Gospel of Love

The famous Brennan Manning once said, "If John were to be asked, 'What is your primary identity in life?' he would not reply, 'I am a disciple, an apostle, an evangelist, an author of one of the four Gospels,' but rather, 'I am the one Jesus loves."


"I am the one Jesus loves." This has been my constant confession every time I faced the mirror. These words were pasted in almost everywhere (in my notebook, mirror, and bathroom) and most of all in my heart and mind. This has been a fuel that kept me going for so long in my journey of knowing God.

Into the thick of my journey of "knowing God" there were a lot of things that came into play. Rather that of a growing  relationship with the one Who loves me and dwelling more on a revelation of how much I am loved, I had shifted to proving my love to God by being obedient, faithful and serve Him with my all.  Suffice to say...my kind of love reached the bottom.


“I am the one Jesus loves.” There is nothing I can do to make God love me more than He already does. And there is nothing that I will do that will make Him love me any less. This is the gospel of love and a pure grace.


“I am the one Jesus loves.” As I traveled back into this truth, I came to realized that the Kingdom of Love calls us to walk against the world that calls for performance based on our self merit. In His kingdom we live by the gospel of grace –not our own effort but His. Not our own love but His. Not by our own power and might but by His Spirit.


If we talk about love and grace, in the context of God’s kingdom, it is unfair...because He loves everyone with the same intensity and accepts us equally. But love, however, is not about fairness and so is grace.


“I am the one Jesus loves.” I pray that I will live and move and have my being anchored in this simple truth. And in every single thing I do, I will do it not because I love God but because…I am His beloved.

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Take time to read these two wonderful books about grace: What So Amazing About Grace by Philip Yancey and Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning.

Two is Better Than One

 

Di tungod kay single ka, mag-inusara na lang ka. Single man tu-od ka pero dili buot pasabot nga magsolo na lang ka kay pwede man gyud kung daghan ta. Magkita-kita ta ninyo sa Tagbilaran karong February 27.

Details: February 27, 2011/ 5 PM/ The Courtyard, Cogon St., Tagbilaran city, Bohol .

A friendly "single" advisory: BAWAL ang magsolo, kung daghan mo mas maayo!

please share to your single friends in Bohol!

Finding True Friends

Finding true friends is like looking for a pin in a haystack. 

Is it really this hard to find a true friend? Maybe. Because you don't have to look for one but instead you can be the one.

If we have to go over each steps on "how-to-become-a-true-friend" we will end up nowhere. There is no  secret formula, only a path to take.

And that path is... the way of love. 

Love never gives up. You don't give up on a friend when times are rough or when their mood swings from one end to another. You'll stick it out even if your reason seems to betray you. 

Love cares more for others than for self. This would be a good reminder, when we seek   to put ourselves first. 

Love doesn't want what it doesn't have. Love doesn't strut, doesn't have a swelled head. It is not about impressing, it's still about expressing your care to the best that you can.

Love doesn't force itself on others. Love puts up on anything and trust God in everything. A friend doesn't force change on the other instead he creates a healthy environment of acceptance and love for change to happen. 

Love celebrates. A true friend celebrates every victory, laughs with every flaws, counts the rising more than the falls, encourages growth and supports new friendships.

True friends. They found me even before I can become one to them. Call me lucky. Call me blessed. Call me happy.

To all my friends, i pay tribute thru this poem. This is my humble way of saying "Thank you!"...

Beauty and goodness

We don't have to go far to find the treasure we are seeking. There is beauty and goodness right where we are. And only when we can see the beauty and goodness that are close by can we recognize beauty and goodness on our travels far and wide. There are trees and flowers to enjoy, paintings and sculptures to admire; most of all there are people who smile, play, and show kindness and gentleness. They are all around us, to be recognized as free gifts to receive in gratitude. (Henri Nouwen)

It's in the little things. I was once too blinded to see the miracle of beauty around me because I was expecting a display of grandeur.

 

Stop,look and listen. I failed to celebrate the wonders  of everyday life because I was too preoccupied and too busy to notice.

Get out of the box and do something adventurous. I don't know how much of life I missed out because I was too confined with my list of don'ts and befriended my fears. I forgot the beauty of spontaneity and the feel of freedom. 

God made everything beautiful...for a reason.Everything beautiful -including you and me! 

May we not be too blinded to see, too preoccupied to notice and too legalistic to enjoy His wonderful creations!

May we appreciate our love ones in a very special way. May we take time to breathe in the beauty of the sun rising and setting. And yeah, do something a little crazy (out-of-your-league-thingy) today!

This is the day that the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it! 

-Psalm 118:24

 
photos by Michael Monto

 

Balance

"Balance always requires a fierce and ruthless examination of priorities. Our true priorities are not mere lists of activities completed or goals set, but candid reflections of our heart desires. What we deem important receives the most time, energy, attention and resources...An unbalanced life is too crowded for God...I have great news! He loves who you are more than He loves what you do."-May Southerland

"God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him" — John Piper

As we run this race, I pray that we will reach the finish line happy, victorious and ablaze! God is smiling over us - look up and smile back!