Christmas Rocks

I am a Blood Donor and I Save Lives

D-Day (Donation Day), November 28, 2009. I was excited to go to the center and donate blood. I made sure to have gotten enough rest, as was listed in the Philippine National Red Cross website, and slept early the night before. My wife accompanied me to the center, an act of which I really appreciated since it was my first time to donate blood. She also brought her mp3 player so I could listen to her selections while I was having my blood extracted.

When we got there, we were awestruck with all the volunteers helping out with the project. There were volunteers from the Philippine National Red Cross, doctors and medical technicians, each performing their designated responsibilities on specific areas of the room within the VCF center: screening donors, filling up questionnaires, taking vital signs and facilitating the blood extraction. There were also volunteers from the congregation helping their fellow brothers and sisters: greeting volunteers and ushering them to the stations, assisting the Red Cross volunteers, supporting and commending those who are giving their pledge and inviting more members to support the project, and even giving their own blood donation. In the next room, everyone in the center got to help themselves to a nice cup of arroz caldo, complete with all the trimmings, and brewed coffee.

I greeted everyone in the center,and went through the screening process. Everything went smoothly as it should be. I was a bit anxious, since it is my first time to do this, but the only time that I felt a bit of discomfort was during the first part of the screening process. A med tech pricked the tip of my ring finger to check that I wasn’t anemic and also checked my blood type. After all the other necessary tests were done and information taken, I propped myself to one of the reclining chairs and had my blood extracted.

In less than 15 minutes, I had given 450 cc of life-giving blood to the Philippine National Red Cross. As my wife and I went home, I was so happy to have finally donated blood, to be a blessing to someone in need. Everything went smoothly that day for my first blood donation. Indeed, God was with us that day.

It turned out to be a successful bloodletting drive since according to Pastor Rommel, we had 25 donors! God had indeed opened the hearts of His people to give generously. With this, I would like to end my testimony with an invitation for everyone to join projects like this and be a blessing to others so you can be blessed in return, as commanded by Paul to fellow Christians from the church of Galatia: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” (Galatians 6:9-10).

Have a Life, Join a Life Group

Dennis Brown was correct in saying “No man is an island. No man stands alone.” From the beginning of time, when God made His most prized creation, He created for him a companion for it is not good for man to be alone (Genesis 2:18).

This is particularly true with our spiritual walk with God. There is an ongoing war waging in this world we currently live in, and it is spiritual in nature (Ephesians 6:11-12).

We have already won the battle of being “born again” of the spirit and, hopefully, have continued to wear the spiritual armor of God (Ephesians 6:13-18).

But the enemy is relentless and continues to attack God’s most treasured creation so he can take as much people away from Him (John 10:10, 1 Peter 5:8). And the enemy is particularly interested in those who have already repented and accepted Jesus as their Lord and savior, looking for openings for them to attack, so he can win them back. And it is a known fact that we can be weak when we are alone.

English actor and singer Mike Berry once said “There is strength in numbers and those numbers come in pounds.” This readily applies to armies in battle. If a single soldier tries to infiltrate an enemy camp, there is a big chance for him to fail his mission. But when he is accompanied by 2 or more able men, who thinks and acts as one unit, then surely they will easily accomplish their task. Each man will truly add strength to the unit and the enemy will have lesser chance of overcoming them. “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17).

Through God’s grace, we will also have the pleasure of having Him fight on our side. "Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or more are gathered together in My Name, I am there in the midst of them." (Matthew 18: 19-20). So if God is now for us, who can be against us. (Romans 8:28-31)

So I urge you my brothers and sisters in faith to join a Life Group. Let us do as it is said in the bible: “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25).

Let us continue to live victorious lives in Christ Jesus. Have the Life!

VCF Zamboanga Blood Donation Drive

Greetings brothers and sisters in Christ! Our church is holding a blood letting drive on November 28, from 8am to 12pm at the VCF center.

Some of you may ask, “What does the church hope to achieve from this project?”

I’m sure most of the congregation has heard of stories from family members and friends, of how hard it is to get blood from hospitals and blood banks whenever there is a need. Some of our members may have even experienced this and can relate to such situations.

It’s expensive. It’s hard to find the right blood type. And the list goes on.

The church hopes to prevent our members in need from going through such hardships with this project.

Jesus' teachings on compassion give us reason to donate if we are able. Our love for fellow man should compel us to do what we are capable of.

We should prayerfully consider what God would have us do in regards to donating blood to help others (James 1:5; Philippians 4:6-7).

If we feel led to give blood, then there is no reason we should not.

Remember how Jesus gave His blood to the point of death, and had told His followers, "Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13).

A Call to Sexual Purity

As I travel through the major roads of Metro Manila, skimming through magazines and newspapers, and when I watch television, I have noticed that most advertisements have relied on the use of sexually stimulating images to catch the attention of the masses with the hope, I would assume, of creating avid fans of the business being promoted.

With all these, I asked myself, “Is the strategy really working?” Has society accepted the fact that “sex sells”? More importantly, is it really all just for inviting people to buy or does it also suggest a change in an individual’s outlook on life? I suddenly became concerned as the idea irked through my mind.

With all these, I wonder, is it still possible to be sexually pure as we live during these times?

I tried to answer these questions using only my own understanding, only to fail at shedding light to the concern and even falling to the allures of ungodly sexual admonition, which almost destroyed my marriage, my family and my relationship with God. Inevitably I was able to bounce back, with the help of my wife, my dad, Christian friends and most importantly through God’s grace.

I decided to remain in God’s holy presence and do away with the earthly things that have held me from my heavenly rewards in Jesus Christ. I fervently prayed and read the bible, and as a result, came upon a revelation from God regarding sexual immorality. I read the story of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife (Genesis 39).

Joseph was truly a man of God, one who deserves much admiration for his zeal on to the Lord. Despite the pain & ridicule that his brothers bestowed upon him, despite being sold to strangers and taken away from his family, Joseph did not cease to walk righteously and was therefore continuously blessed by God tremendously. And as others saw that God was with him, government officials trusted Joseph and would let him handle their riches. And even as he was continuously blessed by God, he did not change his outlook in life.

Now the story I would like to focus on, with respect to sexual purity was when Potiphar’s wife fell attracted to Joseph because of his LOOKS. She succumbed to her desires and invited Joseph to have sex with her. But Joseph was adamant in his resolve in keeping pure and continuously walks in righteousness with God. This, however, did not stop Potiphar’s wife from pursuing Joseph.

His most triumphant moment against sexual impurity came when Joseph and Potiphar’s wife were left alone in the house by themselves, without any servant or even Potiphar himself to bear witness to the events about to happen. With this vile opportunity, Potiphar’s wife aggressively embraced Joseph so that, or as she may have thought, Joseph would have no choice but give in to the moment. However, this was not the case. Knowing that his words will not stop the woman anymore, he made a clear decision to run away and not look back to take what he left behind.

Ah such fortitude! He kept his focus on what’s important, his reward in heaven. And despite the fact that he was wrongly accused and was sent to prison, he still revered God and, as a result, was continuously blessed by God. This was again seen by the captain of the guards, who made Joseph in charge of the prison. And so begins another wondrous chapter in Joseph’s life.

And so from that story I came upon this resolution, I urge myself and everyone else, single or married, to keep ourselves pure for God’s blessings to work in us. We should not give in to what the world is offering us but we should focus on our life beyond this world, for this world is only temporary but the kingdom of God reigns forever. And if we should be placed in a precarious situation, we should not be afraid to RUN AWAY!