Sure Formula for an Answered Prayer

No copyright infringement intended

Many have been longing that their prayers will be answered in the most expeditious way. Jesus has given many principles to answered prayers. He fully intended that we receive the desires of our heart and when you begin to scrutinize the facts, Jesus calls for simple response of faith and obedience. The question is this: are we willing to apply these two important ingredients to an answered prayer?

In order to fully comprehend this truth, let me share a specific biblical principle that is applicable to every husband that I will highlight in this article. According to 1 Peter 3:7, “Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.” (NIV) The Apostle Peter spoke of clear instructions for every husband to attain answered prayers.  They are as follows: (1) be considerate as you live with one’s wife, (2) treat one’s wife with respect as the weaker vessel and as heirs of the gracious gift of life. In doing so, nothing will hinder every husband’s prayers. Why the attention is focused largely on the husbands? I believe that this is due to the fact that every husband has been given leadership and spiritual authority to make things happen for their families. By instituting these biblical principles in every marital relationship, hindrances to answered prayers will be removed.

Clearly, God wanted every husband to know that the opportunity for answered prayers has been provided. It must be known and practiced daily. We have been always taught that the husband’s role is only to provide for their families when in fact there is much more. God wants to hear every husband offer up unhindered prayers for their wife, children, family and many other concerns that will provide emotional, physical, spiritual, financial benefits. This is God’s agenda for every family beginning with the head of the family. Somebody said, “Everything rises and falls on the leadership.” The leadership in every home must come from the man of the house. If he fails to do so, chaos and dissension enters in and one should not look elsewhere to see the breakdown of families without the leadership of a man. We cannot go against what God has instituted since time immemorial. Therefore, every husband must begin to claim back the role and see to it that it is being fulfilled according to God’s standard and biblical specifications.

Genesis 2:18 declared, “And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. (KJV) The key word in this verse is “helpmeet.”  The woman’s specific job description is to be a helpmeet for the man. It is to complement what is lacking in man that could be found in a woman.  That is why, it is very important to fully understand and comprehend the marital relationship not from a worldly perspective but from God’s perspective. Every husband must recognize his role to the wife as a source of blessing not a burden. It is vital to the health and continuance of the marital relationship that this principle must be establish. Failure to do so results in hindrances to prayers. How many prayers have been hindered due to ignorance of God’s truth! May every husband begin to make a resolution to follow the path towards answered prayers! Just imagine that one of the keys is the proper application of treating one’s wife according to biblical standard. If only it is a common knowledge, unfortunately, it is not. Therefore, I have aimed to share this vital information to all husbands. Nothing is ever too late to properly apply God’s word and correct wrong notions about it.

The most important truth is this: that God is honored when marriage is applied biblically. He created and designed it to bless humanity. When incorrect marriage principles are applied, the opposite effects are evident and hindrances to prayers occur. Therefore, begin to evaluate your relationship in light of what you have learned and I assure you, when you do what is right, it will result in answered prayers.

Let’s talk again!

Transforming Disagreements into Blessings

How do disagreements come about? Looking back from my encounters, I discovered that disagreements usually come from two common sources—criticisms that found its way back to the person being criticized and another comes from having an opinion, plan or proposition that needs to prevail over another. Let’s deal with the first source and how to translate it into a blessing. Here’s what I’ve come across to think about from a certain person named “H.G.B.” who observed, “Criticism is always difficult to accept, but if we receive it with humility and a desire to improve our character it can be very helpful. Only a fool does not profit when he is rebuked for his mistakes. Several years ago I read a helpful article on this subject. It stated that when we are criticized we ought to ask ourselves whether the criticism contains any truth. If it does, we should learn from it, even when it is not given with the right motivation and in the right spirit.

The article then offered these four suggestions: (1) Commit the matter instantly to God, asking Him to remove all resentment or counter criticism on your part and teach you the needed lessons. (2) Remember that we are all great sinners and that the one who has criticized us does not begin to know the worst about us. (3) If you have made a mistake or committed a sin, humbly and frankly confess it to God and to anyone you may have injured. (4) Be willing to learn afresh that you are not infallible and that you needed God's grace and wisdom every moment of the day to keep on the straight path. When we are criticized, let's accept what is true and act upon it, thereby becoming a stronger person. He who profits from rebuke is wise.”

Following such great insights will surely transform any criticism coming our way into a blessing. Always remember that no matter what we do, it is a fact that there are always criticisms coming from people who can’t afford not to criticize. Having been a pastor for many years, I have learned to deal with them carefully. The way I deal with them is this: I usually judge any criticism I received with thorough assessment of its truth and realism. If they can help me improve whatever it was I was being criticized, then it becomes a blessing for my own benefit and even appreciates it as coming from a concerned person. But if and when the criticism is malicious and without merit whatsoever after careful analysis, then I would dismiss it out rightly as if I did not hear anything. I need to make a choice to cause me to be discouraged about it or transform it as a blessing. 

In regards to the other aspect of disagreement I’ve mentioned above, one example that I’ve come across came from the Scriptures: Acts 15:36-40 showed how disagreements can even affect those that are followers of Jesus: “And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are." Now Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord” (ESV).   

Clearly, Paul and Barnabas had a disagreement that causes them to be separated with one another due to John Mark, being Barnabas’ cousin (Colossians 4:10). They may have separated but the blessing resulting from it was two missionary teams spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ instead of one. However, the story did not end there but definitely produced interesting outcomes afterwards: John Mark became the author of the Gospel of Mark and even though Paul disliked him in this story, John Mark became a companion of Paul in his missionary journey eventually, “Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry” (2 Timothy 4:11). See how everything turned out for the best and ultimately, God has His way of transforming what seems bad towards His plan for humanity’s salvation and for His servant’s benefit. Don’t immediately jump to conclusions in every disagreements you encounter, they may be coupled with unexpected blessing when dealt with properly and biblically.

Let’s talk again!

Value of a Dream

Another year is here and we are all faced with an opportunity to have a fresh start. But one thing is pretty certain; our dreams will have another year to be fulfilled. What makes any dream valuable is how it drives us to move forward no matter what transpired in the past. Dreams are driving forces planted by God as the Chief Dreamer. The 1^st chapter of the book of Genesis outlined God’s creation process including Adam’s and this is where anyone can read God’s dream for humanity realized. Take note that He was filled with great pleasure with His creation and the Scriptures described it this way, “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day” (Genesis 1:31).

Dreams can change a man towards achieving even the grandest aspiration. Here’s a story I came across to illustrate it: It started like so many evenings. Mom and Dad at home and Jimmy playing after dinner. Mom and Dad were absorbed with jobs and did not notice the time. It was a full moon and some of the light seeped through the windows. Then Mom glanced at the clock. "Jimmy, it's time to go to bed. Go up now and I'll come and settle you later." Unlike usual, Jimmy went straight upstairs to his room. An hour or so later his mother came up to check if all was well, and to her astonishment found that her son was staring quietly out of his window at the moonlit scenery. "What are you doing, Jimmy?" "I'm looking at the moon, Mommy." "Well, it's time to go to bed now." As one reluctant boy settled down, he said, "Mommy, you know one day I'm going to walk on the moon." 

Who could have known that the boy in whom the dream was planted that night would survive a near fatal motorbike crash which broke almost every bone in his body, and would bring to fruition this dream 32 years later when James Irwin stepped on the moon's surface, just one of the 12 representatives of the human race to have done so? This is a great testimony to the value of a dream.

Walt Disney is a name synonymous of a dreamer and saw his dreams completed in his lifetime. He said, “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” He added, “You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality.” If you had the chance, like I did to visit Disneyland, you’ll definitely understand what he was talking about. Moreover, I believe the reason it is still popular today even after 50 years is because of dreams that are still being conceived to improve it and to become relevant to the changing times.

The truth of the matter is this: God has planted His dream in our life even before we can conceive them ourselves: “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!” (Psalms 139:13-17 ESV)

I don’t know about you but this is a very clear reminder of our significance that we are God’s dream fulfilled. With this knowledge, you can now begin to understand that He has a great plan for your life for the upcoming year. If you consider carefully what He has dreamt for you, then you will find success for your own dream wisely aligned to His. Thus, do not allow 2013 to just pass by but strive to become the year of seeing your dreams realized with God’s help. Remember that the dreams we have for our family, personal life and many others are valuable and these dreams will help us to progress towards great things especially if God is with us.

Let’s talk again!

Just my Thoughts: On Les Miserables

Please click here to read: http://aldrinnavo.wordpress.com/2013/01/23/just-my-thoughts-on-les-miserables/ 

Ministry Update: Pastoral Visit to JRAM Alberta

The past 10 days (January 4-15, 2013) was an opportunity to serve God in two Alberta cities where Jesus Rock of Ages Ministries currently exists. It was days filled with various events focused on strengthening relationships, updates, meetings and fellowships

Both Calgary and Edmonton was in a winter chill and it was really cold. Coming from rainy Vancouver was indeed a climate upgrade. Nevertheless, no weather situation can stop what needed to be done for God’s people. The Church Core Teams’ Symposium was the first event gathering the different Church Core Teams of Southern Calgary. It was a forum to discuss the many updates that they need to be informed. The mood was light and fun. Indeed, proper communication must be done to clarify and amplify the directions forward.

The following day was a joint service of the JRAM Churches from Southern Alberta with more or less 300 people filled with joy and excitement in seeing one another giving glory to God together. It was a great day to rejoice in such a wonderful event. Then, special meetings were done in the last two days with different individuals before heading to Edmonton for the next leg of the visit. The day trip driving to Edmonton from Calgary the following day was not bad at all. The day was especially sunny but a snowstorm was scheduled to arrive later that day and found out that 12 cm fell afterwards.

Upon reaching Edmonton, we had a special dinner fellowship with the Northern Alberta Core Team and we had a wonderful night. The next night was the Church Core Teams’ Symposium with discussion and I believed that all attendees were informed appropriately with JRAM’s status and direction. 

The following day was individual meetings but one of the special events of the day was the special launching of JRAM St. Albert. Seeing how it was started and came together was indeed a blessing to remember. But one distinct feature of this event was the special participation of the congregation and the Church Pastor of Grace Family Church where JRAM would use as their facility. They were there not just to support but also to welcome the JRAM family amongst them and an evidence of unity in action between two church families. A great eating fellowship followed after the service like a feast. God is good!

The next day was another launching of a JRAM Church in Edmonton North using the facility of Living Waters in Londonberry Mall. God was at work in finding this location to become the home of JRAM Edmonton North. The Senior Pastor of Living Waters Church also joined in the launching with his wife and rejoiced with what God was doing. People were filled with joy in seeing another JRAM church family established to serve God’s people. God is at work indeed!

The last days of the visit was spent in meeting key leaders for special fellowship and a chat to catch up for what to do next. This was a jam-packed visit coupled with great time of fellowship and many blessings. Before I forget, a JRAM Bible Study officially started in Fort McMurray with the Huguete family, as the initial seed of what God is about to do in that place. Thus, in this visit, God was at work to proclaim His faithfulness to us who believe in what He can do to those that are fully yielded to His purpose and agenda. Together, we will see greater things have yet to come. Glory to God!