I'll Love You To Infinity

Honesty is totally worth it.

We have a God of truth. Not a God of lies. Jesus Christ encouraged to speak and live by the truth.

Today, I received my Chemistry test back. I was so happy, when I got it back. (*cough* I’m such a nerd. But I’m not always so smart.) It was the first time in forever, since I got a test score over 90. Supposedly, I got 99. I thought to myself, oh my goodness, just by one point, one point, I could’ve gotten 100.

When I finally got the test in my hands, I eagerly looked for my mistake. I was shocked to see that I got two points taken off. I was amused to see that my teacher made a mistake with grading it. I sighed, realizing that I was supposed to get 98.

I was torn into a dilemma. At first I thought, that I’d rather not say a word. It was just one point, after all. But then something was just tugging me in my conscience. I think the Holy Spirit was knocking on my heart. It was one of those what-would-Jesus-do moments. Of course, Jesus Christ would never lie. I thought about how I should be honest in everything, never lie, or cheat. My God is an honest and just God and I’m supposed to be reflecting Jesus Christ.

I told my friend, that I’d tell Harrington. “Tell him?! Why?” She exclaimed. I chuckled and said, “I know, you probably think I’m crazy. But I’d rather do it. It’s better just being honest.”

I approached at my teacher’s desk. “Mr. Harrington, the guilt would eat me alive. But the truth is, I’m supposed to get a 98. You took off two points,” I firmly said, while pointing out my mistakes. “Oh, well thank you for being honest, but it’s okay. It’s just one point. I’m not gonna bother with that.” He replied.

I walked back to my desk. And…man, did that feel good! Haha, I was probably smiling like an idiot to myself. God puts me on cloud nine. You know, that kind of amazing overwhelming feeling that nothing else in the universe could bring. I believe it was like a test from God. He wanted to see how far I would go and to see if I would obey His command in being honest. God sees all of your heart. There’s nothing to hide. He knows every intention.

I encourage you to be more honest, even if it is with just the little things. Remember Jesus Christ is the truth.

Romans 9:1 “I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit.”

1 Corinthians 13:6 “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.”

John 8:32 “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

I’m afraid that when I ask help from people, I annoy them. :’(

When you go on a date, take a Bible with you. Put that Bible in between the boy and you. You look at him and say, “If you want to get to me, you have to get through Matthew, Mark, Luke, AND John.”

(via jademaala)

God, I look up to You now.

“So we don’t spend all our time looking at what we can see. Instead, we look at what we can’t see. What can be seen lasts only a short time. But what can’t be seen will last forever.” 2 Corinthians 4:18

This is sort of like an emotional thing for me.

All of my life, I’ve been stuck here in the borders of America. I’ve never step foot out out of this land. All that I ever knew, was that my family was all the way around the other side of the world. The only family I ever had, were my two parents. I have no siblings. It always felt lonely and isolated. It’s a situation, where I’d never expect anyone else to understand my place, because all I’d receive is empty apathy. The people I know, are surrounded by tons of relatives. My life’s a pretty complicated story and it’s hard to explain. I’d criticize facebook for being so lame. But then again, I’m sort of thankful for it. From these past few months, my parents got in contact with some relatives. It turns out, we’re not so isolated here in America, after all. Oblivious, right underneath our noses, we had family. My parents were here in America for seventeen years, believing we were alone. But now I know that I have several cousins in Missouri and Virginia. It leaves me speechless. It’s like a long lost connection. Now my parents are planning to visit them. And I can’t wait. One day, justice will be done, when I’ll finally step foot in the Philippines to meet the rest of my family. Deep down, I ache to get in touch with them. I want to reach out to them and get to know them. They’re my family. It’s a good thing I get to talk to some of my cousins on Skype. And we get to know each other that way. Some things….are kind of like a mystery. But I want to uncover it. Like my dad says…blood is thicker than water. I believe I’m going to cry like crazy, when I finally meet my family face to face.

Is Christmas worth celebrating?

So I explained something bizarre in my previous post. I was questioning about the Christmas tree. But in fact, a while back, I was questioning the whole holiday of Christmas itself. Is it worth celebrating? Are Christians even allowed to celebrate it? I’m not looking for debates. I’m just going to share my opinions. So…just last year, I found out that Christmas actually had a pagan origin. In the past, Christmas was a holiday where people worshiped pagan gods. In reality, December 25th is actually the birthday of an Egyptian pagan god named, ~~Nimrod~~. I was actually worried, thinking about this. Just last year, my dad told us that we would no longer celebrate Christmas. My heart was torn in half, because I loved Christmas since I was little. Everyone knows that there’s a big debate concerning when Jesus Christ was born. They talk about how it’s impossible for Him to be born in such a cold climate, in a manger. It’s true that in the Bible, it never said anything about celebrating His birthday. So isn’t Christmas full of quirks?

Sorry, maybe I’m thinking too much. But when something gets me confused, divided, or torn, I will keep searching and searching, until I have answers and come to a verdict. I need the truth.

John 8:32 “Then you will know the truth. And the truth will set you free.”

I know for sure, that when I know the truth, I will be set free. That’s how it works. The truth that comes from God, sets us free.

I’ve shared this verse before, in my question. I’ll share it again.

Jeremiah 10:2-4 “Do not follow the practices of other nations. Do not be terrified by the warnings in the sky. Do not be afraid, even though the nations are terrified by them. The practices of those nations are worthless. People cut a tree out of the forest. A skilled worker shapes the wood with a sharp tool. Others decorate it with silver and gold. They use a hammer to nail it to the floor. They want to keep it from falling down.”

Doesn’t this verse, get you pondering with questions? Well, it did for me. It reminded me of the Christmas tree. I was completely bewildered. So…these were the practices of pagan people long ago. They cut a tree down, took it to their homes, and decorated it. Basically, in Jeremiah 10, God declares that there is no other god like Him. We shouldn’t uplift any other god.

What about the warmth and joy of Christmas time? What about its encouragement in giving? Isn’t that something good?

Matthew 10:8 “….You have received freely, so give freely.”

Knowing that there’s paganism behind the history of Christmas, killed me internally for these past 2 years. It really upset me. What is the right thing to do? I wasn’t so sure.

Just a few months ago, I ran into some verses that caught my eyes. You always find something “new” when looking back into the Bible. For the past year, I cried to God for answer, concerning celebrating Christmas. I believe He gave me the answer right here.

Romans 14:2-6 “The faith of some people allows them to eat anything. But others eat only vegetables because their faith is weak. People who eat everything must not look down on those who do not. And people who don’t eat everything must not judge those who do. God accepted them. Who are you to judge someone else’s servants? Whether they are faithful or not is their master’s concern. They will be faithful, because the Lord has power to make them faithful. Some people consider one day to be more holy than another. Others think all days are the same. Each person should be absolutely sure in his own mind. Those who think one day is special do it to honor the Lord. Those who eat meat do it to honor the Lord. They give thanks to God. Those who don’t eat meat do it to honor the Lord. They also give thanks to God.”

Seems like a confusing and vague passage, right? But of course, the Bible speaks in figurative language. But there were also words there, that directly spoke the message, concerning “special days” or holidays. Here’s what I thought. When I read this, I automatically thought of the whole situation about Christmas. This whole passage, about “diet” isn’t simply talking about what we eat, but our lifestyles and personal beliefs. Why do you think Christians are divided up and have denominations of their own? It’s because of their personal convictions. The Holy Spirit will always give us some sort of conviction. And people will always come up with their own conclusions.

Some people say that Christmas is worth celebrating, because we do it to honor Jesus Christ. They say that we should honor the fact, that God came into human form, to live among us imperfect humans, and save us through a sacrifice. So regardless, of whether Christmas had a pagan background, we only uplift God, during Christmas time. Others strongly stand on the belief of being disconnected during Christmas time. They say that we honor Jesus Christ everyday of our lives, so why make a big deal one day in a year?

Why is there so much diversity in the world? People will always have different viewpoints. That’s why debates happen. That’s why wars happen. What matters, is that we could take the time to understand and accept that we have different opinions.

This verse really struck me in the heart. It gave me a sense of joy and relief.

Romans 14:22 “No matter what you think about those things, keep it between yourself and God. Blessed are those who do not feel guilty for what they allow.”

So I finally came to a conclusion. It’s all up to you. I agree with those that said that God looks into the heart. That’s very true. And God knows all our intentions.

The funny thing is, my dad disregarded what he said last year. This year’s different. We’re celebrating Christmas again. :) Of course, we’re well aware of the truth now. But God knows our hearts. So…that concludes what I want to say.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!! God bless you!!<3

Christmas tree: What’s your opinion on this verse?

“Do not follow the practices of other nations. Do not be terrified by the warnings in the sky. Do not be afraid, even though the nations are terrified by them. The practices of those nations are worthless. People cut a tree out of the forest. A skilled worker shapes the wood with a sharp tool. Others decorate it with silver and gold. They use a hammer to nail it to the floor. They want to keep it from falling down.” Jeremiah 10:2-4

Now, I do not intend for any ~~debates~~. In fact, I’m not exactly sure where I should put my opinions on. I just need your opinions. Just last year, I found out that there was a pagan origin in the holiday of Christmas. It was heartbreaking. It had to do with pagan Egyptian gods. We all know there’s a big debate concerning about when Jesus was born. But it wouldn’t matter for us Christians because we only want to uplift our Lord. So when I came across this verse, I thought of the Christmas tree. I was a little…horrified. Because there’s a story about an Egyptian pagan god, named ~~Nimrod~~. The cheesy story, was that he died and resurrected as a tree. His wife/mom took him, as a tree, and decorated him to praise him. In Jeremiah 10, God is commanding that we don’t uplift any other god. Now of course, I know for sure that Christians don’t have any intentions in uplifting any other god, when celebrating Christmas. Please share your opinions. I need your thoughts. My ask box is also open.

“Faith WITHOUT work is dead.” James 2:17

It couldn’t be any more straightforward than this. These words strike me in the heart with conviction. I realize the wrong I’ve done. Can I simply ask God for a miracle, without lifting a single finger of effort? Of course not! And if I were to treat my dreams and prayers as though they were crops, how can I gather them, if I don’t work? If I’m always so passive and lazy, nothing can be done. And maybe all there would be, is a mess. So it all starts when I make the effort. Then the mustard seed of faith I have, will work its ways.

Ecclesiastes 11:4 “Anyone who keeps on watching the wind won’t plant seeds. Anyone who keeps looking at the clouds won’t gather crops.”

Luke 9:62 “Jesus replied, ‘Suppose you start to plow and then look back. If you do, you are not fit for service in God’s kingdom.’”

Be the change you want to see.

I know, there are several things that I want to change in myself. All because, God convicts my heart. Change starts when I take that first step. God, guide me through this.

Procrastination consumes me like a disease.

Dude, you pushed the limit.

Seriously, this afternoon. What you did and said wasn’t funny. If you think you’re all ~~cute~~ and ~~funny~~, just quit it. That wasn’t cool. Maybe if you started acting more of yourself, people would pay more respect to you. Why hide behind a mask? Is there something to hide? Is there something wrong with just being yourself? What exactly are you trying to gain? Keep in mind. Gaining the whole world means nothing, if you lose your soul. Please, change your perspective. Change your heart. Change your attitude.