Good Soil

Behold, A Sower Went Forth to Sow

And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to Him, He said in a parable,"A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold." As He said these things, He called out, "He who has ears to hear, let Him hear." Luke 8:4-8

Our Thai Airways flight from Phnom Penh landed in Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport at 11 p.m. but our flight to Manila was not until 7 a.m. the following day. David, Tina, and I looked for lounging chairs where we could comfortably spend the night, but we didn't find any. Finally, after hours of trying to get some sleep, David found the Thai Airways lounging area, but by then, it was only two hours before our flight!

We arrived in Manila shortly before noon. I was really happy to find my daughter Obedient One working from home that day. After a late lunch, I was able to get some much needed rest. 

I was also grateful for some down time in our Manila home before returning to Bacolod City. The "in-between" time in the middle of two destinations afforded me much opportunity to catch up on my Bible reading, and spending huge chunks of unhurried time with the Lord.

I was scheduled to return to Bacolod on Sunday evening, so Obedient One and I were still able to go to church that morning. The Sunday message at Victory Katipunan given by Pastor Sky Ramos on the parable of the sower was a much needed reminder for me.

Although I have read this parable many times before, it touched my heart in a fresh, new way that morning.

I drank in as much as I could of what the Spirit was saying. And I was just so refreshed.

This parable is actually a breakthrough parable because Jesus explains its meaning for His disciples word for word. There is just no way that we could miss out on what it means.

The story is about the kingdom of God operating in the hearts of people. 

Just how important is the Word of God to you and me?

Father God is constantly sowing seed, speaking words of life, but the crucial question is, Is anybody listening?

Abba Father is constantly speaking, sowing His word, seeking to build up our faith.

There are really only two kinds of response to God's word: to obey or not to obey.

A response of obedience strengthens our faith, and softens the ground of our hearts.

A response of disobedience weakens our faith, and hardens the ground of our hearts.

Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

God's word is living and active, sharper than a double edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

How awesome is that?

A daily intake of God's word helps me divide between a soulish and a spiritual response, and helps bring to light the thoughts and intentions of our hearts.

Again, how marvelous is that?

Just how important is God's word to us?

The spoken word of God has tremendous value. Joshua, as he was preparing to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land, heard God speak these words to Him:

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. - Joshua 1:8

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth.

It really is not enough to read God's word. It has to be regularly spoken. We are to meditate on it day and night, until its creative, life giving juices become a part of our body, soul, and spirit.

How much of the word do we devour, ingest, digest, meditate on... day after day? How much of God's word gets chewed on, and becomes our daily nourishment?

Do we create space for God to sow the seeds of His word in our hearts?

A parallel passage of this parable, says that other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. (Matthew 13:8)

If God can give us a hundredfold return on one seed sown on good ground, why will I settle for a mere thirtyfold return?

What determines the amount of yield that one single seed produces?

I believe it is the willingness to make God's word an integral part of our daily lives.

I want my heart to be a fertile ground for God's word to grow in. I want my heart to be a hearing heart that joyfully receives the word of God and responds in obedience to it.

After lunch I said goodbye to Obedient One, so grateful for the five days that I was able to spend with her.

And I returned to Bacolod City with my heart full of fresh truth from God's word.

Four days after I arrived in Bacolod, it was time to board another flight for another ministry assignment. David, Tata and I went back to Cagayan de Oro City to conduct an Ancient Paths seminar again.

It really was such a blessed time of ministering God's truth to the 21 people who attended the seminar and received ministry in the small groups after each teaching session.

On Sunday, the day we were to return to Bacolod, all flights were cancelled due to a tropical cyclone. Our flights were rebooked for the following day.

Because of this cancellation, we were able to attend the worship service at the First Assembly of God church, the church to which our hosts belong.

I believe that it was a divine appointment for us to be in church that morning. Towards the end of the service, a young man named Lloyd spoke a word of exhortation to the congregation. as I listened to him speak, there was a deep stirring in my spirit. His passion for God's kingdom was evident in his voice, on his face, and in the words he spoke.

Then he looked straight at me and gave a brief testimony of how he came to know the Lord. It was eleven years ago when I attended my first Ancient Paths seminar, he said. I will never forget the date, it was in September 2005 that I came to know the Lord Jesus Christ through that seminar, and I gave my life over to Him, and I received Him into my heart as my Lord and Savior.

I couldn't hold back the tears. Lloyd was teary eyed as well.

This young man is now the assistant pastor in this church.

His life is the very example of a hearing heart, a heart with fertile soil, on which the word of God was sown eleven years ago... and I have no doubt that over a hundredfold of fruit has already been produced in his life.

I was humbled... and really wanted to remain silent for the remainder of the day.

What an awesome privilege I have been given, to receive encouragement that no work we do for the kingdom is ever in vain.

God is always speaking, God is always sowing, looking for fertile hearts on which the seed of His word will be planted, and bear fruit, a hundredfold.

Yes, it is indeed a privilege that has refreshed my heart anew.

a photo after the worship service with Lloyd

We arrived back in Bacolod City four days ago. Today, in just a few hours, David, Tata and I will once again board our flight to another country.

Once again, we have said "yes" to a kingdom assignment.

What an honor, what a privilege to be ambassadors of peace, life, and healing, for the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords.

I realize that this is what is required of me in this season. I no longer consider it a ministry, I think of it as my life.

Speak Lord, for Your daughter is listening.

Times and Seasons

Keep your heart with all vigilance,

for from it flow the springs of life.

-Proverbs 4:23

... of Issachar,

men who had understanding of the times,

to know what Israel ought to do...

- 1 Chronicles 12:32

Today my third grandson Joyful One turns two years old.

I arrived in Manila from Cambodia five days ago, and I won't be back in Bacolod in time to celebrate his birthday with our family. But on my heart is a blessing for this little one as he enters another year.

I bless my grandson with the strategic Issachar anointing.

The sons of Issachar were among the men who came to David while he was still a fugitive from Saul. David had been anointed as the next king, and Saul's days in the kingdom were numbered. David was in a season of preparation, learning humble submission to a king whose anointing had run dry, a king who insisted on staying in power when he knew he was running on empty and had lost his spiritual and moral ascendancy to rule.

The men who came to show support and allegiance to David were not being traitors, they were heeding a higher calling of showing loyalty to a man who was clearly anointed to be the next ruler. These men were described in 1 Chronicles 12 as mighty men, helpers in the war, men of valor. 

These men were equipped for war. and they came to David at Hebron to turn over the kingdom of Saul to him, according to the word of the LORD.

As we read in these passages (1 Chronicles 12), these men of war were arrayed in battle order, and had come to Hebron with a whole heart to make David king over Israel. They were of a single mind to make David king.

What impresses me about the twelve tribes of Israel (named after the twelve sons of Jacob) is that each one of them had a "warring gift." Each tribe was needed in the battle for the special gift or anointing for war that they were gifted in.

The sons of Issachar operated in the strategy anointing. They understood the times and they knew what Israel ought to do.

When Jacob blessed his son Issachar, this was what he said:

Issachar is a strong donkey,

crouching between the sheepfolds.

He saw that a resting place was good,

and that the land was pleasant,

so he bowed his shoulder to bear,

and became a servant at forced labor.
- Genesis 49: 14-15

This blessing ascribes not only strength to this tribe. It ascribes discernment, as well as a willingness to bear burdens, and to work hard, even to offer one's services for hire.

The word Issachar literally means "recompense, or hire."

The tribe of Issachar received as their inheritance the rich farmlands of the Valley of Jezreel in Galilee.

My blessing for my grandson:

I bless you today dearest one, with the anointing of Issachar. It is an anointing for discernment, for understanding the times and the seasons of the Lord, and with than discernment, a wisdom for knowing what to do.

I bless you with physical strength, a quality that is needed for the days ahead of us. 

I bless you with a keen sense for business, knowing that a land is good, and pleasant, and the willingness to work hard to acquire it.

I bless you with the obedience to bear spiritual burdens that the LORD may someday place upon your shoulders, and the obedience to lift these burdens up to God, asking Him for wisdom and discernment to do what He requires.

These are heavy things for a young boy to carry for now, but I bless you with a heart that is being prepared to walk and operate in this anointing.

You will be a blessing to our family, for to each member has been assigned a specific gift needed to wage war against the enemy. And I declare that you will put that gift to good use when the time comes.

I declare that your heart is being prepared even now for an important and crucial kingdom assignment.

May your heart be ready to obey, humble and submissive to the assignment that God has for you.

With much love always

Nana

Willing and Obedient

Lotus flower

photo taken at the Royal University of Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

September 30, 2016





"...If you are willing and obedient,
You shall eat the good of the land;
But if you refuse and rebel,
You shall be devoured by the sword";
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
- Isaiah 1:19, 20




But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,
and all these things shall be added to you.
- Matthew 6:33

What an amazing, remarkable month September has been!

By 11 o'clock a.m. of Saturday, the 17th of September, David, Tina, and I had checked in for our 1 p.m. Thai Airways flight to Bangkok, but all three of us had actually awakened before dawn just to make sure we got to the airport on time.

Upon reaching Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, we literally walked several kilometers to reach our boarding gate for the flight to Phnom Penh. I have never been as thankful for travelators (moving floors) as I was that day!

We waited another hour or so at our boarding before we could finally board our plane.

After nearly a day of travel, we finally arrived in Phnom Penh at 7 o'clock in the evening. Our hosts were outside the baggage claim to meet us. We each had a bowl of hot pho at a nearby Vietnamese restaurant, but by then, travel-weary as we were, all we really wanted was a good night's rest! We were so grateful when we reached their cozy home and finally settled in our bedrooms.

I woke up early the next morning refreshed and ready for the kingdom assignment.

The "assignment" came in the form of an invitation from Pastor "Famous Soldier" whose ministry is based on Phnom Penh, to conduct a two-week School of Ministry-Facilitator Training for fifteen of them who wanted to be trained to minister in the context of an Ancient Paths seminar.

A year ago, Pastor Famous Soldier and his wife God is Gracious were in Bacolod City for vacation. On their last weekend in the city, they were invited to attend an Ancient Paths seminar. This was not part of their original plan, but they decided to say yes to the invitation. Unknown to them, this seminar was part of God's plan to put them on the pathway of blessing that God had prepared for them long before they were born.

The healing from emotional wounds that they received at the seminar changed the course of their lives. A desire to bring this seminar to their church in Phnom Penh burned in their hearts.

In January this year, they requested our office for a team to conduct An Ancient Paths seminar in their church, a request that became a reality in May of this year.

Their request was actually an invitation for all of us to partner with God's kingdom purpose for our lives. All of us just needed to understand that it is God who plants the desire in our hearts to join Him in what He is doing.

In May, four of us from Family Foundations International-Philasia (FFI-Philippines), namely Raffi, David, Tata, and I, traveled to Phnom Penh to do a preliminary School of Ministry with Famous Soldier and his wife, and an Ancient Paths seminar for 18 members of their church.

In July, two months after we got back from Cambodia, we received another request to conduct a ministry training for fifteen of them who were willing to be a part of this kingdom work in this part of the world.

It was again another invitation to join God in what He was doing.

In September, three of us from the Philippines, David, Tina, and myself, traveled to Cambodia to do an FFI School of Ministry for their church.

There is a main plot, and several sub-plots, in this chapter of my life story. There are many other things that are not yet revealed to me at this point.

All I can say is that the invitation to join the Father in what He is doing is the main plot.

When I turned my life over to the Lordship of Jesus Christ 43 years ago, when I was just a twenty year old third year university student, I really had no idea what my life would be like forty years later.

The promise is eternal life. But the details of how that works out in my daily life here on earth are not all given.

God's plan is revealed one step at a time; there is actually just enough light for the next step.

It is up to me to say yes.

The year 2016 started off with me going on an emotional roller coaster ride.

Trusting, yet not fully trusting.

Believing, yet not fully believing.

One foot in the water, the other still firmly planted on the shore.

I was in a crisis of belief. 

Henry Blackaby teaches about this in his Bible study workbook Experiencing God, one book that literally turned my life around.

Mr. Blackaby writes:

When God invites you to join Him in His word, He has a God-sized assignment for you. You will quickly realize you cannot do what He is asking on your own. If God doesn't help you, you will fail. This is the crisis of belief when you  must decide whether to believe God for what He wants to do through you... At this point many people decide not to follow what they sense God is leading them to do. Then they wonder why they do not experience God's presence and activity the way other Christians do... The way you respond at this turning point will determine whether you become involved with God in something God-sized that only He can do for you or whether you will continue to go your own way and miss what He has purposed for your life. (from Terry Covey's blog, Seeds of Faith)

Each of us will go through a crisis of belief several times in our lifetime.

For me, I realize that each new crisis of belief requires another adjustment in the way I respond. There are well-laid out plans that miscarry, close friends and beloved family members that disappoint us, financial reversals, health issues, and of course, death.

Each crisis I face asks me the question, will I trust God, or will I trust myself?

It is easy to trust God intellectually. And of course, that never works.

In this season, God was asking me if I was willing to do the assignments that He was giving me, despite the uncertain circumstances I was in.

Each crisis of belief is a new lesson in trusting Him when it is difficult to do so.

Hoping for what I cannot see, as yet.

Trusting, when there is no light at the end of the tunnel.

Now hope that is seen is not hope,

For who hopes for what he sees?

But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

-Romans 8:24-25

This is the chapter of the life story I find myself in.

The chapter called, Willing and Obedient.

I am willing to do what God has called me to do, forgetting in a way, my own personal fears and struggles, and choosing instead to cast all my burdens at His feet, and joining Him in His work.

I have one favorite line: It's not about me.

My life is not about me, when all is said and done. Rather, it is all about what the Father is doing in me, and through me.

And so, as I was in Cambodia the past two weeks, together with my friends David and Tina, I heard the Lord say these words over and over again in my heart:

"...If you are willing and obedient,

You shall eat the good of the land;

But if you refuse and rebel,

You shall be devoured by the sword";

For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

- Isaiah 1:19, 20

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,

and all these things shall be added to you.

- Matthew 6:33

And I must say, peace floods my whole being.

Here are a few photos of my recent journey:

Obedience Brings Revelation

image source

For assuredly, I say to you,

whoever says to this mountain,

"Be removed and be cast into the sea,"

and does not doubt in his heart,

but believes that those things he says will be done,

he will have whatever he says.

Therefore I say to you,

whatever things you ask when you pray,

believe that you receive them,

and you will have them.

- Mark 11:23, 24




I delight to do Your will, O my God; 
Your law is within my heart.

- Psalm 40:8

After just ten days in my home city of Bacolod, I am back in Manila. 

I arrived here Wednesday morning to be with my daughter a few days before leaving tomorrow for Cambodia to be part of a Family Foundations International ministry trip in the city of Phnom Penh.

Obedient One is my only daughter. It's been ten years since she left home to begin working in Manila; therefore, I look forward to every opportunity to be with her.

Because we sleep in the same bedroom, as I listen to my audio Bible each morning, and play a worship song or two, she gets the bonus part of being able to join me in my morning devotions. 

This morning while we were listening to Ruth Fazal's violin music, I narrated to her the story of how Ruth received a violin bow from Jesus during the early days of the Toronto renewal meetings. A few years later, Ruth was given a second violin bow with specific instructions from Jesus that this bow was to be used for healing, righteousness, and forgiveness. (Watch video here.)

It was still early, so there was time to also tell her the story of how Dr. Gary Wood was killed as a young man in a car accident, and went straight up to heaven. While in heaven, he saw a room full of brand new body parts, which he understood right then and there, were to be sent to earth in answer to prayers for healing. Later, Dr. Wood was sent back to life and astounded all his doctors for the miraculous healing he received. He says he is a man on a mission, with an assignment to tell others that heaven is real, and that heaven holds the tangible answers to our earthly prayers. (Watch video here.)

Before long it was time for my daughter to get ready for work, and I went down to prepare our breakfast. 

At the breakfast table, Obedient One asked me a direct question:

Mama, if there is a room full of brand new body parts in heaven, and there are tangible answers to prayers for healing... then obviously God doesn't heal everyone. We have prayed for years for God to give you a brand new set of teeth, and you haven't received that yet. And obviously, Papa didn't get a brand new heart, because he died.

I knew what she was driving at.

Ever since she was a little girl, she has heard me say often that if we pray with faith in our hearts, believing that we have already "technically" received what we have asked for, the prayer shall be surely granted.

Thus her question.

I waited a few moments before responding. Quietly, I told my daughter that there are things beyond our human comprehension, and there are reasons why God doesn't always answer our prayers the way we want Him to. But because I trust Him so much, I am willing to wait for how things will work in my life, in accordance with what God knows is best.

We didn't have much time left to talk. After a few minutes, she had to leave to catch her train and go to work.

All I could do was ask God to speak to her heart, give her an answer that would satisfy her search for truth.

For the rest of the day I have pondered upon the truth of what trusting and obeying God means.

Having given my heart to Jesus during my early university years, more than 40 years ago, I have long understood that God operates under a different economy and time frame. There are times when He will grant answers to prayers, yet there are times when He won't.

Nevertheless, He is never unfair, He is good. 

Above all, He is always full of wisdom.

I am a firm believer in the spiritual and the supernatural. 

When God created man, His intention was for him to live out of his spirit; death was never in the picture. 

God's plan was for us to live out of a spiritual connection with our Maker, in a continuous flow of life from God to us.

Life was meant to be one of trust and submission.

But we are familiar with the rest of the story.

Thankfully, despite the inevitable eternal consequences of man's fall from grace, a Redeemer was sent, and we have been rescued.

If we have turned over the reins of our life to Jesus our Redeemer, following Him as Lord, we have been reconnected to the lifeline of God's sustaining grace. 

The relationship of trust is back in place. 

We have been redeemed and restored to a right standing with our Creator, and we have been given divine empowerment to naturally make the supernatural response of submission to His will and purpose.

We now have to power to choose life over death.

And yes, in our choices, we can trust God with the outcome of our obedience.

Obedience is the key and is shown in many ways.

It is seen in the way we respond to the difficulties and uncertainties we face in life. 

Will we make a first birth response, or a second birth response?

A first birth response, a response of the flesh, is to be in fear, in doubt, to be annoyed, or worse, to be embittered.

That which is born of the flesh is flesh, but that which is born of the Spirit is spirit, Jesus tells Nicodemus in John 3:6.

A second birth response is to be led by the Spirit, in obedience trusting that God knows best. 

This matter of obedience is the foundation stone of our relationship with God.

Adam and Eve were provided everything they needed, but they were tested in the area of obedience.

Abba Father guarantees blessing and revelation... but only as a natural result of obeying Him.

Deuteronomy 28 highlights the blessings God promises to give Israel if they choose to obey.

If... because obedience is a choice, a choice that brings with it good consequences.

Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God. (Read the rest of the passage here.)



Blessing after blessing is promised as a result of obedience. 

If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land. 
- Isaiah 1:19


For the past 15 years, I have been involved in a global ministry that aims to re-establish a culture of blessing in the lives of families.

I have come to understand in my own experience what blessing means. 

The word blessing comes from the Hebrew word baruch which is translated "empowered to prosper."

The blessings for obedience enumerated in Deuteronomy 28 guarantee exactly that - the Israelites' obedience will position them for prosperity to flow in their lives.

On the other hand, disobedience, a refusal to obey, results in being cursed, the opposite of being blessed. 

The word cursed is associated with witches' spells and everything bad that a person can wish upon his worst enemy.

But in reality, to be cursed, simply put, means that we have no divine protection. We are on our own. God is not in the picture. We are left to fend for ourselves, and to deal with the consequences of our own choices in our own strength and power.

That, to me... is really a scary place to be.

Anybody in his right mind would be smart enough to choose obedience. 

Obedience guarantees that heaven is on our side, God is helping us to succeed, to prosper, to be favored.

The past months have not been easy for me. Much of this roller coaster emotional journey has been the topic of my blog posts since the start of the year. I must admit I have made some wrong emotional responses, living out of my flesh rather than flowing out of my spiritual connection with God.

And I have had to repent many times.

But I am thankful for the lessons God has been patiently teaching me about obeying Him in my responses, and trusting Him for the outcome.




The past few months, there have been doors of ministry opportunities that have opened up before me. It would have been easier for me to remain safely huddled within my cocoon of fear, waiting for the storm to pass.

However, in all the years I have known Jesus, I have seen that the safest place on Planet Earth is right in the center of His will.

Once again, obedience is the key.

And so I have chosen to respond in obedience... saying Yes, Lord... I will go where You send me.

I will tend to the affairs of Your kingdom. I will be Your ambassador... Your messenger... to bring hope, to speak truth, to be an agent of healing.


These things are said in humility, in submission, and in trust.

My daughter's question this morning was a good reminder. There are many prayers of ours that are still waiting for answers.  Abba Father is in the process of making my faith stronger, giving me the desire to trust, and to obey.

Years ago God taught me that obedience is not a religion of works. Obedience is a position of trust.

Early this month, I was in Cagayan de Oro, a city in the southern part of our islands. Together with our team, we went in response to God's invitation to minister God's healing in that place.

It no longer comes as a surprise to me that the time we spent there was awesome. We got connected to some of the most beautiful, generous group of people I have ever met.

Yet another vital link in the kingdom connection has been forged.


Tomorrow, my friends David, Tina, and I will be leaving for an overseas ministry trip - another opportunity to be ambassadors of God's grace, healing, and blessing, in Phnom Penh.

All God is asking for is a willing and obedient heart, and He opens doors to more kingdom opportunities.

My devotional passage early this morning was in Haggai 1:7, 8. Thus says the LORD of Hosts: "Consider your ways! Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified."

What a clear confirmation of the journey of obedience that I am on this year. There is an ongoing call on my life to build His temple - whether it be on a global scale, at the national level, a small community of believers, my family circle, or my own personal temple - God makes His desire clear.


A few more passages were impressed on my heart about obeying God: 

Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. - Matthew 6:33

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. - Galatians 6:7-9


I am looking forward to what God has already prepared to pour out in response to obedience.

There will be open doors and new kingdom connections.

Shackles of doubt, fear, and oppression will be broken.

Provision for the journey.

Encouragement and strength.

Hope.

Specific guidance, fresh revelation, light for the next step, and answers to prayers.


God's word to Jeremiah:

Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.

See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms,

To root out and to pull down,

To destroy and to thrown down,

To build and to plant.

- Jeremiah 1:10

What a privilege!

I am humbled, and I say, Here I am Lord, send me.