Sailing towards Aslan's Country

"While I can, I sail east in the Dawn Treader. When she fails me, I paddle east in my coracle. When she sinks, I shall swim east with my four paws. And when I can swim no longer, if I have not reached Aslan's country, or shot over the edge of the world in some vast cataract, I shall sink with my nose to the sunrise and Peepiceek will be head of the talking mice in Narnia." (VDT, Ch. 14)

A laser -like focus and courage and hope will never let anybody down but almost all things begin with belief or faith and then the seed of faith gives us the power to imagine wonderful things. Dreaming, imagining, are words full of tremendous energy. Some people uses this gift to get for themselves luxuries in this life. That is good. Others uses  this to create wealth to help others - this is what The Great Carpenter from Nazareth wants us to do. I also see others using this gift of imagination to achieve great things for the sole purpose of giving glory to the Unseen One who sees everything.


Repicheep begin with a belief in all that is good and noble, a belief in Aslan and in the reality of Aslan's country. That kind of belief gives him hope and hope has its own force that when stirred gives him courage to go on and strive and persevere. " And when I can swim no longer, if I have not reached Aslan's country....I shall sink with my nose to the sunrise..."  Oh what a valiant character! No turning back for this valiant mouse!


I remember the Sunday School song " I have decided to Follow Jesus" the lyrics goes like this:


I have decided to follow Jesus...
Though none go with me still I will follow...
No turning back...no turning back.


It all starts with the belief in all that is good and the consummation of all that is good is God. And the tremendous energy that comes from the One who is Good gives us courage to do things...courage to admit how tough and sad life can sometimes be...courage to look for the good when the world seems so dark...courage to change...courage to innovate....courage to do things that we have never done before until the intended purpose was achieved. And if our strength fails us and we have not reached the mark nevertheless we will not turn back. No we will not.We will raise the flag of victory for we know that we have not persevered in vain. We know Him- the One who calls us from the beginning. We know that He is True and Just and Good.


There were three young Hebrew men whose names were Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They were taken captive by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. A time came when the king decided to make a huge image of gold 90 feet high and he announced that everyone in his kingdom should bow on this image the moment they hear the sound of music. If  anyone was found not bowing to the statue will be thrown in to a huge burning furnace.
Then the most awaited celebration started and the music was heard and everyone except Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego did not bow to the statue. Somebody told the king that these three young men didn't obey the kings orders. The king was so enraged and asked them:


"Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you will not bow down and worship the image of gold that I have made?  Just in case there was a mistake I will give you another chance.  When the music plays again you will be ready and bow down to the image, and if you don't this time you will be thrown into a fiery  furnace.  Then what god will be able to save you?" 


Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego looked at each other and replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we did not make a mistake nor will we apologize for not bowing down.  If we are thrown into the furnace, the God we worship will save us, and he will rescue us.  But even if he does not, we want you to know, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." (Book of Daniel Chapter 3 - The Bible)


When you read the whole chapter then you'll know that they were thrown in to the fiery furnace but God intervened. God Himself walked with them in the fiery furnace and the three men just walked out of the fire not a single hair was burned.

In The Chronicles of Narnia "The Silver Chair" the Green witch says to the Narnian: “Put away these childish tricks.  I have work for you in the real world. There is no Narnia, no overworld, no sky, no sun, no Aslan.”  The Marshwiggle remarkably responds by affirming: “I ‘m on Aslan’s side even if there isn’t any Aslan to lead it.  I’m going to live as like a Narnian as I can, even if there isn’t any Narnia.” 


Reepicheep, the three young Hebrew men and the Marshwiggle gives us a glimpse on how to believe and have a laser-like faith, how to live and persevere and they give us some principles as well on how to sale towards Aslan's country. Believing, dreaming, sailing on calm waters and stormy seas, in the light of day and in the darkest night, it doesn't really matter -knowing that He who controls the waves and the storms is sailing with us. We know that the One who walks in the midst of fire will never leave us. We know these things because He is True to His words. He is Just and He is Good.


Happy Sailing! :)

A Mother's Love

                             posted on youtube by :MontgomeryGentry101

We will never forget those times when we needed someone and there she was waiting for us all along. We remember the love that was selfless. The sacrifice that she went through to provide what we need. How can we forget the caring embrace that made us strong. Her life made us want to discover what she has learned. Her faith has been an inspiration. I know her. She had problems too. Big ones. But that was the beauty of it all. She can smile and play with you. She can sing you a song and you'll know that there is something in her that is somewhat extraordinary. In the midst of a troublesome time you'll find in her a different kind of strength. Peaceful.Joyful. A strength of character that can only be molded in the anvil of difficulty and tested in the fire of adversity.

I am the eldest. I know what she had been through. I have two brothers and a sister and they love her as much as I do. And a mother who loves us with her life.

Some say that we don't have a mother anymore who can see the things that we do. She's already gone, you know. But I say she's more alive now than ever because she is now with God who is Life. 

One of the legacy of our mother was that she gave us a love for books and a desire to help others with what we have.But her most important legacy was that she pointed us to an unwavering faith in the character of God.

She loves us. And we love her. And we will love her forever.

Love your mom. Don't break her heart. Show your love by giving her something out of your heart. Or you can give your heart to God and your mom will be fully satisfied.

Happy mother's day mom! We love you!

Happy mother's day to all the mom's out there! 

Thank you for all your sacrifices and love! God will not forget that. He's been watching all along.

The Sores that Dried Up

Ten years ago in a remote area somewhere in the Philippines, there was a man whose name was Eddie. But we just call him Ed. His complexion was darker than the color of the average Filipino. His height I think was 5'4. He was such a jolly person and he has many stories under his sleeves. There was an event in his life which turned everybody in the village to look up to him for encouragement, comfort and advice. 

The first time I met him I was only 24 and he was in his 40's.

I was a guest speaker on a special occasion at a certain place. Being the guest speaker and because I didn't know anyone in that place, I need to make some connections. I need to arrived earlier than everybody. And so I did. Twenty meters from the house there was  an awful smell as if there was a rotting flesh of a dead animal. And then the most horrible sight I had personally ever seen in my life was before me.
A man agonizing in pain with open sores all over his body from head to foot was lying on a bed made of bamboo.  For eight years Ed was tormented by this unknown disease. He was brought to the best hospitals in Manila. Different specialists tried to diagnosed his condition. He tried different alternative medicines and with the pressure brought by the neighbors, the family gave in to their suggestions and he was brought to faith healers and all the healers that they knew. But nothing happened and with the physician's every cure and application of medicine the sore got worst than ever. The experts were baffled. The neighbors disappointed. The relatives  were confused. And his wife left him.  And so the pain deepened. Restlessness inevitable. Depression was at hand. Hope was nearly gone.

But as in all stories where everything seems lost, hope find its way.

Twenty meters away from the house his parents and relatives told me the story and from there I can see him through the window. He was lying on his bed. I felt sorry for him and I nearly wept. Before I knew what was going on, a man was heading directly to him and embraced him. With no thought of the open sores and the rotten smell. He was so moved with compassion and being the Christian that he is he uttered a simple prayer that was heard by everyone inside the house. "Lord I know you are God, heal this man or you are not God". And He ended that with "Amen". Every eyes was on him. They could not believe he said that prayer.

A day after that incident the news spread in that village. The open sores were drying up. Actually at midday we went to see what was happening and true to what had been circulating- almost all of the sores dried up overnight. But there was something more worth mentioning. Something much more profound than just the open sores being healed. Ed told me he was able to forgive his wife and he had also forgiven himself. He finally made peace with God. He said- that is all that really matters in the end. Even though he still feel some pain of the past what really matters is that the wound was healed.

The Villager's Tragedy

There was a great commotion going on in that little barangay(barangay is the local term for village in the Philippines).  People were running from all directions to a little prayer house made of bamboo and nipa leaves. The ground is dry and with each feet in haste dust filled the air. Some of the women are shouting. "Hurry!We need to get there as soon as possible". Worry fills the air. There was a kind of dread on the faces of the mothers who knew what was going on. 

This village is like one big family deeply concerned with each other. You can trace their ancestry and you'll find out that most of the people are related by blood. And there were a few who were just neighbors.

A woman was crying vehemently. All others that saw her, cried with her. The men were shocked. On the altar was a 2 year old boy not breathing at all. No pulse. The fingers were violet in color. The face was pale. He was there for almost an hour. Her mother and others found him hanging on a 220 volts of live electrical wire, already dead. He was very dear to her and to that little village.

Emotions rise up. Questions were asked. "Why did she bring the baby on the prayer house instead of bringing him to the hospital?", the women relatives asked. "The boy was already dead. We found him with his hands on the electrical wire already dead and the hospital is an hour from here. Fourty minutes had already gone and we do not even have a car. Don't judge the mother. She loves him and this is her way of grieving", said the men.  "If the same happens to you, you will definitely feel helpless like her and the only hope that you can have is God", said an old man who is respected in that place. And the women were hushed.

Meanwhile the mother was in deep anguished and she was praying in a loud voice asking God for the boy's life. Oh how she loves her child!  She was asking for a miracle. What she didn't know was that her asking for a miracle was a miracle in itself. What kind of courageous faith can true love gives to a man, like this mother, she was able to ask for the seemingly impossible. She stayed there for another hour of intense praying and sobbing and loud cries.  The women left one by one. Only a handful of them remained. All the men stayed together with the husband. The boy still on the altar.

Tragedy due to our carelessness or tragic things that we do not have control could happen to any of us and we can answer one way or the other. We can feel sorry for ourselves and remain unproductive or we can ask for the help of another to ease our pain. 

That incident in a little village called Laiya Ibabao happened 6 years ago if my memory does not fail me. It's the time when the most unexpected and amazing thing happened- a 2 year old boy who was dead for more than an hour was now living with his parents in that same little old village with all their relatives and other's who were just neighbors.

Peace, anyone?

I know you have heard of the story of the little birds resting peacefully under their mother's wings while the storm passes by their nest up on a branch of the swaying tree. They have peace because they trust the mother bird. The little birds know their mom. They know their mom can protect them but that's not all. They also know that she will. They fully understand her character.

Know the person first and then you will be able to trust him to the extent of what you discovered about him. 

Having the knowledge of God's character will give a person a deep appreciation of God and a sense of awe which can translate into an unmovable trusting kind of faith.

Faith is not blind. It rests on hard evidence. Discover the evidence and you will have faith. Know whom you are putting your trust into. Know whom you are placing your life into. Find out what He is saying about Himself and see if it corresponds exactly to what He is doing.  If you find Him trustworthy, that is the only time you will experience peace in the midst of the storm because at the very moment that  you find the truth about Him, you will be compelled to trust Him. 

The moment you realized that one plus one equals two, no one in the world will be able to make you think otherwise.When you find Him true to His words, you are compelled to believe.

You will know that His wings will cover you. He will protect you. And He will never let go of you.

Know Him. Trust. Peace.

Reason for Everything

There's a question I've got on the net which goes like this:

What if the reason for everything that happens is a BAD reason? Some people believe everything happens for a reason, but what if that reason is really really bad? Like... the creator is an alcoholic and just likes to mess with people's minds?

This kind of question automatically assumes that there is also a good reason behind every bad reasons. Because for a thing to be labelled "bad" there must be a "good" that will act as a reference of what is to be called "bad". And since the question starts with a "what if?", it is a hypothetical question therefore it cannot be answered with an exact factual principle because "what if not?".

God Pop's Up into Existence

There are some people who asks the question whether God just pops out into existence. Some asks this question to disprove God. Others inquire about it just out of curiosity. But that kind of question is rather quite confusing.

These are the reasons.

When we use the word "God" in essence we are saying "eternal existence" or the "eternally existent One" meaning no beginning and no ending. Therefore it logically follows that a "no beginning" entity, simply put a "God", cannot just "pop" itself up into existence because that would be in contradiction with the essence  "no beginning" or in other words a "no beginning" entity cannot pop himself up into existence because he simply is. So according to this logic, it logically follows that God simply is. He eternally is. What now does the question implicate? The question self destructs.

Evidence of the Existence of God

When the existence of God came into question it is imperative to know if we are referring to the same meaning of the word. Because some refer to "God" as the Source of our existence or The Creator or simply The Maker.Others have different notions. If that is your meaning of God then I believe that such a person exists. Simply because we are here on this planet, it is very impossible to think that we simply existed as human beings from the very beginning without a source.It would be very absurd to logic and systematic thinking into believing that we simply came to be without a "Maker" or a "Creator". Everything that we ever did as humans has a beginning from the minute details up to engineering and the highest technology ever invented.

Our history as humans forces us to believe that there is at least a beginning to many things here on earth especially those that we invented ourselves and nothing manmade could ever be called "manmade" without a man to create, invent or make it. Therefore, human history and present day-to-day experiences forces us to a conclusion that there is a Great Maker of at least the human species because we must have a beginning in order to exist. To conclude otherwise is to object to our own human-technology-and-invention experiences and history where we are the maker and creator of things so to speak.

So this is what i think.

I do not believe in a "God" because tradition or anybody else taught me. I believe in a Creator-God. I'm force to believe because of our own experiences as a human race and our capacity to invent things and because of our ingenuity.It would be illogical if we just came to be, as genius as we are, without someone who invented us and made us.

It is hard for us to believe that an aircraft, as sophisticated as it is, has to be without an inventor or someone who made it. How then could we easily believed that we as sophisticated, gene-imbedded human beings, came to be without someone, more intelligent than we are, who made us from the very beginning? It simply is not logical and it defies reason. Logic and reason forces me to believe in a Creator-God.