REBUKING THE DEVIL

REBUKING THE DEVIL

“This kind can only come out through prayer.” – Mark 9:29

(Editor's Note: Even up to this modern times, we still have encounter with the devil indirectly or sometimes directly as what happened on the story. Here is a personal story recounted by Ronna taken from didache.)

I never go to bed without blessing my children with holy water as I make the sign of the cross on their foreheads and pronounce a blessing over them. One night, as I blessed one of my daughters who was burning with fever, she moaned as she slept soundly. I was then led to sprinkle her whole body with holy water. Suddenly, she bolted up and started screaming as if in extreme pain. She turned away from me and tried to climb the wall by her bedside as though she was trying to escape. Every time the holy water touched her skin, she would scream excruciatingly. I began to rebuke the evil spirit that was oppressing her. I continued to pray in tongues until she calmed down and fell asleep again.

(Ed's Note: Charismatic Renewal has bring forth gifts of the Holy Spirit. One of them is the gift of tongues. It is the utterance of prayer in a different language or dialect more often a dialect not understandable to the person saying the prayer.)

The next day, she woke up without any recollection of what happened the night before. Also, her fever was gone. It was neither my prayer that did it nor because I was “spiritually strong.” Praying just aligned me with the will of God, which allowed Him to work through me.

Yes, Jesus still casts out demons in this day and age through us who believe in His sovereignty over all.

Discipleship: Renewing Your Mind

Discipleship: Renewing Your Mind
by Rick Warren

Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts. Proverbs 4:23 (TEV)

To change your life, you must change the way you think. Behind everything you do is a thought. Every behavior is motivated by a belief, and every action is prompted by an attitude.

God revealed this thousands of years before psychologists understood it: "Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts" (Proverbs 4:23 TEV).

Imagine riding in a speedboat on a lake with an automatic pilot set to go east. If you decide to reverse course and head west, you have two possible ways to change the boat's direction.

One way is to grab the steering wheel and physically force it to head in the opposite direction from where the autopilot is programmed to go. By sheer willpower, you could overcome the autopilot, but you'd feel

constant resistance. Your arms would eventually tire of the stress, you'd let go of the steering wheel, and the boat would instantly head back east, the way it was internally programmed.

This is what happens when you try to change your life with willpower; you say, "I'll force myself to eat less ... stop smoking ... quit being disorganized and late."

And, yes, willpower can produce short-term change, but it creates constant internal stress because you haven't dealt with the root cause. The change doesn't feel natural. Eventually you give up and go off the diet.

There is a better and easier way: Change your autopilot; in other words, the way you think. "Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think" (Romans 12:2 NLT).

Change always starts first in the mind. The way you think determines the way you feel, and the way you feel influences the way you act, which means "there must be a spiritual renewal of your thoughts and attitudes" (Ephesians 4:23 NLT).

To be like Christ you must develop the mind of Christ. The New Testament calls this mental shift "repentance," which in Greek literally means "to change your mind."

To repent means to change the way you think - about God, yourself, sin, other people, life, your future, and everything else, and you adopt Christ's outlook and perspective on life.

We are God's Steward of Our Lives

We are God's Steward of Our Lives


I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live, by loving the LORD, your God, heeding his voice, and holding fast to him." Deuteronomy 30:19

(Editor's Note: Here is a story by Bo Sanchez from kerygma magazine. You may subscribe to www.kerygmafamily.com for free.)


Let me tell you a story. Three construction workers were on top of their half-finished skyscraper. Rrrrring!! The lunch bell sounded, and the three men sat on a steel beam jutting out of the 56th floor with their lunch boxes in hand.

The first guy opens his and groans in exasperation, "Tuyo! There is not a day that I don’t get tuyo for lunch!" He turns to his buddies and announces, "Mark my words, if I still get tuyo tomorrow, I’m going to throw myself from this building!" (Ed's Note: Tuyo is a dried fish).

The second guy opens his lunch box and moans, "Tinapa... Everyday, I get tinapa!" He looks at his friends and declares, "Believe me when I say this: If I get tinapa tomorrow, I’m going to jump and kill l myself!" (Ed's Note: Tinapa is a smoked fish).

The third guy opens his lunch box and it was his turn to despair. "Galunggong! All I get is galunggong! I’m telling you, if I still get galunggong tomorrow, I’m going to jump from this building and die!" (Ed's Note: Galunggong is a kind of fish usually cooked fried).

The next day, the lunch bell rings and all three men are again seated on the 56th floor. The first guy opens his lunch box and starts crying, "Tuyoooooo!" And so he jumps and crashes on the ground.

The second guy opens his lunch box and wails loudly, "Tinapaaaa!" And he also hurls himself off the building and dies.

The third guy opens his lunch box and screams, "Galunggonggggg!" And so, he too jumps off the building and splatters on the ground.

Days later, during the funeral of the three men, their three wives embrace and weep together. The first wife cries out, "I didn’t know my husband didn’t like tuyo anymore! Why didn’t he tell me? If only he told me,
I would have prepared something else."

The second wife echoes her statement, "Yes... If only I knew, I would have cooked something else, not tinapa!"

The third wife, between sobs, speaks up, "I don’t know why my husband killed himself..." The two wives look at her curiously. "Why?"
She went on, "Because my husband prepares his own lunch everyday..."

I love this crazy story because it presents a very important truth: all of us prepare our own lunch. God in his infinite wisdom has made us responsible stewards of our life. We are responsible for our own lives. If we don’t like our jobs, we can change jobs. If we don’t like the state of our relationships, we can do something about our relationship - we can change our friends. If we don’t like what’s happening to our spiritual lives - we have no one to blame but ourselves.
Because God has given us free will. He has given us the power to prepare our own lunch.

If you want to earn more and be free from debt, if you’re sick and tired of your bad habits, if we want to put more joy in our marriages, if we want to grow in our relationship with God - then go back to your kitchen and prepare yourself another dish. Because you design your own future. You create your own destiny. Ask yourself what kind of future do you want to have? What kind of life? What kind of eternity? You decide.

The Power of Choice

The Power of Choice


I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live, by loving the LORD, your God, heeding his voice, and holding fast to him. For that will mean life for you, a long life for you to live on the land that the LORD swore he would give to your fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." Deuteronomy 30: 18 - 20


The gift of choice and free will.

God in His infinite wisdom have given us the power to reject Him or embrace Him.

He has given us the capacity to embrace life or embrace death.

Everyday we encounter several choices:


Will I drown myself in alcohol or drink something else.

Will I cheat in school exam or answer the exam on my own?

Will I go to the church or miss the worship?

Will I spend time in prayer before the Lord or forget about it because I have other things to do?

Will I read the Bible or do something else since I find the Bible boring?

Will I forgive the people who have hurt me or hold my grudges on them?

Will I watch a pornographic video or watch something else?

Will I curse and use profane words or simply speak out my arguments calmly?

Will I glorify God of my action or do whatever I feel like doing?


Every second we are bombarded with many choices.

Choose God. Choose Life.


I made my choice to say yes to God 14 years ago.

The journey is not a bed of roses. Sometimes the road is wide and gay. At times the road is long and winding and the journey is tiring.

In hindset, saying yes to the Lord is the best decision I have ever made in my life.

And If I will be given a chance to decide again, I will never hesitate to say my yes to God.

Commitments Shape Your Life

Commitments Shape Your Life



Since everything around us is going to melt away, what holy, godly lives you should be living! 2 Peter 3:11 (LB)


I read this scripture reflection made by Rick Warren, the best-selling author of a book, "The Purpose - Driven Life".

This article bring my mind back to the commitment I made to Christ 14 years ago in a life in the spirirt seminar I was forced to attend.

This commitment I made has indeed shaped my life.

With the grace of the Lord, I renew this commitment to the Lord every day I wake up.

Faithfulness is saying our yes to God daily for the span of our lifetime.

Here is the reflection:

You don't have to understand all the implications of your decision when you choose to follow Jesus. You simply need to respond to his invitation, to make a commitment to follow Christ.

Your commitments shape you life more than anything else. Your commitments can develop you or they can destroy you, but either way, they will define you.

Tell me what you're committed to and I'll tell you what you'll be in twenty years. We become whatever we're committed to.

It is at this very point of commitment that most people miss God's purpose for their lives. Many are afraid to commit to anything and just drift through life. Others make half-hearted
commitments to competing values, which lead to frustration and mediocrity. Others make a full commitment to worldly goals, such as becoming wealthy or famous, and end up disappointed and bitter.

Every choice has eternal consequences so you need to choose wisely:

"Since everything around us is going to melt away, what holy, godly lives you should be living!" (2 Peter 3:11 LB).

Christlikeness comes from making Christlike commitments.

Introduction: Who Should Read the Bible

WHO SHOULD READ THE BIBLE
Author Unknown




The Young - To learn how to live.

The Old - To know how to die.

The Ignorant - For wisdom.

The Learned - For humility.

The Rich - For compassion.

The Poor - For comfort.

The Dreamer - For enchantment.

The Practical - For counsel.

The Weak - For strength.

The Strong - For direction.

The Haughty - For warning.

The Humble - For exaltation.

The Troubled - For peace.

The Weary - For rest.

The Doubting - For assurance.

The Sinner - For salvation.

The Christian - For guidance

Miracle Still Happens Today

They were all astounded and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this.” – Mark 2:12

Adversities are great defining moments. It can either break us or make us. Here is a true story of how the Lord continue to do wonders in the life of His people. This happens in the Philippines. This is an excerpt from didache daily devotional from www.kerygmafamily.com shared by Dina.

“I need you to call your brothers and gather them at home,” my dad’s sister explained to me over the phone. “Your family will be evicted from your house by noon tomorrow. The three of you should tell your dad tonight.”

I was shocked. How will we break the news to Dad? Where will we live? “Lord, have mercy on our family,” I prayed with tears. The sheriff, together with the creditor, came at 10 the next morning. Our request for more time to look for a new home and to raise the P5 million to buy the house back fell on deaf ears.

But God stepped in. He touched the hearts of three generous and selfless individuals who raised the P5 million in cash in a matter of two hours. He sent a young lawyer who helped us negotiate and draw up the needed documentation for free. My cousin even flew in from Cebu to give moral support.

God must have heard the prayers of my friends who kept vigil through the night. He must have seen my family’s helplessness as a chance to manifest His glory. He blessed us with prayer warriors who came to our aid and brought us face to face with Jesus.

Reading this beautiful story of Dina reminds me of my favorite song by Don Moen. I would like to end this article by sharing with you part of the lyrics which have become my battlecry during times of needs.

God will make a way where there seems to be no way. He works in ways we can not see, He will make a way for me. He will be my guide, hold me closely to His side. With love and strength for each new day, He will make a way. He will make a way.

Glory be to God.