OVERVIEW

You're scrolling on your phone and seeing others living the life you've always dreamed for yourself. You've been contemplating what you've missed and what just had happened, and suddenly made a conclusion that time really flies and so you're age but you are not going anywhere. Yes! Where you are right now is the result of the decisions you've made in the past. And I don't know what kind of mistake is that probably's not a good one, but please don't be too hard on yourself.

"If only I obey."

"If only I tried."

"If only I listened."

"I shouldn't have done that."

"I shouldn't have said that."

"If only I fight for it."

"If only I become wiser."

Regret is that one thing that best steals your joy. Instead of being grateful for the many things in your life, you'll end up grudging about the past, your past mistake, hurts, and disappointments. But do you believe that everything happens for a reason? Though sometimes your words and actions lead to negative consequences, I truly believe that God allowed those things to happen for you to learn from them, and most importantly, because God is working in a way that sometimes hard to understand, or I might say surpasses all understanding. It is said in:

ROMANS 8:28

OVERVIEW

The world today is so different, yet still the same. As I went back and forth from different places, life still goes on. However, I noticed something that really changed. The way people cope with the situation right now and how the people interact with each other.

I see so many angry people from the waiting line to paying their bills to the clinic as the lady screaming to the old doctor shouting, 'He's not sick!'. I was shocked. I pity the doctor. What's going on in the world? It seems it is easy to hate and blame others than love and spread good vibes.

I just felt a little bit sad as I saw the result of this pandemic. Anxiety, scarcity, fear, panic, and more. It really affected us in many ways. The world is not the same as before yet still alike. Why did I say so? Do you know the song entitled 'Where is the Love?' by the Black Eyed Peas that was released in 2003, the lyrics say:

"I feel the weight of the world on my shoulder

As I'm gettin' older, y'all, people gets colder

Most of us only care about money makin'

Selfishness got us followin' the wrong direction"

And I know, you may be singing the song as well up to the chorus! Anyways. As I tuned in, I realized, time is just repeating itself. Feels like it happened already long decades ago. I once allowed hate to take over my heart. I see others as an enemy, I even allowed hatred to rule, just because everyone is furiously fighting to have that convenience, chasing money. Hatred is everywhere. It is easy to think and talk back unpleasant things towards others, right? But it is said by:

MARTIN LUTHER KING

"Darkness cannot drive darkness; Light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; Love can do that."

I certainly believe in this. It's never possible to kill hate with hate. I have a lot to say about this. You know what, the more you get angry with people or your situation, the more likely hatred arises, and then what? You will definitely self-destruct!

3 POWERFUL STEPS TO DRIVE OUT HATE

1. Pray and forgive - It's hard to love someone who hates or persecutes you. If you really want to make peace with them, pray! Ask the Lord to help you love the way He does. He loved you and forgave you so that you may be able to love and forgive others. As for me, it's a crucial thing to reconciliation. When you pray for someone you hate or consider as an enemy, it means you are making peace to yourself as you made a very difficult decision of surrendering it all to God. Jesus said in:

LUKE 6:27-28:

“But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you."

2. Humility - It involves losing the argument rather than losing the relationship. Being humble enough to say sorry, even if it's not really your fault. I did it so many times, and it works. When you humble yourself, the situation changes, and you'll be favored. It's like something happened in the heart of the other person. Remember, it's not about who wins the fight, it's about who does the right thing in the sight of God.

The hardest thing to do when you're mad is to humble yourself. Pride always comes in and it doesn't do good to us. Do the first move, approach the other person and it's going to be worth it. But don't do it without even doing step 1, pray and forgive, or else it might result in another argument or fight. As you humble yourself, it shall bring peace and inward healing.

3. Do good - Showing kindness and this includes giving. Give something that you know will make the person feel important or loved. If the tension is within your relationships or in the family, you can simply act with kindness, cook for the person, be the light. Giving your time to help or simply listen, means you sympathize with what others feel. It is said in:

ROMANS 12:21:

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

PROVERBS 25:22:

“In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you."

I don't know about you but these three works for me. Two days ago, I got so angry with my grandma for she allowed a stranger to come inside our kitchen and cook his breakfast while I am asleep in the living room, it's like 6:00 am in the morning. My heart is full of hate. I should be happy that we are able to bless people, but I'm grudgingly complaining about why she does that. This man and his co-workers have a lot of debt in our store (and yeah, you just found out that he's not really that stranger, but for me, we don't really know them personally) and all of a sudden, I was thinking bad, like 'are they trying to take advantage of us', or 'is she (grandma) just trying to please people'?

There are times in our everyday lives that we make simple things an issue, we tend to make tiny problems bigger. I am not proud of what I felt, however, I learned from it. Just like what I said in my bio, I am still learning, and there are always good stories out of my life, as well as yours!

Moving forward, I did assess myself, why am I feeling this? I did ask God to change my heart. I did ask God to help me love others. And this is what He said as I make my devotion the next morning. It is said in:

PSALM 53:2-4:

“God looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.

Everyone has turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one. Do all these evildoers know nothing?"

Yes! I simply realized that we all fell short of the glory of God. There's no way I'll be looking to myself better than the others. It is also said in:

PHILIPPIANS 2:3:

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves."

So I understand clearly now, and so do you? Whenever you think that you are better than the others, and you just care about yourself, that 'Me first, Me Me Me!' mentality; the more you exalt yourself, and the more you will likely get frustrated not getting the things that you wanted out of others.

FINAL THOUGHTS

And so, my conclusion is, PRIDE and SELFISHNESS can lead to HATE!

But you know what, I didn't allow the enemy to destroy my relationship with my grandma. I pray and forgave her, in my heart, I ask God to show kindness and love to her instead of confronting her. I almost did, at the back of my mind, 'You were wrong! Why did you do that? It's not right!' and so on. So be on guard! Do you think if I burst out my frustrations, I will be happy trying to prove my point? I guess not!

I did really just followed the strategies I outlined here beforehand. And I won! Not the argument, but the battle! Because I humble myself and allowed God to take the pride and anger, He changes the situation, I was able to bond with my grandma, and of course, we prevented hurting each other. This is just an example, and I know there are more complex situations that you're maybe facing right now, more than I do. But rest assured, God's love never fails. You could win your battles too! All you have to do is surrender.

I am so embarrassed when the man whom I called 'a stranger' offered us a ride yesterday, despite my cold attitude towards him. It means we don't have to walk 20 minutes just to get out of the village, not only that, it saves our time and money. God made me realized one thing, that's how I supposed to love my neighbors, do good to those who hate you! In my case, it's not really 'hate', but still it's not under God's highest command:

MARK 12:30-31:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.

The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these."

How many times I've come across this passage:

1 JOHN 4:20:

“Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen."

Once I've heard a worship leader saying 'Love does not equal hate. Love is the only thing that transforms.' This phrase captured my heart as I was listening to the song, deep down inside, I was hoping to have that love, feel that love, and understand that kind of love. If love can transform, can L-O-V-E really makes the world a better place?

AT THE END OF THE DAY

YOU HAVE A CHOICE

WILL YOU HATE

OR LOVE? .........

♡♡♡

There is one man who loved you more than His own life. - JESUS

OVERVIEW

How's your heart? Often times we didn't really recognize the condition of our hearts. There are moments in our life that we are so drawn to something that we didn't realize we are hurting our own selves. It may be pride, sin, addiction, frustrations, and more. Or maybe you're so discouraged right now, hopeless, wounded; you know what if you put your faith in the wrong thing, it will surely leave you broken.

However, I am writing this down to let somebody know that whatever situation you're in, or whatever weight in life you're carrying. Please remember that you're not supposed to carry it alone. There are people out there whom God has put into your life to help, it's just one step towards humility, who wouldn't want to get better? It is said in:

JOHN 3:21

"But anyone who lives by the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be shown to be accomplished by God."

JOHN 8:32

"And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free."

The truth is in God's Word, and once you're living in truth, you'll be free from any chains. And anyone who's not pretending and eager to get better is desperate to come to the light. We must be willing to confess and acknowledge that we can't live alone. We are created by God with a purpose, and He loves me and you! He is willing to set you free if you will just allow Him.

Just in case you are decided that you really want to get healed, be restored, and live victoriously, just continue reading and I'm going to give you some practical advice, later on, let me share with you first my story

I'm a fighter. I believe that I can do anything through Christ who strengthens me. But though you have a positive mindset, it is not always consistent, right? There are times that I felt so knocked down by fear and worries. I was 24 when I started to suffer from depression. I was fighting a battle I didn't even know about. I resigned from my long-time job to rest. But physical rest was not enough. My soul must've been extremely exhausted. Have you ever felt so invaluable, so worthless that you couldn't start anything? Seems like my life has no purpose. I've been writing this story all over again because I felt like this is worth sharing. If you've been reading my previous blog, you'll see my journey on how I have overcome anxiety and continue fighting for that freedom through the help of my loved ones, fellowship, and most importantly, my quiet time with God.

I never thought in my whole life that I would experience depression. I never ever imagined and I do only see that on tv, and I was hearing that from people who've been depressed and in some news, committed suicide. I understand now that it was real and the battle is really in our minds and emotions. I am writing to let you know that it is not the end of the world. The Lord our God has a purpose for your life and maybe that hardships are a beautiful part of it.

HERE ARE THE 5 TIPS TOWARDS HEALING

TIP#1. SPEAK TO YOURSELF, DO NOT LISTEN TO YOURSELF

There was a difference between listening to the desire inside you that comes from God than the words of adversity and discouragement that may run into your mind. The enemy will always find a way to control us through our minds. Our thoughts become our actions and when the thoughts are being validated by our emotions, just like sadness, hopelessness, we might end up accepting these thoughts of defeat. Those are lies!

Not long ago, the negative thoughts along with my emotions are trying to sneak in again into my head. And whenever I entertain I felt that I couldn't breathe, my body and muscles become helpless, maybe to some, I am exaggerating but I'm not. Mind you, thoughts are really powerful. However, during that time, I decided to immediately cancel those thoughts and I started speaking the truth over my life.

God loves me

He cares for me

He doesn't want to harm me

God wants to give me hope and a future

I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength

I believe that God is not finished with my life yet

God sees me

I am not alone

The blood of Jesus is powerful

The Name of Jesus is powerful

I am victorious through Him

Nothing is impossible with God

The Lord is working for my good

He will never leave nor forsake me

His grace is abundant

I am saved, loved, redeemed

I am renewed, strengthened, recharged

I am beautifully and wonderfully made

God has a purpose

There is a season for everything under the heavens

If you believe anything is possible

And I made a whole lot more of declaration and the truth of God's Word here on my mobile notes. The negative thought was sudden just like flashing lightning and when you're outside or you can't really pray when the lies of the enemy attack, you may also try to do this. Just type it out all in your phone's notepad and read it again and again until it enters your subconscious.

TIP#2. READ AND LEARN

Just this morning, my younger sister attended her school's webinar on a topic about 'Mental Health'. I overheard the discussion where there is a student asking the Psychologist Doctor, what should we do when an anxiety attack. Here's what she said:

• Distract your mind
• Inhale/Exhale

I felt how sure she was in her answer. I did agree! I didn't even consult a Psychologist but I learned the principle of occupying my mind with good thoughts and through reading. In another book that I've read shares the story of a businessman who is practicing how to eliminate junk in his mind. The man closes his eyes, visualizing flowing water out of a container, the container is our mind, and the negative thoughts, worries, discouragement are the water. But after you eliminate the unnecessary thoughts, fill your mind immediately with pure good thoughts! An empty mind is a playground of the devil!

You may read the Bible which is the Word of God, contains the truth of life and how God loves you! You may also read books that can uplift you, or articles just like this one. Go to Expressions or National Bookstore and find a good book. But please No to Romance, Novel, and Fiction. It may stir up different emotions. But if you don't want to spend money on books, I encourage you to download PDF books on the internet, just look for free! You can try to download a few:

• 'The Power of Positive Thinking' by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale
• 'Breaking Intimidation: How To Overcome Fear and Release the Gifts of God in Your Life' by John Bevere
• 'I Kissed Dating Goodbye' by Joshua Harris
• 'Let Go Of Whatever Holds You Back' by John Mason

This may be very hard for others, I don't know, maybe reading is not really your thing. But I know most of the successful leaders, business owners, famous speakers, and pastors are those who never stop learning and never underestimate the power of reading. Those famous speakers that I know just like Pastor Paul Daugherty and a Filipina Host Ms. Celestine Gonzaga-Soriano have a great impact on my life. I wonder where they've got their wisdom? If you will watch on Youtube Ms. Toni Gonzaga's interviews, you may notice that she answered with more wisdom than any other artists I know. It is said in:

PROVERBS 2:6

"For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding."

We also do need wisdom and knowledge to fight our spiritual enemy. For even the devil himself used the Word of God to tempt Jesus in the wilderness. But Jesus answered with authority through God's truth. (Matthew 4:1-11)

There was really a time that things will not work out the way we wanted. But as long as we are holding on to God, acknowledge His power, and continually praying, we will eventually understand God's heart and I surely believe it is for our good!

Good thing I was reading a good book and I applied in my life a piece of practical advice that I learned from the book, 'The Power of Positive Thinking' by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale. This influences my mind that If I believe, and I picture out things I really wanted to get in my life, it will happen. There was a story of a woman who testified that her life is so messy, her husband is always in trouble, and her mother-in-law is sick after she discovered the principle of 'Believing', everything turned out well. She said every morning, declared three times the phrase, ' I believe, I believe, I believe'. She does this for days, weeks, months faithfully looking forward to the good. And it happened. Her mother-in-law get healed, her husband got a new job, and she felt so peaceful and became so positive. Believing in something that you haven't seen yet is FAITH! Amazing!

Another Word of God that stirs up my faith is in:

Mark 11:24

"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."

Honestly, I am so desperate to get healed. I've tried the formula that I shared about the woman. Every morning, I declare to myself, 'I believe, I believe, I believe', I tried it for days, weeks, and months. Yes, it is possible to position positivity and faith the very moment you open your eyes in the morning. Even if you don't see results right away, hold on, and just believe. God is working behind the scene. I was surprised how far I was able to go because of this 'self-encouragement'. I've almost given up that time but because I fought and declare faith, it manifests in my life. When God sees that you keep on believing in Him despite the struggles, He will heal you. I am healed! He gave me strength. Everything feels so safe and as I walk in the light, the light shines in our home. He poured out His blessings and protection upon us. And I am now heading to another level of my faith and relationship with God.

TIP#3. LISTEN TO YOUR MENTORS, GUARDIANS, PARENTS, AND PASTORS

If you will read Proverbs, you may see why obedience is important. When we feel so overwhelmed and don't know what to do, if we are confused or about to make major decisions in life, seek advice. That's where our important connection comes in! Do not be afraid to share your battle with them. I am so blessed that I have a spiritual mentor who's not only leading me to Christ but giving me practical instructions on how to live a victorious life. It is said in:

Proverbs 15:22

"Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed."

Proverbs 11:14

"Where there is no guidance the people fall, But in abundance of counselors there is victory."

Proverbs 19:20

"Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future."

Proverbs 1:7

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction."

I leave the rest of the Proverbs for you to read on your own and discover where God is leading you. I don't really understand the importance of seeking counsel until I experience a downfall. I was disobedient, proud, and self-driven. I've tried to control things on my own and I am hesitant to ask counsel to the point that I even disobey the 'Word'. The result is disappointment, danger, and defeat. Not just I lose my purpose, but literally, I became physically, emotionally,. and mentally weak.

You know what, there are people given to us by God to protect us, guide us, and lead us. Many young people aren't open to their parents or even leaders, and because of that, they're being misled by what's trending and the standard of the world. However, I guarantee you, if you want to be successful in all aspects of your life, listen to your parents, leaders, pastors, and most importantly acknowledge God and listen to His Voice.

TIP#5. BE INTIMATE WITH GOD

What is the meaning of being intimate with God? It simply means you have to be closer to the Lord. Just like human relationships, if we are intimate or close to someone, we tend to communicate with them every day, we tell them what is going on in our lives. Daily communication to God is essential for complete healing.

I am always fascinated by the greatest doctor I've ever known - Jesus. Remember the story of the woman who's been experiencing non-stop bleeding for 12 years. Imagine how long she suffered. She knew this man Jesus, who can heal the sick, make blinds see, cast out demons, and raised the dead. Maybe she doesn't know all about this, one thing she believes, Jesus can do miracles. At some point in our lives, we are that woman. Let's accept it. Don't hide if you want to get well. You need Jesus in your life!

I personally admit that I am that woman, so desperate to get healed. She said to herself if only I can touch even the piece of His robe, I will be healed. What kind of faith is that! One time, I prayed to the altar for healing. I visualize touching the robe of Jesus, and I believed that I am healed, and I know I am. I couldn't explain how that negative energy has lifted up and was taken away, I gained strength. I can proudly say that it was the healing power of God that made me well and not only that, He gave me a conquering spirit.

The joy, peace, and power became so evident that it seems there's a light to any place I go. There's boldness and an eagerness to share how great our God is. Thanks to the Holy Spirit of God.

FINAL THOUGHTS

So whatever it is that you want to get healed, physical illness, emotional wounds, and mental dysfunctions. Don't lose hope! God wants to heal you and give you a bright future. Let me close this article with this verse that Jesus said to the woman. Claim it in the Name of our Beautiful Lord Jesus:

Mark 5:34

"He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering."

♥♥♥