Barley Harvest

The barley was sown in December.
It has been ripening.
It is almost ready for harvest.
The rapture of the Bride of Jesus the Christ

A Date with God

I thought it would be a good idea to go on a 5 day retreat in a Tagaytay retreat house or hotel. Just me and God. I would only bring a pocket Bible, clothes, and toiletries. No cellphone, internet, radio, TV, books, or even Study Bibles. Just God and me. God found something much better: Touch of Glory Prayer Mountain, just 2 nights though, in the mountains of Antipolo, and much cheaper. Nicer still, the place was designed for prayer (prayer cells, prayer tents in a forest, nature walks, fish ponds with loads of carp, fresh air, sounds of running water, views, and silence). The rooms and bathrooms were also very clean. God always knows best.

It was not that God rang the place and made the reservation, of course! It was just that all my attempts to find a place in Tagaytay failed. The hotels were too expensive. There was a convent who would not let me in as the Mother Superior preferred I visit with a group. I was uneasy about how commercialized Tagaytay has become, with a casino, luxury hotels, and fine dining. My pastor mentioned to me that there was a prayer mountain in Antipolo but could not tell me where it was. So I used Google to find their website, made a booking, and 2 weeks later I was in another world.

You will not find a place like this anywhere. As you drive up you will see signs counting down the kilometers to the place, and the view on the way up is breathtaking. There are no maps in the facility itself, so you can discover the place on your own and be surprised. There are no mealtimes published, so you just ask when meals are or you just wander in to the cafeteria and check if there is food there. There are some souvenirs without labels and price tags, so just ask what it is and how much. They sell Banana Vinegar! Filipinos can adjust to this ambiguity but people brought up in Western culture may be somewhat disoriented. If you feel disoriented, pray for guidance from God.

Nature was very friendly. A dog was on retreat too (with no collar and leash), and it just sniffed its way around the clearing where I was meditating on the Word (John 15:1) and we pretended to ignore each other. The ants were more forthcoming. One large one was particularly friendly as it climbed rapidly up my sleeve! It may be God’s way of saying: “time for a walk”. It is also best to remember that the ants were probably there first. The mosquitoes seem to be not in the mood to bite. The birds and trees sing. Butterflies land on your leg, rest a while, and move on.  Dragonflies are more cautious.

The prayer cells were 3 feet x 5 feet x 8 feet (I am just guessing, as I did not bring a ruler) with a cushion for your knees, wooden floor, small side table, tiny electric fan, small wall lamp, and something like a small lectern that I assumed is where you put your hands. Once the door is closed it is so peaceful and it is like you are in a place removed from everything else, and only praying is allowed. No eating , sleeping, or socializing is allowed in the prayer cell.

It was my first time in a prayer cell. I noticed that God was very quiet at first. Just waiting. I thought of the temple and how the priests had to purify themselves before approaching God. So I began with confession of sin, and that broke the ice. Believers in the Gospel of Jesus the Christ have access to God who is their Father through adoption, made possible because Jesus, who is God,  died on the cross and rose from the dead, thereby satisfying God’s justice, and allowing reconciliation between God and the believer, who receives the Holy Spirit that teaches and guides the believer about Truth and Holiness. It is written:

1Peter 2:7-10  “Unto you therefore which believe He is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed. But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous light: which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.”

We are a royal priesthood. A priest is someone who has direct access to God, our Father. It is because we were chosen – called out of darkness – that we have the privilege to bring our cares and concerns to God, our Heavenly Father. If only we took full advantage of this great privilege!

God speaks in a way that is hard to explain. Something will occur to you that gives you peace which is consistent with the Bible, and after some experience, you recognize this as the “silent voice of God”. He brought to my attention that prayer is required for a disciple, among other things, and that our entire lives are to be a living sacrifice.  I should be more disciplined in my walk, and organize my time to be able to read, memorize, meditate, and apply the Bible, as well as pray, give, manage my time and resources (stewardship), worship, serve, evangelize, fast, and set aside times of silence and solitude. He led me to a book before my retreat, called Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, by Donald S. Whitney, to help me in this area of spiritual growth.  He also said that I worry too much, and should trust Him more, and stop being so judgmental. He suggested that I start reading the book Respectable Sins, by Jerry Bridges, which I bought recently.

I wish I brought a camera or video camera along but I really wanted to focus only on meeting God during this trip. I plan another trip where I will ask permission to take a video and post this on my Youtube channel. If you are in Metro-Manila, Philippines, I highly recommend that you visit this place in the mountains of Antipolo. If you cannot afford a room there are dormitories at a fraction of the cost, and you can also visit the place during the day for a nominal fee. If you want to know their rates you can inquire via text message to the cellphone number published on their website.

I really recommend that you disconnect from the world for a few days and spend time alone with God. There is joy and peace to be found, as well as guidance and wisdom. The perfect date with our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ.

God bless,

George Marcelo

Update on Oct 22, 2011:  I was able to take a video on my cellphone (Nokia 6120) of some of the things I did. I ended up going to this place at least once a year. Enjoy!

Silent Night

In the Philippines, we start celebrating the birth of our Lord, Jesus the Christ during the “-ber” months (September, October, etc), and end in early January.  However, I think we should celebrate the birthday of our Lord Jesus the Christ everyday!

When was our Lord born? The Bible does not give us a clear date. I doubt very much it is Dec 25, because our Lord was Jewish, and His birthday would have a date on the Jewish calendar, which is lunar, and so the date on the world’s calendar, which is solar, would vary from year to year. For example, this is the reason why the date of Passover (or Resurrection Day; and called Easter by those who do not know that this is a pagan name) varies from year to year. Also, I do not think it was during winter, as it would be too cold for the sheep to be out in the field. Maybe our Lord wanted the date of His birth to be uncertain so that we would celebrate it everyday!

As for nativity scenes, it is somewhat misleading. The wise men from the east would have had to travel many months from “the east”  to Israel. By the time they met our Lord, He would have been a toddler.  Of course, you can still have nativity scenes (called “Belen” in the Philippines), but you would need to locate the wise men a few miles away. We do not know how many wise men there were. We only know there were more than one, and that they brought three gifts.

Tradition is very unreliable. If you want the truth, read the Bible, prayerfully asking for guidance from the Holy Spirit.

Here is my first ever video about the birth of our Lord, Jesus the Christ, who saved us from our sins! Enjoy!

Updated Dec 29, 2009: There is Biblical support for the date of the birth of Jesus the Christ on Sukkot 1 (Jewish Calendar), which falls on  September 23 in 2010 (Gregorian Calendar). The attached video presents the information to make the connection.

Wake up, you sleepy Christians!

Fat Lady asks ALL Christians to give their Testimony

Prayer works! I have been praying for this challenge and support is coming in! The events are moving fast. Please pray to God that this will lead to a revival in the Christian churches of the world.

Awake! Awake! You sleepy Christians! Awake! Check out the video below:

Most of all, PRAY! The battle is on!

God bless,

George

Planting a seed…

I sent this guy whose YouTube id is called “manwithoutgod101″ my video tract “Letter from God to Atheists (see below):

He sent me this video response.

I placed a comment on this guys video that I found his response funny. Five minutes after commenting on his video, my internet connection went down. I had to reboot my computer to get it working again. This means that either this could be a gentle rebuke from God, or a sign that I should replace my PC with a Mac. I think it is both.

Remember, the work of salvation belongs to God, and we are only told by God to communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I think the Holy Spirit was upset that I found this video funny, and now, after thinking about it, I am upset too that I found this video funny. The Holy Spirit takes evangelism seriously. The Holy Spirit does not find it funny when anyone rejects the Gospel of Jesus Christ. An infinite price was paid for our salvation: the only begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ.

God bless,

George

The Christian Challenge : I believe in a thing called love

Dear Readers,

I would like you all to support Emily in her project. Please send videos to her and email her words of encouragement. She has been sent negative communications by many people on YouTube (who are hostile to Christianity) for starting this project.

I believe that her efforts will encourage other Christians to share their faith! If you have not shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ before, then do so now! Make a short video, post it to YouTube, and reply to her video with your video.

God bless,

George