JREV Testimony

Today I just heard of another testimony that was birthed out of December 21. I have to say that this story is the most compelling Ive heard this week.

I was with "Cha" earlier today and she had so much joy in her heart as she told me that last Monday night was the breakthrough she has been waiting for. She has been a "Christian" since she was young... but she admits to being lukewarm for three years. When she sat down in the front row in that gym, she experienced God for real... The preachings spoke so powerfully to her heart and it created a desire to go back to her first love and pursue a passionate life with the Lord. More than that, God was preparing her heart for a painful blow that would shake her life forever.

After the event she went up to Jay and was ministered to by him. They ended up praying for her unsaved Dad.. Less than two days later, her dad died of a vehicular accident.

I went to her place today and I was pretty surprised that the grief and torment that I anticipated was not there... She was filled with hope, even though she's now an orphan. Her smile was beaming, even though she doesnt know how to provide for her three sisters... And most of all, she speaks about the Love of God so happily even though the death of her dad left a vacuum in her heart.

She listened so intently as I shared about the Cross and Christ's suffering for our sins. There was so much peace in her heart knowing that God loves her so much that He went through the most severe pain any man could bear just to save us. I told her abou the "fellowship of His suffering" and how this tragedy will lead to God's resurrection power in her life... And she just got excited!! She said she couldnt wait!! Hahaha.. This girl is unbelievable.


I am so inspired by her life... Her confidence in the Lord is really something. And I am so blessed to know that JREV night helped her heart to be established in the Rock that is higher than all of the problems that are to come her way.....

God is good... He really is. Jesus, keep these stories coming!

JESUS REVOLUTION MINDANAO

Words cannot convey what kind of experience I have had with JREV Kidapawan... it was amazing! Not just the December 21 itself but with the days that lead to it. God's grace was just overflowing... His presence was felt through and through.... and the fire is beginning to build up in my city.

It was really surreal how something that only started as a vision became a reality.... The Lord is good. His provision of laborers was really heart warming. Somehow the people here just caught the vision and began contending with me... Starting out i felt alone, but then the numbers of intercessors and volunteers increased, I began to realize that God has already ordained this day... There was a deluge of friends! Friends who are also hungry for revival.

Personally, the whole month of preparation caused so much brokeness in my heart. Pruning, shaping, molding... "all things work together that I may be conformed to Christ, more and more..." I was practically a superwoman: organizer, mobilizer, intercessor... i was in charge with the production, finance, hospitality, programs, EVERYTHING!!! But like what apostle paul said, it is not I but the grace of God...

The grace of GOD......

What would I be without it?? Every single thing was enabled by His grace.


The intercession time was powerful!!! Everytime my friends and i would get together for prayer. something happens in the heavenlies... but what was more evident was the shifts in our hearts as we come humbly before the Lord. Oh, sweet moments.

I love my friends!!! Maoui, Jay, Riza, Gretchen, Josh and Gleh... came over to Kidapawan City and laid down a lot of things just so they could be a part of what God is doing in this part of the country... Mindanao has been in the headlines for the scary news reports and yet my friends risked their necks in coming over. I cherish every single minute we spent together!!!

The powerful testimonies I have been getting since Monday night are just spectacular!!! It makes everything worth it. But most of all, GOD was glorified... His name was lifted up up up.... and that to me is ultimately, the REWARD of my labors... Sweet glory.

Will talk more soon..... blessings!!!

JESUS REVOLUTION MINDANAO

I KISSED WEDDINGS GOODBYE

You know you are infatuated with weddings when:

a) You have decided on where your wedding would be… since you were four.

b) The scene wherein you walk down the isle, pacing gracefully towards your groom, has been played in the image center of your head- for at least 1,500 times in your lifetime.

c) Your favorite movies would include, My Best friend’s wedding, 27 Dresses or Made of Honor.

d) The first section you go to in bookstores is the “Relationship” shelf and you think that When God Writes Your Love Story is the greatest literary work of all time.

You know you need to get your heart checked when all you think about is finding that ‘right man’ and being wedded to him. After all, marriage is your ticket to a Happy Ever After. You know you are veering away from “God’s best” when you have equated that term to a husband. Your heart constantly tells you, that the ultimate climax of your very existence is to be Mrs. so and so…. There is no greater day, no sweeter moment than the day you say, “I do”. I’m sorry to pop your bubble honey, but that’s not healthy anymore.

Before I proceed though, I’d like to say that I am not speaking out of bitterness or cynicism towards marriage, and no I am not a nun. I believe in marriage and I think it’s beautiful. But it has become so overrated. Really.

I have sensed that the thought life of single women have pretty much revolved around weddings, romance, and that illusive pursuit for Prince Charming. This has become the norm because media has fed into our starry-eyed whims and we assume that the cure for loneliness is a significant other, so we sing, “Can anybody find me, somebody to love?”

I have seen this girly phenomenon so prevalent in my time. I do not condemn our natural desire for intimacy or for romance because we were wired that way. What irks me is the way we girls have made it so central in our lives; it’s as if a picture-perfect wedding is the very epitome of our womanhood, nay, even our life!

Even if we may not admit it, these relational fantasies have consumed much, too much of our time and affections. It annoys me that girls are so engrossed with the idea of being married to the extent of despising singlehood. The frustration felt in not finding that future mate has made so many single people (a lot of them in church) despise this wonderful season in their lives. I have seen some godly women who have settled for so-so guys because they were anxious to leave their “sorry state” and just get it done and over with by marrying the first guy they meet. It breaks my heart to see them settle for “ok” men just because they have become desperate to find a hand to hold.

Most of all I am grieved to see so many women who would gladly dream about her groom but have little thought on God.


Meet The Groom

What’s so tragic about our bridal fantasies is that it glooms our vision for that one eternal and everlasting Bridal Paradigm wherein Jesus is the Ultimate Husband, and we the church as His chaste and beloved Bride. Marriage here on earth is nothing but a fleeting prototype of something infinitely more glorious that is to come (Eph. 5:25). And that is our consummation with our Bridegroom King, who gave His life as a ransom for us.

Our dreamy fantasies of our earthly groom would look pitifully hideous juxtaposed to Jesus who is dashing and handsome in all His glory. “Then I saw the heaven opened and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire and on His head were many crowns (Rev. 19:11,12)”.

Our coming Messiah, our Faithful Husband is fairer than the sons of man, He is white and ruddy, chief among ten thousand. He is altogether lovely (Songs 5:16). Just thinking about His beauty melts my heart and woos me like no man on earth could.

Think about this, girls (and boys) spouses can never satisfy us like God can. I mean have you ever talked to married people? There is no way that one person can scratch the deepest itch of our hearts. No husband on the face of the planet could fulfill the longings of our soul. Spouses are imperfect, fallen and needy people, just like everyone else. And just like a normal human being, they would fail you, most definitely. So don’t put your hopes on a “soul-mate” to attend to the desires of your heart, leave that task to Jesus.

He is the Ultimate Lover of our souls. Jesus left His glorious throne to stoop down and be conformed in the image of His creation (Phil. 2:7), just to rescue us from our sins. We have messed up our lives again and again but then in our filth and disgrace, He still forgives us and accepts us! Show me a man who loves like He does, I bet there is none!

I’m sure married women would agree that her husband is not an all-satisfying, all-loving, perfect guy the way he is depicted in our daydreams. If you are single like me, for crying out loud, stop fantasizing about weddings and wedding gowns! It only does more harm than good; believe me I can attest to that.

My Own Castle in the Sky

The reason why I am so adamant about this whole issue is because I too was trapped in this artificial world where Mr. Right swept me off of my feet. In this imaginary universe we lived happily ever after and boy, do I want for this day to come to reality. Reading Christian books on courtship and marriage stirred up my heart for something that was totally not meant for my season.

My desires for intimacy, companionship, and love all clung to that fateful day of being dressed in white and finally giving my heart to someone. Fulfillment and joy never really existed in singlehood because I was disillusioned to thinking that only “the one” could silence the cry of my lonely heart.

All of that changed when God encountered me in a way that I have never experienced before. He revealed His love to me that totally knocked me out. When I turned 18, I was acquainted with REALITY and I evicted myself from that artificial world and turned away from the vain imaginations of my heart. I was confronted with a love so real; so tangible that Hollywood’s best love stories would pale in comparison.

Out of this change of heart, there have been practical changes in my life. What preoccupies me now is studying theology and meditating on God, and I have avoided those marriage books like a plague. Today, I would rather eat a live snail than watch a chick flick or a romantic movie that could stir up my heart again and direct it to lustful fantasies. I may be looked upon as legalistic, stiff, boring and what not. But I would rather be called all that, than to be again trapped in that castle in the sky, which tastes and feels like plastic. In Jesus Christ, I have found the love story sought after since the beginning of time, and there is no way I am going to settle for anything less than the best.

Divine Romance

I am jealous for your hearts, girls. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to live a life that’s passionate, alive and free? We have shackled our own two feet by choosing the lesser things in life . There is a higher dream and a more profound calling, but we are tied to the ground. Jesus, He is beckoning for you to come and discover His love. The invitation has been presented to you, and yet you’ve refused to reach out, you chose inferior delights here on earth. Love stories may have a happy ending, but still, they have just that… an ending. It is finite; it is temporary, bound to end. Just like the pretty roses, romance will eventually fade as the grass in the field. But His love never does.

It has been a very narrow path, to decide everyday that I am to keep my heart guarded from the many distractions around me (you know, those godly, good-looking guys). But I have proven time and time again that my heart will only be fully satisfied when it is fascinated in the Lord and Him alone. I will not trade a burning heart for an infatuation. I am not going to settle for momentary happiness, I want everlasting joy. Maybe time will come that I too will swoon over the man God has for me, but if it comes, then it comes. I really don’t wanna waste my minute fantasizing about it. Married or not, I know that the ultimate romance this heart is craving for, is one with Jesus.

I’m now 21 and have been single all my life. But the kind of satisfaction I feel, the fulfillment I am now experiencing is the envy of married women. The joy that awakens me morning by morning, and the romance I have found in Jesus far surpasses any form of fantasy a girl could ever conjure up in her pretty little head. I have found my Prince Charming, or should I say, He has found me (1John 4:19).

Biblical Womanhood

Today I am inspired to begin my blog series on a subject matter that has been ringing in my heart for quite sometime now: BIBLICAL WOMANHOOD. It has become an obscure concept lost in the sea of many other notions about femininity, that I believe now is the high time to bring it into light.

What were we, women created for? Just like how beauty pageants ask in perpetuity, ‘what is the essence of a woman?’ I also inquire of the same thing. Fancy clothes? Sassy attitude? Great figure? I bet none of these were on God’s list as He unfolded His greatest creation for Adam to behold.

It is heartbreaking to see how women have settled for the mediocre things in life. These things that they indulge in may not be evil in and of themselves, but they simply are, superficial. We have sat around in the bleachers of complacency and decided to stay lackadaisical- about life, our character and our relationship with God. We are so passionate about the wrong things that we have not invested on the things that truly matter. Is womanhood simply about the clothes we wear or the way we fix our hair? Does our purpose hinge on marriage or motherhood alone? How should our devotion towards the Lord look like?

In my next entries I attempt to answer these questions and other issues that I have been itching to rant about. I am of great belief that God has so much more in store for us women, that is why it’s truly tragic to see my sisters get easily satisfied with anything less than God’s best.

Resistance is Futile

Living a surrendered life. That's what I have been preoccupied with lately. It's a bloody path-- difficult, lonely, and painful. But was it not Jesus Himself who invited us to a crucified lifestyle such as this? If anyone desires to come after Him, must take up his cross. Truly if our hearts desire to be one with Jesus, then we ought to brace ourselves for the cost of this intimate knowledge of Him. 

Our flesh for one needs to be mortified. We cannot have illicit desires and have fellowship with the Holy One, that's pretty understandable. He is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. We have to steel our hearts to be exposed, wide open for His scrutiny and allow ungodly desires (no matter how valid and legit) to be plucked out if ascension to His holy hill be fulfilled.  

I have laid down a lot of things for the love of Christ, but every day I find myself holding back still a multitudinous collection of unyielded rights, loves, possessions, and dreams. So the bleeding goes on. Ever so often I am ripped apart by the Cross, only to be mended by God himself at the end of the day.

But why endure all this hardship, you ask? Because I know choosing Him above all these earthly things, is the best decision an earthly being could ever do. He is far more valuable than whatever it is we deem important. He is infinitely worthy of our utmost worship and affections. And if we die with Him, we shall also live with Him. If we have spent our lives on mutilating our own selfish clinging so that Christ may fully reign, unrivaled, then the benefits are inevitable. As we fellowship in His suffering... we will also rejoice in the resurrection power of His love. That to me, makes every tear shed, every heartache, WORTH IT.  

Revival in Mindanao, now!

September 26, 2009

Dear Friend,

  Shalom!

              God desires revival. More than anyone else in the world, He yearns to make His presence felt and glory known to mankind. This is the reason why my sister and I have such a burden for God to cast His holy fire on the young people in Mindanao. We want God to rend the heavens and come down so that our city may tremble at His presence (Isaiah 64) and cause countless of souls to encounter the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. We want what He wants. That’s a pretty straightforward intro, yeah?

 Picture this: thousands upon thousands gather worshipping God, our generation coming together in repentance and absolute surrender to Jesus Christ. Imagine, the most broken young people ravaged by sin and imprisoned by false belief systems, finally experiencing the love of God, Muslims turning to Jesus, drug addicts set free, apathetic and bored teens becoming rabid for Christ.

This has been in our hearts for a long time now. In order to make this vision a reality, we are asking you to partner with us in this huge task of gathering the youth in Kidapawan City, North Cotabato for a Jesus Revolution Night this December 21. This event is not the end in itself but only a kickoff of greater things to come. The goal really is to awaken the Christians and stir a hunger for revival. We are hoping that out of this will come prayer furnaces, Bible studies, and continuous youth movements in desperate need of God. So please help us on this.

More than finances and bright ideas we covet for your prayers. Please include us in your daily intercession, contend with us friend! Even five minutes of heartfelt, faith-filled petitions to the Lord would do wonders (although an hour would be awesome.) But really, we are asking for your commitment. If you are willing to set a portion of your time for this cause, kindly contact this number: 0922-850-8419. Please inform us for any word from God revealed to you regarding this.

At the end of the day, Mindanao doesn’t need another peace talk, or military intervention, or humanitarian aid. This war-torn land needs Jesus Christ; He is the solution to the century-old conflict and no one else.

 Thank you very much for sowing seeds in this generation! Needless to say you will be rewarded by no less than God Himself.

     

Lovesick bondservants of Christ,

Bernice and Amena Pinol

Endorsed by:

PASTOR JEROME OCAMPO

        JREV Founder