Filed under: events & gatherings, leadership & youth | Tags: campus harvest manila 08, every nation campus ministries, living life to the full, testing of faith
This is a very late post about Campus Harvest Manila ‘08, a three day event held at the PhilSports Arena (formerly Ultra) in Pasig City, last May 22-24.
“What does it mean by living life to the full?”
This question was thrown by Patrick Mercado to the throng of young people and youth leaders at the arena. Patrick, a speaker during the second day of the CH08 event and a youth leader from VCF Ortigas searched his Bible but found no specific meaning or definition to that question. Instead he found five specific characters in the Bible, people who lived a purposeful life, died old, and were full of years.
1. Abraham (Genesis 25:8);
“Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people.”
2. Isaac (Genesis 35:29);
“Then he breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people, old and full of years. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.”
3. David (I Chronicles 23:1);
“When David was old and full of years, he made his son Solomon king over Israel.”
4. Jehoiada (II Chronicles 24:15);
“Now Jehoiada was old and full of years, and he died at the age of a hundred and thirty.”
5. Job (Job 42:17)
“And so he died, old and full of years.”
These men were part of the Hall of Faith, an elite group of men with supernatural abilities. These heroes can leap tall buildings in a single bound, dodge bullets, melt steel with a single gaze, and yes die of old age. Ok, ok… i’m stretching (and joking). Seriously, these men were known for their unwavering faith. They have endured tremendous testing of faith, some even went to the extent of going through the fire. The kind that scorches everything in its path, the all consuming fire.
Job, for instance, lost everything (family, servants, possessions, etc.) and was even inflicted with a disease. Yet, he was able to make one of the most astounding declaration of faith ever uttered: “Though he slay me, yet will i hope in Him” (Job 13:15)
How many of us can really say that amidst such a life changing experience? Be careful how you answer that question, if you can answer it at all. The Lord may just reveal the true level of your faith, believe me when i say that it’s going to be a very humbling experience. It will not be a walk in the park, instead it will be a walk towards the path of humility. Yes, it will mean death to all our personal desires, plans, and ambitions… it’s going to be a fire that will consume everything from the inside out.
Testing of faith usually reveals who we really are, but most importantly it will reveal who God really is, and who is actually the Lord over our lives. It’s an experience that will reveal who occupies the throne in our lives. So, still want to answer that question? Yeah, i figured.
Now, let’s go back to the previous question: What does it mean by living life to the full? Or how can you live your life to the full? Abraham, Isaac, David, Jehoiada, and Job did three things to show that they lived their lives to the full.
One: They all heard from God. They had a revelation of who God is in their life.
Two: They experieced God. It’s not enough to hear about God, having Jesus Christ in your life is of utmost importance.
Three: They obeyed God. Period. (No buts and ifs.)
“A God-driven abundant and purposeful life.” – that’s the meaning of living life to the full.
Living life to the full is a result of having a relationship with Jesus Christ. Everything has satisfaction and meaning once we allow Christ to enter and reign over our lives. Jesus said it Himself :
“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10
Filed under: concerts & gigs, events & gatherings, leadership & youth | Tags: hillsong united araneta concert, hillsong united live in manila 2008, hillsong united manila, joel houston
Hillsong United Live in Manila was held at the Araneta Coliseum on May 26, 2008. As early as 4:30 in the afternoon, i’ve been receiving text messages from young people from different churches, asking me if i’m already in Araneta Center. The concert won’t start until 8:00pm but obviously most of the youth have already queued in line at the venue. Most of them got the upper box, lower box, and general admission tickets so they had to arrive early.
My brother and i were blessed to get patron tickets as early as February this year. Tickets to the concert sold like hotcakes and the Coliseum was jam-packed by the time we got there around 7:30pm. Texted the youth, several colleagues, and friends that i’ll be wearing a pink hat so they can easily pinpoint me from the crowd at the patron area. I guess it served its purpose because after the concert i was able to meet up with some of them. But before that, my brother and i got to talk with the sound engineering team and check out their awesome setup. The guy (forgot to get the name of the chap in the picture) from the Hillsong team was superbly talented and kind. Wish we could meet the rest of the Hillsong United team. Yeah, wishful thinking. hehe.
Sound Engineering Team
We were blessed and the excitement from the concert carried on way past midnight. Everyone was talking animatedly and laughing their hearts out, while having donuts and soda at the Araneta Center. We were all dead tired and half deaf but it was hard to call it a night. I guess the Hillsong team felt the same way because the concert lasted close to three hours.
To sum up the entire evening, allow me to quote what Joel Houston shared during the first part of the concert:
Well it’s good to see that you guys are crazy for Jesus as ever. God is doing a good thing across the earth, amongst His people. And uh, it’s such a blessing for us to be able to come and hang out with you guys, to see what God is doing in this place.
We have the opportunity to travel in so many places, to do what we are doing right now, serving people in so many places all over the earth. Sometimes i wish that everybody can see it, you know, that we are a part of something so much bigger, all over the world, you know. And the church is rising, and the church is getting stronger day by day.
Just bringing a huge fire that’s burning in our spirit. So we’re here in this building and it’s amazing that our hearts are joined with young people, all over the earth, from the islands, and every continent. We are brothers and sisters, who’s standing up and using their voice, making the choice to stand for Jesus Christ.
You stand in this room, and uh, you might feel really insignificant, you might feel like you don’t have anything to offer God, or have nothing to offer in this life but you know we’re all the same. Everybody. We all need Jesus.
I believe that tonight God will take a hold of this place. God will take a hold of our hearts, that we will not leave this place just so we have a nice worship experience. It’s amazing to jump around, it’s great, and it’s fun, and that’s it. But I believe the Spirit of God will arrest this place and we will be changed by His Spirit. With one faith we say that we will not leave this place the same as the way we came in. So I pray that you’ll be in that same place, that your heart will be open to God. His Spirit is here, His Spirit is here. Believe that God is in this place. We’re gonna sing, and we’re gonna worship, and we will give everything we have for Him. For His glory, for His purpose and the people say, “Amen!”
Amen.
Filed under: music & lyrics | Tags: ambient music, emmy rossum, erik satie, furniture music, inside out
Emmy Rossum’s ambient/pop music soothes me. Her debut album titled “Inside Out” which was released October last year is a blend of emotional honesty and ambient music. The songs are reflective of her inner thoughts, often about relationships.
Ambient music is a musical genre in which sound is more important than notes. It is generally identifiable as being broadly atmospheric and environmental in nature. This type of music is intended to drift in and out of a listener’s awareness while creating its effect on the person’s consciousness.
French composer Erik Satie created an early form of ambient music that he referred to as “furniture music” (Musique d’ameublement), in reference to something that could be played during a dinner whose sound would simply create an atmosphere for that activity rather than be the specific focus of attention.
My favorite bands U2 is under the post-punk and alternative/rock genres but they both share the same influence: ambient music.
[ambient music definition credit: wikipedia.org / photo credit: emmyrossum.com]
Filed under: films & the tube | Tags: cate blanchet, dr. henry jones jr., harrison ford, indiana jones, irina spalko, kingdom of the crystal skull, marion ravenwood, shia labeouf
When i first heard about the fourth installment of the Indiana Jones series last year, my first reaction was to blog about it and start my very own Indy countdown. Yeah, yeah… i’m an Indy fan. I don’t care if Harrison Ford looks like he’s starting to sag all over and resembles the greeters at Wal-Mart or something. But you know what? I still love the guy, no one can play a geriatric hero better than Harrison Ford. So yes, Shia Labeouf… just keep on dreaming dude!
Semi-spoiler alert!
Ah yes, the Crystal slash magnetic Skull of a creepy, ancient alien dude needs to be returned to the City of Gold. Whoever gets to do that will wield supreme over life, the universe, and everything paranormal. Really now, who would’ve thought that an Indy series would come to this? Agent Mulder and Scully, the truth is out there. Had to check twice if i was really hearing the Raiders March and not the X-files theme in the background.
Do you believe in aliens? Are there really races of supreme intelligence cruising around the friendly skies kidnapping cattle for archaeological and aceutical purposes?
Huh? Now where was i? Oh yes, Dr. Henry Jones Jr. with his fedora and bullwhip finally married his longtime love Marion Ravenwood, but not before finding out that she bore him a son. Yes, Henry Jones the third with his leather jacket and handy comb, played by Shia Labeouf enters the picture. A swashbuckling hero in the making with a fetish for motorcycles. He proved himself worthy of the Tarzan name by swinging on vines with the other long-tailed members of the primates, and making Dr. Henry Jones Jr. proud by engaging in a sword fight with Dr. Irina Spalko, played by Cate Blanchet, who by the way could carry a Soviet accent without batting an eyelash.
Now before i further spoil the movie for you, allow me to end this post by saying that Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull didn’t disappoint me at all. Harrison Ford a.k.a. Indiana Jones proved that an old-timer can still dish out a great adventure and a blockbuster.
[photo credit: Indianajones.com]
Filed under: musings & meanderings | Tags: humpty dumpty nursery rhyme, kodak CX7530 camera
“Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the King’s horses, and all the King’s men
Couldn’t put Humpty together again!”
It happened on a rainy Monday, when i fell and accidentally dropped Humpty Dumpty. Don’t worry, no broken bones or hematoma incurred from the incident, just a huge dent on my ego.
After recovering from the fall, my initial concern was to see if Humpty Dumpty was alright. To my dismay, i could tell he’s in no shape to carry on with our morning stroll. One look at him, i could see that he suffered severely from the fall.
I wanted to kick myself in the shin or give myself a good bonk on the head for causing this tragedy, but i reminded myself that accidents happen and that i could do all of that later. [Mental note: kick and bonk myself at oh-nine-hundred hours.] Lying there in the middle of the newly constructed road, under the pouring rain, Humpty Dumpty stared back at me in obvious pain. Poor Humpty Dumpty, i really felt bad for him. At that point, i was close to tears. He’s been my constant companion for more than three years. Humpty Dumpty was there for me, he was my life’s witness up until that fateful morning.
How i wish i could turn back time. I wish he hadn’t gone on that morning stroll with me. I wish he just stayed at home. I wish… “Get your priorities straight girl,” i told myself. Snapping myself back to reality, the neurons won over the emotions. So, i hurriedly called for help and made sure that Humpty Dumpty got immediate care and attention.
Ladies and gentlemen, i am a proud owner of a Kodak CX7530 Digital Camera named Humpty Dumpty, he met an untimely demise on Monday, May 19, 2008.
Humpty Dumpty, i’m very sorry… please forgive me. You may or may not forgive me, but i want you to know, i’ve learned to forgive myself.
By the way, i also own a Nokia 3200 cellphone but he’s nothing but trouble since last year. He’s been causing me heartache and misunderstandings, with all those missed messages from friends and important people. Before it was just a hunch that i’m not receiving several sms, until a dear friend recently brought it to my attention and confronted me about it. She confirmed my worst fear, my phone is a factory defect.
Let me clear something with you, if you happen to send me a text message and i didn’t reply within the day, it simply means i didn’t receive it. A follow up call or a straight email that says: “Joy, you didn’t reply to my text. Here’s what i wanted to tell you, yadda, yadda…” Now that would definitely go a long way and will be highly appreciated.
Don’t worry, factory defect will meet joe black real soon! It’s all a matter of time.
