It's been two days since 8 became a 9 in our calendars.

I'm sure some of you, if not most, wrote down "I will not's..."  on pieces of paper you'll never see again... or at least, not in the near future.

Why the resolutions? Somehow, due to the thought that since it's a new year, a new life goes beside it. We think we'd stop doing our "old" habits and acquire "new" ones.

I'm sorry to break it to you, but January 1 isn't a magic date where one can simply drop their "old" habits and become a new person by January 2. And trust me, by January 14, you're doing the exact same thing you wrote down 14 days before.

The whole "new year's resolution" thing misses the point. 

Change isn't a once-upon-a-january-night thing.

It's a daily and constant process.

Aren't we all called to die to ourselves daily? Aren't we called to carry our crosses daily?

Each day is a challenge to change. To deviate away from our old selves, our old habits. 

Change doesn't happen overnight. 

Each day is a resolve to be better, to be more like Him.

And besides, isn't 2 Corinthians 5: 17 enough?

It's the last day of the year and I'm listening to Passion's God of this City. A year has past with it's tests, trials and triumphs and a year is coming to give us a blast of more. Normally we look back to our experiences and ask what God has in store for us in the future. There maybe new decisions, maybe God told us to wait, or maybe He will open new doors, we don't know. What I know for sure is that God is there in the past, present and future never letting go of us.

Personally I asked these questions to myself; How did God use me this past year? how fast was that year? How much of my time was spent for God? Could I have done more? What more can I do for Jesus this year?

This coming year life continues, we learn new things and should be pressing towards what God wants us to do(Phil 3:14). We are changed because of Christ... the old has gone and the new has come (2Cor 5:17)

I remember one sunday some time ago, when Tommy Walker was at GCF, one of the worship songs we sang that morning service left a burr in me. That burr continues to bother me time and again, especially in the area of my life that involves my ministry as the head of the Fellowship Team. See, this was the killer stanza that has stubbornly clung to Jon the FT Head:

"I see the lost, nameless ones remembered

I see the widows shouting out Your praise

I see the friendless loved and celebrated

Orphans fulfilling, Lord, Your calling in their lives"

Usually when a WWE superstar returns from lengthy leave due to injury, they have one thing to say: It's good to be back!

Having been on leave from ministry for the past month, i know now what they must feel like. Everything that was once taken for granted is now greatly appreciated. Everything once viewed as "work", is now fun. John Cena once said that even the "you suck" chants coming from the back was music to his ears. In the same way, the little things that used to annoy me are now overshadowed by the joy of serving God.

Well, some of you may be wondering why i went on leave in the first place. It was a hard decision for me because church and ministry are basically my life. But sometimes, all the ministries and work overshadowed the reason I did them. I always made time for ministry but didnt make time for God. After praying about it, God confirmed through several people and situations that i should go on leave for a while. When i did, I was able to focus on Him more and just spend time with Him. I realized WHY i was serving again and I was reminded of how much God has done for me.

Praise God once again for what He has done in our midst last Saturday! We had a a great time of worshiping God. Thank you to all those who visited and we do hope to see you guys regularly here at Youth L.I.V.E.

I received word, however, that last Saturday's worship was not recorded properly. The audio equipment was unplugged. All we captured was video. My apologies, therefore, because we will not be able to upload Pastor Api's message on the website. He understandably declined to redo the take for his message. He's been under quite a lot of pressure lately and so if it's OK let's pray for him. I will, however, try to convince him to record a podcast for us. My apologies once again.

Beej

the music enters the scene with a thrill rippling along the crowd...

someone stands and begins to do something not to be done on normal circumstances.

"turn around.."

the dancing begins, some are driven looney with anticipation of being pointed at, others approach paranoia with trying to weasel their way outta the dining area-turned nut house. it's hard to stay calm when the flurry of fun, laughs, shyness and awkwardness begin to steal the scene in your head. when it's your turn to face the music, anything goes; whatever you did, you'd look at it afterwards with second-guessing eyes.

"nothing i can say. A total eclipse of the heart."

the tradition of 'Total Eclipse' may be just fun but senseless shenanigans, but the last line has some grain of truth in it, truth with applications reaching as far as the serious Christian walk of the people in camps who dance to it.

during a total eclipse, there's a shortage of light as the moon drifts into place where it obstructs the sunshine supposed to fall on the place it looms over.

I am not sure you guys know about this big Islam - Christianity conversion story but I have been spreading this around through my multiply and facebook blogs. I saw this last month and the timing could have not been more perfect since it was Missions Awareness Month. Ate Andrea red about this blog of mine in facebook and now I want to share this to you guys as well. Anyway, here's the story and I hope it inspires you the way it inspired me.

A little intro about the story you guys will read, I got to now Hamas through National Geographic's "Don't tell my mother..." Show. The show is one of my favorites in National Geographic and it features un-told stories, tackling controversies of people living in places around the world like North Korea, Columbia and Somalia. I saw Hamas when they were in the Middle East particularly the Gaza Strip, and it was really an eye opening documentary how Islam and Judaism clash cultures and religion. If you know your current events, Hamas is actually one of the strongest extremist muslim groups in the region.

Take now thy son. Genesis 22:2

Ok. So it's kinda short. But I have a point.

When God asks us to do something, He asks us to do it now. As they say, delayed obedience is disobedience. It's funny how we try to debate with God or try to buy some time whenever He asks us to do something. I tried to divert attention from doing this devo myself. There is no later when it comes to His will, and whenever we rationalize to put things off, then the sacrifice becomes lesser.

Abraham followed God on the spot. When God asked him to sacrifice his son, Isaac, he did it right away--no questions asked. It's actually very simple for him. He just did what he was told, not because of blind faith but because he knew God had a plan. He didn't ask for advice from anyone else for what he was asked to do, because God message was clear and distinct. There are times that we get paralyzed by asking too many questions when the message is already clear. "Paralysis of analysis," as they would say.

Become a student of change. It is the only thing that will remain constant.
-Anthony J. D'Angelo

I received word early this afternoon that last Saturday, about 30 people prayed to trust Jesus and follow Him with all they've got. God is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! If you're one of those who prayed that prayer and you're reading this now, I want you to know that you have just embarked on an amazing journey with God! It's as if God was taking a road trip to a beautiful place and He just said to you "Hop in, let's go for a ride." And you're about to enjoy the sights and sounds of that journey.

Don't be mislead though. It's one great ride but it's hardly a smooth one all throughout. It's not the easiest thing in the world to start and maintain this close relationship with God but I want you to know that GCF Youth L.I.V.E. is here to help you out. We're family and we look out for each other.

And so Pastor, how do I get started? I've listed 3 things that will help you get on your way.