teleport to heaven  

Some of you know that I'm part of a start up church in Makati called Grace Place (Metro Manila). It's a young but very focused church. It has its eye on one thing -- to lead people to become fully devoted followers of Christ, because we know as we experienced ourselves, that living a meaningful, purposeful life here on earth can only be done with Jesus. 

So, how does a real man looks like?

I've been following Dennis Sy's "Uncensored" blog series for about a week now. It's engaging, offending (for most), but really worth your time reading. Some of these questions are things I myself sometimes shy away from to try to be "inclusive", answers that are needed to be heard anyway. Well, Dennis did the hard job, I'll just type away and direct you to it. :)

I just had a baddest "bad trip" today that makes me want to curse people to hell. I sinned, I repented and God reminded me of what is written in His word, "... Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise." (Phil. 4:8)

So, I thought of writing (much like thinking and verbalizing to me when I write) the 5 things I love.

1. I love Jesus. Sometimes I don't feel that, especially if I sin against him and offend him. But he always run after me and claim me as his. Every time I think about myself and see how he responds to the kind of person I am, I would always feel undeserving of his love. Which, in fact, is a fact. I don't deserve his love, but he loves me anyway. How can you not love a person like that?

2. I love my wife, Joy. She's intelligent, caring and by the grace of God, becoming more patient of me each day. :-) She loves Jesus and she loves the kids. I do love my kids, too. But they won't get in the way of me loving their mom. That's why they will get baby sitting tonight as we watch "Angels and Demons". :D

3. I love my mom and dad. I am just so blessed to have a very loving parents. I can't express enough how much I love them. I've been through a lot, and they were with me in all the ups and downs. I couldn't imagine going through my life without them.

4. I love my job. I love my team at Team Sparrow. It's really wonderful to be part of the ever dynamic internet industry. It's exciting, it's challenging, it's huge. And I'm glad to be in the middle of all these.

5. I love my Grace Place Family. There's nothing compared to living a life with purpose. Pursuing the purpose of giving God glory is truly an amazing opportunity with this church family. I love that the church has a huge vision. I love to see people giving their lives to Jesus. I love to see people's lives changed. I truly love serving with you, my family at Grace Place.

There, I feel better now. :D

I just want to beat K Prudy at posting this first on Multiply. (Sorry nalang, 24/7 ang internet ko! :D ).

We are so, so excited about the things that are going to happen at Grace Place in the next couple of months -- yes, even before the long awaited September Big Move!

Last night at our leadership meeting (with Deo), a weird, out-of-the-box, but potentially powerful concept was presented. At the end of the night, we're exhausted with excitement!

Something big is going to be announced on our May 27 volunteers night. I'm just going to hold off the horses for now. I'm just so excited I have to blog about it (even without the details).

So, there. GracePlacers, expect great things to happen in the next couple of months. And yes, this will all culminate -- and start -- on September as we relaunch Grace Place.

Remember, we're all doing this because we want to lead people to become fully devoted followers of Jesus.

Want to see my dad when he was 33 years old? There you have it on the right side.

No, not really.

That's me. ;-) But if you know my dad, you'll agree that I looked just like him -- only younger.

I was browsing over at Gayle's photo page looking for shots for the new Grace Place website when I came across this picture. I thought I saw my dad!

I suddenly missed him. Especially that my car's power steering has been needing the fluid for 2 weeks now and I can't find where the heck is that hole where I place the fluid. Gah. Stupid.

My dad, he's a genius. In a lot of things. In cars, in music -- sings very well, in the farm, knows animals. One really cool guy. I wish I can be just a portion of what he is in terms of handling pressures in life.

This picture is in honor of my dad, who will be here in Manila on Friday to fix my car.

Oh, and yes, I also love my mom. ;D When everything settles in, she's be the first to benefit from it. Ma, you know what I mean.

Dudes, let's honor our parents. Heaven will fall down, but they will still remain standing for you.

Yesterday, I was supposed to have a meeting at Seattle's Best, Katipunan. Bring me to Makati or Mandaluyong, juggle me upside down, I won't get lost. But just the sound of Quezon City scares me.

"So where the heck is Seattle's Best Katipunan?"

Clueless, I brought Joy with me. She's my GPS in times like these. Unfortunately, though, I learned later on, that she's as clueless as myself as to where this place is. We called some friends and relatives and we were instructed.

And then the tragedy happend -- we made a wrong turn coming from Eastwood. As we go through the 6 pm traffic, we were looking for Ateneo, our landmark. I had a feeling that we're on the wrong path. But we still continue on hoping that we can see what we're looking for. Farther and farther we went, no Ateneo in sight. There is, however, SM Marikina and later on Sta. Lucia.

:-D

That's when I knew we had to go back and make the U TURN. I know that's stupid. But hey, we make mistakes -- we just laughed it off.

Kinda makes me think about our personal lives. Sometimes, we do some wrong turns, we know we're on the wrong way. We know it, we just don't want to admit it. But futher and further we go, along the way we loose our friends, our families, and ultimately our relationship with God.

Two options would always be: 1) continue with the wrong path and live a miserable life, or 2) make a U-turn.

The U-turn is called "repentance". Repent, make that U-turn and ask God to forgive you. The Bible says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us of all our unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).

As for me, I had to call my client and ask for forgiveness. I hope I can still resched that meeting, this time, I know where the right way is ;-)

Did you see the newest Jim Carey movie "Yes man"? We did.

The plot of the story: for you to enjoy life and be happy, say yes to everything that comes your way.

I'm a "yes man" and I'm unhappy about it.

- People tell me what to do. I say "yes", almost every time.
- Even if I'm not sure about something, I would just say "Yes" because I wouldn't want an opportunity to pass by.
- I hate to offend people, so I'd say "yes" because by saying "no", they'll be offended.

The net effect: I do more things with less results. Instead of learning from mistakes, I commit mistakes over and over again. I'm seriously like "a lady" for being a "yes man". Because a true man can make tough decisions, reject what needs to be rejected and face whatever consequence it may bring.

I'm going to be "No man". I'd say "no" if I mean "no". I will make tough decisions -- and people will be hurt, in the process. I will say sorry, but go ahead anyway. Saying "no" is tougher than saying "yes".

I will be a "NO man". Yes?

Every planet on the solar system has seasons. On Venus, seasons are very short. On Uranus, a season can last for 20 years. (No Uranus jokes, please… haha! )

You might feel like you are in a prolonged winter. And you might be correct.

• You are praying with few answered prayers.
• You’re in a problem with no foreseen immediate solution.
• You’re laboring tirelessly and seeing minimal results.
  

If you’re in winter and waiting for spring, remember God is working in winter too. During the cold months, the tree and plant roots grow deeper and stronger. In this season, God is often doing an unseen work preparing His creation for spring. He does more internally than externally.

It is helpful to remember, you can’t have spring without winter.

How has God worked during the winter seasons in your life?

Cross post from Craig Groeschel (with few edits to fit this audience)

My first born, Johann moved up! He celebrated his first moving up day at school last week. Now I know what a parent feel when they see their children graduate. To think that Johann is only on his senior nursery. Hahaha!

I grew up feeling the pressure to be an honor student. I can't blame my parents for it. In fact, those pressures made me for what I am right now. On the other hand, I promised myself that I will not pressure my kids to excel in school. I will "guide", but not "pressure". Two very different words with potentially two different results.

Without the pressure, Johann did get an award: Best in Letters! Letters are his favorite piece. He can write, sing, "sign language" letters even when sleeping. :D

Thanks, Deo, for being our official photographer. Click here to see the pics.

(Note: with all respect and no offense meant to the Roman Catholic Church, these insights do not describe her when I mention the word "church". I'm talking about mostly evangelical churches where membership are tight and each member has a sense of "family", unlike the admittedly current state of the Roman Catholic church where parishioners just come and go Sunday in and Sunday out. But that's another issue. Title idea grabbed from Dennis)

I've been thinking about this lately:

1. What if the church is just like a social club? As long as you pay your yearly or monthly dues, as long as you can keep up with other members of the club, as long as you can have some funny stories to tell after the meeting, you're all good. They won't care about what you do after each "sosyalan" meetings. The moment you ride your car home, you're all alone. They won't bother what you do after you leave the hall. Just call them if you need connections later on -- you've got to do that, because they will do that to you, too.  Gamitan lang ang laban sa mga social club.

2. What if the church is like a barkadahan, a clique? Your friends are with you when everything is cool. If things get rough, they leave. Some, of course, will stay with you. True friends are such. But they don't care about your future, they care about the fun of the present. This is where you will hear them say, "Pare, kung saan ka masaya, susuportahan ka namin". That sounds comforting. But in reality, they may well be driving you off the cliff. But they don't care. Anyway, if driving off the cliff is where you're happy at, they'll support you. That's what friends are for, right?

3. What if the church is a fraternity? You do something good -- or hard -- to enter the exclusive group. So once you're in, you're in. And you're a brother. They will support you whatever you do. Good, bad. Everything, just do it. Not only that they are supporting you, they will even go with you. So whether it's community service or a plot to kill a member of another fraternity, they will join you. That's their definition of brotherhood.

* * *

Case in point: if say, for the sake of illustration, I have a church-mate whom I love so much, and I know that he's heading to the cliff -- that what he's doing will hurt him, his love ones, other people's love ones, how should I treat him? Should I treat him like a social club member? "Oh, well, I don't care what you do after you leave the Sunday service. You're giving your offerings, and we need you as a member. You help the organization. So, do whatever you want to do".

Or a barkada? "Brad, kung saan ka masaya, susuportahan kita. Yan ang gusto mo eh. Basta nandito lang kami sa tabi mo pag kailangan mo kami".

Or a frat member? "Brad, sige, gawin mo. Gusto mo samahan ka pa namin eh. Wag mo isipin kung sino masasaktan mo. Basta pag trip mo, gawin mo!"

Is a church a social club, a clique, or a fraternity? Or neither.

* * *

Two words that describe what should happen in a church: grace and intollerance.

We are called to love anyone -- warts and all. We should accept everyone who needs love, patience and mercy. In the first place, a church is a hospital field with wounded individuals. It should not become a social club of holier-than-thou religious pharisees. If anyone sins, let the church show grace and mercy and love.

BUT...

The church should also show intolerance to known sins. God hates sin. He is angry at sin. In fact, sin is the reason why Jesus died on the cross. If God is intolerant to sin, the church, as a God-honoring institution, should act the same way.

While we love every sinner, we should not tolerate sins. In fact, we should rebuke all forms of sins.

Unfortunately, along the way, correcting an individual will lead into hoops:

* The "you don't have the right" hoop. This is where a church is different from a social club or a clique. When one decides to be part of a local church, they become his spiritual partners. And as partners, it is their right to help you go through your spiritual issues. It is their right to guide you. To correct you. To show you how Jesus can help you overcome your sin. You too, have the right: and that is the right to refuse. On the other hand, your refusal to be under correction can lead the church to act and provide disciplinary actions.

* The "why would a sinner like you correct me?" hoop . This is very common. I was asked one time. How should you respond whenever someone who is being rebuked would say "You yourself have committed mistakes like this, how can you afford to rebuke me?" Here's a fact: nobody is blameless. Nobody is sinless. Nobody is perfect. But that doesn't mean everyone is disqualified to lovingly correct another member of the church because he himself is a sinner. If the rebuke is based on the Word of God, everyone, whatever past he has, if done with the purpose other than to humiliate the person, can correct anyone who has been outwardly sinning.

* The "don't judge me" hoop. "Don't judge so you won't be judged" has been used out of context over and over again. It's a whole new topic, but to explain in short, everyone can pass judgment if he thinks the judgment is based on the Bible. If the Bible is clear, then go ahead and declare it in front of the sinning individual.

* * *

A church is a family. It's the type of family that never ends. It's the only relationship that will exist throughout eternity. It is very important for us to realize that being in a church family is a gift and a responsibility. We're not a social club where you won't care about your fellow member's sinful acts. We're not a clique where you will not care and say nothing about your friend's sins just because he is "happy" for what he is doing, when you know that it will lead him to death. Neither it is like a fraternity that will even tolerate the sin!

A church will say something, do something, and stop something -- because of love. Sometimes, correction will hurt. Sometimes, it will try to destroy so it can rebuild. The Bible says, "Better is open rebuke than hidden love" (Prov. 27:5) If the church rebukes a sinner, it is because of love. It is because she desires restoration. The goal is to bring back that lost relationship with God broken by the bonds of sin. If reconcillation is the heart of God, this should be the heart of the church. And if restoration means pain and suffering, it will be done just so a better, more vibrant relationship with God can be restored.