Tuesday, March 30, 2021
Guidelines To Grow A Deeper Relationship With God
On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.” John 7:37
In a Judean wilderness, David cried out, “O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water” (Psalm 63:1). At the time, David was being hunted by Saul, who felt that he was a threat to his kingdom, and at times David became weary in body, wondering if he would ever find peace. No doubt he wondered if he would ever be able to go back home to Bethlehem and sleep without concern for his safety.
Yet David did not say that he longed for the comforts of home and a taste of his mother’s cooking. No, he cries out that his soul is thirsty for the Almighty in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
Question: Do you have times in your life when you grow weary of the battle and your soul cries out to God? You long to know Him in a deeper and more intimate way, stripping away the layers of misunderstanding and perhaps fear which has kept you at a comfortable distance? David said that his body, his innermost being, longed for God–something intense and deeply personal.
Have you ever considered the possibility that it was God who placed that yearning, that deep longing in your heart so that He Himself could fill it? God not only created the thirst but knew that He was the only thing which could satisfy the deep longing within.
How does God satisfy that longing within your heart? Or what should we do to know Him more intimately and personally? Have you discovered when you are really thirsty, sugary products just don’t satisfy? You don’t want coke or syrupy juices which are half sugar. What you want is water—crystal clear, pure, and cool. Nothing satisfies like a refreshing drink of water on a hot day.
Guideline #1: If you want to satisfy the deep longing in your heart for God, get rid of the sugary substitutes—the claptrap of religion, the trappings of ceremony, and the tinsel of pseudo-spiritual experiences. Paul spoke of the washing of water by the Word. He was talking of the purity of the Word which lets you know and experience God as He is.
Guideline #2: To know God intimately, get off media and strive to insulate yourself from the noise that keeps you from hearing His voice. There’s a place in the Rocky Mountains which I will probably never see again, but it will never escape my memory. It’s almost at timberline where oxygen deprivation stunts the growth of trees, and above that altitude, about all you find is granite rocks and a few stunted shrubs. From a rocky outcrop which I dubbed “pulpit rock” there is a majestic view of stunning scenery. I’ll never forget several afternoons when I sat there with an open Bible and thought of God and His working in my life. We need those quiet times, those personal intimate times without telephones, little children’s voices, and the din and noise of traffic.
Guideline #3: To experience God in a real way, tell Him of the deep longing in your heart to know Him and to feel His might and power. In another Psalm David cried, “I reach out for you. I thirst for you as parched land thirsts for rain” (Psalm 143:6, Living Bible). Rather graphic, right? “On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink'” (John 7:37). Only God could say that.
Be sure that the thirst in your soul for God is there because He wants to satisfy that and nothing else will ever do.
Resource reading: Psalm 63.
https://www.guidelines.org/devotional/guidelines-to-grow-a-deeper-relationship-with-god/
Erap's health improving after hospitalization due to COVID-19: Jinggoy
Former President Joseph "Erap" Estrada’s medical condition has improved 2 days since he was confined after contracting COVID-19, his eldest son former Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, said Tuesday.
The former president’s oxygenation level improved to 95-98 percent, from Sunday evening’s 85 percent, the younger Estrada told ABS-CBN News in a virtual interview.
"Right now he's (Estrada) is improving... Nag-Facetime kami kanina, he’s very lucid… Gusto na niyang umuwi at okay na raw siya," Jinggoy said.
Despite some improvement, the former senator said it is still too early to say that his father "is already off the hook" since doctors still need to further observe the Estrada patriarch's condition in the next 3 to 4 days.
"Doctors have been updating me of his medical condition… Napakarami pang mga test na kailangan pang gawin," he said.
(He still has to undergo a lot of tests.)
"Ako’y nananawagan sa ating mga kababayan. Kami po ay isama ninyo sa dasal... Sana po malagpasan po nya ito," he said.
(I'm appealing to the public. Please include us in your prayers. I hope he can get through this.)
The former Manila mayor may have contracted COVID-19 from some of the people who visited their house, he said.
"Hindi naman lumalabas ang dad ko eh. Lagi lang siyang nasa bahay. Ang suspetsa ko, 'yung mga visitor na pumupunta sa bahay," Jinggoy said.
(My dad never goes out. He is just at home. I suspect that it came from one of those who visited him at home.)
"Siguro one of them was positive… Alam mo naman ang dad ko, he’s very fond of entertaining people. Sanay siyang marami siyang kausap," he said.
(Maybe one of them was positive... You know my dad, he's very fond of entertaining people. He's used to talking to a lot of people.)
The Estrada family - Jinggoy, his mom former Sen. Loi Ejercito, his wife Precy, his siblings Jackie and Jude, and their children - are in quarantine since they were all exposed to the former president.
So far, none of the family members are displaying any symptoms of COVID-19, Jinggoy said.
"My mom is doing fine. She had this nasty fall last year before the start of the pandemic and she fractured her left arm kaya lang hanggang ngayon hindi pa sya nakaka-recover sa kanyang fracture," he said.
(My mom is doing fine. She had this nasty fall last year before the start of the pandemic and she fractured her left arm but until now she hasn't recovered from that fracture.)
"But siyempre kailangan din nating ingatan dahil na-expose din sya sa dad ko dahil kasama siya sa kwarto kasama 'yung mga nurse," he said.
(We also have to take care of her because she was also exposed to my dad because she and some nurses were with him in a room.)
Estrada's eldest son urged other relatives to "give respect" to their family when it comes to providing updates about the medical condition of the former president.
He made gave the comment a day after his half-brother, former Sen. JV Ejercito, tweeted about a supposed phone conversation with one sibling that "didn’t turn out well."
The call was supposedly made after Ejercito granted a media interview about their father's health.
Estrada said it was not him who called up Ejercito, but maintains his call for their other relatives to give them that utmost respect.
"Sa amin nag-a-update 'yung mga doctor atsaka constant communication naman kami ng dad ko," he said.
(It is us who receives the updates from doctors and we are in constant communication with our dad.)
"Respeto na lang sana sa amin… Wala naman akong away sa mga kapatid. I get along with all of them. Sana naman pagdating sa ganitong sitwasyon, respeto na lang sana," he said.
(I hope they give us some respect... I don't have any feuds with my siblings. I get along with all of them. But when it comes to these situations, I hope they just respect us.)
Jinggoy, Jackie and Jude are Estrada's children with former first lady Loi Ejercito, while JV is Erap's son with former actress-turned-politician Guia Gomez.
The former president also has 2 children with former actress Peachy Osorio namely Joel Eduardo and Teresita.
His children with another actress, Laarni Enriquez, are Jerika, Juan Emilio and Jacob, while Jason and Joma Ejercito were sons from 2 other women.
Remembering the UAAP Swimming Competition from 2008 to 2013
