Bored, Confused, Tired: How Are We Going To Spend Life in Eternity

I am presently enrolled in a Masters class under the course title THST 618 Soteriology (Doctrine of Salvation). As I am preparing for my exam tomorrow I came across this wonderful book that describes our life in heaven after Christ has taken us all to heaven during His second coming.

Immortal minds will contemplate with never-failing delight the wonders of creative power, the mysteries of redeeming love.... Every faculty will be developed, every capacity increased. The acquirement of knowledge will not weary the mind or exhaus the energies. There the grandest enerprises may be carried forward, the loftiest aspiratois reached, the highest ambitions realized; and still there will arise new heights to surmount, new wonders to admire, new truths to comprehend, fresh objects to call forth the powers of mind and soul and body.

All treasures of the universe will be open to the study of God's redeemed. Unfettered by mortality, they wing their tireless flight to worlds afar... With unutterable delight the children of earth enter into the joy and the wisdom of unfallen beings.

And the years of eternity, as they roll, will bring richer and still more glorious revelations of God and of Christ. As knowledge is progressive, so will love, reverence, and happiness increase. The more men learn of God, the greater will be their admiration of HIs character. As Jesus opens before them teh riches of redemption and the amazing achivements in the great controversy with Satan, the hearts of the ransomed thrill with more fervent devotion, and with more rapturous joy. - Great Controversy, pp. 677, 678.

Do you miss God? Do you honestly want to see Him soon. Well, i can only imagine. Have you lost a love one recently? Are you tired and bored of life? A song that has inspired me a lot for the past years is the song by Mercy Me - I Can Only Imagine - which have been interpreted by countless artists.

When I get tired of living, I pause for a moment and imagine life with God in heaven. How about you?

Why I Need An External Hard Drive

As a pastor who is constantly teaching, preaching, training, writing, developing, and producing multimedia presentations for my congregations, I have no choice to but constantly backup my important files that are products of long nights of work, study, and research.

I use to backup files on CD's and DVD's but for purposes stated below, I prefer external hard drives to backup my files. I have several HD's (two 3.5 at 80 Gs and two 2.5 at 40 Gs) at home. And my office table is becoming cluttered so I am thinking of buying a bigger HD and consolidate them all.

HD Advantages
1. Practical incremental backups - since I am using a Macbook, it's time machine software allows me to do incremental backups as I work. I could not imagine myself using read only optical discs that forces you to backup data in huge chunks. You don't want to waste a 700MB CDR for just 50MB of data. Yet, if they fill it up to get the near full capacity, that may take days or even weeks. If the work/data is that crucial, that's too long to be without recent backups

2. Compatibility - Even if manufacturers promise us that CD's or DVD's have a 100 year life expectancy, there may be a small chance of failure. I have experienced burning something on a certain, when you try to restore it later on using the same PC with the same burner and burner software, the data is mysteriously inaccessible.

3. More sheer capacity - One of the main advantages of backing up on external hds is that they have enough capacity that one wouldn't be forced to backup stuff across 8 DVDs, or 50 CDs. This is actually fine for archives, but for stuff that one needs to access often, it may be quite a chore to have to swap discs all the time

4. Not everyone can just clear out internal hd space- Having an extra hd to dump some keepsake files is helpful to give them more time and space to organize stuff and maybe even burn some of it to permanently relive space from both HDs.

5. Drag and drop interface
You can't beat that. Granted burner softwares are that way too, but there's still the actual process of burning the data, which isn't as quick as to an external hd.

6. Space saver and Time saver - Imagine burning 50 Gig of data on dozens of DVD's. That would take hours of your time. This makes any optical media a totally non-viable backup method, since the cost would be more than a new external hard drive every time and I would need a ton of closet space. And imagine the amount of time you need to sift through you DVD stacks just looking for one file. With HD's, google desktop search or Mac OS X's spotlight enables you to find your files in seconds.

Now my dilemma is finding the best value backup HD that is reliable, fast, and durable. I've had terrible experience with my generic HD external casings. I am thinking of buying a Lacie external hd.

Your advice?

I Will Still Praise You

Oh that You can take me into our arms right now and just embrace me the whole day, Lord. I can’t find any words to say to you right now. In my heart you are telling me that it is more than just knowing the right words to speak. Worship is just coming with a God-hungry heart. In silent adoration I can still worship you with my mind. I can still think of you, love you, and adore you with my mind.

When my body is tired and my lips are swollen, I will still praise you. For I will glorify no one else but You. I will still try to put the best of my praise for You. I will honor You with my life. And thank You Jesus for speaking to my heart this morning.

I have nothing in need particularly for You supplied my needs. Perhaps if I can beg, let me ask for You strength. Speak to me, Lord. For my heart is ready to receive Your message. My heart is ready for Your divine instructions. I need to plant my self deeper into Your words. Come and take me right now into Your arms. Speak, Lord.

Although Lord there are times when I don’t sense your presence, when I feel low, I will still offer You my life. Yes, Lord, there is so much to do. And whether I feel like praying or not I will still pray. Whether I feel like reading your Word I will still ponder on it. And I will do it again and again. Thank you so much Lord.

Please keep me in your hands and arms. It is only through your grace that I can remain strong and secure. The world will never understand all the troubles I go through. But I pray that they see in my countenance the love that Jesus has.

Lord,today, renew my strength. Help me fight again. Please help me take my sword and stand up and fight again. Thank you so much for that promise. In Jesus name. Amen. - Your son, Ardie

Heart Worship - It's All About Him!

We are created to worship God. That is the essence of life and our ultimate purpose.
As author Steve Pruitt puts it: “I personally believe that worship should be the first priority of every church. Worship is meant for God and our most important ministry is to minister to him. Therefore, it is my opinion that most of our money, energy and time should be spent on the worship ministry.

With that said, let me say that a worship ministry consists of much more than a song service during corporate gatherings. Worship should penetrate every area of our Christian walk and service. This means that worship should be the ultimate goal of every ministry in the church including teaching, preaching, evangelism etc. For instance, my personal motivation for converting the lost is not to keep them out of hell. It is to see them forsake a lifestyle that glorifies Satan and turn to a lifestyle that glorifies God. As the Apostle Peter wrote, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, his own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light...” (1 Peter 2:9).

Our deepest desire should be to produce disciples who have a passion for Jesus and yearn to worship him in spirit and truth. A lifestyle that glorifies God is a lifestyle of worship. It’s all about him. He is our top priority. Keep that in the forefront of your mind as you work with leadership to develop a worship philosophy for your church.

Joshua & the Law of Influence

“The True Measure of Leadership is Influence-Nothing More, Nothing Less”

"The very essence of all power to influence lies in getting the other person to participate." HarryA. Overstreet.

LEADERSHIP THOUGHT FOR TODAY: Leadership impact increases as influence increases
Read: Numbers 13:1-33; 14: 1038; 27:12023; Joshua 1:1-18

TODAY'S QUESTION FOR REFLECTION

What are you currently doing to increase your influence?

Just like in the past, times come when I am overwhelmed by the unending tasks in the district. Idon't know how I am gonna face it, much more how I am gonna finish it. It's just too much. Justrecently I am frustrated with the work done by our missionaries. They seem to be playing notentirely committed to His work. Yet only God can read their hearts.

I want to share with them the best there is in serving the Lord. I don't want to compare themwith others. What I need to do is to influence them so they can become better workers of God.

After my short devotional today, the question for reflection is “ What are you currently doing toincrease your influence?

Well I guess the answer is obvious. Reading Maxwell's books on leadership is perhaps the beststep I have taken to improve myself. As a pastor my primary responsibility is leadership or influencing people as Maxwell defines it. Influencing people to change. Influencing people todraw closer to God. Influencing people to involve themselves in service. I could not use powerbecause the church does not use positional leadership.

Today I pray that, as I read this book, I would internalize more of its principles so I can lead this district closer to God.

Buying the Best Value Mini-Laptop

As area coordinator of all Adventist district pastors in Cavite, I am presently making recommendations for the best value mini-laptop that would suit the needs of an average user who's into web browsing, document creation, and powerpoint presentation.

The review I am writing will also benefit other Christian leaders in the entire Central Luzon Conference territory. Please limit your comments as much as possible on the following mini-laptop models (not the ultraportables like Macbook Air) that are now available in the Philippines:

-Asus eeePC 900 or 1000

-HP 2133 mini-note

-Acer Aspire One

-MSI Wind

Kindly write the pros and cons of your recommended model. Try to highlight the best features you like in it. If you can follow the suggested format below I would highly appreciate it.  Since I don't have enough time for research I would greatly benefit from this forum specially from actual owners. Please comment on any of the following:  OS, Processor, Hard Drive, Software, Keyboard, Screen, Extras, & Price from the best value store. 

Suggested format sample:

Model:  HP 2133 Mini Note

Pros:

       -excellent design: rugged metal casing

-8.9 inch screen

Cons: 

- uses Via's C7-M processor to run Vista (should be XP)

        - price range can buy a full-featured notebook

        - not multitouch touchpad like that of Asus eeePC 900

Features: 3 USB slots, an ethernet adapter, an SD card reader, VGA out, a Webcam, a microphone, and integrated Wi-Fi.

Features I Like Best: Aluminum casing not plastic,Full feature keyboard, & PC Express Card Slot

Price Verdict: 26,000 pesos - expensive for a non-intel processor mini-laptop. But considering it's durability, design, and tech support, I'll go for it. 

TEN RULES OF ENGAGEMENT (Part 2)

continued...

6. Don't marry the person who'’s not sensitive to your needs.
Insensitivity leads to misunderstandings. Marry the person who can teach you to be more sensitive to his/her needs; a person who is willing to know your emotional and spiritual needs and unselfishly fill it in. Marry the person who can communicate with you his/her ideas, plans, fears, failures, and frustrations.

7. Don't marry the person who'’s not quick to admit his/her error.
Humility, meekness, and forgiveness. Before you judge your partner, are you quick to admit your own faults? Learn to communicate deeply. Romance involves mental and spiritual intimacy. Don't marry the person who thinks he/she has every right to judge others but not himself/herself.

8. Don't marry the person who wants to become more of what you expected him/her to be than what he/she ought to be.
Partners should be able to compliment each other's strengths and compensate for his/her partner's weaknesses. Each person should be able to say, "Let me tell you who I am. I am good at this, I am almost great at that, I am poor at this, and I am embarrassingly poor at that. That's me. And here's what I think I can do here. Does that match up with what you expect me to do?" If he/she says "yes, I accept you!" then go for the bells with no questions asked. In the end each one should be able to say, "I discovered what it meant to become more of me and less of what others expected." Follow this rule and your life will not be under the mercy of other people who are trying to control your life.

9. Don't marry the person who says, "I love you dear but I'm not ready to go where we need to go, and do what I need to do because my life is not just to be your husband/wife."
"Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." This does not mean that both will now have the same favorite food, favorite color, and favorite movie. Relationships should not be characterized by competition but by mutuality. Isn't it nice to hear your partner say, "I love you dear and I'm ready to go where we need to go, and do what I need to do because my life is to be your husband/wife."

10. Don't marry a perfect person because you are not an angel.
Most of us are looking for angels and not looking for wives/husbands. Don't ask for more than what you can give. Looking for somebody whose faith is so strong that he/she can evangelize the world when you yourself don't even pray to God. Looking for someone whose figure can be featured in the Glamor magazine when you just broke the weighing scale? Be realistic. Be humanly realistic. No one is perfect. Love is a developed capacity. Everyone has a need for love and born with the potential to love. Love grows in a home. Love loves imperfections.

TEN RULES OF ENGAGEMENT

Thoughts To Consider Before You Get Engaged !

"An engagement is a promise to marry, and also refers to the time between proposal and marriage." Wikipedia

I am now happily married to my ex-girlfriend for 7 years. Four years before we got married, I had to work as youth pastor in a city church in Guam-Micronesia mission for one year. Leaving her behind, the experience was one of the loneliest period in my life. It was during that time I came to realize how much I love her. Trying to find the reasons why I love her and why I want to marry her, I got inspired to write these ten rules of engagement. So before you get engaged, think thrice.

My wife passed all these rules. May it guide you as well:

1. Don't marry the person who doesn't make God first in his/her life.
Of course who would want to marry someone who does not believe in the God you worship and does not practice the Christian standard you uphold. Spirituality matters most. God is the center of all meaningful and successful relationships. Don't marry the person who just goes to church; marry the person who knows God intimately.

2. Don't marry the person who doesn't make you first in his/her human relationships.
Why marry the person who loves his/her talents more than you? Why marry the person who loves his/her goals and ambitions more than you? Why marry the person who puts more time for sports and other pursuits than you? His/her first duty is to his/her family. Don't marry the person who'd rather do something else than be with you. Marry someone who values his/her relationship with God and you more than anything else. Marry the person who puts more importance on his partner's interest than his/her own. The greatest gift you can ever give to someone is to give yourself. That relationship is to take precedence over anything else, over everything except God himself.

3. Don't marry the person you think you can live with; marry the person you think you can't live without.
In short, marry the person you truly love. Others marry for fun, several marry for company, some marry for convenience, quite a few for a committed love. Ask yourself, "Is he/she the person I really love so much that I can't live without?"

4. Don't marry the person who talks more about himself/herself than he/she can talk about you.
A self-centered person brags about his/her achievements, goals, and success. A true lover always looks for something beautiful in his/her partner and never fails to discover and appreciate the unique and peculiar qualities of his/her love. He/she chooses to talk more, in private and in public, about his/her partner's characteristics than his/her own. You want someone who admire you, not himself/herself or your neighbor.

5. Don't marry the person who doesn't have a mature understanding of life's struggles and pains.
Only someone who has a deeper understanding of life's struggles can truly appreciate the value of relationships. He/she can grasp the true meaning of the realities of life; its discouragements and pains, its hardships and troubles, its mishaps and casualties. Marry someone who can show you what life is. Marry someone who can help you develop a more realistic view of yourself and your personal limitations.

To be continued tomorrow...

To Quit or To Worship

What is it about You Lord that I should adore? What is it about You that I should praise? When I fail, do You love me less? When I succeed, do You love me more? As your handiwork why have You created me? For what purpose? For what reason?

Lord, You know my heart. I am not perfect. I am not pure. Your presence alone makes me all that I am - perfect in Christ Jesus. You have given me a status so clean. Help me to live clean.

God You are a holy God. In You holiness I cannot stay unclean. Unholy. A holy God only can make a holy person. Make me holy, Father. Help me to live a holy life. That is what I need. That is what I want.

Lord, honestly at times I doubt my calling. I want to open my heart to you. There have been instances when I wonder why I am in the ministry. I often ask myself why do I have to go through all the pressures in this kind of work. But it is more than work I know. It is a calling. That makes all the difference in the world. That transforms my attitude and outlook in life. But whatever one's profession is, we all have been called. Called for the purpose of living for Your glory.

God you know how at times I wanted to quit ministry. I know too of ministers who have already burned out because of too much demands. Ministry, Lord, can really be exhausting. Pressures come from all sides. Anyway, any people-oriented work is really stressful. So perhaps, Lord, that is not an excuse. Besides, You promised to grant me with power and grace. Grace for every moment. Grace for every trial. Grace for every defeat. Grace for every pressure. Grace for every relationship. Grace for every day.

Lord, I am so sorry for trying to run away from You. Instead of running away, let me face that solemn responsibility of drawing your flock closer to your throne. Near to where you are. Keep me patient and humble. Keep me wise. Keep me forever secured in you love.

Almighty God, I just can't help but to wonder at Your grace. Wonder at Your magnificent love. You love me. How can you love a minuscule creation like me in such a vast universe. That is the wonder of Your love. How wonderful You are! Just when I am not at my best, You remind me of Your love that never change. You remind me there is power in your love.

You created me to worship You! Thank you for the privilege. There is power and life when I come to worship and serve You. You are wonderful! Wonderful to look at. Wonderful to serve. Wonderful to love and worship.

How to Cope with Death

Losing someone. It's really hard. The sting of death... As I was meditating on the gospels I was inspired to write truth in distilled form-

Jesus first died in Gethsemane before Calvary.
Self needs to die in the garden to lift our burden.

Like He we first die in Gethsemane before Calvary.
Then by looking at the tree, from death we are set free.

Death becomes bearable when we have been on our knees.
Not on Mt. Calvary. But in Gethsemane.

Have you today visited your spot among the olive trees?
-ADBernardo

A Board Taker's Prayer

If you are taking a national board exam (nursing, law, accountancy, etc.), you can download the "A Board Taker's Prayer" attachment, print it, and pray this prayer as you prepare for and take the board exam.

As part of iDREAM's ministry to young professionals in AUP and other places, we conduct a praise and worship service for board takers. It is a Spirit-filled, prayer-driven, and Bible-based celebration of God's guidance and goodness over the board taker's preparations for the national board exam. The AWE4HIM praise team leads out to help us connect with God through praise songs, followed by a study of God's word on the importance of prayer, and formation of prayer warrior groups who intercede for the board takers until the last day of the exam.

The printed prayer is distributed after the service to be kept in their wallets to become a constant reminder of their commitment to God and their small groups.

For invitations on how to organize the Board Taker's Praise & Worship event, contact me at ardisonbernardo@gmail.com.

How To Deal With Rejection (Conclusion)

Hi guys! I have been out for almost a week. Just came back from a leadership seminar. Let me conclude this article. May it help you in your journey.- Pastor Ardie

DEALING WITH REJECTION

So how do we deal with these feelings of rejection? So what do we do when we get rejected by the people we serve, love, and respect? We often respond to rejection in anger. Is it a bad reaction? How do we deal with these feelings of rejection.

Ever been to a party where no one noticed you? Have you been put in office and discovered no one wants to follow you? Perhaps a friend betrayed you. You wife doesn’t believe in you. Even your dog hates you.

How do we deal with rejection? We all want the respect, admiration, and appreciation of our love ones. No one likes to be disliked. No one likes his ideas to be disapproved or taken for granted. So what do we do when we get rejected by the people we serve, love, and respect?

We often respond to rejection in anger. Is it a bad reaction? Assessing your anger and frustration helps you see whether your anger and frustration are valid or not. If its not, then there is room for growth as you evaluate your mistakes, shortcomings, or personality flaws and grow from the experience.

All of us have a desire to be loved and liked. People are created for relationships. And within that framework our desire is to make others happy and in the process become happy in return. No one wants to love and be rejected. We want to love and be loved.

People often respond to rejection in anger. Is it a bad reaction?

Anger in and of itself is not a sin. God put this emotion in us. “Be angry,” he urges, “and do not sin” (Eph. 4:26 nkjv). Anger is not a sin, but it can lead to sin. Perhaps your anger doesn’t lead you to shed blood, but does it make you touchy, irritable, quick-tempered, quick to take offense?

But don’t we become touchy, irritable, quick tempered when people reject us? The next time your are fuming with anger ask yourself, “why am i fuming with anger?” You can always narrow the answer down to one word- rejection.

You hurt. And because you get hurt, you get hot. Anger is your defense mechanism.

Now that we know the common cause of anger- rejection- what is the cure? What is the opposite of rejection?

Acceptance!

If rejection causes anger, wouldn’t acceptance cure it?

Max Lucado has a very good insight on this:

A point we need to take is the story of Cain and Abel. When God rejected the offering of Cain’s own choosing how did he react? The text gives an answer. “The Lord accepted Abel and his gift, but he did not accept Cain and his gift. So Cain became very angry and felt rejected” (Gen. 4:4–5, ).

If rejection by heaven makes you mad at others, wouldn’t acceptance from heaven stir your love for them?... Remember the verse? “He who is forgiven little loves little.” We can replace the word forgiven with accepted and maintain the integrity of the passage. “He who is accepted little loves little.” If we think God is harsh and unfair, guess how we’ll treat people. Harshly and unfairly. But if we discover that God has doused us with unconditional love, would that make a difference?

So what turned the apostle Paul from a bully to a teddy bear?He encountered Christ. Or, to use his phrase, he was hidden in Christ: “Your life is now hidden with Christ in God” (Col. 3:3 niv).

Max describes this thought beautifully in his book A Love Worth Giving: Through Christ, God has accepted you. Think about what this means. I’m scooting forward and talking softly again: You cannot keep people from rejecting you. But you can keep rejections from enraging you. Rejections are like speed bumps on the road. They come with the journey. Tacky purse peddlers populate the world. You’re going to get cut, dished, dropped, and kicked around. You cannot keep people from rejecting you. But you can keep rejections from enraging you. How? By letting his acceptance compensate for their rejection.

When the world has turned its back on you, remember whose you are! God has accepted you. God loved you even before you have known Him. Let His love that accepted you just as you are melt your heart and say, "People can reject me but God has already accepted me. He has forgiven me and is always willing to forgive me. My life is now hidden in Christ. I may not win the applause of the world but I can applaud God." Why? He who is forgiven much loves much. Or should I say, he who is accepted much, loves much.