The Stanford University =)

Beautiful Sta. Barbara =)

The Greatest Need for the Coming Year

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.”

Ezekiel 36:26–28

Over and over as I counsel with people, I hear them express a longing for a change in their circumstances. So many people believe that if they just had a better job or a better marriage or better parents or a better church, their lives would be transformed. But the reality is that the biggest change anyone needs, is a change of heart. Changing external people or circumstances only provides temporary relief at best, for the problems we have arise from within, not from without.

Repeated studies into the lives of people who win large lottery jackpots reveal a consistent pattern. A great majority of those people are worse off five years later than they were before their windfall. No amount of outward change in circumstances or conditions can fix a problem that has its roots in the heart. Jesus said, “There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man” (Matthew 7:15).

More than anything else in our nation, our churches and our own lives, we need people who have a heart toward God. The things that we love most dictate how we use our time and invest our resources. If God is first, as He should be, then every decision and action will reflect our love for Him.

Today’s Growth Principle: 

If you want to experience God’s blessing and guidance, your heart must be fixed on Him.

I will Sing

The Likeness of Jesus Christ

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.”

1 John 3:1–3

No one was closer to Jesus while He was on earth than John. Even among the “inner circle” disciples (Peter, James, and John), John sensed a special place in the Lord’s affection. In the Gospel account John recorded, he even referred to himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” I can’t think of a better title or description that any of us could receive—John had a close, personal, meaningful relationship with the Lord that characterized his entire life.

But that’s not all, because John walked closely with Jesus, he was easily identified as being like Jesus. Acts 4:13 records, “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.”

Though none of us will achieve perfect Christlikeness here on earth, it should be our heart’s fervent desire to become more and more like the Lord. And the way we do that is not mystical or hidden. The more clearly and closely we see Him and the more time we spend in His presence, the more His attributes and nature will show in our lives. The more His Spirit continually fills and empowers us, the more others will see Jesus when they look at us.

Today’s Growth Principle: 

Our world today needs the Christians they see to be more like Jesus.

CURRENT RADIO SERIES Songs for the Savior CURRENT TV SERIES Songs for the Savior

Praise the LORD! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD! Psalm 150:1-6 It was Billy Sunday who said we need to “Yank some of the groans out of (our) prayers and shove in some shouts.” And of course, one of the most precious and beautiful ways to praise God is to sing the name of Jesus. I’ll tell you, I just love singing to the Lord. In fact, there are times I even make up songs. Now they’re not fit for human consumption. In fact, they’re not fit for anybody but the Lord! But I’ll be driving down the road sometimes, just singing and praising God. It’s great! Now I realize that most of us aren’t professional recording artists and many might not like to sing. But one clear truth we find in the Scripture is that God wants us to praise him with music. Musical praise isn’t just limited to those on stage with microphones. No, singing praises to God should be done by “everything that has breath!” So next time you’re driving down the road by yourself, turn the radio down and sing a few songs to the Lord. You’ll be amazed how it feels to express your heart to your audience of one! PRAISING GOD THROUGH MUSIC IS A COMMAND FOR EVERYONE. SO USE YOUR VOICE TO EXPRESS YOUR LOVE TO HIM!

Me and my New Friend in LA Little Tokyo =)

Basking in the Light of Christ

Finding God in Troubled Times

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.”

Jeremiah 29:11–14

Jeremiah lived in a time of great turmoil. Enemy armies had come to his homeland and looted the temple in Jerusalem dedicated to the worship of Jehovah. The people had turned against the Lord time and again, worshiping false gods and enjoying the sin that they knew God hated. Yet despite the bitter harvest of consequences they were reaping, God had not forgotten them. It is easy for us to look around and think that there is no hope—that things will only get worse.

But with God nothing is impossible. The powers of this world are a significant nothingness before His might. The needs of this world are no challenge to His unlimited resources. The evil in this world may be great, but it will not prevail against Him. In fact, though the final victory has not yet been given to us, it has already been won for us by Jesus Christ, and nothing the devil can do will change that. The best tool Satan can use against us is to cause us to doubt God. When we are in difficulty, it is more important than ever that we look to Him and trust His promises.

Today’s Growth Principle: 

God is faithful in every situation and circumstance of life, and you can safely trust your future to His care.

CURRENT RADIO SERIES Songs for the Savior   CURRENT TV SERIES Songs for the Savior

“And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” Luke 1:76-79 I was never really a morning person. That is, until I moved to Florida. And one thing that started getting me up in the morning was that beautiful sunrise over the ocean. Now when dawn breaks, the sun doesn’t suddenly appear in the center of the sky. No, it peaks through the darkness, smiles on the morning, and creates countless beautiful colors before the day begins. And that’s just the way God came, like the dawning of the day, as a gentle baby. God smiled upon this earth and the light of the world began to shine. It wasn’t necessarily an explosion. Oh, yes, the heavens exploded with the glory of God when those angels sang. But primarily it was in a humble place that Christ was born and that day, the sun began to rise. You may have seen some of those old horror movies where the monster is coming toward the helpless victim but you see just a shadow. The shadow would grow bigger and bigger, and then came the substance of that shadow... the monster itself! Do you know what the substance of the shadow of death is? Eternal death. In this death, there’s no light, no love, no hope, and no heaven. And so many people spend their lives sitting in the shadow of death. But the truth is that the morning has broken and Jesus has come! What a wonderful salvation we have in the Light of the World, Jesus Christ! Life is no longer dark and depressing. Life in Christ has direction and is full of his light! CHRIST HAS COME AND THE MORNING HAS BROKEN. SO WALK IN HIS LIGHT!

Captured Moments =)

Why Struggling part of Christian life

CURRENT RADIO SERIES Songs for the Savior   CURRENT TV SERIES Songs for the Savior

And the LORD said to Moses, "Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. Exodus 17:5-6 Not long ago, a man walked up to me after church and said, “Pastor, I’m worried I might not be saved.” So I asked him, “Why?” “Well,” he explained, “I’ve really been struggling with sin lately and have given in to temptation in some areas. Why would I be having such a tough time if I was really saved?” So I told him, “The fact that you are doing battle with sin is evidence that you are saved!” When the children of Israel were wandering in the wilderness, God gave them a great victory when Moses struck the rock and water came out in the middle of the desert. He provided refreshing water for His people when they needed it most. Now in 1 Corinthians 10:4, Paul tells us that the rock that Moses struck is a representation of Jesus Christ, who was struck for  our sins and out of his side flowed a river of blood and water. So the children of Israel had been saved, delivered from the hand of Pharaoh. And they received the rock, which represents Christ. Then what happened? Immediately after they drank the water, they were attacked by Amalek. God gave Israel the rock of Christ and then called them to battle! When you receive Christ and the Spirit of God takes up residence in you, a war begins. So let your struggles be a testimony to the fact that the Spirit of God is alive and active in your life! WAGE WAR AGAINST SIN WITH CONFIDENCE BECAUSE STRUGGLES SHOW THAT THE SPIRIT OF GOD LIVES IN YOU.   God’s Hand in Opposition by Dr. Paul Chappell “Thou, even thou, art to be feared: and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry? Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven; the earth feared, and was still, When God arose to judgment, to save all the meek of the earth. Selah. Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain.” Psalm 76:7–10 William Tyndale set out with a simple goal—to translate the Bible into English so that the people could read for themselves what God had said. He believed that putting the Bible into the common language would expose and do much to correct the false doctrine preached from the pulpits of English churches. He was right—and he was hated for it. Tyndale spent much of his adult life on the run from the authorities. The story is told that when his first New Testament was published, the government bought up all the copies they could to keep people from reading them, but those profits provided the resources for Tyndale to continue his work and produce a more complete translation. God does not promise that no one will oppose us when we set out to do something for Him. What He does promise is to go with us and meet our needs. Often God uses the very opposition we face as a crucial part of His plan for us to accomplish what He has set before us. If we become discouraged and give up when things don’t go as we would like or think they should, we will surely never accomplish anything of lasting value. We should look for God’s hand in the opposition we face. We must never forget that He is able to turn even the worst circumstances to further His purposes. It was the persecution of the early church that God used to quickly spread the gospel around the world. “Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word” (Acts 8:4). Today’s Growth Principle:  Do not shrink from opposition to your work for God; regard it as a sign that you’re on the right track

Living Christ for the rest of the year

CURRENT RADIO SERIES Songs for the Savior   CURRENT TV SERIES Songs for the Savior

And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.” Luke 1:46-55 It’s always a little sad, isn’t it? Christmas is over, and soon decorations will come down and be put away in boxes for the next 11 months. It’s like we experience this feel-good high that crashes to the ground on December 26th. Unfortunately, that’s the way many live the spiritual life, just waiting for the next big event so they can get their feel-good fix. But Mary’s first Christmas was anything but feel-good. Mary sang and praised God for the same reasons that we ought to be singing every day of the year: She sang because of her salvation. Mary knew the challenges that were on the horizon and was getting ready to face some severe scrutiny for turning up pregnant and unwed! And never mind the anguish she was going to cause her family, who would be forced to disown her or face the same rejection. True praise isn’t grounded in your circumstances. So as you unwind from Christmas, don’t just settle back into business as usual. Take something special from this Christmas like a better appreciation of who Christ is and what he did. Because while you may celebrate the birth of Christ on December 25th, you should experience the life of Christ every day as he lives through you. THE CHRISTIAN LIFE SHOULDN’T BE BASED ON FEEL-GOOD EVENTS BUT ON YOUR DAILY RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST.

Putting Limits on God

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“For he remembered that they were but flesh; a wind that passeth away, and cometh not again. How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert! Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel. They remembered not his hand, nor the day when he delivered them from the enemy.”

Psalm 78:39–42

When God called Abram to leave Ur and go out to a land that would become his inheritance, the “father of the faithful” responded in obedience. When he finally reached the land that would become Israel, God described to him the borders of the promise—which included some 300,000 square miles of land. Though Israel would claim the land under Joshua, and a great kingdom would later be established under David and Solomon, at no point did they ever claim all of the land God had promised. In fact, the greatest extent of their possession was only around 10 percent of the promise to Abraham.

So many times we fail to see God work as He has promised and decide as a result that the problem is with Him. In reality, the problem is with us turning away from what God offers because we do not obey Him. When we suffer the consequences that come from our disobedience, that is not God letting us down. Instead, that is the life of limitation and lack that we have chosen when we fail to live in such a way that we can claim His promises and blessings.

The problem of powerless living is not with God but with us. “Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear” (Isaiah 59:1–2). Our sins limit God’s work in our lives.

Today’s Growth Principle: 

If you want to see God’s power and promises in your life, yield to Him in obedience and follow Him in faith.

Photo of the day =)

The 1st Hotel I check-in with a Bible inside the drawer. =)

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CURRENT RADIO SERIES Songs for the Savior   CURRENT TV SERIES Songs for the Savior

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”  John 3:16 God wants to live in your heart and transform your life. You see, when you become a believer in Jesus Christ, a wonderful thing happens. The very Spirit of God enters your life and lives within you! And when the Holy Spirit lives within, you’re never the same. This is the best Christmas present of all! Nothing can compare to receiving the gift of Jesus Christ because His salvation is the ultimate gift of forgiveness and eternal life. God loves you and me so much that He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to earth as a baby. God sent Him so you could have meaning, purpose, and a future with Him. He sent Jesus to teach us, and most of all to save us – the Sinless One taking on the sins of the world. God didn’t walk away or give up on restoring our relationship with Him. He provided the way to everlasting life! It’s my prayer that you would remember God’s love for you this Christmas and that you would be bold in sharing this gift with the world. Nothing can compare to receiving the ultimate gift of Jesus Christ because His salvation is the ultimate gift of forgiveness. It will be the best Christmas present you could ever give someone!

A Message to Share

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.”
Luke 2:15–17

John Wesley Work, Jr. led the Fisk Jubilee Singers from 1898 to 1904. During that time they traveled across the country bringing their music, including many of the spirituals from the days of slavery to those who had never heard them before. Work was responsible for writing down the melodies for many of these songs which had only existed orally before. A number of them were published in hymnals, including what was originally called the “Plantation Christmas Song.” Work’s son recalled how early Christmas morning, before the sun came up, the students would go from building to building on campus singing what we know now as “Go Tell it on the Mountain.”
Go, tell it on the mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere
Go, tell it on the mountain,
That Jesus Christ is born.
The shepherds were the first to share the message of the birth of Jesus with the world, but the task that they started is still vitally important in our day. The world is in darkness, and they will only know that the Light has come if someone shares the Good News with them. “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14). Every believer has the privilege and responsibility of telling others about Jesus.
 

Today’s Growth Principle: 

The message and hope of Christmas is too powerful and important not to share with others.

Worship Song - O Come Let Us Adore Him

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CURRENT RADIO SERIES Songs for the Savior   CURRENT TV SERIES Songs for the Savior

For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Hebrews 9:24 Every Christmas, the hearts of believers everywhere focus on the birth of Christ. Now, while I love the fact that people are thinking about spiritual things this time of year, the story of the baby Jesus is just a snapshot in God’s story. In fact, it’s only a small portion of the life of Christ. Jesus grew up, lived a powerful life filled with many miraculous works, died a terrible death for you and me, rose again, and ascended to heaven. He paid what we owed. So you see, we miss a whole lot when all we remember is His birth. And today, as you read these words, Jesus is as alive as ever, seated at the right hand of the Father! But what is Christ doing in heaven? He is interceding for the faithful. He is in the presence of the Father, at the very throne of God, to speak on our behalf! If you knew that Jesus Christ was in the next room right now praying for you, would that make a difference in the way you face life each day? Well, the distance makes no difference. Jesus is praying for you right now. And you can face the challenges and the battles of life knowing that He is interceding for you!

So Much to Celebrate

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
Luke 2:11–14

From the very first Christmas night, the remembrance of Christ’s birth has been a joyful and happy time—a time to celebrate. As the angels told the shepherds of the birth of the Saviour, their words were filled with praise to God as they rejoiced at the working of God’s plan. And we rejoice at this wonderful time of year as well.
Yes, this busy season is often pressure-filled and stressful. There are long lines in the stores, presents to find, and meals to plan. But we must never lose sight of the purpose and meaning of Christmas. If we remain focused on the amazing gift of God’s Son, we will find more peace in our hearts and more praise on our lips.
And as we celebrate, we should never forget that the joyful news of Christmas is not meant to be restricted to those who already understand the true meaning of this holiday. The message of salvation through Jesus Christ is meant for all, and it is our duty and privilege to share it with the world, just as the shepherds told all they met about what had happened. H. A. Ironside wrote, “There are good tidings of great joy for all people, not just for a limited number, but for all people. All men everywhere are invited to put their trust in the Saviour whom God has sent into the world.”

Today’s Growth Principle: 

Remembering what Christmas is truly about gives us ample reason for joyful celebration.

 

Maligayang Pasko po sa Inyong Lahat!

Pour my Love on You

Worship Song - Beautiful Love

I Quote =)