The Blessing of Becoming a Blessing

The Blessing of Becoming a Blessing
 by: Jefferson Jeflivs Livara

All of us wanted to be blessed. In our churches, if only our prayers are broadcast then I would be hearing people asking for blessings and miracles in their lives. Sometimes our prayers become "selfie" too. We become focused on our own needs and fail to listen to the needs of others. We sometimes forget the essence of Christianity as what Jesus has taught us- to love God above anything else and to love others as we love our self.

Little do other people know that helping others who are in need is actually rewarding. It is not a total waste of money and time. When you help others you are doing something for your self too! When you help others:

• You guard your self from greed and selfishness. It teaches you to share what you have. It teaches you how to take care and love the people who are deprived of the goodness in life. It is also a preparation for you to receive more blessings! It can also come as a test of loyalty to God. If you are greedy and selfish, do you think God will give you more? 

• You show obedience to God. It is following the word of God! The bible tells us to help the poor and the oppressed. Everytime we help those people who are in need we make God smile on us. You are making a name in heaven. By doing, you are securing your future... in heaven. When you become obedient to God, everything you ask for will be given unto you. It is in the bible.

•  You LIVe life to the fullest. To live for someone else is one of the most noble ways to live life. Some people merely exist and just think of themselves. They just think of their own safety, own security and own comfort. Sometimes, they cause pain to others and they totally forget that life is not just about themselves. When you live life for someone, victory becomes sweeter. Jesus lived life not only for himself but for the whole mankind.

• You affect eternity. In your little ways you affect the lives of people. You make them feel better. You alleviate them from their present condition. You bring hope. You might not be able to witness it in your whole lifetime but the kindness you showed to them will be the same kindness they will be sharing to others. Who knows your grand children or your grand children's children will benefit the kindness you have showed them.

• You leave a Legacy. You leave a legacy in the minds of the people whom you have helped. With this, your generation will be blessed abundantly because you have become a blessing to the needy. Legacy is not the unfinished business of a dead man given to the living. Legacy is the inspiration, the deeds, the idea, the hope, the love and the honor you will be giving to the people whom you have touched their lives. Yes, you can create a legacy while you are still living. A living legend? Perhaps... but more preferred, a Living Legacy.

I have witnessed how filipinos can join together and help  fellow filipinos who are in need. May be we are already fed up listening about corruption and Napoles... May be we are already tired of watching calamity stricken places in the Philippines... May be we are already fed up of watching children being abused... All because of "HIRAP NG BUHAY".  Yes, life is difficult when you are alone but we are never alone.

I am still proud  to be a Filipino because once in my life I was able to witness how Filipinos worldwide respond to a cry of the young boy from Acao. I appreciate their efforts. I know that  the people who extended their help are also helping  family members or relatives to finish school... they are also helping their families who were left behind in the Philippines fulfill their dreams, a house may be or a farm. The people who love to help others are the PEOPLE who experienced the difficulties in life because they know how it is not to eat  meals; They know how it is to walk for hours just to attend school; They know how it is to sleep in the cold of the night; They know how it is to be deprived of the freedom, right and beauty of life which should have been theirs.

This Blog is dedicated to the Filipinos working abroad who are helping other Filipinos have a better life. Filipinos abroad(SG, HK, US, Middle East, JP, Au, Eu, Cn), and also to those who are here in the Philippines supporting fellow Filipinos.

Thank you for becoming a blessing to others. If everyone will have a heart like this then, we are looking forward to a better and brighter Philippines.

Reflections:

1 Corinthians 12:25-26 "that there should be no division in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it."

Matthew 25:35-40 - Words of Jesus Christ
"For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.' "Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You drink? 'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 'And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' "And the King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me."

Why Give Up If God Has Not Given Up On You?

Why give up if God hasn't given up on you
by Jeflivs

When I was still living in the dormitory, Chess was one of the favorite games of ours. There were times we spent sleepless nights solving chess puzzles from grand master dorm mates. It was a terrible mind exercise that will let you thinking for days for the solution. There was one friend of mine that I can never beat in Chess. I lose over and over again every time he plays with me. One day I asked him, “ What is your secret? Your technique seems very effective!” then he replied,”SIMPLIFY”.

SIMPLIFICATION was a technique I adopted in playing chess and also in answering the most difficult mathematical expressions in our class. SIMPLIFICATION in chess is simply feeding some chess pieces to your opponent in order for you to concentrate more on the attack of the few pieces left. In doing so, you save time and your movements become more powerful. The same is with Math equations, you cannot solve complex expressions directly, you need to simplify the equation! Simplifying makes you work with fewer expressions. SIMPLICITY is POWER.

Today, the problems we meet are products of complex and complicated things made. Even Facebook acknowledges a “COMPLICATED” status. Hahaha! Why? Because we tend to choose to be complicated. Complexity is only a reflection of what the mind sees. It is a way of thinking. Even though how complicated your life is but when you choose to simplify it, you are giving your mind time to relax and concentrate to better things in life. Simplification starts when you choose to let go of the things that’s keeping you complicated and miserable.
let go of the Anger, 
let go of the vices, 
let go of the loneliness, 
let go of the pain,
and let go of the hatred in your heart.
You deserve to be Free! You deserve to be loved! You deserve to live in prosperity and success! All because God wants you to BE…

Have you ever experienced a trial in your life, that you almost laid down everything you have… you have exhausted all your efforts… you almost lost hope, faith and love to others BUT have you noticed that when you exhausted every human effort you have your FAITH in GOD remains. It was your faith that carried you through your darkest moment and it served as a guiding light for you to move on. If you haven’t experience it, you haven’t lived at all. Why give up if God has not given up on you!? It is simplicity in action. We are scrapped off from things which complicate us and we are left alone with God. Yes, it is about you and God. That is simplicity. It is the most basic of all. It is to remind us to become HUMBLE and acknowledge God in every victory and defeat we face in life. God will fight for you. God will provide. God will rescue you. Just call His mighty name. We are all entitled to His attention. If you are simple and If God is with you then who could possibly be against you. God loves us and everyday we live by his graces. Never give up on life.

Being simple and humble is not a mark of defeat. Sometimes the most powerful and successful men we knew are the simplest and humblest. They boast not of their material possessions but of the God they believe. For they acknowledge the supremacy of God in their lives. This is what keeps them to be SIMPLE.

Man is clouded by the things he places before God. These things often mislead him to the TRUTH. Christmas is in the air but let us try to see beyond the eyes can see. Are we celebrating it the way God wants us to commemorate the birth of Jesus? Dig deep in your heart and choose to be simple in this way, you will truly experience God’s presence.

Have a simple Monday Morning! Never Give Up.

Reflections:

Those who love me, I will deliver; I will protect those who know my name. When they call to me, I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble, I will rescue them and honor them. With long life I will satisfy them, and show them my salvation. (Psalm 91:14-16)

Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you. (Deut. 31:6)

When Prayers are Answered

When Prayers are Answered
by Jeflivs Livara

Once upon a time there was a couple who prayed for their finances to improve. Everyday and every night they pray that God will help them from their finances. The man working in the fields spent most of his time tilting the land. The woman earns her living by selling fruits and vegetables picked from their small plantation. One day a rich old man came and asked them to sell his inherited land. Three mountains and a river flowing in between makes this land costs millions and of course with a commission enough to buy them a new house and sustain them for the next 25 years.

The couple did not know what to do and disregarded the offer of the old man. The man continued to work in the fields and the woman continued to work selling fruits and vegetable. At the end of the day, the couple prayed again for God to help them with their finances everyday and every night. End of the Story.

I believe that when we pray for something God answers us in three ways: Yes, No or Wait. What if our prayers are already answered but sometimes we fail to notice the answer. In the story, the poor couple prayed for their finances to improve and after praying religiously an old man came offering them commission to sell his property. An opportunity which could have answered their prayers but the problem was, the couple did not know what they were ask for or did not appreciate the way their prayers were answered. Then, they let go of the opportunity.

Isn't it intriguing that such can, may or has happened to us. The reasons why we fail to discover God's answers because we are simply not paying attention. We let go of the moment. We let go of the chance and pray for another chance. It seems, we only know God when we ask for something like the genie in a bottle or we only acknowledge God when good things happen in the way we want it to be.What if God answers in the way God likes it to be? Are we ready to accept and embrace the answer? I hope you do! Many of us think that God does not answer our prayers (but in fact He did) because

1. We want the answers the way we like it to happen.It is not how we want it to be answered but it is how God wants it to be. He is God. He knows what is best for us. Many times we kept praying but the things we are praying for have long been answered. We cannot just accept it because it does not conform what we have in mind.

2. We fail to reflect.
The best way to understand your life is to take a moment of silence and reflect from the things that transpired. By doing so, we can point out what areas in our lives we fall short. We can pinpoint areas in our attitude where we went wrong. Reflection is a form of evaluating ourselves... evaluating our life. It improves the way we think. It improves the way we see life and enables us to be ready for the future. If you try to reflect in  life,  you would agree that God gives us hundreds of chances... hundreds of opportunities... and hundreds of understanding. Reflect on a verse in the bible and discover how God works in your life.

3. We become insensitive to the things around us.We sometimes fail to see answered prayers because we are focused on other things. We become insensitive to the world around us. We become insensitive to the inner voice speaking to us. We become insensitive to our own selves. In this world of technological advancement, we should still learn to become attentive to God and things happening around us. They might not be exact answers but may lead us to answered prayers. Pride can cloud our heart. It can leave us callous of other's feelings.

4. We look for worldly reasons. We fail to accept answered prayers because we sometimes give explanations to things which are given from God. We do not acknowledge God anymore. We let science give and find the answers. We become too much dependent on  Human Philosophies and Scientific Reasoning we get to explain why things happen. We become so much dependent in our own might that we fail to acknowledge graces from God.

5. We are not ready to accept the answered prayer.We ask many things but when answered we do not know how to react. We do not know how to accept the answer God has provided us. This makes us ignorant to our own prayers and longings. God loves us. Sometimes I get a feeling we are already "spoiled". Didn't you know that God loved us more than his son? Read John 3:16 and tell me.

We have a good God. The God you believe is a reflection of who you are. The prayers you ask is the reflection of your spiritual needs.

When prayers are answered, are you ready to respond and acknowledge God who gave you all these?We have a God who fulfills His promises.

Reflection:
1 John 5:14-15
"And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him."