#1believeinmiracles

[1believeinmiracles]

DEAD MAN WALKING

March 10, 2014, I was spending time in prayer then suddenly God showed me a vision of a dead man being pulled out from the well. I was wondering what that vision meant and so I asked the Lord. The explanation I got was this, “there are people that are walking dead. They are walking in the presence of God, in the power of the Holy Spirit, but dead they are. They are not alive, their self-ambition had killed them, they have been blinded.” So again I asked God what will I do with those kind of people (of course he might want me to do something why he showed me that), but he said, “there’s nothing you can do.”

The thing that “there’s nothing I can do” with these kind of people saddens me a lot. Why? Because they were the people who know their God well. They preached the gospel, they baptised believers, healed the sick, casted out demons, uttered powerful prayers, devoted themselves to the ministry and work of God yet God had called them dead. They even walked into the supernaturals, done several miracles infront of massive believers. They are spiritually gifted yet in God’s eyes they are considered dead. Because they are self-ambitious, they work not for God but for themselves. They don’t seek to bring God glory but to crown their heads with praises of what they do. Workers who work not for God’s Kingdom but to build their own kingdom here on earth. Servants who filled their pockets with the riches of the world and forgot to fill their hearts with the riches of God’s word. Their ambitions corrupted their hearts and pure desires to serve the Lord. They fail to remember that God is their master and not their own self. They made the church a business, programmed the worship services to show off their talents. Their audience is no longer God but people. They seek attention and no longer devotion. They have shifted from being faithful and fruitful to just being happy and clappy and blessed. Their eyes have been blinded, ears became deaf and hearts became proud. Things that made them have clappy fans but pulled them away from the real presence of God.

These are the kind of people who serves the Lord on the outside but feed their own self desires on the inside. I think these are the people in the bible God answered to, “I don’t know you”. Though they claimed to have had prophesied, healed the sick, casted out demons and demonstrated different miracles in his name, “God told them, he don’t know them.” God didn’t deny them, it’s because God knows them well. They didn’t do those things they did for God but to satisfy their own self desire. They gained fame from this world but not the crown of life. Servants who seems to be on fire but they walk not on God’s fire instead they walk on self-desire. They are the “dead man walking”. Please don’t be one. Be alive, be really on fire for God. Have your heart check everyday for a healthy christian living.

[1believeinmiracles]

IT’S MORE THAN WHAT YOU THINK

We often hear people say what makes one a true leader. Is there a qualification or requirement in order for someone to be called a “LEADER”? Is leadership belongs only to those who are in position or is an ordinary person can lead a team or group of his own? These are the questions I usually get to hear from people around and asked these to myself too. And by reading articles and books about leadership I found out that leadership is more than just a title. It starts there but that alone can’t make you effective. People in leadership should act beyond their titles to make their leadership work and transformational.

In John Maxwell’s book of the Five Levels of Leadership he mentioned that true leadership isn’t a matter of having a certain job or title. In fact, being chosen for a position is only the first of the five levels every effective leader achieves. To become more than “the boss" people follow only because they are required to, you have to master the ability to invest in and inspire people. To grow further in your role, you must achieve results and build a team that produces. You need to help people develop their skills to become leaders in their own right. And if you have the skill and dedication, you can reach the pinnacle of leadership. For Maxwell, position is the starting place for every level of leadership. It is the bottom floor and the foundation upon which leadership must be built and real influence must be developed upon that foundation.

Position maybe at the bottom level of the 5 Levels of Leadership but there are things too to celebrate: 1. A leadership position is usually given to people because they have leadership potential. Which means that someone believes in you and you now have opportunities to express opinions and make decisions. 2. A leadership position means authority is recognized. When individual receives position, some authority and power usually comes with them. But you must learn to use the authority you are given wisely, to advance the team and help the people you lead. Do that and your people will begin to give even greater authority. When that happens, you gain leadership, not just a position. 3. A leadership position is an invitation to grow as a leader. There should always be a relationship between receiving a leadership position and fulfilling the requirements demanded by it. One of the requirement is personal growth. To whomever much is given, much shall be required. 4. A leadership position allows potential leaders to shape and define their leadership. Invitation to lead people is an invitation to make a difference.

As there are things to celebrate with leadership position, since it is the lowest there are also great number of negatives: 1. Having a leadership position is often misleading. Once you have a position or title, people will identify you with it. However, positions and titles are very misleading. A position always promises more than it can deliver. 2. Leaders who rely on position to lead often devalue people. As a result, departments, teams or organizations that have positional leaders suffer terrible morale. 3. Positional leaders feed on politics. When leaders value position over the ability to influence others, the environment of the organization usually becomes very political. Positional leaders focus on control instead of contribution. 4. Positional leaders place rights over responsibilities. Inevitably, positional leaders expect their people to serve them, rather than looking for ways to serve their people. This does nothing to promote teamwork or create a positive working environment. 5. Positional leadership is often lonely. If you’re atop the hill alone, you may get lonely. If you have others alongside you, it’s hard to be that way.

John Maxwell therefore concluded that leadership is influence and a leader must learn too to increase his influence through relationship. And for me it is more than just a title to protect, it is not all about you, it is about your people and your relationship to them. Good leadership changes people. It forms teams. It builds organizations. It impacts communities. It has the potential to impact the world. Thus, never forget that position is only the starting point.

[1believeinmiracles]

SONFLOWER

One sunday morning in the month of October 2012. I was having my breakfast meal with Jesus as I always do before going to church, God showed me a vision. The morning message was not meant for me but for two people God loved so dearly. The first picture he showed me was a green field, and there was a beautiful sunflower under the protection of a big tree. In a 2-3 meters away was a thorn and its target was the sunflower. The Holy Spirit explained it to me, the beautiful sunflower represent a woman, an anointed woman of God, who keeps on blooming because of God’s presence in her life and what God is doing in her ministry. The thorn represents by someone in the same field that may hurt the sunflower any minute. God’s message was, the sunflower needs to be separated with the closest person to her in the ministry or else she will be the target of the thorn.

Then the second vision came which will be the result if they won’t go in separate ways. There was a bright cloud giving enough light to the sunflower which causes her to bloom even more. But then dark clouds came and blocked the light and the sunflower will not bloom the way it should be. The message goes like this, the two need to separate, or the sunflower will not bloom and will not shine. He had told me, “don’t let them go dismay.”

I received the message and a bit surprised and asked why me? I don’t know what to do, I mean if I’m going to tell her, will she believe me? So, instead of going to her to deliver what I heard and seen in a vision, I remained silent and prayed for her.

She is God’s anointed, filled with God’s wisdom and her heart is full of God. That message was not the first and the only message I received from God. But I was so grateful to the Lord because he gave me the courage to release the other visions and messages I received from him, which I believe helped her with so much encouragement according to her responses in my messages.

What I learned about this? When God gives you message for another person, never hesitate to release it to them, you wouldn’t know how you may touch their lives, as long as you are sure it is from God. But still, it is hard, especially if the person is someone you look up to, older than you are and you consider more mature, more passionate and more dedicated to the ministry of God.

But wait, it didn’t end there because there was something I realized about that vision, God has another message that wanted me to see. It was not just an ordinary sun flower. It was not only spelled as sunflower but it can also mean as SONFLOWER. Yes, the woman was Jesus’ flower. She was that so dear to God’s heart. God loved her so dearly that he doesn’t want her to go dismay. And I believed, that the SONFLOWER revelation is not just only for her, it is for everyone. That made me love sunflower since then. Because it reminds me that I am a sonflower (Jesus’ flower), that I am loved by him, saved by him and blessed by him. I belong to him and he belong to me. And to you who is reading this, goes the same. You are a SONFLOWER! A beautiful SUNFLOWER in the eyes of your lover.

[1believeinmiracles]

THE BRAVEST MAN EVER LIVED

Has anyone told you already or even asked you of who do you think is the BRAVEST MAN ever lived? Well for me, that bravery thing is one of the best revelations I received in my prayer closet, and that is knowing Jesus as the BRAVEST MAN ever lived. You might say that, yes, of course he is God, so he’s got nothing to fear about not even death. But have you also forgotten that the time when he lived here on earth, he was a 100% man? Yes, it’s true, he was 100% God and 100% man at the same time. So if he was a 100% man then, he felt the exact same way we feel, getting tired, hurt, can be tempted, and as humans fear isn’t an excuse. He had a body, a body like us, he was a man. Thus, he can be tempted and can feel fear. But how did he not fall into the deceptions of the enemy? Because he knows he has a father, a daddy, he has a God. Not only that he has God but he knows his God well. That’s what makes us live a way differently the way he lived before. Jesus came not only to save us but to show us how “to live a life of knowing God”.

If we go back to the bible, where stories of Jesus’ life were recorded well, we see that he knows the word, he prays, he worship God, he laid his hand to the sick and they got healed, delivered the captives, casted out demons, raised the dead and faced death. He walk on earth not fearing anything, no worries came into his heart, nothing distracted his mind. He was a man of faith and of wisdom. He lived this way not because he is God but because he knows his God well, he knows his father well. And we can live the same way if we know the God we serve too. The reason why sometimes our hearts are filled with so much worries and our minds getting distracted by the unexpected situations is simply because we only know God by what we read or hear from others. We shouldn’t be living a life with God only of what others had told us, we must live a life of true encounters with God, we must experience God, we must hear God ourselves that we may get to know him well. We must taste God personally, that we may know him personally. So that when deceptions comes our way and fear may try to attack us, nothing won’t defeat us because we know God better than the enemy does. A God who never fails, a God who is faithful and a God who fights for our battles. These are the things that the enemy cannot do, the reason why to him belongs defeat and to us belongs the VICTORY. Horray!

Not until we had tasted God’s presence we wouldn’t know what God can do and who really God is in us. We cannot live only by believing that the cake is sweet if we haven’t tasted it yet. We have to taste it that we may exactly know how sweet is the cake and what the cake can do to us. In the same way with the blood of Jesus, we cannot be cleansed with our sins only by believing that He died and shed his blood for us. We have to take it and apply it to our dirty bodies. The blood is just like soap as Reinhard Bonnke says, no matter how we know the soap can clean our dirty bodies if we don’t take it and apply it, we cannot be cleansed. What does it mean? Believing only that Jesus died for us and he is the only savior isn’t enough, we have to take him in, inside our hearts, in our lives, apply his words, let him work in us that we may be cleansed from all of our unrighteousness. Knowing him as the bravest man ever lived won’t do us any good, if we couldn’t grasp the idea that in order for us to really live like him and walk fearlessly into this world we have to follow his example, apply it in our lives, remember he did not only come to save us but “to show us how to live a life of knowing God.” Christianity is not just about salvation it also about living the same way as Jesus lived.

[1believeinmiracles]

THE MARKS OF A TRUE LEADER

Many times I was asked who is the leader I admire the most by different people in different places. But my answer will remain the same: JESUS. His life for me is the best example that caught my attention and changed my life, I am so much amazed of his ways leading his people. He demonstrated love and care to everyone and exercised his power and authority with humility. He has the best teachings ever told and a book that was never outdated nor expires. He set the best example of a teacher-leader who walked the talked. This kind of leadership is what makes people get transformed. Followers look at leaders, who walk the talk and sets good example. He demonstrated 9 qualities of a good leader in very simple words which his book (BIBLE) called, “The Fruit of the Spirit” found in Galatians 5:22-23. These are the qualities that a leader must bear as fruit as he starts leading and grow. A leader must have love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, patience, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control in their heart. The characteristics that made Jesus famous in his time. He always carry it with him whenever and wherever he goes and whoever he meets because he believes that every single soul needs it.

Putting aside all the miracles he performed and only looking at him with such characters, I believed that these really made his team transformed lives wherever they go and everyone who hears and sees them believes. They ministered with such love and compassion, spent time with the people, listening and meeting their needs. All they care about is PEOPLE that will be transformed through their little lives.

I want to borrow Mama Heidi Baker’s famous quote (a well-known missionary in Mozambique, Africa), she said that if you want to give birth to the miraculous, you have to “STAY LOW and GO SLOW, and STOP for the ONE infront of you. These words made me think of transformational leadership. It is not easy to transform lives. When I see lives get transformed under someone’s leadership I call that a miracle. Because the leader who inspired and the reason a life is transformed has miraculously learned the law of staying low (means humility regardless of status and age), going slow (means time regardless of busyness) and to stop for the one in front of you who needs you (means valuing your people regardless of your position).

What should be the marks of a true leader? Well, a leader must know the way, shows the way and goes the way. And I coudn’t think of anyone else but Jesus, the most fitted example for leadership.

[1believeinmiracles]

FIRST TIME NEVER DIES

If there is this phrase that people who had experienced being in love believed in is the saying, “First Love Never Dies.” Yes, they always believed that the first person they love will remain in their memories, but not anymore in their hearts of course because the space that emptied by the first has been filled by the present and now their one and only love. But for us, who fell in love with God and his words, God had told me to “remember the first time”, we may have different first times in our walk with Jesus but to me He was referring the first time I prepared a simple message to be delivered to a group of about 20 or more people in the community, year 2013.

I was in our province first quarter of 2013 because we were organizing an event for the youth and the leaders of the churches there. Then a friend requested me to share a simple message. Since I wasn’t used to share my thoughts especially God’s word to people older than me, I really felt a bit nervous. I told myself that I want the words that I will speak about will touch people’s hearts, so I spent time to know what God wants for his people to hear. And so blessed I am, he gave me 4 words through the help of the Holy Spirit, speaking inside of me, in my heart so beautifully. He wants to tell them that to Him (God), they are his PRECIOUS ONE, TREASURE, DELIGHT and BELOVED. These are the exact words I got from God the night I was preparing that message.

And yes, yesterday after two years, God reminded me to always remember that first time. The feeling of dependency to him, my hunger and my thirst for the fresh revelations that comes directly from him. That the more I seek, the more that I will find and the more revelations I can get. He wants me to remember those four (4) words, because that’s how he looks at his people. God told me that whenever he looks at us, he sees us as his precious ones, his treasure, delight and his beloved. I know that God did not remind me these words for nothing, he made it clear to me that he wants me to remember how He sees us and tell everyone I get to meet that, that is the way he looks at his lovely creation. We are God’s precious ones, he treasure us and he delight in us, we are his beloved. His love for us all is so overwhelming. He showed me a vision of a man covered with dirt and said, “anak (daughter), you may look ugly and stinky in the eyes of the people around you but to me you always look so delightful and with good fragrance”. These were the words God wants me to remember and tell his people, that no matter how we look, how sinful we were, we are his children and for him we always look beautiful in his eyes.

Never forget the first time, the first time we seek God, the first time we encounter God, the first time we heard him speak to us. Those first time moments with our walk with God must live in us and be our life as we serve God.

[1believeinmiracles]

DADDY KNOWS BEST

I always believe in God, in his ways and his perfect timing. He is a God who knows everything about us, what and who we need in our life. We can never run away from his plans, as the book of proverbs says, his plans will always prevail. And one of the things I believed as part of his plans is where I am right now. I never imagined that I will be in the field of teaching one day, I am a registered nurse and never thought of it before. But things begin to change when I started to see myself share my knowledge to others, the youth. Looking at them listen to you and believe in you is such an encouragement to me. It touched my heart, it made me feel loved and appreciated. They impacted my life, they have planted a seed in my heart without knowing it. They made me realized my passion, they awaken my soul, they were the people God used to put me where will I need to be. I didn’t mean to say that where I was the past years was nothing to me now, actually those were the best years of my life. I learned so much from them, they helped me grow in the Lord, learn to pray and read my bible. They were the ones who made me study the bible and bend my knees in prayer. If not because of them, my walk with the Lord is nothing but normal churchy life. At least today, I can say, I have a relationship with my daddy God. We talk, we share, we laugh and listen to each other, it’s a fellowship and not just a mere relationship. I owe it to these young people and of course my very first spiritual leader, Tita Cleo. They were part of my christian family tree.

March 2014, I volunteered as a teacher in our church’s outreach kids ministry. Though, taking units in education is already in my mind but I don’t see it yet as my priority. My hunger those days was a family (in Christ), christian group of friends where I can get encouragements from, spiritual mommy who I can confide to (will lead me closer to God) and a ministry where I know I can serve my Daddy God.

March 14, Sunday, I went to attend a connect group, the schedule offered to me by Tita Dina (connect group coordinator for blue team). I arrived at 9:30 am (I was late) and so I knocked, entered the room, greeted everyone with a smile, introduced myself and was a little bit surprised the moment I realized who the leader was. Her face was so familiar, I didn’t expect that the leader of the group Tita Dina referring to as Miss was that woman. God, I don’t like her, she’s kind of old for me, I was only 26 and she’s in her early 50’s, what I needed was young, energetic, passionate leader who could lead me crazy in love to Jesus. I was disappointed and I want to turn around and say bye it was a mistake. But of course just to give respect and not to be that obvious, I pulled a chair quietly and sat down. And guess what happened to me, before I could sit, God spoke to me so loud and clear, (I was looking at her because she was talking that moment) then God said, “she is my anointed.” Oh no, it was just like God is telling me, who are you to complain for what I know is good for you? I led you to that woman. Don’t judge her by age or appearance, you don’t know her yet, and if you must know, that woman is “MY ANOINTED.” Very much grateful it was no longer the time of the Israelites in the Old Testament or else I have been punished right there, thank God for his grace. But really, it was so shameful for me to act that way, God defended her, she must really have been so great in God’s eyes for him to say that. And, the truth, I must agree with God, she really is a great woman, an anointed servant, a crazy lover of God, a prayer warrior, a mighty soldier, that is who she is before the Lord. And yes, I am so happy God led me to her. She is simply amazing, wonderful loving mommy, caring and very thoughtful. So blessed to have known her. A woman of God. Whatever God will lead us to will surely be the best for us, like what happened to me. The person I don’t like turned to be the person I most loved. She is so beautiful in and out. So much grateful for God. By the way, her name is Miss Cristy Silva, the answer to my prayer, a spiritual mother.

That day was full of God’s wonderful plan for me. I did not only get to have Mommy Cristy but also my sisters, Laurice, Mae, Shaira, and the group of mighty women of God, Ate Pia (a leader with a Big Heart for God), Ate Elaine, Ate Myrtle. They became my friends, not just friends but a family. These are the people God blessed me with. I am really really blessed. Indeed, God led me to that place. Yeah! Hurray for Daddy God.

These people and the church thing experience were all God used to bring me where I am right now, which I believe is part of his wonderful plans in my life. This is just the beginning of a blessed journey he prepared for me, I am looking forward for a lot more for the years to come.

Indeed, Daddy knows BEST!

[1believeinmiracles]

I BELIEVE IN MIRACLES

MIRACLES. Do you believe in miracles? Have you heard of someone testifies about it? Many will say, “Yes, I do believe in miracles, it was written in the bible. Jesus performed many in his time.” But we are not talking here the miracles of Jesus’ time. What we are talking here is today’s miracles. Do you believe that miracles are still happening today and not just during the time of Jesus?

There are a lot of stories from here and there about the miracles happening in our time but sad to say many people are still not convinced that these things happen. “A miracle? What? Oh no, that gold dust thing? Gold teeth? Gemstone? Money miracles? That creative miracle thing they call? Angel’s feather? Duh? And even a dead man can be raised back to life? Things like this isn’t true, these people were crazy. They are not JESUS! And they are not even leaders, they just ordinary people.” These are the reactions we usually get when we tell stories about what is happening around us today, when we talk about miraculous things, people won’t believe and won’t show any interest at all. But if we tell them something bad happened like, this girl died, someone was raped, kids were being kidnapped, they will give their full attention and take time to comment and will not stop until they hear the whole story. These are the kind of people we have today, the UNBELIEVING BELIEVERS. They shout, I believe, I believe in Jesus’ name, but deep in their hearts, still doubt that miracles can happen today and not only in the bible.

But….there is another side of the story, thank God, there are also people who believe that miracles can happen today, like, someone got healed and delivered from any bondage from the enemy. They believe in miracles but limited only to those what was recorded in the bible. For example, healing from blindness, paralysis, deafness but not the extreme. They believe that God heals but not the mind blowing. What do I mean mind blowing? These are the acts of God’s miracle that is so hard to explain and answer the questions how and why. When it happens, it blows your mind and will leave you so amazed of the beauty of God’s power. For example, the food miracle (something appeared out of thin air), money miracles (someone paid your bill in the bank or found money in your empty wallet or ATM), gemstone appeared after you prayed and worship God, a feather in your bed early in the morning with your door and windows closed, appearance of gold dust in your hands and face while listening to a sermon, stories of instant healing and many more. These are the kind of miracles which we can’t explain how it happened.

I can testify that I really witnessed the gold dust thing happened with my two eyes wide opened. It was last 2013 in a conference with Joshua Mills in our church. It happened during worship time, Joshua was at the front row, we were worshiping God and suddenly everybody inside the church went near Joshua, shouting in loud praises. I was on the right side, he was on the left, so for me to see him I need to take few more steps and so I did. When I saw him, gold dust was all over him, his hair, face, body, it was so thick. He was wearing black that night and I saw him when he entered the worship hall, so I know that those that looks like glitters, it wasn’t there before the worship started. God’s presence manifested that night through gold dust, and it was not only Joshua Millss who had those but there were also other people who had it on their faces, Kuya James was one of them. It was real. Gold dust is real. God can really do it.

Another story is from my friend, Noel, whose arm was in a cast due to a motor vehicle accident, his bone was broken, the doctor put metal so the broken bone could be reconnected. He can’t flex and can’t lift his arm. He came to one of our church’s Leaders Advance Conference last 2014 and was prayed over. After the prayer, he was asked to check if something unusual happened. He said the pain was gone. They asked him to do things he can’t do before they prayed for him. So he tried to flex his arm and lifted it up. And there he was, stood so amazed of how God instantly healed him in just few words of prayer. It wasn’t only that he can now flex and lift his arm and the pain was gone, the metal was gone too. He confirmed it in our Facebook conversation. God is so so good!

Another miracle story I heard was someone who had a gallbladder problem, she was operated and had it removed. After a while, she experienced another health problem, the church where she was attending prayed for her and heard about her removed gallbladder and so they declared new organ. She went to the doctor the next day for a follow up check up, same doctor who removed her gallbladder. After her check up the doctor told her that he saw in the ultrasound something like in a shape of a gallbladder appeared but not sure because he knew that her gallbladder has been removed and it was done by him. The doctor can’t explain how it happened but confirmed that she has now a new gallbladder. New organ miracle, something that isn’t mention in the bible is happening today. These are the things we call creative miracles. God can create new things. He created the earth and everything in it. He doesn’t change, he can create things out of nothing. That is who he is, his nature, the creator.

Those kinds of miracles yes but how about raising a dead person back to life? Is it really possible? Well, I did not see it yet but I had an experience praying for a dead 10 year old kid once. He wasn’t raise back to life but it doesn’t mean that God can’t do it. In the name of Jesus, a person can be raised back to life. One story I heard many times and read in a book was a celebrity’s son (actor Philip Salvador). His son lost his life but was raised back to life after a declaration of life. You still don’t believe it? Buy the book of Ptr. Hiram Pangilinan, “What if God comes”, it was written there and they had a photo attached. I also read it from the book of missionary Heidi Baker, “Compelled By Love.” The kids she was taking care of prayed about 300 dead people already and they were all raised back to life, you see, these kind of miracles is still happening today. All praise to you alone, Jesus, the giver of life.

I believed in miracles, I believed Jesus heals, restores and saves. How about you?