One of the most famous question that is being asked about is, why does God allow good people to suffer? My answer can be found in the Bible.

¹In the past you were dead because you sinned and fought against God. ²You followed the ways of this world and obeyed the devil. He rules the world, and his spirit has power over everyone who doesn’t obey God. ³Once we were also ruled by the selfish desires of our bodies and minds. We had made God angry, and we were going to be punished like everyone else.

^4-5But God was merciful! We were dead because of our sins, but God loved us so much that he made us alive with Christ, and God’s wonderful kindness is what saves you. ⁶God raised us from death to life with Christ Jesus, and he has given us a place beside Christ in heaven. ⁷God did this so that in the future world he could show how truly good and kind he is to us because of what Christ Jesus has done. ⁸You were saved by faith in God, who treats us much better than we deserve. ^[a] This is God’s gift to you, and not anything you have done on your own. ⁹It isn’t something you have earned, so there is nothing you can brag about. ¹⁰God planned for us to do good things and to live as he has always wanted us to live. That’s why he sent Christ to make us what we are.

We all sinned and went against God. We cannot brag our good works at all and the right question should be why do bad people prosper and succeed. God’s mercy is abundant and He just showed the greatest act of love, mercy and grace in this verse.

This December is the season where in I really go out and have fun. I attend Christmas parties almost every night and hang out with my friends. My social life is very active and I’m happy about it but there are moments when thoughts rush in my mind that I’m lonely. After entertaining that thought, my feelings would suddenly change in a mood of self pity. My mind starts to create scenarios about how uncertain our future will be and it takes out the excitement of life. My heart is being conditioned that I cannot be the best and have a great future.

This is what our human nature and our finite brain tells us. We are basically just people who face life day to day and we do not know what will happen the next morning or next year. We cannot know the ONE/ God’s best until he or she says I do. In short we are just HUMANS!

So why entertain the thought if God has promised us this

Josh always attends our kids church every Sunday and he is a practicing tither. His dad shared to me how Josh was blessed 10x because of his faith to tithe. Last Sunday during our Christmas service someone gave Josh an ANGPAO or an aguinaldo for Christmas. The money was worth P100. His dad encourage Josh to give his tithes, at first Josh hesitated but his dad reminded him about the principle of tithing. Tithing is just returning what God has blessed us with. So Josh gave P50 or half of his income. Later that night Josh won a prize in a family party. He got P500! God is faithful and He never fails on His promises. He blesses everyone no matter how young you are or how poor you are. God always looks at our hearts when we give. So I challenge you to have the same faith as JOSH! Thanks Josh for trusting God with your money. You are a living testimony of God’s faithfulness.

Negative words were the most hurting words that I got when I was growing up. It brought down my self-confidence. It took out hope in my perspective of life and it simply brought death in my passion to succeed.When I was young, I cannot simply filter the words that adults say to me, I really didn’t understand if all the words that were said to me were true. The fact is, it brought pain and this made me believe that I’m that kind of person.

As for me, I thought I was not valuable. I don’t know if there was anything positive or good thing about me. When those words were spoken, my heart seems to accept it already because of the countless times it has been already said. THIS WAS THE GREATEST STRUGGLE OF MY LIFE. My identity and my mindset in life was dictated by the negative words that have been told to me. It brought a lot of insecurities in myself and a wrong mindset that life is no fun. I had no passion to succeed and I didn’t have vision in life.

Life cannot simply end that way without a fight or a decision to change. I decided that I want a life that is honoring and pleasing to God. I asked God to carry all my burdens and help me change my heart. Here are the steps that I did to overcome my struggle.

1.  I accepted the fact that all the words that are against me was a lie.

2.  I stayed away from NEGATIVE friends therefore I didn’t hear anything(:D effective ito)

3. I accepted the fact that my loves ones were brought up that way too. They must have experienced the life in which made them speak in a negative way. We cannot change or stay away from this people but we can choose to accept them for who they are and let God do His work.

4. I prayed to God to take all my insecurities in life and let him control my heart and feelings. This would lead to Christ-confidence instead of Self confidence. (Philippians 4:13) That I’m nothing without HIM.

5. It takes a decision to forgive and not based it on feelings. A decision that would accept that persons for who he or she is. (Negative Relatives or Family)

I made this decision to accept and forgive because I was not created by God to please my family, my dad, my mother, my friends but to honor and please HIM!

Every time I see people who I know getting bankrupt, lose their jobs, investing millions on a scam, or getting there lifetime savings wiped out. My heart is very dismayed. I cannot express the sadness and all the questions that my heart feels. Being in lack is my greatest fear. I see people even though how hard they work they still cannot afford a normal lifestyle. Its like planting their seeds on a soil but nothing happens.  The soil is barren and no matter how hard the person cultivates, it seems worthless.

But thankfully God is just and He is the one who provides for everything. I have several principles from the Bible that I want to share and I can say that I’m testifying that God is true to his promises. I’m writing this one just to tell you that THIS IS FOR REAL!

1. Tithing – (Malachi 3:10) Wala pa akong nakikitang pulubi na tither and I challenge you to trust God on this one. HE REALLY NEVER FAILS.

2. Reading and applying God’s word- (Joshua 1:8) Christianity is a lifestyle and the bible is our guide. This is a cause and effect promise from God God is telling us to meditate on the word and start applying it in our life.

3. Be faithful in small things- (1 Corinthians 4:2) When God has entrusted us something (business or corporate work) let us be excellent and be faithful in working. No compromises.

4. Be a cheerful giver- Bless other people. (2 Cor 9:7)

If we all agree that He is the source of all our wealth then we must fully trust on HIS words. RIGHT?

I hear a lot of stories about pastors receiving a new car, getting a huge check from people who blesses them, or a house that God has provided miraculously. When I come to think on it, are they really more blessed than the other Christians. The answer is No, the giver is more blessed than the receiver. Our pastors get this “blessings” because they also practice the principle of Giving.

2 Corinthians 9:11-15.

You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

¹² This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. ¹³ Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. ¹⁴ And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. ¹⁵ Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

God has also provided and enriched me and not just the pastors. I’m able to bless others because He has blessed me through my businesses. He gives me wisdom and guides my hand where to invest. A person cannot blessed others if he/she is not blessed and God has promised us

God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

A pastor just gave me an Adidas Zero Derrick Rose Shoes for Christmas…and its not from Dennis

I’m writing this blog to honor my good friend.

Paul Tanchi was my mentor in faith, work and life. I knew him when I attended CCF (Christ Commission Fellowship). He leads a group of young men about 12-15 during my time and teaches us the Bible. After work, we would go to their house and Jenny (Paul’s wife) opens there house for bible studies, they prepare food week after week to makes us very comfortable. (Thanks Jenny! I really appreciate your love for doing this )

He literally saw my life from being a teenager to being a man. He was my discipler when I was 18yrs old. He taught me how to lead a group of men and taught us how to live a godly life.

When I graduated from College, Paul asked me to work with him. He gave me a huge responsibility by being the Purchasing Manager of their company. He entrusted me BIG TIME! He placed confidence and belief in me that I can manage people older than me. I was responsible for all the purchases that the company makes. At 20 years old, I was a newly graduate and I have no background in purchasing construction materials. I had zero skills but I think I got the smiles and the looks hehehe. I still cannot comprehend what he saw in me to be entrusted with that kind of responsibility. (still wondering hahaha) The company that I worked for is part of the top 10,000 corporation in the Philippines.

The D-group of paul and jenny (6 years ago)

Paul and I literally see each other 6 or 7 times in a week. He was my discipler, my boss and my friend. He saw how I developed from being a boy to a man. He was there when I cried and laugh. He saw my immaturity, bad side, laziness, and everything that an employee shouldn’t do hehehe. I’m so privilege and thankful to God for being part of my friends life. I really saw his heart and how JESUS transformed him.

There were so many qualities that I got from my friend. The way he works, I never scold at my employees. Being patient, having an attitude that depends on God.  Godly values that are not bendable (no compromises at all). Lastly, the love that He has shown to his wife and friends. I’m still trying to emulate that from him.

Paul, my inaanak caleb, and me

*Brother! thank you so much. You’ve left a piece of your life in my heart that I will always bring wherever I go.

I don’t know yet if I’m worthy to blog about my weight loss. This is not to brag or anything because I wasn’t doing this for anyone else but i’m doing it for myself.

Last November of 2010, I was at my peak of 245 pounds in the morning and 250 pounds after dinner. My pants size was 42inches in the morning then its goes up to 44 in the evening (hehehehe). My shirt was 3XL for Asian Size and 2XL for US size. My height is 5’7 1/2.

I was very comfortable about myself. I didn’t care anything about what other people would say even though I was constantly reminded by my friends especially my hunk friend,Harry Ongsun to lose the extra weight.  It was until one family dinner that we had. My siblings were challenging me to date a girl and be aggressive in pursuing one. The challenged was to have a date to be setup by my sister which I eventually accepted. I asked for the profile picture of my date and I said OK lets go for this one. Then my sister showed my picture to the Girl and she didn’t respond. So it took several days…………. after my sister heard the response from the girl through a common friend saying that she found me too FAT.

I was so dowwwwn!!! literally, I became so desperate to become thin. My heart was challenged and I told myself that I’m willing to invest on myself just to become thin. I cannot accept the fact that I was obese after 27 years of existence hahaha. I was deeply desperate to do anything just to become slim. The next day, I went to ZUNIC and SANTRE. Santre offers a slimming program like Marie France and Zunic but almost half the price. I enrolled for the next 6 months and I eventually lost 15 pounds on the first month without exercise.

The Santre program was very effective for the first 15 pounds but the problem was my body started to plateau. Every time I go to have that treatment my weight won’t go down and I find it very expensive when you have a treatment and nothing happens. So on the 2nd month, I enrolled in Slimmer’s world and got a trainer to help me out. I also invested on a BROOKS running shoes and I started running 3x a week from 230 pounds I became 190 pounds after 8 months. Below are the photos of my current figure I had strict discipline on my food intake and I was eager to exercise atleast 4x a week.

I’m not yet done on my program because I still have a few more pounds to lose. I did this blog to let others know that everyone has a chance to get back in to shape no matter how old, how busy, how tiring it could be. Its just discipline and determination.

A few years ago, I was asked by someone what my passion in life is. I gave her a blank stare and a nod affirming the question got me realize that there was no passion inside my heart.

Like everyone of us, we try to search our passions in life. That passion is something that we love to talk about. it is also something that we LOVE to do. I have several passions in life; Business, Relationships and Jesus Christ. When we talk about this 3 things I get so lively and eager to share my views. I firsthand experience, great things in this aspect of life that made me a better person.

So how did I know my passions in life here are the basic things that i did:

1. I asked myself what are my goals in life is?

- I wanted to become a millionaire and have several businesses that would leave a legacy.

2. I earnestly asked God to stir me up and instill passion in my heart.

- I literally cried to God asking Him and inviting Him to move inside me.

3. I took up strengths finder by tom rath.

- knowing my personality and building up my strengths helped me communicate better with other people.

4. I surrendered to God all my insecurities and accepted the fact that without God i’m nothing.

- I shifted from self-confidence to Christ- confidence. So whenever I speak about my passion i know God is the one who controlled that aspect of my life.

5. I worked hard, I spent time with God, I analyze and evaluated myself, and I accepted myself knowing that God is my confidence.

- I tithe, I became faithful in things that God entrusted, I acknowledge that all the source of my wealth comes from God. I just love how life goes and living life to the fullest makes ones heart grow.

*Luke 6:45//

I practiced giving tithes and offering since I started earning my own money. I always believe that once I give my tithes, I will never experience being in lack and God will provide for all my needs. I always dreamed of becoming a multi-millionaire businessman and I remembered praying that God would make me like my rich dad because I was faithfully giving my tithes to the church. I expected so much from God ever since I got my own job but all my expectation were never met and I got so frustrated as time goes on.

My first job was in a real estate company, I was getting paid for a decent amount for a newly grad with no corporate experience. I lasted for 4 years in that company without being financially satisfied. I told God, “How come that I worked so hard and I faithfully gave my tithes unfortunately you (GOD) are not making me rich and I wouldn’t be able to support my family once i get married”. I resigned in that company because I wasn’t financially satisfied. I questioned God in my prayers and I asked for directions and plans. In short I was totally confused about my goals in life. I had no passion because I lost my trust and my heart to GOD.

After resigning, I decided to go to China to study mandarin, I was seeking for my direction in life. The time in China was fruitful in terms of maturity towards my heritage and values but I wasn’t still clear what God wants me to do in life. When I went back home , I was financially broke. I spent most of my savings in China and i lost my investment in the stock market crash in 2008.

I had no where to go then, I always remembered my parents telling me that I was not giving my best to earn money but my loving parents had the best for me. They gave me a fabric store  to start with and a capital for investment was lend to me. I was so grateful to God that I told Him that this store will be offered to Him. I was spiritually moved and inspired because I felt that after all God never left me.

The real journey begins, the store at the first few months was doing well. I was faithfully giving my tithes and offering to the church, I was again expecting from my heart that my business would be a career success for me and all my dreams will come true. After a year, God took my business away because It was already incurring losses.  My debt was accumulating and the cost cannot sustain the business anymore.  I partially blamed Him but in that process I knew God was doing something else for me. I was hopeful that His words and promises will never go in vain. God gave me wisdom to go in the retail industry. When my business was about to fail, I tried to seek other opportunites by applying my concept of a retail cotton fabric store in the malls. God did close the door but He opened a bigger door for me. A command was given to us in 1 Corinthians 4:2 -Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.

My business has currently grown to 3 branches around the Metro. God has awesomely provided and fulfilled His promises at the right time. Sometimes our hearts can be discourage on how things are going but His plans are always the best for us. As it says in Proverbs 19:21 Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.