I saw them struggle and was tempted to question God(really, i did).."Lord, why do these people have to struggle in terms of finances??" i questioned Him a couple of times.. YET when HE answered me, i was swept off my feet and even found myself embarassed at how little my faith was compared to the lives of the people i saw struggling and used to deliberately question the ONE i called my PROVIDER..
I am writing this with the intention of challenging you to take on the ONE you also claim to be your Provider, and to experience the joy of being a blessing by INVESTING IN THE LIFE OF A BIBLE SCHOOL STUDENT (words of Sir Doug;-)...
....here are STORIES OF LIVES that became my inspiration throughout my stay in the Seminary and whom the Lord used to answer some of my deepest questions which i never shared with anybody else while in the Seminary.. hope you'll be blessed and challenged..
...She sat beside me with tears welling up her eyes as she said, "i might not be able to return next semester..i cant pay my back accounts.." i just sat there, helpless as i promised i'd help her pray..
...another friend placed half of her meal in her lunchbox... i thought she was going to feed the flock of cats outside our dormitory.. but i was wrong.. she said it was for a friend who could no longer eat at the dining hall because of unpaid dining hall bills.. i told myself, "i've never thought of doing that to anybody around here.." shame on me..
...next was a close friend who was packing up her things.. i asked her where she was headed.. she said she was going to 'look' for a job to help support her sibling and herself and be able to pay the back accounts.. i obviously couldn't stop her.. although i tried to..
....he was sitting on a bench by himself with a promissory note in his hand..said he was too scared to hand it over to the president.. but he had to in order to take the exam.. he was just waiting for the 'right timing.'... i had to give him a pat on the back to boost up his confidence a bit..
....she approached me boldly and asked if she could do some of the laundry for me and said it'll be cheaper than the laundry shop outside of the school.. i was really impressed at how she so willingly did what she could just to help herself out financially.. and that girl showed me what faith at work really meant..
... these people are my heroes of faith ;-)
here's the other side of the stories...
a couple of the faculty and staff opened their own homes for some who couldn't eat at the dining hall.. some willingly paid for their dining hall bills... some gave anonymously... one faculty came up with scholarship organizations and even individual supporters.. the institution does not profit for itself. in fact it moves out of its way and does its best to help the students in pursuing their studies and and prepare them for the ministries they're headed to..
...these are real-life stories that led me to question God......and yet led me to tears when these people stood in front of the student body during our testimony time in the chapel and gave their moving testimonies at how the Lord provided their every need... these people have now graduated and are now in the ministries they have been called to.. i have to admit... i shrink everytime i remember how big their faith was- and how RICH their,and my, Provider is..
... i cannot boast of myself of having received my degree in Bachelor of Theology in BBSI.. only by the grace of God had i made it through the scholarship grants i have been blessed with...
.. "Invest in the Life of a Bible School Student, as its value is eternal and see how the Lord will pay you back.." these are the words i heard a thousand times from my mentor everytime we went to different churches for school promotion and ministry..
...why does the Lord allow such to happen to those who had answered His call? because these people exemplify faith tremendously like no other.. and it is through these people that the Lord's glory shines brighter.. they make God famous in their predicaments..and not just when the blessings are flowing..
Ephesians 2:10- "you are God's workmanship created to do good works.." well He wants to bless you and it's amazing how He provides ways for you to do good works to be blessed!!
invest in the life of a Bible School student, you'll never know--- that life, that soon-to-become- minister, will change thousands of lives for Jesus... be a part of it!!! ;-) support a Bible school student! ;-)
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Pagkagraduate ng Isang Seminarian
"I give thanks to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, appointing me to the ministry." I Timothy 1:12
I take refuge in this passage. It is indeed only by the grace of God that He considered me faithful enough to be appointed to the ministry. And my heart swells in gratefulness for what He has been enabling me to do.
After graduating at BBSI last March 2009, the Lord led me to my homechurch, Heritage Baptist Church, here in Bukidnon. Though serving as a volunteer, the Lord opened doors of opportunities for me to serve as a Highschool Sundayschool teacher and Choir Director. It was quite a struggle at first. Being away for almost 5 years, i no longer felt the attachment i once had with the church people. almost everyone were new, and i felt my biggest weakness starting to creep in- the giant of intimidation. Feelings of inadequacy and insecurity bothered me at times, but with constant devotion, the Lord reminded me that He was with me all along.One morning, I somehow found myself rummaging at my old school textbooks and syllabi. I knew i had been trained and equipped for the ministry, but i struggled with putting it all into application. I was finally awakened to the reality that this was it- the real test. This is what i have been trained for, but deeper than that, i realized that i have also been trained to be fully dependent to the One who has called me- the Lord. This really isn't about me, this is, after all, HIS work. With guidance from some of our church workers, the Lord saw me through it. And the words of one of my mentors in BBSI came into picture- the MINISTRY IS PEOPLE. But like a rollercoaster, my life as a church worker had its ups and downs, too. The people sometimes put me down, like there are times when i feel like blaming them for the failure of the church ministries. For instance, the church choir was going nowhere. They had no commitment to practice on saturday nights. They practiced only whenever they felt like it. And it was the same with all the other ministries. Strangely, i still loved what i was doing despite the sight of my efforts going nowhere. But like what one of my teachers said, "If the Lord has called you to the ministry, He has not called you to be a success in it but to be faithful." Through the thickest and 'sickest' trials in it. Sometimes i find myself searching for answers- why, Lord? What is wrong with these people? And so much more. Most of the times i don't find any logical solutions, but the truth remains that the Lord won't always give you the answers you want to know. All He simply wants us to do is TRUST. If you are a hundred percent of the Lord's calling, then you believe that His grace is sufficient enough to help you go through anything.
In the last 5 years that I have been trained and equipped in BBSI, i realized that only the academic world ends after graduating. But the learning process in life and the ministry continue even after that. Inside the Seminary we study about the common church problems, formulate solutions, and even argue on rationalities. Most of the times we always come up with the best solutions, and truth be told, credit is always given to those blessed with the beautiful mind, or in other words, the winning side of a debate. But let's face it- only when you are in the ministry does the real test happen. All those formulated solutions do not make sense when not put into application. It's not about who received the most prestigious awards during the graduation or who made history in BBSI or whatever. It's the choices that you make when you are in the ministry- the life application of every lesson learned from the training ground that prepared you for what the Lord has called you for.
I take refuge in this passage. It is indeed only by the grace of God that He considered me faithful enough to be appointed to the ministry. And my heart swells in gratefulness for what He has been enabling me to do.
After graduating at BBSI last March 2009, the Lord led me to my homechurch, Heritage Baptist Church, here in Bukidnon. Though serving as a volunteer, the Lord opened doors of opportunities for me to serve as a Highschool Sundayschool teacher and Choir Director. It was quite a struggle at first. Being away for almost 5 years, i no longer felt the attachment i once had with the church people. almost everyone were new, and i felt my biggest weakness starting to creep in- the giant of intimidation. Feelings of inadequacy and insecurity bothered me at times, but with constant devotion, the Lord reminded me that He was with me all along.One morning, I somehow found myself rummaging at my old school textbooks and syllabi. I knew i had been trained and equipped for the ministry, but i struggled with putting it all into application. I was finally awakened to the reality that this was it- the real test. This is what i have been trained for, but deeper than that, i realized that i have also been trained to be fully dependent to the One who has called me- the Lord. This really isn't about me, this is, after all, HIS work. With guidance from some of our church workers, the Lord saw me through it. And the words of one of my mentors in BBSI came into picture- the MINISTRY IS PEOPLE. But like a rollercoaster, my life as a church worker had its ups and downs, too. The people sometimes put me down, like there are times when i feel like blaming them for the failure of the church ministries. For instance, the church choir was going nowhere. They had no commitment to practice on saturday nights. They practiced only whenever they felt like it. And it was the same with all the other ministries. Strangely, i still loved what i was doing despite the sight of my efforts going nowhere. But like what one of my teachers said, "If the Lord has called you to the ministry, He has not called you to be a success in it but to be faithful." Through the thickest and 'sickest' trials in it. Sometimes i find myself searching for answers- why, Lord? What is wrong with these people? And so much more. Most of the times i don't find any logical solutions, but the truth remains that the Lord won't always give you the answers you want to know. All He simply wants us to do is TRUST. If you are a hundred percent of the Lord's calling, then you believe that His grace is sufficient enough to help you go through anything.
In the last 5 years that I have been trained and equipped in BBSI, i realized that only the academic world ends after graduating. But the learning process in life and the ministry continue even after that. Inside the Seminary we study about the common church problems, formulate solutions, and even argue on rationalities. Most of the times we always come up with the best solutions, and truth be told, credit is always given to those blessed with the beautiful mind, or in other words, the winning side of a debate. But let's face it- only when you are in the ministry does the real test happen. All those formulated solutions do not make sense when not put into application. It's not about who received the most prestigious awards during the graduation or who made history in BBSI or whatever. It's the choices that you make when you are in the ministry- the life application of every lesson learned from the training ground that prepared you for what the Lord has called you for.
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