The Long Way Up

A father plays a major role in the lives of his children. An understatement? An overstatement? Well, whichever your preference, it's a true statement; one that has been poorly heeded, greatly ignored, or severely missed out. Anyone can biologically sire a child -- we got a lot of that going on these days; but to be a father in every sense of the word is, for sure, such a tall order, which is why many men -- for several varying and valid reasons -- opt out of their responsibilities. One such responsibility inherent to the paternal role is the privilege of representing the Heavenly Father to his children. This wouldn't be much of a stretch if men, to begin with, had an existing relationship with their Father in Heaven growing up, and have spent their season of singleness practicing being God-conscious in whatever form of relationship they had with other people. But sadly, that isn't the case most of the time. So, whatever a man learns during his bachelorhood he usually carrie...

Since the dawn of human history, mankind has always had the inclination to want to know as much as they can about many things… important things… everything! There seems to have always been an insatiable hunger to attain awareness pertaining — and even peripheral — to whatever exists under the sun, occurs on the earth, and eludes logical explanation. In fact, in centuries of human civilization, the accumulation of cognizance has always been equated to the aggregation of might, and those who have gained vast amounts of awareness have more often than not inclined toward brandishing and wielding information to their own advantage and success. The old adage, ‘ knowledge is power ,’ has — for better or for worse — been proven true time and again throughout history. One does not even have to look into recorded historical facts of how Adolf Hitler’s knowledge of the theory of evolution and ‘the survival of the fittest’ led him and the Nazis to discriminate, segregate, and terminate thousands o...

Writing this blog entry about the epistle to the Philippians has been a very long and arduous process that began early this year, in the month of January. The last three months have been anything but ordinary — just about everything in life around the world as we know it has apparently come to a grinding halt because of the corona virus pandemic. On top of that, a personal tribulation in my life has shoved any desire for the creative to the back burner, as thoughts of worry and anxiety took the driver seat for a huge chunk of said three months. With the pandemic’s impact becoming more evident in my country in mid-February and sort of leveling off in early April, life here has taken a much slower pace, and the initial pangs of fear and discouragement have been gradually — and thankfully — replaced by faith and hope. This is due mainly to the abiding and comforting presence of God, and His assurance that not only does He have complete control of what is going on globally, but that ...

Art, in and of itself, already has an alluring appeal to the human senses if we give it time to penetrate and permeate our sight, hearing, sentiments, and sensibilities. Words written on several pages of paper captivate a reader’s imagination; paints splattered and combined on canvas pique an onlooker’s curiosity; a musical instrument utilized by a vivacious virtuoso ignites the passion of a listener’s heart. Something else entirely different happens when two art forms are combined: the impact on the human senses are exponentially increased. We see this in the amalgamation of photography (the art of taking pictures) and the performing arts (dancing, singing, acting), which together have given us the magic of movies and filmmaking. The concepts that one art form conveys seem to be made more crystal clear when expressed in concert with another artistic expression. To be specific, when the art of writing is mixed with the art of music, it creates a means for a songwriter to exp...

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes." -- Ephesians 6:10-11 - - - - - Although this passage finds the reader towards the tail end of the epistle to the Ephesians, I feel like this is nevertheless the perfect way to sum up what the apostle Paul has carefully laid out in the preceding chapters: the need for relational vigilance, spiritual militancy, and perpetual determination to persevere amid the raging invisible conflict. I went through Ephesians this month via three sets of devotionals as part of my study on different books of the Bible with my fiancée. And though I have read this Pauline epistle before, this examination gave me an insight that I have not had a privilege of receiving. Many people would probably know of the 'full armor of God' passage in chapter six. Preachers have no doubt spoken about or taught on our weapons of spiritual ...

The Bible is rife with life lessons, meaningful maxims, powerful principles, and revitalizing revelations that enlighten the human mind when understood and transform the human being when applied. For the month of October, my fiancée and I agreed to go through a series of devotionals on the book of Galatians as part of our joint spiritual growth disciplines. We are not by any means attempting to go 'scholarly' on our study of Scripture (as valuable as it is); we simply desire to know God and His word more, especially in the context of us looking forward to living out our walk with Jesus together as husband and wife. As of this writing, we are on the second devotional series on Paul's letter to the church of Galatia. I think we will be able to go through a third one before the month ends.  At the outset of this joint study on the book of Galatians, the thought of learning more spiritual things that can be applied in practical ways piqued my interest: it would a...

In 2018, the Philippines had its fourth privilege of claiming the title of Miss Universe through the beauty, brains and boldness of Catriona Gray. Viewers of the pageant -- and the judges for sure -- were not only enamored by her looks and poise, but were also amazed by her wit and eloquence. In particular, Ms. Gray's answer to the competition's final question earned her the coveted crown as well as the admiration of most everyone who witnessed her speak her heart out with grace under pressure. "What is the most important lesson you've learned in your life and how would you apply it to your time as Miss Universe?" was the ultimate poser thrown at the three finalists of the beauty pageant. My girlfriend and I -- both writers and bloggers -- decided to take on this question as the topic we would write about for the month of April, albeit with a little amendment: "What is the most important lesson you've learned in your life and how would you appl...

As we journey throughout the span our lifetime, it is essential that we keep track of events that have marked our progression from one stage of life to another. There is an encouraging, edifying, and affirming corollary that comes out of reminiscing the successes, breakthroughs, and triumphs one has had in the past. We oftentimes call these markers milestones, and they serve as points of reference for potential future victories over unforeseen hurdles that may or may not announce themselves. I have just recently reminisced and evaluated my own set of milestones, having been in need of encouragement, edification, and affirmation. The last ten years are laden with these markers. 2009 Blessed with the ability to hear God calling me to pursue full-time ministry. Equally blessed to have gotten my parents' confirmation and affirmation of the path I decided to take. 2010 Made it through an intense year of family illness, death, financial need, healing, restoration, ...

A few blog posts ago I mentioned that the nature of my job has an ebb-and-flow, peaks-and-valleys kind of set-up: sometimes task as few and far between; sometimes they come in droves. In the last few weeks I've been feeling more of the latter, which has kept me from writing new material for my blog -- been wanting to continue my Japan-based tech-thriller of a short story for some time now. In view of this circumstance, you could probably understand now why I've been bring out some of my old stuff from an ancient blog of mine to sort of keep the momentum going on this current blog. This one is yet again another entry in both my parental and throwback series, and was written over 10 years ago. - - - - - Last Saturday the cell group discussed the topic of discipline using Hebrews 12:7-12 as the springboard. The Lord gave me this word to share to the guys just hours before and I really believe it was a "now" word. I see in the spirit that many young m...

When I was just a fledgling preacher/teacher speaking in front of lots of people from a pulpit,  printed or written down outlines were a necessity since I hadn't had a wealth of preaching experiences to draw from and speak out of. This is one of my earlier 'teaching' outlines that I used in our now defunct Saturday night service. - - - - - Text: 2 Chronicles 20:1-30 Jehoshaphat was the fourth king of Judah and the son of Asa. As one of David's descendants, he had a lifestyle of devotion to God, seeking God, crying out to God, and instructing people in the ways of God. 2 Chronicles 17:3-6, 18:4, 31, and 19:9, 10 give glimpses of this. Here are seven things we learn from Jehoshaphat's life, particularly during an impending war described in 2 Chronicles 20:1-30. 1. WAR WILL ALWAYS COME UPON YOU (v. 1-2) Life is a battlefield between two kingdoms -- the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of God. Whether you seek it or not, ask for it o...

Intricate Like spider webs spun Between two majestic oaks Line upon line, crisscrossing Matching, missing, imploding Tangential, incidental, intentional Connections made on sticky words Fluid moments and movements Complicated Into the eye, enter the storm A calm is found buried beneath the clouds In raging tempest solace is found And light and shadows mingle It works, it dazzles and mystifies Not everything makes sense But all is comprehensible Simple You choose it or you lose it That's really all there is When rains pour on the cobwebs Hold on tightly and love on brightly When sun is shining, beaming Embrace the rays, bask in it Life still goes on, go onward Profound Quell curiosity to find more questions Give all you have to gain everything Nothing is lost in vulnerable state Except our rusty shields But swords exchanged to sharpen both Each one, the other's pledged patrol This is here, this is now, this is it

I entered 2019 with a very promising direction and a new-found relationship from God. Without warning, the forces of darkness worked immediately to sow fear, anxiety and confusion into what should have been unhindered bliss and rejoicing in the Lord. It wasn't until I felt that my back was pushed against a wall that a holy anger for the devil's minions arose from within me, prompting me to speak God's promises back to Him, and rebuke the enemies surrounding me and my girlfriend. As I prayed over her and myself, I felt God's Spirit finally taking hold of our hearts, setting our souls at peace, and the demons of fear, anxiety and confusion, rendered powerless by the Name of Jesus. This ten-year-old blog entry still strongly resonates with me, and I feel like this is a reminder for me to keep bathing my life, and my relationship with my girlfriend, in prayer, faith declarations, and Bible scriptures. God's word is powerful! - - - - - Raise Your V...