole congregation later on by Pastor Noel Landicho. And that also later on, I will also be approaching them and will be listening to their amazing stories from their mission trips.

My desire is to honor God through this post and also to inspire those people who have the heart for the missions to pursue what God has called them on earth for.

1. A prophet is without honor in his own town.

There is one burning question that I asked to the couple. “Why are missionaries being sent to Israel? Aren’t they supposed to know more about Jesus than us?”

The wife’s response surprised me. She said, “The Jews who believe in Jesus are the ones who are actually telling the missionaries to reach out to their fellow Jews.” Then I was reminded of what Jesus said in Mark 6:4, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.”

If no one believed in Jesus in his own town, how can we also expect the Jews to believe their fellowmen?

When I realized this, I actually was amazed at how God uses people from other nations to preach to His own people. I was reminded of what was said in Romans 10:14, “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?”

2. We are living epistles.

We don’t need to preach the gospel in order to preach the Gospel. By simply living our lives as true Christians we become “living epistles” and in God’s perfect time, people will notice us and will be the ones to ask us about our lives.

This is what exactly happened to the couple I have met. The husband loved her wife so much as instructed by God in the Bible for husbands to love their wives as Christ loved His church. And what kind of love is that? We know that Jesus offered no less than His very own life for His church - for us.

His love for his wife reverberated and was seen by their friends in those countries they have visited. Soon enough, people began to ask. That’s when the couple grabbed the chance to share their faith.

As living epistles, we must always remember that those who do not read the Scriptures, read our lives. In 2 Corinthians 3:2, Paul said, “You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone.”

3. “I want to have what you have!”

I won’t forget my Foundation for Victory classes. One of the pastors told us about the story of the early Christians, especially the ones in Rome. There was a time when the Christians in Rome were fed to the lions in the arena, for everyone to see. When the non-Christian Romans expected to see fellow Romans running and screaming for their lives, what they saw astonished them that they shouted to the ones below, “I want to have what you have!”

The Christians remained steadfast in their faith in God while being devoured by the carnivores.

Surprisingly, the couple also received this kind of plea from the non-Christians they have met. They said to them, “I want to have what you have!” When they shared this to me, I was immediately reminded of what I have learned in my Foundation for Victory classes. Truly, the life of a Christian shines through everywhere he goes.

4. Even the apostles are believed to have been called during their teenage years.

The apostles, except for Peter, are believed to be young men when they were called by Christ. Some said only Peter was mentioned to pay tax with Jesus, a duty for all Jews over 20 years of age during those times. Also, only Peter was only mentioned to be married, as Jesus healed his mother-in-law in Matthew 8:14-15.

Whether this is true or not, when I heard this from the couple, I began to realize how important it is to reach out to the young people all the more. The youth are the future leaders of the country. If we win them for Jesus, we are winning the majority. I am very thankful that God placed me in a church that has the passion for the youth.

5. To be a part of the missions is a privilege, not a task.

Whether we like it or not, the world will end. Whether we believe it or not, the Gospel shall be preached in the whole world.

As a believer I know that I will be saved because of my faith in the Son. And yes, I know that even if I decided not to participate in any way in the missions, I will still be saved.

But do Christians really just stop there?

In Matthew 18:19, Jesus said, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations.” As we are already saved, we are also called to be instruments of God’s reconciliation with other people.

But the truth is, actually, God doesn’t need us. Even if we decided not to participate, I’m sure He has other ways to preach the Gospel in the whole world to fulfill what was written. But that’s not the point. The point is that we have a great God, the God who has invited us to share with His passion of letting the world know of His love for all of us.

Knowing that the Great Commission is a privilege and not a task, an invitation and not an obligation, isn’t it more awesome if we decided to say “Here I am, Lord. Send me.”?

May you say yes to Jesus today.

5 Lessons I Learned from Extreme Productivity Preaching (Victory Ortigas’ Proof Series)

1. God doesn’t want us to be lazy.

The Apostle Paul gave a strong warning against idleness to the people of Thessalonica.

"In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers and sisters, to keep away from every believer who is idle and disruptive and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate. For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: 'The one who is unwilling to workshall not eat.'" -Thessalonians 3:6-10

2. God wants us to be fruitful.

Jesus wants us to be fruitful. But we can only be fruitful if we stay with Him.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me." -John 15:1-4

3. Your identity will lead you to your purpose.

Pastor Rico said that the unique talents and skills that we have is the key to discovering our life's purpose. Our talents and skills are God's gift to us and He wants us to use them for His glory and honor.

4. Our gifts must cause us to work harder.

Pastor Steve Murrell said in his blog that being gifted is not a call to be lenient, instead it's a call to hone that gift to be more productive. Sometimes, we have the tendency to become lax and overlook the things that we are particularly good at. Because we know that it's easy for us, sometimes we fail to understand that it's the very gift that God wants us to develop. The greatest tragedy is looking for other gifts when God's gift for us is gleaming in front of us. When this happens, of course, there is no other way to solve this problem but to come confidently to the Father who loves us so much and will open our eyes to see our gifts given by Him.

5. Worldly achievements, when offered to God, become great things.

Before Pastor Rico's preaching ended, he showed to us a video of girl who studied filmmaking in UP. Her story inspired me a lot. She said that on the day of the filmmaking, they encountered so many trials such as rain and muddy location. But her mother prayed with her. The situation was beyond their control that time, but certainly not beyond God's. In short, they lifted up in prayer their petition and that is for God's will to be done. In the end, the girl graduated from college, got superb comments from the defense panel who graded her film and lastly, her film got recognized in the Manhattan Film Festival. What a victory it is when we offer our winnings to Christ!

Southbound

Dear Abba,

A few months ago, I was able to visit the South. Thanks to Geraldine, my longest-running high school friend who I still keep in touch with until now. It was a real treat that we were friends since I find it really hard to believe that an extrovert and an introvert can be friends like us.

But we are! And we still enjoy doing those dates together just like what we did during our CMLI days in Baguio. Those were the good times! She was my best buddy, my loyal supporter, my photographer and everything in between. How can I ever thank her enough? How can I thank you enough for her?

The day we went to Westgate, it was also a surprise to meet Harold again, our former batch mate during high school and now her schoolmate in the aviation school. She used to say that she never expected to be friends with him counting the many years of being out of high school where they also both barely know each other. How surprising life can be and how time flies so fast!

Abba, always be with Geraldine. You know the desires of her heart and I know how special she is in your eyes. She used to declare that she was "your" favorite. How many girls in the world have that kind of assurance in their hearts? I am amazed by her sometimes. You two must have spent too many good times together.

I know that you have in store so many good things for her. May you grant her the patience that she needs until the perfect time comes for her to receive the fullness of your blessings in her life. May she always seek your face, more than anything else.

Thank you for keeping these two friends of mine safe always.

Excited to fly soon with her in the aviation school,

Mark

Until My Voice Is No More

Dear Abba,

Yesterday, I got invited by my brothers to their Application Night in the Music Ministry. In Victory Ortigas, we call "Application Night" the night where the new members of the Music Ministry shall "apply" the lessons they have learned during the 3-week "training" with the leaders of the ministry.

My own Application Night is still fresh on my mind. At first, I thought that "Application Night" was the night when we'll know if we made it to the ministry or not. I can still remember how big of a surprise it was for me to know that I was wrong. There's no more cut off. It was a real treat from you, Abba. Thank you so much.

I was so blessed to see my 2 brothers, Jhon and MJ, lead the song "Here in Your Presence". I told Jhon that he will always remember his Application Night every time he will step on stage to lead the worship services. The first time I led "Here in Your Presence" on stage, I still can remember how filled I was with your love that tears actually fell from my eyes. My heart was touched when the people started to sing even without leading them and I thought that is the job of every worship leader. To lead the people to worship you, and to not just lead the song. In fact, I felt that I can already go down the stage and worship with the people once they started singing but you are also the God of order, so we also observe orderliness during worship services and a worship leader can't just step down. But that's how I felt. Once the people started to sing, my job was done. The next thing to do is to worship with them knowing that you will always receive our worship, not because we are so good at doing it nor because we sing so well. It is because of the Son who you gave to us 2,000 years ago for the salvation of our sins, that whoever believes in Him shall be saved. And thus, your grace and truth flowed from him to us, covering us with his most precious blood. This is the reason why our worship is pleasing to you. It is because you see the blood of the Lamb in us, not because of any of our good works.

I thank you for the gift of music. I have told so many people how amazing you were when you allowed me to be admitted to the Music Ministry, even without much knowledge about music. I can't tell them enough how funny I thought of myself during my auditions that I even did prayed my own prayer of acceptance that it's okay if I don't pass the auditions. But you did it for me! You let me in the ministry! I can't believe you! You are truly the living wonderful and amazing God!

Whenever I think about your faithfulness, I can't help but cry. I want to shout to the world about your goodness and greatness and your faithfulness! When I can't, you always can. When we have seemed to have forgotten our own dreams, you will remind us of those dreams and you will use those dreams for your glory and honor and praise!

Abba, use me and my brothers for your glory. Use our voices, our knowledge and whatever we have to proclaim your greatness in all the earth. We are small, a speck of dust, a vapor in the wind. But because you are with us, we can do anything.

Thank you for being our God, the God of love and the only God. Forever and ever.

Will sing praises to you until my voice is no more,

Mark

Thankful Thursdays

Is there something that you want to thank God for? If yes, we hope that you can join us every week as we transform your ordinary Thursdays into Thankful Thursdays!

All you need to do is Like our Page at www.facebook.com/Letters4Abba and then watch out for the poster above where you will place your comment with the things that you are thankful to God for.

It's fun and you will be blessed for sure! Afterwards, we can pray for each other and then go to bed with a grateful heart.

Our first run is set this coming Thursday, August 29. I hope you can help us share this to your loved ones.

Thankful for your support,

Mark

A Prayer in the Desert

Dear Abba,

Thank you for the desert, the season of being in lack. I know that the path that I chose wasn’t easy. I left my job in the corporate world for the desire of becoming an entrepreneur. I have no savings, no business plans, no business partners nor investors- I only have you. And that’s why I feel I have more than enough.

What’s amazing about being the desert is knowing that you are there to watch over me. I know I have lots of things to learn yet in this life and the fact that I am feeling all sorts of difficulties right now is because you are still in the process of refining me as a person. I know, one day, I will become fully what you intended me to become- a mighty man of yours.

Abba, I remember how you provided for your people in the time of Moses as it was written in the Book of Exodus. In the desert, you provided manna, quail and water. Despite the discontentment and the sinfulness of the Israelites back then, you never ceased to care. The cloud of your care and the firewall of your protection remained with them until they reached the promised land.

I thank you for your faithfulness. I thank you for the desert. I thank you for the time of lack. If there’s a place that this season in my life had brought me- that place is my end, a place where I have met my limitations as a human being. I can’t keep my money. I can’t keep my health. I can’t keep my shelter. They aren’t my security. You are. And the more that you take away from me, the more that I learn how limited and fragile and helpless I am. The more that I know about it, the more that I become dependent on you. And the more that I depend on you, the more that I get near the truth- that you are the God who is the source of everything and that you are the God who is more than willing to provide for us.

I thank you for you are my God. You are the God who loves me no matter what. You are the God who provides in the middle of the desert, despite the disobedience after disobedience after disobedience after disobedience.

You gave and gave and gave and gave to us. What can you not give if you had already given the Son 2,000 years ago to be the fountain of grace and forgiveness for us? Because of him, we can now approach your most Holy of Holies anytime in the temple that you have built within our bodies. You have also written the law in our hearts and that law is called love.

Thank you for being the mighty provider in Ararat, in Sinai, in Calvary, in Zion and in the desert.

Holding on to you,

Mark

Children of the Island of Fire

Dear Abba,

I still don’t know how to thank you enough for the beautiful experience you have given us last July when we visited the island of Camiguin, the so-called Island of Born of Fire. You have blessed the island with so much precious gifts such as the warm and gentle-speaking people, the rich marine life, the beautiful bodies of water such as the fall and the springs, and the lanzones fruit which you know my mom loves so much.

What are the odds that in the middle of our “rest” during our second day, you will give us a special mission to fulfill?

That night you gave us the children of Camiguin who were playing beside the sea. I know how special is the place in your heart that you have given the children. The moment I saw them, I knew that you sent your Spirit to us to approach them and minister to them. This is something that I will never even think of doing during my old life. Indeed, you have made me your new creation.

I thank you for my brothers who have the hearts for the kids. We used to say in our church that the Kids Church is the best church in the world! I agree on this. I will never forget the story on how you welcomed the children in your arms when your disciples told them to stay away from you. How you talked about becoming like them, the children, to be able to enter the kingdom of God. How fiery yours might have seemed when you told the people about the penalty for anyone who will defile those innocent ones. The children will always have the most special place in your heart.

And while we are sinful and undeserving of your grace, you allowed us to minister to your little ones and prayed for them during that night. I thank you for bringing my Spibu (spiritual buddy), Marvin, with me to whom you endowed so many talents. He taught the kids new worship songs as well as the dance steps that went along with it. It was a beautiful sight to behold.

And before the night was over, you poured out your Spirit unto me. PB had always encouraged me to ask for higher gifts, for that was your will for us. You take delight in giving us your blessings as our loving Father. You take delight in giving us gifts for you know that these are seeds that we’ll use, in turn, to bless the church.

I have never asked for higher gifts before but that night I knew that you wanted me to prophesy for the children. You wanted me to speak words of blessings and protection and hope for them, for it will help them be lifted up from the hard life that they have in the island. You are witness to their pains and poverty and I thank you for using me, small as I am, to bless them. They will grow up to be fine young men and women who fear your name.

Your Spirit was with us during that night. Beside the calm sea and above the velvety sand of Camiguin, we uttered a prayer for the children. A few moments more, we heard them sobbing altogether. At the innermost room of my heart, I praised your name. For how many times may we be given the chance to pray for the children and then hear them sobbing while at it? I knew that you were with us that night. You were speaking directly to the hearts of your little ones while we pray to you.

Abba, you are amazing. Words aren’t even enough. Tonight, my heart goes out to all the children in the world. Thank you for always being their protector, their defender, their banner. Send the evil ones out of their way and guard their hearts for always.

Your child always in awe of you,

Mark

Her Secret Place

Dear Abba,

A few weeks ago, Jie Jie (Chinese for big sister) and I had a date in her “secret place”. It’s called Casa Roces in front of Malacañang Palace, where the president of the land lives.

It was a joy to see her. I told her she is blooming. In Chinese, she’s “yue lai yue piaoliang”. I was being sincere when I said that. She looked really calm and happy that day.

She asked me to pray to you for her new venture. I think that she’s really built to be an entrepreneur. It delighted me a bit when she told me she already resigned from her previous post in the government, not because I don’t want her to serve the people. But because I think that she’ll be able to serve more people if she’ll do what she does best. I think she’ll be a good businesswoman.

When I visited her family business in Camiguin, there’s a writing on the wall that said “Profit with honor.” When I asked around for the person who wrote it, they said it’s the owner. I knew it. It runs in her blood.

That night, she treated me with really good food, the names of which I can't remember anymore. I know though that when I ask her about it, she’ll know right away. It was her “secret place”.

Thank you for giving me a big sister. Because of you, I have an older sibling in Spirit.

Thank you for always being with her anywhere she goes. You have been to all of her “secret places”. This gives me the assurance that you’ll always know where to find her whenever she calls your name and no matter how "secret" is the place where she can be found.

Thank you for being the good shepherd who constantly looks after us.

One of your sheeps,

Mark

First Letter

Dear Abba,

Thank you for creating this blog with me, for me. Make this piece an everlasting prayer of praise for you. Thank you for loving me no matter what.

Sincerely,

Mark