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@saltandlightmag
The importance of being part of a church family has been downplayed recently, especially with those individualistic philosophy that seems to be prevalent. Yet, we need it now more than ever. By “church” here, of course I mean the people who are part of the body of Christ, and not just the building/structure. Here are the 9 best things about being connected to a church...
I’m 87% sure that you’ve heard of Justin Bieber’s new project called PURPOSE. It’s all over the Internet, and it’s safe to say that JB KILLED IT. His new sound is fantastic (kudos to Skrillex) and I have learned to appreciate his less whiny voice (he used to sound like my sister, kinda awkward)...
Hello. I am Meki and I am a social media addict. I never realized how hooked I was with social media until my phone gave up on me (RIP) and I had to live without a smartphone for the past week.
We have migrated to a new site! Same URL but now hosted on Wordpress.org for better content management :) Hope you visit us @ www.saltandlightmag.com!
Everyone keeps on quoting this line from the now very famous Hillsong United song, Touch the Sky: “I touch the sky when my knees hit the ground.” And while I love what it means -- emphasizing the power of surrender and prayer -- this line shown in the photo is what tugged my heart the most.
I am very much guilty of wanting and getting everything from the world. I even give away my heart by investing so much of myself in my career, my finances, my lovelife, my friendships, my family and my pleasure. I used to think that I could pass off my busy-ness in the kingdom as loving God, but what He really wanted and really wants is my HEART.
It’s quite amazing to think that some thousand years ago, with the knowledge that we needed a Savior, God “traded” heaven by taking on flesh and walking among us. He did this to win us. He did this to HAVE us again. If that isn’t a perfect way to live out love, then I don’t know what is.
Memorize scripture indie-style
I stumbled upon a gem today. This website is called The Verses Project.
The Verses Project creates musical and visual art that helps people memorize and meditate on Scripture.
I'd like to stop here so you can check out the site for yourself. Go, memorize scripture. Look at those neatly designed graphics. Sing it.
Psalm 150:6
#TypographyThursdays
Calligraphy by @kaye manalo
Ecclesiastes 3:11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Text from the song Nothing I Hold on to by United Pursuit
Matthew 6:34
Live in Color
I've been a fan of Kings Kaleidoscope since Mars hill music debuted them as a band. Their new album Live in Color under Bad Christian definitely shows that KK can jam. Their single "Felix Culpa" translated Fortunate Fall is so impressive that you can't box it under one genre.
If you're into Hip-hop, jazz, rock, indie music or simply love to listen to bands profess their love for Jesus, you have to give it a listen. Start with Felix Culpa enjoy lead singer Chad Gardner belt out "Grace upon grace upon grace upon grace"
Admittedly, I’ve recently been lovelife-crazy. I attribute this to some recent heartaches and being surrounded by people who love each other. Oh, and weddings. There have been quite a lot of them recently. AND THEN I STUMBLED UPON THE VIDEO ABOVE from Francis Chan. This really made me think about my relationship with God. I mean, I’m in love with Him. I love Him more than anything in this world. But, do I show it? Why am I willing to sacrifice everything for a boyfriend but not for God? Why do I talk to crushes with utmost excitement while I talk to God as if I’m bored and just required? When people tell me that they love me, I suddenly set these standards expecting them to show me how they love me. If I can feel that way, I think I should set the same standards for myself in terms of my love for Him. I’m in love. I will show that.
Hillsong United's new song "Mercy Mercy" struck a chord in my heart while I was listening to it last night. I, for one, acknowledge that I am in dire need of God's mercy. It is a magnificent thing to realize that Jesus sacrificed for all of my sins because I know that I have a LOT of those!
Despite this knowledge that we are saved and have already been shown mercy by God through Jesus Christ, we still oftentimes go our own way and entrap ourselves once more in sin or stronghold. It's something I myself have experienced and the following lyrics capture perfectly what we need to ask for:
Arrest my heart From its reckless path Release the chains in me Awake my soul To the hope You hold Your grace is all I need
Mercy mercy Bring me to my knees As the morning Calls to light the dark in me
We need a reminder day-to-day that there is hope in Christ as we are showered by His grace. In our brokenness and frailty as humans, we are called to be on our knees and look up to Jesus. He's the only one who can take us out of the darkness into the light--never ourselves or our friends alone.
As we live in acknowledgment of God's grace, hopefully, we will get to sing these lines and actually mean it:
Mercy mercy Now engraved upon my heart
Matthew 20:28 says on the outright that Jesus, the Son of Man, did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.
We, as Christians, are called to live a life like that of Jesus Christ. Yet, most of us probably still struggle in matters of pride and arrogance. Humility, as per various online sources, is defined to have a modest or low view of one's own importance. How many of us can truly say that we do not treat ourselves as VIPs? When picking a restaurant with our friends, do we honestly prefer that which would make our friends happy or that which we like (even if no one else will be amused with the choice)?
In simple and complex things in life, we are called to serve just like Jesus did when in one of the probably most memorable narrations in the Bible, He washed the feet of His disciples.
Have you served anyone today? Or are you the 'boss' of everyone?
If you're updated about news in the sporting world, you've probably about Renaldo Balkman, a former NBA player who got signed to play for the Petron Blaze Boosters for the biggest basketball league in the Philippines, and how his emotional outburst brought him to physically confronting referees, his own assistant coach, and his teammates--even strangling one of them.
When I heard about the news, more than anger and annoyance towards him, I felt sympathy towards Balkman. While I don't discount the fact that what he did was wrong, I am hurt with the idea that despite all the possibly good steal and rebound stats he had while playing, or all the points he scored, what people will remember about him is this moment.
Here, we have a man who probably had an emotional meltdown, which is just like what happens to most of us during times when we feel pressured or just generally annoyed. I myself remember one moment in my high school life when I had utmost emotional distress leading me to almost physically harm myself and those around me. The only difference I have with Balkman, however, was that he was in front of thousands of people in the stadium and thousands more watching on TV who did not know about how he felt, or what happened to him earlier that day which might have triggered his general aggressiveness. All we know is what we saw live or on TV.
This reminds me of Paul's reminder to the Philippians. As Christians, all eyes are on us--on what we say or what we do. If we are seen arguing with someone or grumbling about something (especially if it's related to a fellow Christian or your church or ministry), it sends off a wrong message, which will probably what others will remember the most about us & our faith.
Let's be conscious of what testimony our life, actions, and words tell to the world. Every moment is an opportunity to minister. Use it wisely and don't waste it by causing someone to doubt the message of the Gospel just because of a bad day.
I was riding a cab today and suddenly felt nauseous. I was thinking what the reason could possible be and decided to stare at a random object faraway. It was upon seeing the very much blurred image that I realized that once again, I forgot to wear my eyeglasses.
During that cab ride, I got to quickly reflect about life. For quite a lot of times in my life, I've had instances when God has already directed me on what I need to SEE and act upon regarding different matters of life such as my career, relationships, purity, and even ministry. Almost every time though, I decide to "take off my glasses" for just a short time (and for my convenience) and find myself forgetting about it and "leaving it at home" the next day.
While the solution to have clear vision is at hand, we choose to go with what's easier and more comfortable and make do with the blurry surroundings and the migraine that goes along with it.
Is there something that God wants you to see clearly or do today that you've been avoiding? Would you rather suffer with your blurry vision than follow Him?
Reading through the Scriptures, it is hard to miss the abundance of teachings (and warnings) that mention our eyes. Jesus himself is clearly very firm in his stand on the importance of our eyes in the way we live as children of God. One verse that has struck me and never fails to make a great impact is Matthew 18:9:
And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.
Not that I’m sadistic or something, but this verse so explicitly nails the point that we MUST take extreme measures to guard our eyes and keep it from sinning. In fact, 2 Peter 2:14 implies that sins such as adultery can dwell in and be channeled through our eyes; and 1 John 2:16 also identifies lustful eyes as one of the things that are clearly from the world and not from the Father. This only goes to show that, cliché as it may sound, eyes are indeed the windows to the soul. The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! (Matthew 6:22-23) At the end of the day, you are what you feed your mind. What goes into your mind (and your heart) through your eyes will also define what will overflow in you. For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Let this be a reminder for us to stay vigilant and cautious of the things we set our eyes upon. Is it good food for the soul? Or will it just poison our thoughts, words, desires, and actions? In this generation of webpage after webpage of interesting and visually-appealing words and images, it is often a challenge to keep our eyes pure and pleasing to God. The great news is that the Bible offers a much better alternative: Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2)
by Jessamine Pacis // photo from CreationSwap, edited for S&L
What is the measure of a successful life? Is it power? Should I go into politics? Is it money? Should I focus on becoming an entrepreneur? Is it the number of fans/followers? Should I join a talent contest? Is it the balance on my accounts? Is it the number of people in my payroll? Is it the number of books I can publish? Is it the grandeur of the parties that I go to? Is it the profile of the people I get to talk to? Is it the number of awards, degrees, certificates and medals? This is the story of how having a brutally honest quiet time transformed "the bitter ramblings of a 23-year-old suffering quarter life crisis" to "the joyful journey in seeking Christ at 23." Whenever I pray, I try to be as honest as I can get myself to be--revealing and confessing EVERYTHING to God. And when I say everything, I mean e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g: the good, the bad, the ugly. Anyways, God knows it all, so might as well admit them. I tell God everything--my biases, my lies, my denials, my weird fantasies, my tendencies, my weaknesses, my flaws, my insecurities, my hurts, my pains, those things that we keep denying, those feelings we keep hiding--I confess those all to Him when I pray. There are times when I'm not ready to admit a certain fault in my life, and even the admission that: I'm not ready, I cast upon his feet, and He understands. Tonight's prayer is the culmination of weeks of denial, anxiety, and frustration, signs of a weakening faith. I, admittedly, am a determined and success-driven person but I keep asking myself--what will be the greatest passion of my life? What is that one thing that will ultimately lead me to the greatest success of my life? And so, I asked Him: "What?" He answered: "Me." I asked Him: "How?" He answered: "Let go of yourself." I asked Him: "Why?" He answered: "Because I love you." He told me: Let go of your continuous hold on the world. You do not want it. Stop trying to keep up with the standards of your society. You do not need to. Accept this gift of life I gave you, and live the life that will lead you to me. You keep looking for love, here I am. You keep looking for purpose, there is Christ. You keep looking for reason, there is the Truth. You keep looking for power, surrender yourself to me and I will make you string. You keep looking for something to study, read the word, live it, and share it. You keep looking for parties and signature clothes, don't worry as I will clothe you with garments of salvation and dedicate a celebration for you in heaven. You keep looking for success, there is Victory in Christ. My child, cling on to me and every word I said. For everything expensive in this world is worthless in heaven. My child, hold on to my promises of love and keep chasing after truth. That is all you need. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom. (Matthew 16:25-28 KJV) And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. (Romans 12:2 KJV) For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16 KJV) But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?" For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (Matthew 6:30-34 ESV)