Church and Fellowship

July 29, 2009

 

 

Last sunday, after the church sevice, my friends and I dined at the nearby fast food chain. One of my friends seemed to be bothered and so i unreluctantly asked him what is practically wrong and to my surprise, he dropped something i thought he would never ask.

Do you think going to church is that important in a life of a christian? My mom told me that my whole family are to be converted back and i think that will be a reason for me not to attend this church anymore. Do you think fellowship is still important? I am saved. isn’t that enough?

 

    And then there I was, dumbfounded. How could this friend ask such question. It was then i realized he’s been having this sort of dilemma regarding the concept of church and fellowship. I was honestly speechless. At that moment I knew the right words to say but i chose not to spill them out. I just listened to him and his insights. And at the end of the day, to my dismay i found that we share the same faith but treat it in  a different perspective. 

    Because of what happened, i browsed through the pages of the bible together with Little’s book hoping to find some of the answers. I was in dire need of proof that the church is as important as the faith. And then God gave me the way out by handing me .

 

21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.
22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so [let] the wives [be] to their own husbands in every thing.
25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

 

 -Ephesians 5: 21-25

    First of all we must understand the concept of the “church” and “fellowshiP”. The church as many people may use it may take the definition of a building , of a place, of a sacred sanctuary. In fact when you type ‘church’ in google and surf for possible pictures, here’s some of what you get:

 

*all photos from google

 

But the real church is not an infrastructure. It is us, the christians, the believers who gather in His name to worship Him.

You see, God told us that whenever two or three are gathered in His name, He is in our midst. The church are the people. And it just apt for us to emphasize this difference so we may not take the concept of the church of christ to be something of material importance. God Himself talked about what the church is and how important it is to the lives of His children.

 First, the church is God’s body and He is the Head. You cannot imagine someone walking around without a head. The head directs all the body parts. Biologically speaking ,cephalization brings about the maturity when it comes to thinking and other nervous functions. God directs our ways and just as all our human body parts, we are subject to the commands and orders of the Head. We must obey.  You see, God just doesn’t want us to take the lead by ourselves but by letting us follow HIs great plans for us. All body parts, all members of the church are important. And God wouldn’t let anyone be hurt or suffer or fail for nothing. If one does, every body gets affected. As a chruch, We grow together. 

Second, the church is something that is built on a rock, that is a fatih built into something that is resistant to all possible trials and tribulations. In a parable Jesus said

 

Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

 

 -Matthew 7:24-25

As the church of Christ, he wants us to build our faith in a solid foundation. Who would want to build their own house without a foundation anyway?and this foundation is not as weak as the sand, nor the gravel but the rock. When things seem to fail and exhaustion sinks in in our everyday struggle, Jesus wants us to cling to Him. When the storms of life and winds of change try to bring out the best and worst out of us, we must be reminded that we have the strongest foundation, a solid rock which cannot be moved by any one or anything. If you want to make things lighter, try recalling the story of the three little pigs. When big bad wolf came and tried to destroy their houses, only the one in bricks stood still. That is also true in our Christian journey. No matter how many bad wolves may come to destroy, persecute or even deceive us, we shall not be moved for the church which is built upon a rock is so strong that  the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Matt. 16:18 italics not included).

Third, the church is the bride of Christ. as the scriptures tell us in Ephesians 5, just like a wife submitted to her husband, as Christians we must also submit ourselves to Christ. The question now of whether or not the church and fellowhsip is necessary in one’s growth is addressed in this scripture. Logically and practically, when you marry someone, you will partake of all of his or her activities. You must always be involved and most importantly, you must and will see him almost every time. Nobody marries and decides to see his wife or husband a month or a year after or whenever he wants to. If you are really committed to that person, you will take time and do all your efforts to be with him or her. We are married to Christ, that is why we have to do all of these things.

Lastly, as Christians we are like coal in the fire. In the church, when all of us,coals, come together, we will maintain the fire . We will keep the fire burning just as we keep the passion for His word and our faith. Once any of us are separated, just us coals, the fire burns out and we are left cold and our spirits low. The church is the best place to refuel our faith, to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. The church, which is basically the union of the believers is our oasis in the desert whenever we thirst , whenever we need refreshing.

I remember what Little said in his book. no christian is a lone wolf. Because once we get separated from the pack, once we go alone, just as a coal losing the fire,we will  feel the coldness growing in our hearts. This is why we need to go to church at least once a week and minggle with the church members. We need to establish an intimate connection to these people-brothers and sisters in Christ who will stay with us until we reach heaven.

 

He only [is] my rock and my salvation; [he is] my defence; I shall not be greatly moved.

-Psalm 62:2

 

 

 

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More of the quotes (why chemistry is fun part2)

alright, my first exam in biochemistry will come in a week and i guess this is the best time to motivate myself  to study:

Chemistry is fun. I love chemistry. Chemistry is fun,. I love chemistry. chemistry is fun….

” You see class, peptides have a specific directionality.  GEVSK is not equal to KSVEG or to any permutation. You cannot interchange your head with your feet although some people look like that”

 

 ” ….regarding  the experiment you are about to perform any time this week, i am sorry to tell you that we are running out of reagents. A lot of undergraduate students who are doing their theses need those reagents and purchasing those would undergo different processes. Sometimes the rules and regulations to keep this country running requires hell for your academics.”

 

 On protein architecture and biological function: (after minutes of explanation while the class sat in silence):”… now that’s the problem of biologists when they talk to psychologists and sociologists.”

 

 A slide or two was missing from the powerpoint presentation: ” You see class, sometimes when you save things, you lose ‘em.”

 

Half of the class didn’t get the invitation for the e-group:  “Let somebody write it for you if your penmanship is atrocious! I’ve already tried all possible permutations of your email addresses!”

 

“Although the Ramachandran plot already graduated different Ph.Ds around the world, it only shows few possible conformations.”

 

While reaching for the cable to use as the example in protein folding : “Teachers should be given 8 hands! can you help me with this? (looking at me. ha ha)”

 

“Alright, try to name the proteins in this phrase” (flashing the slide…. eerie silence), the slide read: THERE IS SLAP DASH PERIPHERAL ASYMMETRY INTEGRATED WITH A FEW QWESTING SEMISANE MINDS AND SEMISENILE GENTLEMEN ANTICIPATING SEVERAL GIGGLING GIRLS (no spaces in between words)   -”I just made that up, now start naming.”

 

continuation of the scenario above : “when you do it manually, it’s like climbing up a wall. You’re like a cockroach trying to climb up that wall. It’s hard. I’ve tried it, really”

 

“Once a protein denatures, it is irreversible. It can never get back, unless it has no self-respect .”

 

in relation to the topic above: “RNA will always renature. It has no self respect. Even if you autoclave it in heaven or hell, it will always renature.”

 

On chromatography and its applications: ” So if you want to make a perfect crime, you must boil the body in 6 Molar HCl so the DNA will be degraded”

 

On enzyme kinematics: “the measurements should be done immediately. Not after 24 hours, not after a week after I had my fling. I must measure it immediately after.”

 

-to be updated-

i think i should now hit the sack or better yet mull over my lessons in biochemistry and perhaps start draining my brain cells. :/ 

Why?

July 26, 2009

My current LSS: Why by Nichole Nordeman

 Check this out.. I really cried after hearing this for the first time.

WHY 

We rode into town the other day
Just me and my Daddy
He said I’d finally reached that age
And I could ride next to him on a horse
That of course was not quite as wide

We heard a crowd of people shouting
And so we stopped to find out why
And there was that man
That my dad said he loved
But today there was fear in his eyes

So I said “Daddy, why are they screaming?
Why are the faces of some of them beaming?
Why is He dressed in that bright purple robe?
I’ll bet that crown hurts Him more than He shows
Daddy, please can’t you do something?
He looks as though He’s gonna cry
you said he was stronger than all of those guys
addy, please tell me why
Why does everyone want him to die?”

Later that day the sky grew cloudy
And Daddy said I should go inside
Somehow he knew things would get stormy
Boy was he right
But I could not keep from wondering
If there was something he had to hide

So after he left I had to find out
I was not afraid of getting lost
So I followed the crowds
To a hill where I knew men had been killed
And I heard a voice come from the cross

And it said, “Father, why are they screaming?
Why are the faces of some of them beaming?
Why are they casting their lots for My robe?
This crown of thorns hurts Me more than it shows
Father, please can’t You do something?
I know that You must hear My cry
I thought I could handle the cross of this size
Father, remind Me why
Why does everyone want Me to die?
When will I understand why?”

“My precious Son, I hear them screaming
I’m watching the face of the enemy beaming
But soon I will clothe You in robes of My own
Jesus, this hurts Me much more than You know
But this dark hour I must do nothing
Though I’ve heard Your unbearable cry
The power in Your blood destroys all of the lies
Soon You’ll see past their unmerciful eyes
Look there below, see the child
Trembling by her father’s side
Now I can tell You why
She is why You must die”

 

Victory at 25: Honor God. Make disciples.

July 25, 2009

 

 25 years of honoring God and Making disciples

  1984- Pastor Steve Murrell together with his wife and co-workers in Christ went to the Philippines to build a church. They had a vision for this nation and so they laid their lives for this vision and worked on it until the house of God grew .This year, we are celebrating its silver anniversary. 25 years of perseverance and passion for the glory of Christ Jesus. From 100 members serving in its pioneer church found in the university belt , Victory Philippines has now reached up to 50,000 members scattered across the country- from the Northern islands of Luzon to Southern Mindanao.

 

July 24,2009,Araneta Coliseum, Cubao, Quezon City-  nearly 16000 christians gathered to celebrate this 25th year of continuous service to the Almighty God. It started  with Victory’s got talent, showcasing the talents of the church members. The programme was full of surprise numbers from different actors and actresses who are members of the Victory churches scattered in the Metro Manila area. Supposedly the show must  be strictly 2 hours but due to insistent public demand, the programme was extended and was ended by a celebration led by the music team.

The most important part of the programme was not the singing and dancing but the preaching of the gospel and the casting of visions of the head pastors of Victory. Here are some of the details of the messages delivered by Paster Murrell and the prominent people in Victory’s history. I have the honor to spread the word in this post

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

-Matthew 28:19

    Pastor Steve told the story which happened during the their third week here in the Philippines way back in 1984. It was the year of the activists then that almost every day, student leaders and rallyists gather along the streets of Recto, marching towards the Malacanang palace. He emphasized it was the natural scenario, the normal scene every day. And during fridays, more people gathered , counting up to 30000 people doing the leg work. And what the government did that time was to barricade the roads , making sure no one can enter the premises in close proximity to the palace. The police and the military used tear gas and water cannons to shove the rallyists away. It was a normal scene really, and they got used to it since the activity center was then found at the basement of a building along the street of Recto near Mendiola, where the groups would stop and rest for awhile. Nothing changes, they saw the same scenes everyday until that fateful day of July 4,1984, a friday.  All of a sudden the students went running towards the opposite direction, screaming and scared to death. It was the time when water cannons and tear gas were not present but instead guns were fired and shots were clear enough to kill anyone in the group. It was that day when the pastors had the adrenaline rush to run for the megaphone and shout the instinctive phrase  “IT’S SAFE IN HERE”, pointing towards the direction of the activity center, assisting people to come in. And so the activity center was literally jampacked. A lot of people ran towards the basement and found themselves in a room without ventilation. Despite the heat, the smell and the fear, the music team managed to play 4 songs and so all the people were left dumbfounded seemingly wondering what kind of concert they were in. Afterwhich, the pastors preached the gospel to the hundreds of people (approximately 650)  whacking in that hot, smelly room.  God’s grace poured at the moment and many were saved and were baptized (immediately) in the name of the Father, the Son and in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.  That day was one of the turning point in Victory’s history. It was when they were so right in shouting “IT’S SAFE IN HERE” not only because of the SAFETY of the room found at the basement but because of the SALVATION the people received while staying in there.

That’s how the mission was further pushed through, making disciples. It might be odd for these people to preach the gospel at the soonest time possible after they were saved but it doesn’t matter.For the belief is: As long as you are a week ahead, a chapter ahead, you can make disciples. God said

-Matthew 13:32

In making disciples, you must plant a seed in every person. In every little way possible, do it for like a mustard seed, by God’s grace, it will grow. It will grow and be the greatest in the garden. Likewise, plant a seed in the heart of the people you love, you care about and even the strangers you meet every day. For by God’s grace it will grow and they will know Him more.

Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.

 -Matthew 13:33

Likewise when you go forth and spread the word, it won’t be a little deed you’d be doing. It’s like the yeast that will spread through the dough until the whole was leavened. Plant a seed, make disciples and when it grows, not only communities, not only cities but the whole nation and the whole world will prosper. 

Our dream to have a God-fearing nation is never that impossible. We only need to believe. We have to believe for God’s grace and power to work upon the hearts of every government leader, every business tycoon, every head of a family, every person on earth and in every generation. And what other method to build this kind of nation than spreading the world and making disciples.  The day when pastors shouted “IT’S SAFE IN HERE”, and ran towards the basement will never happen again. No more running towards a safe place. No more hiding. Today is the day when christians should go out in the open, run towards the battlefield and conquer every place, every nation using the word of the FATHER. No more hiding in the comfort zone. No more whimping and whining. Today, the followers of christ must stand in the frontline in this battle to conquer this nation- to build a GOD-fearing nation, to build a better place for  GOD’s people where HE is always glorified.

The question now is HOW? We christians may hesitate because we may think we are not good enough. But we just have to remember God and what he says;

 …..Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, [even] unto the end of the world. Amen.

 -Matthew 28:20

God will always be with us every step of the way. There’s nothing to fear. Go and live according to His will.

HONOR God, MAKE disciples.