Hidilyn Diaz and her Faith

In almost all interviews I watched about her was all about her faith with God. Therefore, she was graciously blessed. She prayed for bronze. God gave her silver. 

Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:5-7

Heaven is for real - A struggle of faith

Catching a glimpse of Heaven is for real turned out to be a blessing. I invited a friend over to watch the movie with me and scenes on the screen got me teary eyed.



It's a story of a simple family of four (eventually turned five). A mom, who maintains the music ministry in a church, a dad who works as a volunteer firefighter and at the same time a minister at their local church with two beautiful kids.
As a family, they also have their share of trials and that's where adorable Colton comes to the picture.

This time, I won't be doing a review about this movie since I don't want such to turn into a debate of what readers believe in rather, I will point out the most important phrases I've noted while inside the cinema.

At the hospital

During the time that Colton was admitted to the hospital, his father Todd, went to the chapel shouting:

"You made me suffer and I took that. You made my family suffer and I took that. Now you want to take my SON?"

In a scenario such as this, I thought of maybe the father; though he is a minister in the story should know better. He should know the response in certain situation like this.



On the other hand, he may be acting human after all.

At the same time as he was yelling to God, his wife called friends and asked for prayers.
In times of crisis, to whom do you turn to?

With the psychologist

With prayers answered, Colton got well and started talking about heaven. This bought uneasiness to his father Todd and started consulting a psychologist.

Here are three questions we usually need in our daily life.

1. Is it unusual (for your wife) to call friends and ask for prayer in times of crisis?
2. Is it unusual for you to pray?
3. Did you come here today because you were wondering about my faith, or about your own?

The Persecution

I remember a pastor saying:

"When you follow God, prepare to be persecuted.."

This is true. In one scene, after the story has been published in a local newspaper, Todd was coming out of the restaurant and a group of men shouted:

"Next time that there is a fire, can you tell Jesus that instead of walking on water, He could just dump it on the fire?"

A perfect example of walking the Christian faith is telling everybody about Jesus and sharing the word of God. Taking up your cross won't be an easy task but as we go through sharing the Gospel, may we be reminded that God will take care of their hearts.

The Saviour

At the graveyard, Nancy and Todd talks about life, love and death. In this chapter, a phrase catched my attention with Nancy saying:

"You don’t have to save the world, Todd. I believe that’s already been done."

A phrase of belief. A phrase uttered claiming Jesus saved you and me...

Colton's message

I have been watching a recent interview with Colton before they released the movie and he said:

“The problem is we’re too attached to things in this world and they can’t go into heaven. “So when you love Jesus and you decide to follow him, it’s easier to let those things go so you can be in heaven for an eternity.”

40 Days of Revival: Lent Day 24: Graced with POWER - FAITH-FILLED

One can not study the revivals of history without being struck by stories of great faith - men and women with a Hebrews 11:1 kind of faith who were confident in what they hoped for and assured of what they did not see.

Phoebe Palmer, for example, was a bold evangelist and writer in the 1800s and was considered one of the founders of the Holiness Revival in America and the United Kingdom. Greatly criticised for speaking publicly as a woman and for addressing mixed crowds, she was so assured of her calling and confident in relying on God, that she was not shaken from her hard work and persistence. As a result, thousands of men and women came to know Christ under her teaching.

If faith comes from hearing the message of Christ (Romans 10:17) and faith without good works is dead (James 2:17), then let us today take God at His Word and do something!

Write down the name of someone who you would like to share the message of Jesus with. Do something to actively build the relationship or strengthen your friendship with them - it is relationship that will make a way for you to share Jesus with them! What other areas in your life are you believing God for breakthrough?

40 Days of Revival: Lent Day 9: The Conversation of PRAYER - WHY PRAY?

Many people have debated why it is that we pray when God is in absolute control. Whilst these questions are worthwhile, they can over-complicate and overshadow the simple truth that God's Word continually instructs us to pray with faith to God for whom nothing is impossible.

Are there specific things in your life that you are believing God to move miraculously in? Why not make a stand this week that says you believe there is great power in prayer, by gathering two or more of your friends or family to pray with you?