rachel

I was having my dinner at  Kabayan restaurant at Orchard Road.

I was having pinakbit and kilawin, a sudden craving for Filipino dishes.

And here was this elderly lady aged 62 having pancit bihon. 

She worked at kabayan and we were able to comfortably converse in Hookien (thank you)  She has 6 siblings, two of them, her two older brothers have already passed away.  She said she didn’t want to marry as she didn’t want to think about what will happen to her kids when she goes.  Anyhow, she has her siblings to take care of her.

I shared about my life.  That my grandparents are from Mainland China.  And that my father was born in the Philippines.  And so was I.  And that the funny thing was that my father can’t speak Chinese.  "Chinese is Mandarin.  Hookien is a dialect."  And so she corrected me.

And we talked about Jesus.  She said: "I prefer Buddha.  Buddha is good."   “Have you heard about Jesus?”: I asked.  She said: “yes!  I know Jesus died last Friday and after three days he rose again.  Today, He rose again.  But why aren’t Christians celebrating?”

She further said:  “I bought my food earlier today.  And in front of the store is a church.  It’s a Christian Church.  There was no celebration.  Why aren’t you celebrating?” 

I was speechless.  I just said:  "Jesus loves you.  Ye Shu ay nee."  And so our conversation ended.  "Bye!" she said.

Oh Father, the world looks at us.  May they see Jesus alive in our lives!  Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!  And we celebrate the risen Christ!

Wearing the Armor of God like a lady

Everyday, we go through our activities…

But, let me tell you what, when we wear our clothes, let us at the same time wear the full armor of God.  It works!  There’s power in it!

Take for example, we take a bath, after that we put on our lotion all over our body, then we put on our undergarments, then after that we put on our slacks for the day.  Let us wear the belt of truth.  The truth that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.  And no one comes to the Father but by Jesus.

Next, we wear our blouse by putting on the breastplate of righteousness.  We put on faith and love as our breastplate.

And then as we fit your feet with our favorite sandals for the day, we fit our feet with the readiness to spread the gospel of peace.  We take every opportunity to advance God’s kingdom, to share His wonderful, wonderful goodness.

As we wear our watch for the day, we wear the shield of faith to put away the flaming arrows of the evil one.

As we comb our hair, we wear the hope of salvation as our helmet.

And lastly, as we wear our bag for the day, we wear the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.  Of course, this will match our blouse and our sandals. 

And above all else, we pray, pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, we’re always alert and we always keep on praying for all the saints. 

Let’s wear the full armor of God like a lady today.

Parts of the full  armor of God are in italics

Eph 6:10-19  10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

 19Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

1 Thessalonians 5:8  But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.