Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. 

-Philippians 2:12-13 (ESV)

Last June 6, 2012

I went to our campus to arrange some papers and get a clearance from my previous sem’s loan. To tell you the truth, this is really a tough season for us—my family—financially speaking.And to me—spiritually speaking. I have a lot of questions. Would I still have enough provision for this ‘coming soon’ semester? Would I still have a heart that is as burning as before? Will I be able to finish my whole semester without any failing grade? Am I still saved after all the things I have done, or rather, have failed to do this summer?

I have so many questions that have pent-up this whole summer. Accumulated questions from the entire summer that have been answered within just two-days time. This is God displaying His infinite knowledge and power over everything that may overpower us. Not even two months of not hearing from Him can weaken His power to speak into my heart within 2 days. Remember, we were all born in this world not hearing Him but His power to speak to us and change our hearts did not lessen over all those years…after all these years. He can turn you into His child though you were lost for how many years. God has His way of changing people within a month, a week, a day, an hour, a minute, a second. He chooses His own time. God is not bounded by time nor space. That makes our “God a turn-around specialist.”

One thing that struck me that day was that I forgot the basics. How consumed I was with my desire to step forward or move ahead that I forgot. I forgot the basics. The most basic yet the MOST important in this Christian faith. I would like to share what really happened that day.

After all the papers I had managed to arrange and all the buildings I went to and fro with my brother in Christ, Ivan, we finally felt it right to take our meal and be in an airconditioned room to restore the strength we lost from the intense eLBi(Los Banos) heat that day. So we sat, ate and talked of course. We stayed in the restaurant for almost an hour since the school office closed for the staff’s lunch break which means, we got nothing else to do at that time. So, as I said, we talked. Most of the talk was really filled with questions and answers. But the thing that struck me most was when I got the answer to my question, “Posible bang mawala ang gift of salvation?” (“Is it possible to lose the gift of salvation?”) He mulled over it for a while and asked what I really meant with my question. I told him that I was just thinking if can we still say that we are STILL saved though we keep on doing things that are not pleasing to God. (Let me enlight what I really mean with that statement. Here’s the case: You accepted Christ as your Savior. You are really a Christian. Did good things because God has done great things for you. You love God. Until one time, you stumbled, and did things that is not pleasing to the Lord. Are you still saved? Can those who have received the gift of salvation lose it?)

After he got my point, he answered me, and I know that God is the one who really answered me. He told me something like: that the salvation is like a two-sided coin. Salvation and Lordship should always come together. And I just said something like, “ang galing mo! Hindi ko naisip ‘yan. Grabe. Nasagot talaga tanong ko. Thanks.” Translation: You’re so good. IT NEVER CROSSED MY MIND. You really provided the best answer to my question. Now it’s clear to me… then he said, “*One2One?” …Now it’s clear to me…I have forgotten the basic. I know he just mentioned the name of a booklet which was only a simple tool but it struck me that I forgot what it taught. I forgot what it was really all about. It was a reminder which I forgot. It hurt me. Hit me. Hard. But I needed that hard hitting severely. How could I have forgotten that? I am blessed that I realized it immediately—that someone had reminded me immediately. But now I am thinking, what if nobody had reminded me of that? I might have continued in this External Christianity. Believing that I have a Savior and Lord. But forgetting what it really means to call Him Lord.

What can I say? That Salvation is never lost from us. Once we have recieved it, it is always there. But the problem is, are we working out our salvation?

There might be times I fail to work it out by failing to remember His Lordship, but God remains my salvation. He remained as my Savior. He rescued me from forgetting. He reminded me that I can maximize the gift I have received and have a good life by remembering that He is my Lord and acting on it. He wants us all to have a good eternal life with Him, and the only way we can have that life is through salvation and His Lordship. We already have salvation, but are we following Him?

*One2One is a discipleship guide or booklet designed to be read with another person. 121 is our “starters’ guide” to Christianity. We do One2One(s) in our church to help those who just accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior to take a step forward in their relationship with God. In that booklet, are the key factors, the basics, the need-to-know’s. Like Salvation and Lordship. It was really all about REMINDING what the Bible says about Jesus…about God.

P.S. My journey continues as I ride a bus going home. Read more? Click here.

“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.” -Romans 1:16

“Before you can make disciples, dapat yung relationship mo kay God, ayos.”

We had the chance to hear (again) a preaching about the Gospel. I truly believe that in order to have a good relationship with God—a relationship that is continuously on fire—we have to always remember the Gospel. But truth be told, sometimes, we tend to FORGET what the Gospel is really all about. That is why the preachers again and again preach about this greatest News.

Gospel. If we do not understand this one word, we miss out the true meaning of Christian faith.

I believe that there are many reasons we need to always be reminded to take a daily dosage of the Vitamin G—the Gospel. I would try my hardest to cite some of them.

1. The Gospel is the power of God that saves.

Without the Gospel, we are not even here enjoying this life full of His love.

“…because it is the power of God for the SALVATION of EVERYONE who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.”

2. The GOSPEL is the power of God for our SALVATION.

it is not only the power that saves but also the power FOR our salvation. It is like the fuel. It is not the ABC but the A-Z. To work out our salvation, we must always go back to the core of our salvation. Remember that without the core of this salvation we are professing, its meaning to us is hollow. Because how can we truly treasure the gift of salvation if we do not fully understand the Gospel? Sometimes we are likely to remember more that we are saved than what it cost Him for us to be saved.

3. “…because it is the power of God…”

if we do not remember that the Gospel is the power of God, how can we know that we are also made powerful when we have it instilled in our hearts, mind and soul? How could we know that we can also have the power to do things we thought impossible if done on our own? that we have the power to resist temptations? that we have the power to disciple? that we have all the power we need?

4. Because the Gospel is all we NEED to know.

“kahit hindi mo alam lahat basta alam mo na you’re a sinner but has been saved by Christ, Okay na yun! All you really need to know is Jesus Christ.” -1 Corinthians 2:1-2(msg)

5. “…first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.”

Through the Gospel, you can disciple both the religious and the irreligious. Galing noh? That is the power of the Gospel—for everyone.

Just imagine if you lack Vitamin G. You would not have realized that the power of God is already in you. That this power is the fuel for your salvation, the power to resist temptations, the power to live a godly life, and the power to DISCIPLE even the irreligious!

So what are you waiting for? Take Vitamin G! Everyday. All day. Anytime.

Continue reading Session 1 Part 2: Kumpleto ka ba sa Vitamin G?

Yes, I think I can say that I’m back. I know that I have been weak at many points in my Christian walk but our God will never be weakened by anything. My faith may had come to falter but the one I had faith in didn’t. Because one of the things I learned in this season is no matter how we fail to have faith, His power will never decrease. Whether we trust Him or not He will remain strong and powerful. That is a no-brainer actually. But you know how the enemy can twist our faith sometimes.

But now, knowing for sure that HE WILL ALWAYS REMAIN FAITHFUL AND POWERFUL, why not trust Him? We are made to have faith in something or someone. We might as well give that faith to Someone who really deserves it.

This is a great season. Yes, I have stumbled. But I believe that it’s not the end of my story because for as long as I am in Christ, I will have no end. Because I believe that the One who is within us has no end in His story. Stay in His unlimited arms that will eternally take care of us.

Do not hate or condemn yourself for being weak, but rather be amazed at how great our God is that He can turn each one of us into a stronger person after the fall. Yes, we make mistakes but remember that Christ’s sacrifice wasn’t useless. If you think that God will not lift you up after the fall, think again. Look at the Cross. Isn’t that already an insurmountable force of Jesus lifting us up?

Right now, I haven’t decided on the period of this Tumblr fast I will be doing but I will be starting today. All I know is I want to set the things that’s hindering me from speaking to God daily aside. And I have to admit that Tumblr is getting in the way for me. I am not saying that this site is not good, actually I love this site, but I just happened to be losing my priority and it was all due to my fault.

I want to get closer to God and experience more of Him than reblog the posts of other people about how amazing God is in their lives. I desire to have a personal encounter again with God. An encounter that would keep me pressing on to Him more. Not just a tumblr post that would keep me pressing on to that ‘reblog’ button.

If anyone out there reads this post or reads my blog—I know I got a very few followers here (by the way you are all very well appreciated)—I want you to know that I am encouraging you to join me if you want. And know that God is always waiting for you to talk to Him. He is excited to talk to you, always.

Thank you so much for your time reading this. God bless you, dear one. :)

Always,

Rachel Cipriano

P.S. You can still connect with me through my Facebook and Twitter account that are on the sidebar. :)