Manus Dei

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”                                                               - Joshua 1:9 The Cluster B joint Prayer Assembly last October 2nd was a day that both Chapters B1 and B2 have waited for with nervousness and anticipation. Change can be a scary thing. After all, it is easier to cling to the comfort of the familiar. Change can be invasive, uncomfortable and challenging: yet the Lord calls us to reach out and bring His good news to anyone and everyone, and all of that involves tremendous change in character and spirit. To do so, it also requires and attitude of obedience to the Lord's will, even if we do not understand His plans at the time. With the Lord's grace, the Chris...

It can be a challenge to listen to the Lord's voice in the midst of all the distraction and noise in our life but it is in persistent prayer and  persistent listening that we are lead in the right direction - learning to recognize God's bountiful blessings in all circumstance. Sister Jexie Ann Aggabao shares how the Lord answered and provided her with bountiful blessings and that we should always give back for His glory.   "Yung mga blessings na binibigay ni Lord is not only financially; it comes in all forms, in all ways." "Maybe ang pag-reach ko ng target recently, is one way for Him to wake me up and to go and proclaim His goodness" "Let's all joyfully give back to Him as He is the source of all that we have now." " No matter how much you give, small or big amount, as long as you pray for it and if it is from the heart, God will surely bless you abundantly in many ways. You just have to patiently and joyfully...

“In our life, it’s either you are a pilot or a passenger, it’s your choice - unknown” I’m Shobe Dayahan, a passenger of my life. Since I was young I never imagined myself in front of many people, talking or doing a speech. It’s indeed one of my fears yet unbelieved by many because of my jolly personality. I remember dreaming about joining different groups like YFC, SFC, etc. which serves God however the fear of talking and sharing my life stories was a big hindrance for me to believe in myself.  I'm not confident enough and wondered if I can stand as one like them.  It all started when I was young - taking life by chance and never thinking about the consequences. People make mistakes, feel unworthy, hurt someone and be hurt, thus are the struggles in life and it’s normal. I never dreamt of anything about myself or about my families, I just go wherever life takes me but all of a sudden there are lots of question in my mind "Am I good enough? Am I worthy? Will someone b...

“And priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of Jordan while all Israeli crossed on dry ground, until all the nation had finished crossing the Jordan. “ – Joshua 3:17 The night was filled with God’s presence during our Chapter B1 Prayer Assembly held last 21st of June in SFC Center 1. As an individual, I have my own circumstances and struggles in life. And most of the time, I tend to focus and ponder on those things that I cannot control. Before I went to our assembly, I have with me all my carry-on baggage’s. I kept on thinking how can I get out of these things that occupied me. But I know one thing is for sure, God called me to be present in our assembly because he knew what’s in my heart and in my mind.  That night was very special for me because it was my first service as part of the Music Ministry. At first I didn’t understand the title of our assembly – Crossing your Jordan River, but as the worship progres...

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prospers you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope & a future.” -  Jeremiah 29:11 This prayer assembly that we had last Monday, 22 May 2017, reminds me of how grateful our Lord God is amidst of my own personal fear and struggles, He uses this opportunity for me to make me realized what He has been doing to me while I’m patiently waiting. With all the sharers during the PA, God speak up to me and He let me witness how my brothers and sisters made a triumph to cope up with their struggle while facing the right kind of fear. For all the good and bad things, experiences, scenarios that has been happening to our lives, we always have to pray, we always have to ” trust in our Lord with all our hearts and not lean in your own understanding”  Psalm 3:5 Settings our minds, attuning our hearts to what is right beyond the negative thoughts and temptations that surrounds us, is a great factor f...

Have you ever crossed your Jordan River?  Are you moving or stagnant? Where does your feet and your faith bring you? These three questions stayed with me - thinking and reflecting where my faith has brought me? Last May 18, 2017, I had a chance to be with my fellow Chapter A2 members to attend our monthly Prayer Assembly.  As we had our opening worship to our Lord God and after hearing the exhortation of Bro. Mharvs Roces, I asked myself “have I really crossed my 'Jordan River' "?  I remember the time prior to my exit in Oman. It was Lenten season and I was so afraid of what will happen to me there. As I heeded the advice of one of our sisters in SFC, she said that all the temptations and trials will come, so taking God’s words to my heart and obeying Him will lead me to victory. Know that the Lord will always be with us, pray always, surrender and trust Him in everything and let Him be your tour guide and travel buddy.  Take all the emotional experiences and c...

“Love enables us to see, beyond all else, the great worth of a human being. With enthusiasm and joy, we can celebrate all that it means to be part of a family.” The night of May 4th, room 405 was filled with laughter and songs of praises from my brothers and sisters in Christ until Bro. JM Comia started the talk and lead the prayer. He also encouraged us to read Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation  Amoris Laetitia  (The Joy of Love), a lengthy letter that follows the Synods on the Family held in 2014 and 2015. Everyone in the room attentively listened and silently prayed as I scanned every corner of the venue. Since I seldom join prayer assemblies due to my schedule, I felt that God lead me to join that night and opened my heart and mind to love and appreciate more my family, to forgive each other’s shortcomings, misunderstandings and mistakes.  “Love does not yield to resentment, scorn for others or the desire to hurt or to gain some advantage. The Christian ide...

On March 9, 2017, the second Prayer Assembly for this year was held. Members of SFC Chapter B1 were excited especially for us Newbies in the community for once again, it is  another special day  that the Lord has created for us to grow spiritually, pray together , and be one in glorifying and praising our Lord Jesus Christ . Today is also my first to serve and be part of the Music Ministry. Together with my fellow new members, we were nervous but at the same time joyful to serve and sing praises to our God. After the powerful opening prayer and worship which was led by Brother JM, he was also able to share on how God has helped him and his family go through unexpected recent challenges. I may not be able to write and specify the experience he shared ( due to some confidentialities) but the lesson and blessing that he has imparted to us is that with God and our prayers, our family will always surpass every trials for nothing is impossible with Him. Our beloved Cluster...

Our Chapter had our Prayer Assembly last 22nd March 2017 that was held at Center 2, Al Safah. That day I was struggling with my work, so I have this doubt of attending the PA. After the office hour, I’m thinking if I will attend the PA because I feel so tired and toxic, but then I will not do anything on the house after work, so, I’ve decided to go.  The teaching of worship song has started when I came, then I was surprised that the topic for our PA was all about struggles, including our better struggles. That time I realized that the topic was really for me, and God was so good because he knows what are my troubles on that day. To make the story short the teaching reminds us that the Lord will not give us struggles if we do not know how to handle it, because all of us are experiencing struggles in life, sometimes in family, more often in work, in love life and even with our friends. But it depends on us, on how we will handle this kind of struggle or situation. As it...

February 17, 2017, a cold, rainy Friday morning when B1’s first prayer assembly, entitled “Set Apart,” was held. But not even the gloomy day could douse the burning fires in our hearts, especially us 2016 graduates, who were really looking forward to this activity after a long break since our Covenant Orientation Weekend. We were welcomed warmly by the service team and surprisingly, a photo booth was being set up at the side. The venue was filled with light chatters and greetings while we were being pumped up by our lively music ministry. Bro. JM Comia, our chapter leader who always had smiles for everyone, led us into glorifying our Creator through a very heartfelt morning worship. Worship always feels like coming home, always feels like being embraced, and always makes you feel so overwhelmed that you cannot contain the joy and bliss in your heart that you cannot help but cry. So when Bro. JM had asked us to pair up and pray for each other, one can only imagine the liters of te...