Day in the Life: Toledo City

It's almost 8am today in Toledo City. This is the 2nd day of our Cebu-Dumagete visit for Chi Alpha. I thank God for His protection and strength.

Yesterday, we arrived in Mactan airport around 6:30AM. Ptr. Paul and his wife Ate Lovely were so gracious to pick us up and have breakfast together. After dropping Ate Love to her office (it's still a workday for the working people despite the EDSA holiday), we picked up Ptr. Rodel and went to Toledo City, our first stop of the trip.

Breakfast fellowship with Ptr. Paul and Ate Love Mongas.

Finding Forever

(Finding Forever was the theme of this year's hearts event at Chi Alpha UBelt. Below is a summary of my talk I gave on that event.)

It seems that many people are looking for forever these days. Well perhaps because of the fad TV primetime soap these days that spawned into various “forever”-themed Valentines events this year. What is forever anyway? Google says forever can mean “for all future time; for always,” “continually,” or “lasting or permanent.” We use forever in a relational context to mean a long, happy, and blissful loving relationship between two people.

Who Do You Say I Am?

Last Life Gathering at XA U-Belt I shared about the passage in Matthew 16:13-19 where Jesus asks his disciples who they think he really is. Jesus’ true identity has been a subject of debate for centuries, and it hasn’t change until today. Who really Jesus? But the more important question that Jesus poses to the disciples, as well as to each of us is this: “Who do you say I am?” Let’s dive into the story.

THE WORLD’S OPINION

Jesus takes his disciples in the region of Caesarea Philippi (v. 13), recently renamed after the Roman Caesar. It was once called Panaea after the Greek god Pan who was worshiped there by the people. And it is in this place that Jesus chooses to disclose His true identity.

He asks his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”  I don’t think Jesus was fishing for the latest buzz about him. He’s up to something. And they replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets” (v. 14). 

The world has varying opinions about who Jesus is. It’s like asking 10 people one question and getting 10 different answers from them. Some people believe that Jesus was just a man; that he was a good man, a good teacher, or even a powerful prophet. Others believe that Jesus is a god; that he is just one of the many gods or that there’s a more powerful god other than him. Still others reject the idea that God exists at all.