Worship Devotionals #5: Philippians 4:12-13

"I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:12-13 (NIV)

What are the things in life that you've always been wanting to have? Are those things considered as necessity or just a fad? In serving, are you more anxious about what the people will receive or on what you can give?
As we all know being contented is difficult in our present situation. Why? well, we are in the world of SOME-SOME (some have more - some have less) and both are not contented with their situations. The some-have-less are the ones who hungers for the right and proper basic things that they need, as for the some-have-more are those who want to have more than of what they are earning or what they already had. Now the question is, “How can we be contented in our life?”

There are many situations that some people find their own contentment. Some people based their contentment with material things, some on emotional attachment, some on serving, and some on the level of their financial security. Basically it all leads according to their own personal preferences.

As for myself, I used to believe that having all the material things that I wanted is all I got to have for me to be contented. Until I finally got to know someone that made me realize that these material things can not satisfy either me or you…

Just a year ago, I was more concern on pleasing my friends and the people around me until I realized that there is only one on whom I should be always pleasing...

Just last night when I was leading the Kids in worship, I was so anxious about the songs, more conscious about myself, and worried that I felt I'm not ready that day... and yet I'm being reminded that it's not about me, nor the kids, but it's all about the one on whom we are singing..

...and the one who will satisfy me, the one on whom I should be pleasing, and the one on whom I should be singing.. is JESUS.

‘Coz if all that you wanted in your life is earthly treasures, lasting friendships and relationships, and fame, well you better think first, because in the end, you will feel more anxious about anythings and more concern about yourself.

Only God can satisfy us, only through that we may feel being contented about anythings, that's the secret.. that's the key... Just as what Paul wrote to the Philippians, he said "I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength."

Go on let God fully run your life... Let God's grace fill your life with contentment, Coz after all, we can do everything through him who gives us strength.

And as you read chapter 4 of the book of Philippians further, let's all declare that "and my God will meet all my needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus."

Worship Devotionals #4: Psalm 100:4

Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
Psalm 100:4 (NIV)

We are called to enter into God's presence. We are all called to give Him thanks and praise. We are made to be His worshipers. But that doesn't stop there because we are also given a call to lead God's people into His presence.

Often times, we always think of ourselves alone, praising God, giving thanks to Him, worshiping Him is the best thing that we could do for Him, we often forgot that it is also our calling to lead His people and take them to the Most Holy place, since Jesus had made me opened that place for everyone. Exclusivity is not even in the picture when He already tore its veils.

Its a sad truth that many of us are satisfied on praising and worshiping God alone.

I've been a music minister for 2 years now, and during my early years in the ministry, singing in front of the congregation is a plain job for me, even though I know that we are leading them still I am more concerned about myself on entering into His presence and often forgot about the people. It's wrong, its definitely a wrong purpose of leading. It's our role to lead them into God's presence, into the most holy place, not just us but the whole congregation. and this also goes to the kids, ushering, and events ministers.

But wait, is leading the people stops in the joining in any ministries? a big "NO", perhaps this is the most common misconceptions in leading. We can also lead people even in the secular environment, as told by Jesus, He gave us this mission to go and make disciples and make God's name known throughout the nations, teaching them to obey God's word and that is also an act of leading the people into God's presence. So whether you are at school, workplace, and home, you can lead the people into God's presence.

Here's another dilemma for some of the ministers, some of them are afraid, and asked themselves,"what if I can't lead the congregation?" "what if i failed to lead them?" "What if I made a mistake?" Well, to start with, God always look at the heart, and these were the times when we need to let go of our own capacities and learn to trust God, and let Him do the rest, it is through His grace and His spirit that gives us the capacity to lead, the anointing comes from Him and not within us.

We are entering His gates with thanksgiving and praise because He is worthy to be praised, He is worthy to be lifted up, He is worthy for us to also lead the people into His presence. The King above kings and the Name above all names.

What are you more concerned about, drawing near yourself to God, drawing others near to God, or both?
In what ways can you lead the people into God's presence aside from the things you have been doing?
Personally, Why is God worthy of your thanksgiving and praise?

Worship Devotionals #3: Romans 12:3-5

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. Romans 12:3-5 (NIV)

Imagine using all your hands and feet doing the same thing, or your eyes can also smell things thus your nose can also see things... or let me put it into a not so "gross" mode, it's like you're in a company where all of you are doing the same thing, all of you are performing the same function... well at some point that would be a good idea and yet in the long run that would become unproductive and useless since no one is doing differently among the others or what if all of you are thinking that you are far-off better than the others and end up on not working with them anymore...

Paul, the author of Romans, clearly states that we shouldn't think ourselves better than the others but rather think of others better than ourselves, by this Paul was giving an instruction about humility. Thus he also describes us as a whole body with each members belong to all the others of different works which is completely about being a team player and using our individual gifting to make the whole body work.

In the same way, we can apply that in any ministry work or even in a secular setting. First things first, we need to remain humble and view others better than ourselves thus we must be competing with our own selves rather than competing with the others. As they say humility comes before honor, and God will give you that honor, and not yourself alone.

Now as we remain humble that would definitely lead us to the next point of Paul, and that is being a team player. Yes we are in one body (team / organization / church) and yet we still need to respect each others ability or gifting, being a team player means someone who functions effectively as part of a body, sharing information and striving towards to a common goal, and that goal would be advancing and elevating the mission and vision of the team.

Moving on with the third point, Paul doesn't only encourages us to be humble and to be a team player, but he also explained to us that although we are in the same body still we do not have all the same function which are the God-given gifts for us. If you would continue reading on the succeeding verses it says,

"We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his[b]faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully." Romans 12:6-8 (NIV)

God gave us different skills and gifting for us to use it on advancing His kingdom. Each of us have its own strengths and weaknesses depending on what is our calling, depending on what did God gave us and planted in our hearts which is also called the 'desires'.

Personally, I was asking myself these things that Paul was teaching to the Romans, and this was my answer, Since the start of this year, God humbled me down by taking away all the desires that I have in my heart and all the things that I needed, God made me feel on how really important each and everyone as part of a team, and because of this God revealed to me about my calling into the ministry and with my personal career path. The old me used to trust myself alone and not the other people. the old me is not a good team player and the old me is not sensitive or not listening enough with what God has called me to do.

I kept on asking God and blaming others with the mistakes that I even created or participated with. I'm so much consumed then with other things that I cannot clearly see how important it is to trust and to be a team player and to be sensitive with God's divine purpose in my life.

Truly these things are stated in a few verses and yet it comes with a big meaning for all of us

Humility enables us to have a harmonious relationship with the team using our God-given gifts.

As you reflect, you might want to ask yourself, What are the things that hinders me on hearing and accepting the true calling that God had given me? Why is humility so important that it even goes hand in hand on working in a team? What are the thing I've done in the past that is fitting with the verses stated? How was I working in a body? especially in the body of Christ. and finally, what does it takes for me to remain humble, for me to work as part of a body, for me to be sensitive on hearing God's calling?

Worship Devotionals #2: Psalm 57:9-11

"I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations;
I will sing of you among the peoples.
For great is your love, reaching to the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let your glory be over all the earth."
Psalm 57:9-1 (NIV)

Truly God is to be exalted over all the earth and the heavens. As David was implying to this psalm, He have the heart and the urge to proclaim and praise the name of God among the nations and his people. A truly leader indeed, just like us in any ministry, leading the congregation is when you set your heart onto God, leading them into His presence, singing, playing, ushering, etc... that focuses on Him and not on us, and just like David, though he was the king, he first humbled himself down and submitted himself onto God, which is the true King of kings and Lord of lords.

Second, if you would take a look at verse 10, David said "For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies", it means that the love and faithfulness of our God, was personally felt and experienced by David himself, which made him praise God and led his people on proclaiming the name above all names over the nations. In the same way, we need to experience God's love and faithfulness first for us to be a truthful witness to the congregation, we can't lead if we don't know who's the One we are leading the congregation with.

I've been in the ministry since 2006, I finally got involved in a ministry a month after I started attending a christian service. I was enjoying then, meeting new friends, new environment, etc... but the idea of serving the ministry because of God weren't still in the big picture... I was basically enjoying it like a normal volunteer job that I've done in the past and as far as I can remember it was only until the late 1st quarter of 2007 when I finally realized that I was serving God and not my own desires. It was the true God who is to be glorified and proclaimed among the congregation. That was also the time when I'm beginning to realized how our glorious God had finally began his own extreme makeover in my life, that I fully began to accept the fact that i personally felt and experienced His love for me. and thank God that I'm still experiencing it until now. Those personal encounters with God are also the testimonies that I am sharing with the team and the people.

Experiencing God's love enables us to proclaim and praise His name all the days of our lives.

Now, what are the situations that made you experienced God's love? How can you use those situations in your personal life in the ministry, in your workplace or school? And as a witness to His great love and faithfulness, in what ways can you proclaim His name to others?

Worship Devotionals #1: John 4:23-25

I'm not a fan of devotional materials, but I find them interesting thus it truly helped me on my daily walk with God, with this, I'd like to make and share some devotionals that hopefully might help everyone by posting it here on my notes. I can't promise to post a new one everyday but hopefully you'll find my postings handy in some ways. Thank you!

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Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." John 4:23-25 (NIV)

Jesus said that true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for that is the kind of worshipers that He seeks... Now in our daily walk with God through leading, playing instrument, ministering to the people, quiet time.. etc... we always need to be reminded of this verse... at some point we just think that we truly worship God in spirit and in truth and yet there's nothing..

I for example, had been reflecting on this matter, honestly there's a time that I do not know if I'm worshiping God in spirit and in truth, asking myself, what does worshiping God means? I wonder if I'm genuinely worshiping God. I wonder if I'm leading with the right heart and motive, I wonder if I'm really a true worshiper. These are the things that kept on bothering me at some point.

Its humbling to know that when we speak of worshiping God in spirit and in truth, it always reminds me of a full submission to Him and not just having a relationship with him, but to let go of the things that I am in bondage with, and let God takes hold and control of the wheel. Thus, it also requires us on trusting him alone and take full notice of His love and faithfulness to us.

Here's an article about what worshiping in spirit and in truth means:

(Spirit actually means "rushing wind". The word for spirit, "pneuma" means "wind" or "spirit" and is derived from the root word "pneo", which means "to blow" and is a root word which is translated Spirit. Worshiping God in the spirit denotes worshiping under His influence or under His control. Basically the first criteria Jesus speaks of here is that a person must have a relationship with God. That they have trusted in God's work through Christ for salvation and that they are under His control.

Second, Jesus said that God is looking for people who will worship Him in Truth. The word truth here is "aletheia" which means true, and is derived from the word "alethes" which literally means "to take notice". Jesus was saying that God is looking for His children to literally "take notice of the truth" about Himself.)

Worshiping God in Spirit and in truth takes a lot of submission, humility, and complete trust to God.

Now with all these,
How would you assess yourself?
Am I really worshiping God in spirit and in truth?
Am I taking notice of what the real truth is about?
Does worshiping in spirit ends up only on knowing and having that I have a relationship with God?
Hows your relationship with God these days?

Toilet Bowl and the Worship Team

How does a person remains humble especially in the music team?

As they say, No where in the church are egos bigger than in the music department. And that is why I feel the urge of blogging this one down.

A good mentor once told me, that there's a worship leader in a certain church that were once ask "What keeps you humble?" from there he answered right away "Well, during the days when I'm not on the stage leading, I was the one who's cleaning the church's restroom"

Go figure!

You see, right from the start the man already knew that its not about him being served by the limelight but its all about serving the one true master, Jesus. He followed Jesus and obey his words.. that's its not about just being on the stage.. but its all about serving Him anywhere and that includes cleaning the toilet bowl..

A heart of a worshiper doesn't have a limit after all, its not having all the lights focus on you when you're leading, its not about being on a big stage, and its neither about being popular and you not wanting to accept other jobs anymore and I've seen much of these examples happening on a church, and that includes me being a victim of my ego.

The true heart of a worshiper is wherein you know that serving doesn't have to be you being served (and accepting this hard truth), that there is no limit on serving God no matter what it takes. Its about passing on the baton, doesn't need to worry much on how big the stage is, and about who we are when we are not leading on the stage.

Servant-hood is the key, we are all serving only the Master, which is God. Serving without being hesitant whether it is the big church that we're serving or only the small church.

We should always remember that as we remain humble, the real master lifts us up on the pedestal, and not us exerting or boasting our efforts dragging ourselves on the pedestal.

Now I challenged you to reflect on these questions;

Am I only serving myself to the point that I only wanted to just perform on stage?
Did God called me to lead only in the big church and the big church alone?
Am I conscious about only leading worship alone?
Lastly, Am I willing to clean a toilet bowl?

Coffee anyone?

Coffee nowadays had evolved in many varieties’ such as latte, cappuccino, french vanilla, caramel, mint, and white mocha (personal favorite). Surprisingly, it also turned-out as one of the most enjoyed drink of the Filipinos today, from Class A to Class D, whether it is instant or gourmet, coffee should definitely be on the menu.

Just a thought, no matter how special that coffee is, each flavorful blend have its own distinct aroma, just like us, no matter how we clothe ourselves, try to change ourselves, or even try pretending to be someone else, still our distinct character evolves. Just like coffee, it is our old self that made us different among others.

Likewise, our personalities shaped up our goal in life; it’s only a matter of how you wanted it to be, it can be as sweet as white mocha or as bitter as black coffee, because just like the imperfect taste of the coffee, our imperfections justifies our future. But we should keep in mind that artificial sweeteners like material things and other earthly possessions might destroy our future when we go beyond as what its recipe directs us. Furthermore, its natural flavor should stand out among other additives.

Lastly, as the end-user, our main objective here is to check if the coffee is pleasing to our senses; it is our sole responsibility not just to please ourselves but more importantly for those people who will be drinking it. On a biblical perspective, there is no other way but to please God on everything we do and everything we say. God should be pleased when he smells our distinct aroma and should be more pleased when he tastes our clean heart.

God Bless!

We are made to be worshipers

Coming back to the heart of worship is what God wants us to do, that everything else starts to become meaningless and all that matter is God. We are all called to worship and we are made to worship God. As Steven Curtis Chapman song said that even the music fades the heart of true worship always remain. No amount of song, lyrics, chords, and arrangement matters anymore, coz when the center of our worship focuses on God alone, the Holy Spirit enables us to feel God’s presence, to take us to the most holy place, and to forget about the things that hinders us on worshiping Him.

The manifestation of our genuine worship is mainly our overflowing love for God coz He deserves all the highest praise, He deserves our worship in spirit and in truth, and because of Him we are made victorious and that we are made worshipers.

To God be the glory.