The Dead Parts

Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.- Romans 6:23 (NLT)

I never noticed...Yeah... Those parts of our tiny plants we strategically placed in our house. The leaves were green. But as I tried to look closer, I noticed the dried, dead, skin-like hanging from some branches. I slowly pulled them with minimal effort. How rejuvenating to see that the branches were brought back to its original, fresh, lively state after the wilted membranes were plucked!

It's amazing with moments like that when our minds and hearts realize the spiritual lessons we could muster in each experiences.

How true that in our lives, we need to evaluate what in our lives need rejuvenation, of cutting off which ones are not productive and allowing God's hands to pull away those dead parts from our Christian lives. How wrong we must be to show off and think we are okay because our eternal destination is guaranteed! While the deeds we must be doing are producing nothing for God's Kingdom. Are they really for God or for our own benefits?


May the Lord's double-edged sWORD search each of our hearts...

Look Up

I help a friend bring her parent to a clinic on a particular day every week. Anticipating treatment for a chronic condition, many more also come for treatments by the specialist and the nurses who work in the facility.

I always enjoy waiting at the lobby. Thinking it's the absence of noises from a throng of patients, I realize it's the view in the lobby that calms me as I gaze at the horizon on clear days like today.

"Already here at the clinic. .." I texted my son one time.  Inserting a pic I took of the same vista. But I added it was a beautiful scenery, enjoyed by patients inside the hospital or the clinic.

I hope that every sick person enjoys the view and focus on the panorama than what ails them. In reality, we are all sick people going through tough times, be it health scares  or financial problems, going through divorces or other broken relationships. And many more differing degree of life's woes.

I keep gazing up... So clear... So bright.. So serene...

There's no point to looking back. The past is gone.. There's no reason to look ahead. For no one knows what the future holds.

Except God. He has the future secure.

I gaze some more, wiping my fogging up glasses with the soft, blue cloth. Putting it back to continue to savor the view... To look up ahead... Most importantly, to LOOK up. In doing so, I don't see the things down below that offer no peace the way the skies do.

When calamities of life are on its greatest, LOOK UP...

"I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
 where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth." - Psalm 121:1-2 (NIV)

Children Of Light

You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. - 1 Thessalonians 5:5 (NIV)

Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining. - 1 John 2:8 (NIV)

You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. - Matthew 5:14 (NIV)

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light. - Ephesians 5:8 (NIV)

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. - John 8:12 (NIV)



We, who believe in Jesus, are being called each day to walk in the light, not in darkness. The battle begins the moment we open our eyes until each day ends. We battle with our own minds and hearts when we make decisions or choices. May the Lord guide us all and give us His gift of discernment.

By Faith

I was ecstatic when I saw what my son had bought for the first two decorations he wanted to put for his finishing touches in the apartment unit he was renting.  "Do you like it,  Mom?," he queried. The letters stood out. Enclosed in a white bordered frame,  the art said: "We walk by faith,  not by sight..." The other one was: "All things are possible if we believe... 

I didn't know what right words to say. It wasn't enough to say "Nice." "Beautiful." "Good job!" But all of those I said to him. His mother's heart overflowing with joy knowing that he wanted to dedicate something to the One Who made all the transition for his higher education possible and smoothly despite the anxieties we faced with all the unknowns.

"Where are you planning to put this art?", I asked. Pointing to "We walk by faith..." He replied so fast as if he had already envisioned the perfect spot even before I asked. "Mom, right before someone walks out the door..."

"Perfect," I said.

Perfect because I know that it is a strong reminder not only for us but for anyone who will come to visit him that there are so many unknown in this life's journey.  But how important it is to run first to Jesus before we can understand how to "walk by faith". To know more about His wonderful promises that this broken world can never offer. Only then we will truly understand that it's truly possible for anything when we believe, despite the trials we may be in and storms that we may face. I have nothing but joy to know that my child knows the importance of having faith despite facing difficulties or uncertainties in this short life. That's the only way to go forward. And because Jesus is faithful, how wonderful to hope that in the end, that must be so awesome to "walk by sight" where He is...