God's "No" Sometimes Means "Not Yet"

The cold breeze of winter touched my face as I stepped for the first time in the island of Kish, Iran. You can sense the weariness of the people as they walk from the tarmac to the airport terminal building. The fear of the unknown seems like a deep word to use to describe how everyone look like but that is what I feel as we all line up and get our turn to be in-front of the immigration officer. 


Fear was in the pounding heart of everyone. Fear of what the Island has in-store for us as everyone waits for their visa to get back to  U.A.E. You can hear whispering voices of people chatting, introducing themselves to the new faces in-front of them with a hope of not waiting for many weeks for their visa to come out.


To wait... Those are the words that everyone here don't want to do for a long time. 


For for me that was what happened.


I waited...


and waited...


and waited more...




I was told that I'll be exiting Dubai for just 2 to 3 days. So I was advised not to bring many clothes and any valuables because I will not be needing those in my supposedly short period stay.


Just 2 to 3 days they said.


...but it became 33 days.


One of the days while I'm waiting, I thought that maybe the number 2 got tired of waiting also and it went out so number 3 replaced him tagging along his twin brother. Well, just a thought.


This is the longest period of my life that I became idle. I wake-up and sleep on the time I wish to. I eat if get hungry, then I sleep again and sleep some more.


To my surprise, what seems to be a sure "good for nothing & time-wasting" 33 days of my life turned out to be the one of the most meaningful one. God spoke to me and heard Him all right. I heard Him very clearly. Not audibly and He did not spoke to my ear but to my heart.


One of the most valuable things I learned in my "exile" is God loves us so much that He don't give right away what we asks of Him. Yes, you read it right! You may be shocked about that sentence but I believe there's so much truth in that. There are things that are really not meant for us that's why God don't give us those but many times there are things that He want to give us but now is not just the proper time. 


It is like the little child pulling the shirt of his dad and begging him to ride a big mountain bike when the kid don't even know yet how to pedal a small bike with 2 little rubber tires on the side. Can you imagine what will happen to that kid if his dad give him what he wants? It will be a disaster! The boy will surely crash and be hurt. He will have bruised elbows and wounded knees.


Everyday I am praying to God that my visa will arrive on that certain day. 


1st week... I prayed.
2nd week... I prayed.
3rd week... I prayed.
4th day... I prayed. 


 I prayed and prayed everyday but for 32 long days, no visa was sent in my email.


Then maybe around 2 weeks of staying there, it hit me. God wants me know how to wait, to have patience, to hope, to pray harder, to trust, to forgive, to love, to help, to learn, to unlearn and to have faith in Him.


Then on the 33rd day, my visa arrived. Suddenly I realized that all I was just asking for is one item so God answered "not yet", and He allowed me to learn all of those things.


And at the end, I feel like I was refreshed and renewed because God gave me all these beautiful learnings and I got more than what I prayed for.


So the next time that we are tempted to doubt God if ever He will grant those deepest desires of our heart. Those things that we cried out to Him as we closed our eyes before we sleep at night. Make sure to get closer to Him because maybe, just maybe He is not whispering "No" but only "Not Yet".


God wants us to realize golden lessons and acquire first the values that we need so we will not end up with a bruised heart and wounded soul because in the end, if what we are praying for is really for us, God will surely give it without a single doubt. 

Pay Yourself First

A Sad Story of an OFW

She is Tita Ruby (not her real name). I met her in one of  my Financial Literacy Lectures abroad. She is a petite woman with a  humble heart at the age of 65.

"You know Norman..." She said politely. "My plan was to work here in this country for just a maximum of 5 years. My plan was to save money so I can send my kids to school and eventually retire and stay in the Philippines for good."

I am listening intently to what she was telling as she started her next sentence with a sigh. "But look at me now... I am still working in this country for 20 long years with no savings whatsoever."

She rest down her two elbows at the table and continue saying "For 20 years, I had only few opportunities to see my kids grow, I was not there during their graduations, I was not there when they are crying..." she sigh deeper and said" I missed so much about their lives and now that I am about to retire, I haven't save any sufficient amount so that I can live comfortably or even decently so I now question myself if it was all worth it..."

There is a Time of Abundance and Time of Famine

Many of us can relate to the story of Tita Ruby. We know very well that her story is most likely the story of many Overseas Filipino Workers Abroad. We can truly say that our OFWs are one of the modern day heroes of the Philippines because of the love and the sacrifice that they do so that they can bring their family out of poverty.

But sadly, many of our OFWs and also the Filipinos who are working here in the Philippines don't know what to do with their hard-earned money. That's why if the time comes for them to retire, many have to work again to sustain their lives and have money for their basic needs. 

While we have the capacity to earn, we should learn the disciple to save for ourselves. Before paying others like SM, Robinsons, Ayala, Meralco, PLDT, Globe, Smart and other rich companies, you should have the discipline and the habit of paying yourself first.

How Do I Pay Myself First?

In the story of Joseph the Dreamer, he translated the dream of the Pharaoh that there will be 7 years of abundance and 7 years of famine. So he advised all the people to save 1/5 of their harvest.

It is also the same with us, we all know that 1/5 of 100% is 20%. So it means that we should keep 20% of what we are earning now so that when emergencies (famine) like loss of job, sickness, accidents comes, you will be ready and you have resources to get you along until the time of abundance comes again.

We must also put God first in our lives and give Him our offering so we must also Tithe (this will be another full length topic). Our Tithe should be at least 10% of what we are earning. 

The savings formula of most people is like this "Income - Expenses = Savings". If this will be our formula, then it will be hard for us to save something for ourselves. 

Our formula should be like this "Income (100%) - Tithes (10%) - Savings (20%) - Expenses (70%)". If this will be our formula, then it is possible for you to save money for yourself that you can be used for emergencies and for retirement.

You Cannot Bring Your Wealth With You When You Die. So Why Dream To Be Rich?!

"Why do you like to be rich? When you die, you cannot bring your wealth with you anyway..."

This is a familiar phrase I hear from many people.

Yes they are partly correct, you really cannot bring your wealth with you if you are six feet below the ground.

But I strongly disagree with that phrase.

Here's why.

It was a perfect Friday afternoon as I visited my mom's new resting place in Holy Gardens Cemetery. The setting sun was painting the sky with beautiful colors as the light of the day slowly surrenders to the approaching evening.

From where I was standing, I can see the sun slowly kissing the waters of Laguna de bay as it bids farewell to another beautiful day.

After saying a prayer for my mom, I decided to spend a quite time and walk inside the cemetery.

 As I pass by the grave of the people who are lying there, I am pondering with the question I mentioned above.

Then a realization hit me.

It is true that we cannot bring our wealth with us when we die but I realized that If you want to be rich because deep inside your heart you want to help people, you need to feed your family, you want to donate to your community, you want to go on a mission, and you want to bless the world...

Then even if you cannot bring those wealth with you when you die, seek for it anyway. Pursue your dreams anyhow. 

Why?

Because YOU CAN LEAVE IT TO OTHERS. Because YOU CAN GIVE IT AWAY TO THE PEOPLE WHO NEED IT THE MOST.

I think it is selfish to think that if we cant bring our wealth with us, we will not even try to be wealthy. I personally believe that this world needs more Christ-like millionaires so that the Earth would be a better place to live in. 

This world needs true millionaires not just in pockets but in the hearts.

Truly, money is NOT the most important thing in the world but money affects everything that is important to us- our family, our organization, the people dear to us, our community.

Let us always remember that greed and generosity comes from the same source- our hearts. Money is just an instrument so you can show what's inside yours.

Be blessed everyone!

Living by FEAR vs. Living by FAITH

Today's responsorial psalm says: "The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom should I fear?"


What are you afraid of right now? What disappointment are you afraid is coming? What's worrying you? What's stealing your joy and seems hopeless?


When we "gaze on the loveliness of the Lord," we realize that there is no reason to be afraid. We realize: God is so wonderful, so caring, so good, so awesomely powerfully concerned about my every need, my every hope, my every prayer, of course there is nothing that will happen to me that is so bad as to produce more harm than good!


When we have fear, we're blind to the wonderfulness of the Lord, and like the two men in today’s Gospel passage, we need to be healed.


Faith is what heals us – faith that identifies Jesus as Lord, faith that appreciates the loveliness of the Lord, faith that can see that God is going to make good come from every hardship, no matter how bad it looks.
This is a faith that empowers us to believe that we shall indeed "see the bounty of the Lord in the land of the living", and it becomes the source of our hope.


This is a faith that is willing to "wait for the Lord with courage," because we know that God is watching over us, and thus we can experience hope even during hardships.
Fear is not of God. It does not belong in a Christian's life. Neither does worry, because worry is caused by fear. If the Lord truly is our Savior, as we claim him to be, then we want to trust him, because we know we can trust him!


Those who are blinded by fear are those who cannot see the Lord, and thus they have valid reason to live in fear. Those of us who know better, however, because we have already seen the Lord do much good, have valid reasons to live in confident hope, despite all the visible evidence to the contrary.


Are you living in this hope? How visible is it? Do you have more hope than fear, more peace than worry?
Most faith-filled Christians experience temporary blindness from time to time. That's simply because we forget to gaze upon the loveliness of the Lord.


We get distracted by the attractions of this world, losing sight of what is pure and holy and loving and heavenly. We get distracted by our trials and hardships, focusing on the evidence of disaster instead of on the reasons for hope.


Victorious hope comes from remembering to keep our eyes focused on Jesus at all times.

Do You Believe in the Resurrection?

Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection,
came forward and put this question to Jesus, saying,
"Teacher, Moses wrote for us,If someone's brother dies leaving a wife but no child,
his brother must take the wife
and raise up descendants for his brother.
Now there were seven brothers;
the first married a woman but died childless.
Then the second and the third married her,
and likewise all the seven died childless.
Finally the woman also died.
Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be?
For all seven had been married to her."
Jesus said to them,
"The children of this age marry and remarry;
but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age
and to the resurrection of the dead
neither marry nor are given in marriage.
They can no longer die,
for they are like angels;
and they are the children of God
because they are the ones who will rise.
That the dead will rise
even Moses made known in the passage about the bush,
when he called out 'Lord, '
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob;
and he is not God of the dead, but of the living,
for to him all are alive." 

- Lk. 20:27-38

Do you believe in the resurrection?

That's the question that Jesus indirectly poses when he challenges the Sadducees in this Sunday's Gospel reading.

As Christians, we believe that someday we will experience a resurrection like Christ's, after we depart from this present earthly "age" or stage of life. All believers who follow Jesus will live as the angels do. This is why Catholic funeral Masses are Resurrection Masses and use white instead of black as the liturgical color.

But do you believe in the resurrection of love?

Jesus explained the resurrection in terms of marriage. A marriage is supposed to be a reflection of God's love for his people. Marriage is supposed to unite a man and a woman in an enduring love that comes from God; therefore it gives witness to the world of God's faithfulness and commitment.

So why would Jesus say that marriage is not a part of the resurrection of the dead? Why won’t today’s marriages become perfect and continue forever after both husband and wife have entered heaven?

Here on earth, love is imperfectly given and imperfectly received. Therefore, it's constantly dying and being resurrected again, every day, to the extent that each spouse repents and forgives. (The same is true of any friendship.)

Perfect love is God. We live as true children of God when we love our brothers and sisters the way he loves them. Marriage does not exist in heaven because it's an imperfect love: We love our spouses more than we love others. In heaven, we will love our spouses fully (yes, even our ex-spouses!) and we will love everyone else just as much. And those who have loved us poorly will love us better than the best spouse could love us now.

Marriage is only a foreshadowing of what love – with everyone – will be like in heaven.

Questions for Personal Reflection:

Who has failed to love you enough? Who has caused you a lot of pain? How would you feel if that person were to greet you at the entrance of heaven to let you in at the moment of your death? Do you have enough love for that person to get you through the door?

Questions for Family & Community Faith Sharing:

How is a marriage like God's love? Describe the ways that God loves us, and relate these signs of true love to what you've experienced in good friendships. How is this a foretaste of heaven?

Ako ang Pag-asa

Ako ang pag-asa ng bayan

Sa kamay nakasalalay ang kinabukasan

Ako ang pag-asa ng bayan

Halina kaibigan, tayo nang magtulungan

Isa akong Pilipino, ang lahi ng mga astig

Ang awit ng pag-asa sa tinig ko’y maririnig

Ibabahagi ang aking galing para sa bayan ko

Isisigaw sa buong mundo na Pilipino ako!

 

Dugong kayumanggi sa aki’y nananaig

Sa lahat ng pagsubok ay di padadaig

Umaraw man, bumagyo lalaban ako

Buhay ay iaalay para sa bayan ko

Marami kang pwedeng gawin

Gamitin ang talino angkin

Una sa lahat ng yung gagawing ay taimtim na panalangin

Gabay ng may Dakila ang ang iyong dalhin.

Ako ang pag-asa ng bayan

Sa kamay nakasalalay ang kinabukasan

Ako ang pag-asa ng bayan

Halina kaibigan, tayo nang magtulungan

Happiness Within

I was early today. I took the MRT from Buangkok station and alighted at Seranggon station. I rode a bus and walk a few meters to our office here in Singapore.

As I got up the 3rd floor, our office was still locked so I went down again to the canteen to spend time reading and write articles.

As I type this, I am beside a big window and I can see the beautiful view of this part Singapore. The trees are slightly swaying to the gentle wind and the sunny day here in this beautiful country helps give you a feeling of joy.

As I write this article also, I am listening to Toby Mac’s Lose My Soul song. I am struck by the lyrics of the chorus. It goes like this “I don’t want to gain the whole world and lose my soul…”

Then a realization came to my mind.

With all the innovations and great leaps that man has accomplished in this world, many people cannot find the true happiness in this world. 

The other day, I was watching the 25 Most Tragic Death in Hollywood,  and I find it really disturbing why people like Kurt Cobain and other famous personalities with all their money and fame still have not found true happiness in this life. 

I think the answer is very simple yet complicated.

The answer is you can only find the true happiness with Jesus in your heart. You can have all the money in the world, be the most famous person, and be the most powerful but it will all be an empty success if you don’t have that true joy that only Jesus can give.

This very simple thing is yet so complicated to many people. They find it absurd to put God in their hearts and in everything they do. They view having God in their lives as corny and not a cool thing to do. They value more what other people may tell them. The young people look up to actors, actresses and personalities who also have a disturbed and twisted lifestyle. 

I hope if you are reading this, you have Christ in your heart and share His love to other people. This world needs godly people who will stand-up for the truth and will knows that the greatness of character is more important than achievements. 

I hope that many people will stop for a while, look at the world around them and find God in the ordinary and in the extra-ordinary, in the everyday routine and in life’s surprises.

May God bless us all.