History Matters

History is really important to learn because it motivates us and gives us important learning that concern our faith.

I've learned two insights from what I have knew in our history this week. Firstly, I've learned and confirmed that there are times that God's blessings are the circumstances that we face and struggled with. I'd observed how the church has grown when the persecution that they experienced became worst. It did not make them stop instead they continued to spread the gospel boldly and submitted everything they have to Christ including their own lives. Secondly, I've realized that I should not forget to really look back in the past and remember the people  who are worthy to receive our gratitude. 

There are so many people in our Church history that really gave positive contributions to our church today. Our hearts should be filled with gratitude for them. Applying these insights to my own life, I am really convicted to see deeply within my struggles and circumstances. To be always positive and cling on to the truth that God is in control of everything, that all that is happening in my life nowadays are all part of His continuous process of molding me so that He can use me effectively in the field.

By these realization I will really try my best to be faithful in reading my Bible and evaluate my day to day circumstances with the truth in my mind that God is in control.

Nothing New At All

" . . . Nothing under the sun is truly new. Sometimes people say, "Here is something new!" But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new. we do no remember what happened in the past, and in the future generations,no one will remember what we are doing now" (Ecclesiastes 1:11 NLT).

While watching the video about the dark ages I thought about this verse. Indeed, all that the world is experiencing now were all experienced by the past generations. The starvation that kills many of the people in our generations now and the violent situations that some of the countries are experiencing right now are not new for in the dark ages there was great scarcity of food that led people to be cannibals and the blood flowed almost like a river on streets. I've also realized that the discontented feeling that they feel before is still true to us now even for the people thinks that they have everything they need. They would still find their heart with a missing link and that would be fill in only by the presence of Christ.

Looking back to my family, I can also say that I still can feel the fear within me. I am afraid that nothing new will happen in my life that I am bounded in making the same mistakes that my loved ones had committed. And be on their the same situations right now because of their unwise decisions.  I know about the curse that being passed on from generations to generations and I am afraid to be trapped and be imprisoned with these sin.

God has alarmed me with this possibility. And I am very much grateful to Him because it just shows how much He cares and loves me by not allowing me to remain ignorant with the trap that has been laid in front of me. I know that God's power is the answer for this curse to be broken and to never affect me anymore and my siblings. But  I also have to do my own part, to work along with God in declaring His victory over sin in my life. I have to continually surrender my life to Him, day by day, to inquire to Him with the every desire in my heart and to ask guidance from Him with every decision that I make concerning my life especially when it comes to choosing my lifetime partner. I want to be very careful as I can when it comes to having relationship with the opposite sex for I know that this decision would either lead me to follow the curse in my family line or to be different from them. I always ask and hope for a lifetime partner who is very much in love and faithful to our God, a man that prioritizes God always in every decisions of his life. That's the desire of my heart and I know that it would be pleasurable to Him to grant these desires of mine for it will bring glory to His name. I am really secured by the love of God and I know that He won't allow for me to be married to a person whom He cannot entrust me with. He is always giving His best to me and I am confident that my future lifetime partner is the best in His own eyes knowing that He will be entrusting His precious daughter to him.

Indeed what Solomon said that there is nothing new under the sun is also true to me. I have seen and testified people who have been changed by God and through His grace and faithfulness have redeemed them and rescued them from the curses of their family line.

Sovereign God

"You can make many plans, but the Lord's purpose will prevail" (Proverbs 19:21 NLT).

In studying the history of the church the idea of this verse always enters my mind and by learning more about what happened before I can assuredly say that this verse has been truthful before and even now. By the lives of the church fathers I've verified that whatever the steps that man took and will take, God will always cause these steps to result to good so that His purpose will prevail.

I experienced and still experiencing many circumstances in my life that I've seen as the consequences of the unwise decisions of my love ones. Many times I found myself feeling all the pain because of these circumstances. There are times that I questioned God during those pains. "Why me Lord?" "Why you have given me such family?" "Why it seems for others that all is well and I am always bearing all these pains?" You might realized by reading these questions that I am bitter. And yes! I was and experienced a bitter heart and I tell you it was not good because I always found myself groping for the hand of God because of the loneliness that I was into. It did not help me with my situation and it also negatively affected the people in my lives especially those that were around me during those bitter times. But through these times I can testify that God did not stop His faithfulness towards me. I experienced His irresistable grace that no matter how many times I pushed Him away He never stopped embracing me with His arms to bring me comfort and He never left me helpless even though I felt I was. Indeed, He is always a present help in times of needs. He sent people to help me process and recover from my situation. And after these tearful moments  I found myself restored in the hand of God and seeing how His purposes prevailed even with the steps and decisions that I and my family made. He allowed these to happen and worked it together for my good and to mold and prepare me for the calling that He has given to me.

Not long after those times I found myself being exposed with people who are experiencing the same situations that I had. And I praised God because He had used me to be a vessel of comfort and help to them because I can feel and understand what they are going through deep in their hearts. Now, I always pray to God to help me and make me to be a person who always trusts in Him during those kind of times knowing that He hold everything in His hand. And always be reminded that I don't need to understand everything along the process of molding knowing that He will always direct my steps.

"The Lord directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way" (Proverbs 20:24 NLT).