Gabi'y Parang Umaga

 

Ang gabi'y parang umaga,

Kung Ika'y kasama.

May liwanag sa dilim,

Nang Ika'y kapiling.

Takot mahulog noon,

Pero panatag na ngayon.

Kahit sa bingit ng kamatayan,

Di Kita ipagpapalit kailanman.

Ikaw ang buhay ko,

Di ako magpapatalo.

Ika'y aking gabay,

Ayokong sayo'y mawalay.

Ikaw ang dahilan,

Kung bakit ako patuloy lumalaban.

Pakiusap ko sa Iyo,

Manatili Ka sa puso ko.

Samahan Mo ako,

Kahit saan ako tutungo.

Sa araw-araw hanap ko,

Ang pag-ibig Mo. ❤

~ S.M.T.A

(07.26.20)

_ _ _ _, It is!

Thought that falling in love is

Limited to a person

But there's more to it...

As love is deep and vast

That reaches even far away

From possibilities, way hard to imagine.

I fell in love with a place

Where I called myself a stranger

Yet became a lover

As my soul learned...

To care, share

And not fear.

This time marks the 8th year

Since I stepped in

To a place unfamiliar to me

But later on...

Became my home

CEBU, it is! 😂

I left Cebu last January 2020

Decided to be back to my hometown

Longing to see my family

Yet my heart was torn...

I fell in love with Cebu

That even leaving was heartbreaking.

I could tell back then

Seeing Cebu again

Would still take time to happen

God is calling me back to my hometown

For a long term, if the Lord wills...

Then a few months after, pandemic came.

Never expected this became serious

Thanks be to God

That I'm back to my hometown

Since the end of January

However, Cebu still holds a special place

in my heart. ❤

Cebu is like my real home

Where I met some people

Who knew the real me.

Welcomed me, accepted me, loved me

When I met them

It's like I saw God shining on their faces.

Ever since I was young

I used to dream

Traveling around the world

Not just spectacular sights

But more so I could meet

Different people and cultures.

Then God brought me to Cebu

Just one place

Yet God let me experience

Meeting locals and internationals

This was what I was dreaming of

God granted it and I couldn't ask for more.

Last January was my birthday

And the best gift I ever received?

Was sharing great moments

With those people in Cebu

I was grateful and thankful for

Though meeting them all was impossible! 😂

I am not really good in expressing myself

To the people I love

I may come off insensitive at times

Pretending not to care but I do

I just maybe have a different way

Of showing my affection! 😁

That's why I love writing

Though not really into it

Coz in this way...

I can express myself

Seriously and sincerely 😂

Especially to the people I treasure. ❤

I've been planning to write about Cebu

Ever since I left last January

I even failed to send some personal letters

To those people I cherish there

Coz' I couldn't help my tears 😢

So I just left them with prayers...

Only God could hear. 

This writing I offer...

To all the people I met in Cebu

Including those people God used ❤

For me to be there. 😀

I thank the Lord

To the school where I learned

To the churches where I grew

To the workplaces where I thrived. 

Not because of me...

But everything had happened

All by Christ's strength and for His glory!

Thanks to all the people He let me meet

and became a part of me. ❤

I hope to see you again 🙏

Sorry for this long overdue-writing 😂

I pray we'll meet face-to-face someday ❤

I thank God for your life!

Your life matters to God.

Your life is a blessing to me.

May your life continue to bless others

for God's glory! 🙏❤🙌

Ikaw

Wala nako damha 

Na ako luwason Niya

Kinsa ba diay ko?

Dili angayan nga higugmaon

Dili angayan nga luwason

Apan salamat Ginoong Hesus

Kay ikaw puno sa gugma

Ug abunda sa grasya

Ang kaluwasan wala nag-agad

Sa akong binuhatan

Apan pinaagi lamang

Sa pagtoo diha sa Ginoong Hesu Kristo.

Ug kay ako luwas naman

Diha na ang mga pagsulay

Naay mga panahon nga ganahan nako

Moundang sa pagsimba sa Ginoo

Labina sa mga panahon 

Nga gipakyas nako Siya

Ug sa mga kasakit ug kalisud sa kalibutan

Apan salamat sa grasya ni Hesus

Nga Iya kong gipabalik diha sa tiilan Niya

Aron simbahon ug alagaron Siya

Ug nakaplagan gayud nako 

Ang tinood nga kalipay

Diha sa presensya ni Hesus

Nga dili gayud maikumpara

Sa mga butang niining kalibutan.

Ang akong kinabuhi,

Alang lamang Kaniya.

Siya ang akong kusog.

Siya ang akong gugma.

Siya ang akong tanan.

💓💓💓🙌🙌🙌

~S.M.T.A

No Greater Love

In a day and age where the world’s definition of love is fluid, how can one possibly know what it means to love and be loved? Does the definition of love change depending on the relationship? Is love simply an emotion that comes and goes as time marches forward? Is the ‘love’ you have for siomai or unli rice the same as the love you have for your family? I dare say that our definition of love must be clarified if we are ever going to know what it means to embrace God’s love and to love others in return.

Understanding God’s love is vital to one’s theology and practice of faith. The Bible is clear that God loves us with an agape love, and we can only reciprocate that love because God gives it to us through the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). Strong’s Concordance notes that agape is “wider, embracing especially the judgment and the deliberate assent of the will as a matter of principle, duty and propriety.” Agape love is manifested first and foremost toward God because it is a dutiful, submissive, and obedient love. It is a love that does what is right regardless of how a person feels about it. In other words, agape love has a moral core, rather than an emotional one. 

Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, who died for both godly and ungodly, displayed this agape love. He was, and is, and is to come. He was in the beginning, yet has no beginning. He will be in the end, yet has no end. The humans whom God created failed Him, yet He followed through on His promise to save mankind through His Son. His Word never failed us, because Jesus Christ came down and shed His precious blood as an offering to blot out our transgressions. There is no greater love than this: laying down one’s life for others (John 15:13) What a great sacrifice! Jesus Christ gave His life as a gift to the world. That is agape love in action.

As I reflect on God’s perfect love, I don’t think that somebody can out-give the love that He has shown. He shows His affection unconditionally. He gives promises through His Word that will not fail. Our God, in the person of Jesus Christ, offered the greatest gift of all and that was His life. He touched the sick and they were healed forever. He enjoyed the company of sinners despite challenges and threats. He humbled Himself in the form of a servant to show greatness in lowliness. He came to earth to serve and not to be served. God’s love is far beyond human analogy.

The love of God-the Father, God-the Son, and God-the Holy Spirit is immeasurable. The love of the Triune God is constant, perfect, and unwavering. There is no greater love.

 

PS. Thanks to WOTS Team for proofreading this article I submitted voluntarily as I felt the need to share what God has impressed upon my heart last 2018 and they successfully published it in their 75th magazine issue titled 'From Captive to Captivated'. 

By God's Grace, I Will Thrive

Too tempting to look back,

To taste again what I used to,

To experience again what I had.

Yet God wants me to look up,

To be more satisfied in Him,

To reveal Himself more to me.

It's hard to live,

To this world I am in,

That's full of imperfections.

But with God in my life,

I will never give up,

By God's grace, I will thrive.

~S.M.T.A. 

(7.27.19)