#freelancespeaker

Cooperation between workers and management means they will embrace together shared sacrifices until they come to a point of shared prosperity- mutually understood that this is the key to surpass all these challenges. And that is a Social Contract. When the tide rises, it lifts up the boats around it.

HOPE IN THE DARK TOMB

Joseph bought a linen cloth, took Him down, wrapped Him in the linen cloth and laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. Mark 15:46

After Jesus' death, the disciples went away afraid. SInce their Master was dead, maybe they'll be the next to be haunted. They are in chaos. What if the Romans decided to kill them also to end up this so-called "cult". Since their great teacher is gone, their hope also vanished. They heard him say, "It is finished!" thus they might need to go back to their old life.

They also felt the pain, because somebody is gone. They have walked with Jesus in three and a half years and that would be long enough to left them with so many memories. They can still freshly recall the days Jesus fed 5,000 and on other situation, the 4000. But where are they? Why in the world,they are running for their lives and they felt that every noise around might be a hint of an incoming army ready to catch them. How could these people forget easily the lepers that was healed, the blind who can now see, the miracles of the wine? Why do they abandoned the 12. 

Hopelessness, can be felt in the air. They can still hear in their ears the shouts, "Crucify Him!" Their laughter of mockery is still echoing loud in their memory. Why did we decided to follow Him if we will end up in this kind of tragedy? On the other hand, one of the disciples is reflecting on the words he heard from the Lord that if they will destroy the temple, He will rebuild it in three days. He wanted to grasp the essence of those word. He could see some shedding of hope from those words.

Sa kabila ng katotohanan na ang koronang tinik ay nagdudulot ng matinding sakit, higit na layunin ng mga gumawa nito na si Jesus ay ilagay sa higit na kahihiyan kaysa dulutan ng pasakit. Isinagad na nila ang pambubuyo sa pamamagitan ng paglalagay ng balabal, pag-aabot ng tangkay ng tambo at pagpuputong ng korona. Niluhod luhuran at kinutya sabay sigaw ng mabuhay ang Hari ng mga Hudyo.

Para sa mga Kristiano, simbolo ng Korona ang dalawang bagay: 1. SI Jesus ay Hari at nananatiling Hari (Pahayag 19:16) Ang itinuturing na kabaliwan ng mga Romano, sa tunay nitong kahulugan ay isa sa dalawang mukha ng kanyang paghahari, ang nagdurusang lingkod (Isais 53) at ang matagumpay na Paghahari (Pahayag 19) 2. Hinayaan ng Panginoong Jesus ang lahat ng pasakit, panunuya at kahihiyan,para sa ating kapatawaran ng kasalanan.

Muling nagsalita si Pedro, “Hinding-hindi ko pahuhugasan sa inyo ang aking mga paa!” Ngunit sinabi ni Jesus, “Malibang hugasan kita, wala kang bahagi sa akin.”

Bago simulan ang Huling hapunan, pinangunahan ni Jesus ang ritwal na paghuhugas ng mga paa ng kanyang mga alagad. Kabilang ito sa mga tradisyon at kaugalian ng mga Hudyo na kapag dumarating ang isang panauhin, lalo na at mula sa isang malayong paglalakbay, nag dadala ang isang alipin ng tuwalya at tubig na maipanghuhuhgas sa mga paa ng panauhin.

Ang tagpong ito ay maitututuring nating kakaiba sapagkat hindi ang alipin ang naghugas ng paa ng kanyang panginoon. Ang Panginoon mismo ang naghugas ng paa ng kanyang mga alagad. Isang bgay na ikinagulat ng labindalawa at lalong higit ni Pedro na halos ay tumangging tumanggap ng ganitong paglilingkod.

Anu nga ba ang mga katangian ng isang Lider na Tagapaglingkod (Servant-Leader) na makikita natin sa tagpong ito?

1. Pag-ibig ang nag-uudyok na maglingkod sa kapwa . v.1 Mahal niya ang kanyang mga tagasunod na nasa daigdig, at sila'y iniibig niya hanggang sa wakas.

Ang pinakamainam na motibasyon ng isang tagapanguna sa kanyang paglilingkod ay walang iba kundi pag-ibig. Sapagkat ang mga tagasunod kung minsan ay mayrong mga pagkukulang at mayroong katigasan ng ulo sa pagsunod sa mga iniaatas na gawain, hindi ito mauunawaan ng isang tagapanguna kung siya ay walang pagmamahal.

2. Mayroong sapat na kasiguruhan sa sarili kung kaya't nakapaglilingkod sa iba. v.3 Nalalaman ni Jesus na ibinigay na ng Ama sa kanya ang buong kapangyarihan; alam din niyang siya'y mula sa Diyos at babalik sa Diyos.

A. Nakikilala ni Jesus ang kanyang posisyon at hindi Siya nangangambang ito ay mawala. B. Alam Niya ng kanyang pagkatawag at Siya ay nananatiling ito ay matupad. C. Nababatid niya ang kanyang hinaharap at handa Siyang pangyarihin ito.

3.Naglilingkod na  kahit ang iba ay hindi pa. v.4-5 Kaya't siya'y tumayo mula sa hapag, nag-alis ng panlabas na balabal at nagbigkis ng tuwalya sa baywang. Pagkatapos, naglagay siya ng tubig sa palanggana, at sinimulang hugasan ang paa ng mga alagad at pinunasan ng tuwalyang nakabigkis sa kanyang baywang. Hindi Siya nag-atubiling manguna sa isang napakababang gawain ng isang tagapaglingkod. Ang kanyang paglilingkod ay walang sinusukat na katatayuan. Nanguna na Siyang maglingkod sa mga sitwasyong wala pang nakakaisip na makagawa.

4. Hinahayaan ang iba na siya din ay mapaglingkuran. v6-7 Paglapit niya kay Simon Pedro, tumutol ito. Sabi niya, Panginoon, kayo ba ang maghuhugas ng aking mga paa? Sumagot si Jesus, Hindi mo nauunawaan ngayon ang ginagawa ko, ngunit mauunawaan mo rin pagkatapos. Ang isang lider ay nakahnda din namang tumanggap ng paglilingkod mula sa kanyang kapwa lider. Minsan ay nagkakaroon tayo ng mataas na pagturing sa ating sarili kung kayat nahahadlangan natin na tayo din ay tumanggap ng paglilingkod mula sa ating kapwa lider. Tandaan natin na sa pagtatapos ng Araw, tayong lahat ay manggagawa sa iisang ubasan. At kapwa tayo naglilingkuran sa isa't -isa sa ilalim ng pamamahala ng nakatataas sa atin.

5. Nagtuturo at isinasabuhay ang itinuturo. v15 Binigyan ko kayo ng halimbawa upang inyong tularan. Nagiging mahusay na tagapanguna ang isang lider na ang kanyang binibigkas ay kanya ring nilalakaran. Sapagkat tunay na ganap ang kanyang halimbawa kung ito ay umaayon sa mga gawi na naikikita ng tao sa kanya. Nagbigay ang Panginoon ng halimbawa sa mga alagad na ngayon ay ipinapasa sa mga henerasyon at patuloy na isinasabuhay ng kanyang tunay na mga anak. 

PAGNINILAY

Paano natin ipinapamuhay ang halimbawang itinuro sa atin ng Panginoon patungkol sa pagiging isang lider na nanglilingkod?

THE WAY OF SUFFERING

Down the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem that day The soldiers tried to clear the narrow street But the crowd pressed in to see The Man condemned to die on Calvary He was bleeding from a beating, there were stripes upon His back And He wore a crown of thorns upon His head And He bore with every step The scorn of those who cried out for His death Down the Via Dolorosa called the way of suffering Like a lamb came the Messiah, Christ the King, But He chose to walk that road out of His love for you and me. Down the Via Dolorosa, all the way to Calvary. We can easily associate our hardships to the suffering of Christ on His way to Calvary. The Via Dolorosa song by Sandi Patti is a recall of what had happened on that day when Jesus carried the cross.On His way, there were crying women of Jerusalem. Weeping in anguish for the misfortune of this man. Jesus said to them "Weep not for me, but weep for yourselves and your children."

Jesus is not a helpless victim, He is a willing Sacrificial lamb who chose to walk that road out of his great love for you and me. His cross is very heavy-laden on his shoulder signifying the weight of the sins of the world loaded on his shoulder. His wounds that are bleeding around his body becomes our healing and freedom.

THE PRICE OF LOYALTY

Loyalty demands a high price that too few are willing to pay. Loyalty is defined as faithfulness or devotion to an obligation, commitment or person. Having or showing complete and constant support for someone or something with an unswerving allegiance.Trust is defined as the belief that someone or something is reliable, good, honest, or effective. Trust is one of the strong foundation of relationship. In its spiritual illustration, that trust is mutually given on both parties under the covenant. We trust God and God trusts us. We believe on the truth that God will do as He promised. God will provide because He is a dependable God. He will heal us from our sickness because He is a healing God. He will save us because He is a saving God. He will understand us because he is an understanding God. It is a humbling truth to realize that we, in the frailty of our nature, being unfaithful, being people who is easy to forget, and is always breaking promises, were trusted by the supreme Creator who owns all those superlative attributes.   Judas, being one of the 12 disciples, was one of the chosen, trusted and committed. He was with Jesus in all those three and a half years of Jesus’ ministry. He has seen so many miracles and heard so many teachings, yet at the amount of 30 silver coin, He betrayed his Master. In his weakness, he let that temptation to crawl and invade his heart to the point that he left and broke that bond between him & Jesus. The joy of a devoted relationship is worth the cost. Too late for Him to realize that what he exchange for a very precious relationship was that 30 silver coin. We also make wrong choices in life and were saddened to realize that we exchange our friendship, leadership, position, integrity to cheap advantage. Let as us ask God for forgiveness and let us do what we can do to reconstruct broken relationships with our friends, love ones and most of all, to our God. #devotion #30silvercoin #findyourvoice #freelancespeaker 

 Loyalty demands a high price that too few are willing to pay. Loyalty is defined as faithfulness or devotion to an obligation, commitment or person. Having or showing complete and constant support for someone or something with an unswerving allegiance.Trust is defined as the belief that someone or something is reliable, good, honest, or effective.

Trust is one of the strong foundation of relationship. In its spiritual illustration, that trust is mutually given on both parties under the covenant. We trust God and God trusts us. We believe on the truth that God will do as He promised. God will provide because He is a dependable God. He will heal us from our sickness because He is a healing God. He will save us because He is a saving God. He will understand us because he is an understanding God. It is a humbling truth to realize that we, in the frailty of our nature, being unfaithful, being people who is easy to forget, and is always breaking promises, were trusted by the supreme Creator who owns all those superlative attributes.  

Judas, being one of the 12 disciples, was one of the chosen, trusted and committed. He was with Jesus in all those three and a half years of Jesus' ministry. He has seen so many miracles and heard so many teachings, yet at the amount of 30 silver coin, He betrayed his Master. In his weakness, he let that temptation to crawl and invade his heart to the point that he left and broke that bond between him & Jesus.

The joy of a devoted relationship is worth the cost. Too late for Him to realize that what he exchange for a very precious relationship was that 30 silver coin.

I need to add this note because tonight is the celebration of Passover. The festival of Passover started at sunset today and will last in 7 days. It is celebrated to commemorate the exodus of the Jewish tribe from their slavery in Egypt.

​Jesus Christ entered Jerusalem during these days as the fulfillment of the prophecy​. He is the promised savior who will liberate us from our bondage. He is the Passover lamb to which all who through his blood which was shed in the cross of Calvary, becomes the indelible mark of salvation.

He came to enter Jerusalem at an appointed time, to let his people see that the past celebration is a rehearsal of the future event which He fulfilled in His day.

Tomorrow, I'll be sharing more about this observance as my wife will be baking Matzoh (unleavened bread) observing the Jewish recipe and some seder food in celebrating Passover.

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. -John 15:5

Jesus has already entered Jerusalem. And they are in the upper room for the last supper. He could be sitting in a table, overlooking the window is the whole horizon planted with grapes. He illustrated himself being the vine and the disciples as the branches.

Knowing that  the hour is coming and that he would be departing soon to his disciples, Jesus affirmed them to remain in his teaching.

The power of Connection

In this verse, God wants us to abide and remain connected. A branch that is cut off will wither and dry. Branches that are detached will die because they get nourishment and life from the tree itself. To apply in our daily life, living apart from Jesus is living for the purpose only of existence. We get our meaning and significance in Christ. If we are attached from the Source Himself, as the Psalms says, we are like trees planted by the waters, our leaves will be green and we will bear fruit in time.

Fruitful life is possible only when you are connected to the Source.

And the last part of the verse entails, when we are apart, we can do nothing. Nothing of worth would really be accomplished when we disconnect ourselves in Jesus. This Holy Monday, let us pause for awhile and review our past accomplishments and journey. Let us ask ourselves these questions.

"Are we connected to the branch?" "Had our lives become more fruitful and productive since we connected to the branch?"

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.  Matthew 16:24