Manus Dei

When I started looking at others as a reflection of myself, I realized that we are all the same; we are all made up of the same stardust, yet, shaped by our individual experiences. I, too, walked some dark shadows of life since my younger years. My 24 years presented an array of people to forgive; they come in varied colors—from pitiful abusers and cheaters, to a pack of little users. The empty promises and false hopes tied with bullies along my way, and the salty fact of nev er knowing how a father embraces a daughter were a handful of my dimmest regrets. Plus, being physically abused by someone remained the hardest thing to swallow. Looking back over the past couple of years, I was emotionally wounded, sometimes unbeknownst to the achievers. It felt like no amount of apology will correct these wrongs; no words will wipe off the tear stains on my bed. There have been regrets over those learning events, but still, joys and many lessons graced my life; many questions still linger— ...

“There’s no hindrance in serving the Lord if we focus on Him” We look up at every leader as a role model who guides each individual in a community.  In  SFC, it is our privilege as members to be in a household where we can share intimately with our dear brothers and sisters our triumphs, innermost concerns, or even our simple thoughts; as well as worshipping and glorifying God - the spirit of camaraderie lies in each household. Simply put, the household is a system of loving and caring. Each household has a designated leader - a brother or a sister that takes charge of the household. Household Heads must lead by example, which is best displayed in their compassion towards their members. I personally honor our Household Heads for their attitude of service towards their members. The passion to serve illuminates from within them; that natural feeling that one wants to serve, not because they must – but because they are willing.  The goal of ‘Household Heads Tra...

“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...

Pleasure of finding God amidst your pain? The Lord says, "He is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in Spirt. - Psalm 34:18” Perhaps you are in a very stressful or critical time right now. Perhaps the difficulties and pain of life seems too much to bear. Financial problems, failed relationships, work pressure, self-doubt and insecurities.  A time that you felt alone, broken and pointless, and you find yourself needing for fresh guidance from the Lord.  Will you be able to find God in the midst of your pain?  These curveballs sometimes stress us out our way more than they should.  Last August 11, 2017 in our SFC A2 Chapter Teaching entitled “Discovering your 2Ps” held in Al Safa Bldg. Room 101 is opportunely. Now, what are these 2 Ps?  Our first speaker was Tito Boots Ladrillo with his full energy talks about the First P, “Discovering your PAIN.” What are the common sources, how to deal with it and decide to be victorious ...

As preparation for the SFC Chapter B2 Talk 9: Receiving of the Holy Spirit, Our God made way to mold us purely prior to sending us in spiritual battle by providing us a Tongues Workshop, held last August 12, 2017, 8pm at Center 1, Al Safa Building, Najda Street conducted by Tita Lourdes. As Christians we desire to experience Christ more in our life, every moment of it we long for HIM. One way to feel His presence in our life is allowing the Holy Spirit to work within us. There are 9 Gifts of the Holy Spirit subdivided in three category. First, are the Teaching Gifts which includes Wisdom and Word of Knowledge. Second, are the Sign Gifts which are Faith, Healing and Miracles. Third, are Revelational Gifts comprised of Pophecy, Discernment of Spirit, Tongues and Interpretation of Tongues. One of the most powerful manifestation of the Holy Spirit is speaking in tongues or known as GLOSSALIA, which we admit most of us is lacking. Speaking in tongues as explained by our speaker is a m...

In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.-Romans 8:26-27 How do we pray and how do we pray for others effectively? Most of us would like to pray for others, but to be honest we don't know how and what to pray. We are often filled with good intentions but without enough knowledge to utter, we tend to use the same phrases over and over or we fall into patterns, or sometimes we simply are not good in expressing with words. As part of our preparation for our CLP Talk 9- Receiving the power of the Holy Spirit- the much awaited session for every CLP. We had a PRAY OVER WORKSHOP, held last August 15, 2017. The teaching was led by Tita Lourdes, here we experienced and practiced a pray over session. Learned how to ...

This day we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Fatima apparitions. It is  an opportunity to reflect deeply again upon their message.  The Angel of Peace appeared three times to the shepherd children, Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco, beginning in the spring of 1916 in Fatima, Portugal.  These visitations prepared the way for the six apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima the following year.  The message of Fatima may be lost sometimes in the mysterious and the spectacular: the apparitions; the “three secrets;” the “dancing of the sun.”  Yet, the main entreaties from Heaven concerned our day-to-day earthly activities and how these will forge our eternal destiny.  The everlasting consequence of unrepented mortal sin is Hell; knowing this, we should live our lives according to the laws of God, in obedience, purity and virtue. The central message of Fatima was an urgent plea to stay on the narrow path to Heaven. Fatima calls us to conversion, and a daily tur...