The moment I passed the immigration line at the NAIA Terminal 1 there was no turning back.  To follow Jesus where He leads is a commitment I made when I decided to make Him Lord of my life.  It's been an exciting adventure since I chose to do that at age 13.

A new chapter is once again being written in my life as I together with my family venture into the unknown.  Knowing only that it is He who called us and is faithful to the very end.  May He find the same in me.

On the day of departure 26 Feb 2008 we had to make a decision which I didn't like.  That was for Renz & Nav to stay behind to finish up the clearing of our rented house in Pasig.  We didn't want to leave Mommy Vaisy crying because of the still a lot of things to sort and clean up at the house.  We'd rather her crying because she will miss us ;p  So reluctantly I left Tuesday night.  Thanks to Bro. Jessie & Sis. Choleen Lema who took me to the airport together with dad Pete, ma Vaisy, Renz & Nav.

Fro Christians who've been around that sub-culture for a while (and i ave being a Pastor's kid growing up), there's a tendency for the disciplines to become mechanical to a point of it becoming almost hypocritical.  Things such as meeting together, singing, praying, reading scripture and other Christian disciplines.

I've found that when we lose sight of the WHY, things begin to lose purpose and meaning.  We may start out with the right and good intentions but over time it become a meaningless ritual.

Disciplines enable us to do what we were created for and become better at it over time.  When athletes train, it's not something new everyday.  It's a schedule of the same diet, exercise and routine repeated daily to strengthen specific muscles, build strength and stamina.  So that when they finally compete they can do so with minimal damage, in optimum shape and hopefully win!  Their goal is not just to do the daily regimen, the goal is to compete and win!

Our spiritual growth is not much different.  The spiritual disciplines of prayer, scripture study and memorization, meeting together regularly, sharing, simple living, generosity, Holy Spirit dependence together with many other disciplines need to be practiced regularly if we are to run the race effectively and later qualify for the prize.  It can be tedious at times and requires hard work so we must keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, He is the goal.  Not to complete 15 mins of prayer and scripture reading, rather it's to become like Christ.

Why do you do what you do?

Early this week a stench was reeking on the 2nd floor of our rented house.  Attempts to conceal it with incense and air freshener went to no avail.  It was on the third day that our Home Managing Assistant (helper) finally discovered a dead and now decomposing cat just outside the 2nd floor window of bedroom 2 (blauaagghhh...), excuse me.  Cleaning up the mess didn't get rid of the decaying odor as fast as we would've liked.  It was only this morning when the garbage pick-up truck came that the air has began to clear up.

In the book of Numbers in the Bible, Moses as he was talking to some of Israel's tribes said, "and you can be sure that your sins will find you out."  Here are some thoughts on that:

• Un-confessed sin will reek affecting ones life and everything else attached to it for the worse.
• Hiding sin with an act will not prevent it's stench from escaping in other areas of your life.
• It's only by dealing with it (through God's grace) that one can find freedom from the dizzying odor that won't go away - 1 John 1:9

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI has reversed centuries of traditional Roman Catholic teaching on limbo, approving a Vatican report released Friday that says there were "serious" grounds to hope that children who die without being baptized can go to heaven.

Link

More changes in the RC.

Is Your Group a Cult?

But what about the group you are hooking up with? Here are some things to look for. Rick Ross has 10 warning signs of a potentially unsafe group/leader:

1. Absolute authoritarianism without meaningful accountability.
2. No tolerance for questions or critical inquiry.
3. No meaningful financial disclosure regarding budget, expenses such as an independently audited financial statement.
4. Unreasonable fear about the outside world, such as impending catastrophe, evil conspiracies and persecutions.
5. There is no legitimate reason to leave, former followers are always wrong in leaving, negative or even evil.
6. Former members often relate the same stories of abuse and reflect a similar pattern of grievances.
7. There are records, books, news articles, or television programs that document the abuses of the group/leader.
8. Followers feel they can never be "good enough".
9. The group/leader is always right.
10. The group/leader is the exclusive means of knowing "truth" or receiving validation, no other process of discovery is really acceptable or credible.

Link

Check out the video link of Horst Shaffranek's followers in action. The link is near the beginning of the post on Andrew's blog.

I'm not much for reviewing books I've read but this one really hit the clash cymbal in my soul! thanks to Shane!

This book as it professes will disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed. It's time to stop being self-centered Christians and live by loving God with all and loving others...

It's not the great things we do that will change the world but the small things done with great LOVE! - Mother Teresa, Culcutta, India.