This week was a very busy week for me. I stayed late in the
office for three consecutive nights. I missed the train the other night and I
had to walk for 40 minutes. I was walking with my eyes closed sa sobrang pagod at antok that night. I don't want to take a taxi kasi sayang and walking is my form of exercise anyway. This weekend, I had training in church, watched a volleyball
game, went and serve at church and went to the hospital to visit and pray for
my friend’s mother. Although my days were full, I was able to do my usual
activities like walking and reading spiritual books.
These past few days, I also took some time off with my
Instagram and Facebook account. I am still checking the personal messages but
not the newsfeed. I have a lot of stuff in my mind to blog about, too. But
really, I don’t have enough time. I sleep late like 1 or 2 a.m. and still my
time awake is not enough for the things I want and love to do.
So now, I am writing again but not about Maldives. There are
few people who are waiting for my next post about Maldives. I will post about
it very soon. I hope it will be worth the wait LOL :D
Okay…
I am writing because of the books that I bought and haven’t
read yet. Okay, I have read some but haven’t completely read them yet.
I am not an avid reader or patient with finishing a whole
book. I was able to finish the Twilight series. Imagine. Those are four books!
So, that’s already an accomplishment. I was so hooked at it that I even asked
my mother who was working in USA to buy me the hardcover version.
So here are the books that I bought for the past months (or
maybe even years???). Some of them I have started already like the Purpose
Driven Life, How to be a Secure Woman, and the Five Languages of Apology but
haven’t finished yet.
Currently, I am reading Start Your New Life Today by Joyce
Meyer and my Quest Study Bible for Teens (okay, I am not a Teen anymore hehehe)
and I am still in the book of Genesis. I am taking it slow and I am in love
with it. Some people find it hard to understand what is written in the Bible. Some
words are too deep and a dictionary will be your next best friend.
This time, it’s different. This Bible is fun to read and makes
me want to read more and more each night. I am actually limiting myself to one
to three chapters a night. Otherwise, I will be puyat (lack of sleep) because I have to wake up early for work. My
normal sleeping hours is from 2am to 7:30am (okay, so alam niyo na bakit lagi
ako late sa office).
My Bible has this side column notes which is a question
based notes that clarify the meaning of the Bible text/s and the articles below
that help explain the practical meaning of the Scripture. It has 3 courses
reading plans. I chose course no. 3, Every Word of the Bible which has a time
commitment of three years. (Oh my! Three years?!)
Sometimes, the notes and the articles will provide other
books /verses in the Bible which I ended up jumping books rather than sticking
to one book only. That’s why I would end up more puyat (ehehe) and stuck in
Genesis LOL :)
So……… WHY the BIBLE?
There are so many books out there that you will get addicted
to and you would want all your free time spent on reading it. ( I cannot blame
you if you are one of them J ) Some books are for
knowledge or you need to read it because you need to learn from it like for
studying people. Mostly, it’s because of for entertainment purposes. By the
way, I started to buy Condé Nast Traveller ME magazine every month
(Traveller Wannabe LOL).
So, it started when I was having a Christianly conversation
with my sister and my cousin. They opened up about the end of the world and if
you read the book of Revelation, you can tell that it is near and is happening.
Scary right? They said that it will take 1000 more years for the last days of
men (judgment day) and we (me, my sister, and my cousin) are dead by that time.
I am scared. I admit I am bit scared of dying. Still, I
don’t have to worry about it or let fear overcome me. Because I know life on
earth is just a preparation for an eternal life with our Father and I know I
will be saved. (Eph 2:8-9)
I got curious. I want to read Revelation. I want to know the
truth. I want to know what I will expect in the next coming years. Off course,
I would not jump on reading the book of Revelation without me reading the other
books. Otherwise, my blood will run cold. I told myself that I have to prepare
my heart and I have to start in the beginning, the book of Genesis.
That night, I was doing my usual steps (walking) very late
in the evening; I realized that in my 26 years of existence I have never
completely read the Bible. I have read a lot of books (nursing books J) and articles but His
Words was not a priority in my reading list. Ouch! Ouch for someone who gave
His Only Son to die for our sins and save us from the curse of sin (death!).
One time at church, our pastor spoke about the Grace of God.
Yes, God’s grace saves us (Eph 2:8-9) and then he asked us, at the end of the
day…DO YOU HAND AROUND WITH JESUS?
OMG! (Oh, My Gulay!)
I was shocked. I am guilty.
I love God. I want to have a deeper relationship with Him
and a stronger foundation. Going to church, serving at church, singing praises,
meeting with my small group (Bible Study Group) will not provide me a deeper
relationship with Him and a stronger foundation. It is through His words which
are written in the Bible and doing what you had read/heard.
Right then and there, I told myself that I will do it, Lord.
I love you and I want you to be in my life, 24/7. If I am able to commit my
time on other worldly things and desires, I know I could commit myself in
spending time with You. At the end of the day, I am who I am because of the
grace of God.
So, I had committed my last hour before retiring for the day
for His Words. If I am not able to read the Bible because of too much
exhaustion and I cannot control myself anymore not to sleep, I make sure I
compensate by reading the next day in the morning.
There was a time that Bible Verse challenge became a trend
in Facebook. Someone will nominate you to post your favorite Bible verse and
then you will nominate your friends to do the same. It’s really nice to see my Christian
friends, workmates, and friends posting their favorite Bible verses. But there’s
something that is lingering in my mind while I read their posts. Has this
person ever read the Bible? Well, who knows? Only God would know. Well, I hope
they are or I hope they would do so.
One day I was with my small group leader and she told me
that some people are hesitant to read the Bible or join a Bible Study group. It
is because they would know the truth. They would know what is morally right and
wrong. They would know what is pleasing and not to God. They would struggle –
knowing the truth and doing it or not.
Well for me, I haven’t completely read the Bible and I am in
progress of doing so. I am also a Christian in progress. I know I was a
hypocrite Christian. A hypocrite Christian is someone who knows the truth and
yet doesn’t do it.
At some point in my life, I did struggle so much on
something. And that something is not hard to remove because it became a lifestyle.
My mind and my heart don’t seem to cooperate much with God’s word. I asked the
Holy Spirit that dwells in me to remove that something because me, myself
cannot do it alone. And I am so glad that I am over with it now. It’s effortless. I am not struggling anymore. Thanks God for His grace.
So if you had read my blog until this part, I challenge you
to read the Bible. Yes, it is not easy because the devil will love you to spend
time more on worldly things instead of God’s Words. So take a big leap of
faith, and just do it!
