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This was taken from my reading today from the book of Proverbs 31:10-30

Who can find a virtuous and capable wife? She is worth more than a precious rubies. Her husband can trust her, she will greatly enrich his life. She finds wool flax and busily spins it. She is like a merchant’s ship; she brings her food from a far. She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household and plan the day’s work for her servant girls. She goes out to inspect a field and buys it; with her earnings she plants a vineyard.

She is energetic and strong; a hard worker. She watches for bargains; her lights burn late into the night. Her hands are busy spinning thread, her fingers twisting fiber.

She extends a helping hand to the poor and open her arms to the needy. She has no fear of winter for her household because all of them have warm clothes. She quilts her own bed spreads. She dresses like royalty in gowns of finest cloth.

Her husband is well known, for he sits in the council meeting with the other civic leaders. She makes belted linen garments and sashes to sell to the merchants.

She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs with no fear of the future. When she speaks, her words are wise and kindness is to rule when she gives instructions. She carefully watches all that goes on in her household and does not have to bear consequences of laziness. Her children stand and bless her. There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you surpass them all.

Charm is deceptive and beauty does not last but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised. Reward her for all she has done. Let her deeds publicly declare her praise.

1 Corinthians 13

Love is the motivation for giving and love is not a gift. Love is an act of the will, an act of self surrender and the giving of ourselves to others. Edward J Carnell said that love is fellowship between two persons. So, love has always existed, even before within the trinity God chose to demonstrate His love in Christ ( Rom. 5.8) and told us love’s attribute. In this famous love we find only two objectives which describe love positively. Love is patient and kind "(v.4). In Greek, these two descriptive terms on verbs suggesting that love is active not static. This sort of love was the antidote which Paul prescribed for the disease of carnality infecting and dividing the church at Corinth.

Because love is long suffering or patient, it harbours no jealousy. It would not envy another’s spiritual gifts. It does not allow us to brag about ourselves nor let us exaggerate or become conceited about our own gifts or inflated with pride because of how the spirit has used us. Thus love never acts arrogantly, rudely or unbecomingly.

Love never tests the patience of others. It does not seek it’s own; that is, it does not insist on its own  way or its rights, for such insistence is selfish  a "desire of sinful nature." (Gal. 5:19) In the exercise of spiritual gifts, the loving person seeks to edify others, not to gratify himself or herself. Love never provoked easily (v 5) meaning it is not irritable, touchy or quick to take offence.

Love thinks no evil, that is it keeps no record of wrong, nor does it nourish resentment or try to get even. When love forgives, it forgets and begin afresh with a new encounter. Love does not rejoice in unrighteousness or when injustice befalls someone else but rejoices when truth prevails. It finds no pressure in seeing another person "gets what’s coming to him" and never says, "It serves him right."

Because love is kind, it bears all things, it conceals the faults of other and throws a cloak of silence over what is offensive in another person. Love believes all things without doubting God. Love hopes all things… for in love there are no hopeless cases.. It endures all things, without weakening or retaliating or becoming critic. Such love never fails. It abides on and on forever.

Love is the best safeguard against pride in Christian service. Desiring the gifts in order to bless and help others will enable to conduct his or her Charismatic ministry in a humble way. Humility and love go hand and hand. In fact, they are like a coin. Love is the obverse side, humility is the reverse. Display love rather than power should be the goal of our ministry in the gifts of the spirit. Since God is love, this will be the most characteristic sign of His presence and His working.

Meaning of Faith in the bible, reliance, loyalty or complete trust in God; a system of religious belief.

Faith in the Dictionary means trust in somebody’s ability or knowledge; trust that somebody will do what has been promised.

What is Faith?

It is the confident assurance that we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things unseen. God gave his approval to people in old days because of their faith.

By Faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.

It was by Faith that Abel brought a more acceptable offering to God than Cain did. God accepted Abel’s offering  to show that he was a righteous man.

It was by Faith that Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying___ suddenly he disappeared because God took him. But before he was taken up, he was approved as pleasing to God. So it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who comes to him must believe that there is a God and that he rewards who sincerely seek him.

It was by Faith that Noah built an ark to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God who warned him about something that had never been happened before. By his faith he condemned the rest of the world and made right in God’s sight.

It was Faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that would give him  as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. And even there by Faith- for he was like a foreigner living in a tent. And so did Isaac and Jacob to whom God gave the same promise. Abraham did this because he was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed by God.

It was by Faith that Sarah together with Abraham was able to have a child, even though they were too old and Sarah was barren. Abraham believed that God would keep his promise. And  so the whole nation came from this one man, Abraham who was too old to have any children - a nation with so many people like stars of the sky and the sand of the seashore.

It was by Faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him, he was ready to sacrifice his only son Isaac, Abraham believes that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again.

It was by Faith that Jacob, when he was old and dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons and bowed in worship as he leaned on his staff.

It was by Faith that Mose’s parents hide him for three months. They saw that God had given them an unusual child and they were not afraid of what the king might do.

It was by Faith that people of Israel went right through the Red Sea as though they whereon dry ground. But the Egyptians were all drowned when they followed them.

References:  1. Hebrews Chapter 11

                    2. Oxford Dictionary

Left to our own abilities, we would avoid certain truths that convict us or make us uncomportable. But the spirit of truth guides us into all truth and helps us face reality. Denials and excuses are some of sin’s deadliest weapons. The spirit overcomes all our excuses and denials in life with HIS truth. The spirit tells us all that the Father and the Son have said. He brings to your mind the word of God. His revelations are not his own ideas but eternal truths revealed in God’s word.

John 16:13 … When the spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not be presenting his own ideas, he will be telling you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.

From my point of view, pressures in life depends on how people handle them. There are some people who could suddenly break down because of too much pressure, not knowing the right way of fighting it back or without knowing the process of handling them.

In the spirit realm, life’s pressure produce a tension inside your spirit. Pressure is not necessarily bad for you; it’s how you deal with it. It doesn’t matter whether pressure comes from an expected project, a deadline on the job, an interview for promotion or the unexpected death of a family member. It’s how you handle the pressure that either makes one a mature person or stunts your spiritual growth.

Webster dictionary defines pressure as the "burden of physical or mental distress, the constraints of circumstances; the weight of social or economic imposition. "People under pressure either suppress or repress their emotions."

I define suppressing anger as taking authority over our emotions for a while and then responding to the situation. It’s deferring action on a situation without losing touch with problem. On the other hand, repressing anger means to bury your feelings indefinitely or to prevent the natural or normal expression of anger. By the not confronting the situation, you eventually became unaware of the fact that you’re angry. You became numb to feeling any emotions.

By repressing our anger, we may say something we later regret. But as we become spirit controlled, the Holy Spirit helps us suppress our anger for a short time to prevent us from saying hurtful words.

Pressure makes us stronger in the Lord. If we have the word of God in us, we’re going to bounce back from the pressure. No matter what kind of pressures attack us in life, we have to be persuaded that He will deliver us out of them all. With God’s word and His help, we will find the way out. Pressure won’t overtake us because greater is He that is in us, than he that is in the world ( 1 John 4:4)

This is my research from the book entitled " Social Work" introducing professional practice by Patricia Higman.

This chapter provides an initial understanding of what social work aspires to be, how the British social work degree is constructed, and why the caring services need professional social work.

There are competing views in society at large on the nature of social work and on its place and purpose. Social work practice and education inevitably reflect these differing perspectives on the role of social work in relation to social justice, social care and social order.

Social work ….evolves, adapts and changes in responce to the social, political and economic challenges and demands of contemporary social welfare policy, practice and legislation.

Social work distinctive quality is its holistic practice working with a range of situations and people, an ideal attribute for developing the multi-professional partnerships that are now seen as essential to better service provision. Professional social workers have to combine multiple roles that balance the empowerment and emancipation with protection and support. Balancing this dilemma is a challenge that is not easily resolved; sometimes there maybe no single choice of role that seems best. A further issue is how to balance generic roles with practice specialisms. Social Workers’ roles will change as people who use services and carers excercise more choice and take up self-assesssments of need and direct payments, with needs assessments becoming shared exercises in which the social worker adopts an enabling supportive role.

The concept of role is an important tool in the development of an understanding of the complexity of social work practice. The social worker selects, combines and carries out number of roles as part of their interaction with individuals, groups and communities.

to be continued…

Christianity in my family started in my grandfather’s generation (the late Mateo San Buenaventura). Since then our family became totally committed to almost all sorts of church activities and programs. Kim never missed Sunday school when she was a child because Sunday Services were held literally in our house. I offered to share the space of my house where our pioneering church could meet anytime without paying for any rental fees.

Kim grew up, was trained and moulded in Sunday School. I could still remember the first time she sang in front of the congregation, that was Christmas Program, and the first song she sang solo was "Away in a Manger" at age 6. Through this song she discovered God’s wonderful gift to her. And part of who she is now, is thru her Sunday school teacher (Cynthia Atienza) who has been a blessing in Kim’s life.

Every summer, the church in Montalban is conducting Vacation Bible School for 1 week. We reaches out to children of different age levels to join our church and enjoy singing, dancing, playing and learning about Jesus in simple ways. Soon, Kim got tired of being just a listener, a participant, a spectator, she realised that she wanted to teach. At age 11, Kim wanted to attend VBS at MBS. I remember one Sunday during an announcement time, Church was looking for a youth to participate & be trained @ MBS then Kim raised her hand and she asked the congregation if she can attend the training. The church was amazed at her sudden outburst…it was a complete silence..however church sent her to be trained. After 7 days of training church was so delighted of the result because Kim got an award " the Most Promising Student."

Kim started maturing at that age because that was the time she began attending seminars, workshops, youth camps and conventions. She become more and more inspired to serve God and discover something new about Him each day. She had a very colourful Christian life because she met so many people from different parts of the Phils. who share the same faith as ours and made some really good friends out of them.

But then sometimes she still find it boring that she grew up in a Christian family. She wanted to trade her life with a committed Christian where she came to know God and He actually touched her heart and transformed her to a new person fully surrendered to Him.

Kim’s life as a Christian didn’t end there. Being a Christian did not mean that everything’s well and she was always happy. There were series of ups and downs in her life. She struggled with family relationships, she struggled reaching for the answer why God just suddenly took away her dad four days after she was born, she struggled with the thought that her brother back slided, she struggled with school work, financial hardships and many more. But then again because she is a Christian, God keeps knocking at her door and her reflex action would be to come and run to HIM to find healing in His arms.

Picture this: You’re in the church while the pastor is in the middle of his interesting exhortation, you’re hungry and your stomach is growling____Grrrr! Can you do anything about it? No, not really. You wouldn’t just start eating biscuits or humbuger in the middle of the service, would you? No, because it’s not right. But your body is telling you, "I’m hungry, and you had better do something about it now." So what do you do? You push your stomach in and out  and eat a mint or chew gum to keep it from growling. You control it, right? Now if your stomach were in control, you would get up, go out, and get something to eat. But because it wouldn’t look nice to leave in the midst of the service, you stay sitting there.

This fact about our stomachs helps us understand the spirit man and the carnal man. Unless you feed on the spirit, the carnal man is going to control the spirit man. Whoever is active in you will take over. When pressure causes us to lose control, it brings out the worst in us. Learn to put the monster back in the cage! The word of God says, "You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in Him whose thoughts are fixed in Him!" (Isa. 26:3)

It’s our choice whether or not we allow pressure to move us into uncontrolled anger. Even in uncontrollable situations, we should have the mind of Christ and harness uncontrolled anger.

We’ve got a choice. We choose either to obey God’s word or do what pleases us. We live and work in the world ___everything we do takes place in the natural world. But God has given us the Holy spirit to help us control our anger and emotions. We were created by God to be emotional beings, but not to be led by our emotions and feelings. "Be led by the spirit of God. (Romans 8:14)

Note: This article I made was based on my personal reading "Who’s In Control of your House?" by Mack and Brenda Timberlake, Pastors.

This is an excerpt based in my personal reading from the book of John 14: 15-28 wherein which Jesus Promises the holy spirit.

Jesus decribes the holy spirit as the Paraclete. Paraclete means "comforter, counselor and one who stands alongside of us." The holy spirit never leaves us (Psalm 139). He is always there to lead us in truth and teach us everything that Jesus said.

In the natural, the Holy Spirit would be like a tutor, bodyguard, counselor and mentor all wrapped up in one person. Every moment that "bodyguard" would be protecting us from harm and watching over our physical health as well …..making certain we exercised and ate healthy food. As a "tutor," he would be concerned with our minds… educating us and teaching us both knowledge and practice ways to live good lives. As a "councelor," he would be concerned about our feelings and emotions..helping us to understand ourselves and our relationships. He would comfort us when we were depressed and rejoice with us when we were ecstatic. And as a "mentor," he would be a living example of how we should live. He would "guide" us in every decision and keep us accountable to truth.

A real person does all these things in our lives. He is a constant help at every moment. The Paraclete is this person……. the Holy Spirit.

Being a widow for almost 21 yrs is not an easy task. Along the way  there were struggles, trials and temptations I met. However, I was able to overcome them because I found peace and deliverance in submission to God’s words daily, His wonderful and everlasting love, his amazing grace, guidance and his magnificent power.

To everyone, especially all widows, I advice you to read the BIBLE daily, meditate on them, so we will be properly guided to challenge our enemies as we encounter them everyday of our lives.

This is my reading today from the book of 1 Timothy 5:3-16 about Paul’s instruction to Timothy "advice to widows."

The church should care for any widow who has no one else to care for her. But if she has children or grandchildren, their first responsibility is to show godliness at home and repay their parents by taking care of them. This is something that pleases God very much. But a woman who is a true widow, one who is truly alone in this world, has placed her hope in God. Night and day she asks God for help and spends much time in prayer. But the widow who lives only for pleasure is spiritually dead, Church will not support this widow so that church will not be criticized. But those who won’t care for their own relatives especially those living in the same household have denied what we beleive. Such people are worse than unbelievers.

A widow who is put on the list for support must be a woman who is at least 60 yrs. old and was faithful to her husband. She must be well respected by everyone because of the good she has done. Has she brought up her children well? Has she been kind to strangers? Has she helped those who are in trouble? Has she always been ready to do good?

The younger widow should not be on the list because their physical desires will overpower thier devotion to Christ and they will want to remarry. Then they would be guilty of breaking their previous pledge. Besides, they are likely to become lazy and spend their time gossiping from house to house, getting into other people’s business and saying things they shouldn’t. So, it was advice that these younger widows will marry again, have children and take care of their own homes.

If a christian woman has relatives who are widows, she must take care of them and not put the responsibility on the church. Then the church can care for the widows who are truly alone.