New Beginning

A new year is always a chance for a new beginning. That is the perfect moment to set our goals and plans to achieve the desire of our hearts.

Our Lord Jesus said in Mark 9:23 "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes."

Believing that through Jesus we can do all things, is a great step, but our dreams cannot be only in our minds, we have to bring it to the reality.

Whatever we want for our lives will not fall from the skies; we have to fight for it. God is eager to give what we need, but He will not going to work alone. He is not our servant; He is our Father and Master.

I remember a lady that I met some years ago, she was really obese and her dinner usually was a large pizza or two big hamburgers with up sized fries and soda. One day I preached about that all things are possible for those who believe and that through faith our dreams will come true. Some months later she came so disappointed because despite of her faith, she was getting fatter and fatter.

I told her, “Listen everything is really possible for those who believe, if you want to lose weight, it is totally possible, and God will give you strength for that, however you have to do your part. You may have to change your habits and enter into a diet and exercise program. If you do your part, God will do His part.”, o “gagawing mo ang part mo, at gagawin ng Panginoon ang part niya”.

She understood my advice and started to confess her victory and she entered into a diet and exercise programs. Whenever she felt tempted to give up, she would pray asking for God’s strength and she would receive it. Today she is a slim and confident person.

Her example serves for all aspects of our lives, whatever we want is possible through prayer and action!

James 2:14 What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?

James 2:17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

James 2:18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.

James 2:22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.

James 2:24 You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.

We can have a new beginning, we can change our health situation, we can transform our marriage, we can pay our debts, and we can have a better life!

It is not just a dream, it’s totally possible!  It is true that we may have to take some risks in order to conquer what we dream for. If we combine our faith with action we will see the fulfillment of an abundant and happy life.

Locking ourselves in a room and giving space for laziness, depression and negative thoughts will just make things worse and nevertheless, our new year will be just another year.

 2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

Let us fight the good fight towards our dreams!

God bless you and happy New Year!

When God says no to our prayers

It is hard to admit or even to understand, but the truth is that very often God may say NO to our prayers.

We may ask to ourselves, why God didn’t answer my prayer?  That was something so important, why He didn’t bother to answer me? Is God so busy that he doesn’t have time? Is God no longer the same? 

God is still the same and He always wants the best for us. But sometimes what we are asking isn’t as good as we imagine. We are limited beings; we tend to focus on a brick while God sees the entire wall.

Some days ago a lady came to me and very angry she said that “this thing” about God and prayers are all a waste of time and that she will no longer attend any church. She even gave her Bible to me alleging that all that was a lie and that she would not read the Bible anymore.

I let her talk and vent off her anger. After that I dared to ask what happened and why she was so angry with God. She then, told me that she was praying for her grandfather does not die, but unfortunately he died two days ago.

I asked her how old was her grandfather and she said that he was eighty seven I had to say to her that our body is not eternal and later on our bodies will have to go back from where it came from- to the ground. Our soul will last forever but not our body. Her grandfather died because it was time already, he wasn’t even sick when he died. He had a peaceful death.

Some people ask for things that God will be oblige to say NO. We may think that certain issues are so important for us and we often forget that God already knows how everything will end. If our life is a book, believe me, God already read that book and He knows how this book will end. He knows what is good or not for us.

I personally know how hard is to receive a NO as an answer to my prayers. But I further learn that NO is the best answer ever! Yes, to receive a NO from God is a good thing. Why?

Because God love us in such way that He gave His only son for us. He Love us so much that He wouldn’t be able to give anything that would harm our soul and compromise our SALVATION.

Sometimes we may ask for things unknowing that it may cause our spiritual death. If you have a ten year old kid I strongly doubt that you would allow him to drive a truck, even if he cries begging you for that. Why would you not allow him to drive a truck? 

Because he will kill others and perhaps himself, your Kid has no idea of how bad will be for him and for the others in driving the truck.

When God says NO, he knows that we can hurt others or ourselves, and it doesn’t matter if we are going to cry or get angry against Him, because of His unfailing love He will do whatever it takes and He will stand for His NO as the final answer in order to guarantee to His children the best.

Learn that and you will have a happy life.

God is a Wonderful father!
"Because everything which God has made is good, and nothing is evil, if it is 
taken with praise". 1 Timothy 4:4