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OUT OF THE BOX: The Surprising and Unpredictable Ways in Which God Moves
Speaker: Bill Shaw
Oct. 7, 2008

Hello Folks,

I notice that one of the most common topics of the messages in Station One for the past few months is about the poor and the downtrodden of our society, and what the church is to do about it. I like how Bill Shaw began his message with pointing out that following Christ and helping out the poor does not mean reaching a philosophical place in our heads and not doing anything about it anymore. Following Christ begins by doing! Getting off our comfort zones and going out there, getting elbow deep in the muck of the masses.

Bill Shaw and his wife, Deb, saw the poor in the Philippines and couldn’t stand not to do anything about it. They didn’t set up a shelter or a feeding program or a foundation though, instead, they made a magazine. A very well-made magazine, if I say so myself, in the tradition of the street papers from all over the world and called it “Jeepney Magazine.”

A street paper is actually a magazine that communicates the voice of the poor, tells their stories, and is sold by street people. (Street people– the ones who live on the streets, homeless, or make their living from begging.) The people who sell the magazine get 50% and 50% goes to the publication of the magazine. This way, they are given jobs where they can actually earn a lot more than they would by selling cigarettes, newspapers.

While the Jeepney is a great idea to help the poor by giving them a job, and telling their stories at the same time, the idea still has to catch on. The Jeepney is on its third issue, but Bill and Deb are having difficulty distributing it. For one thing, street vendors are actually illegal in Metro Manila. The magazine is only P100, and it’s still kinda expensive for most people. They need a way to make the magazine sustainable. (Speaking as someone from the magazine industry, it is difficult to get people to buy magazines– hard to believe, considering there are LOTS of magazines out there, huh?)

Jeepney Magazine is a good quality magazine. Seriously. There are samples of it on the front table at Station One and browse through it. The pictures are exceptional, the layout is clean and the articles are interesting. The paper is nice! They are stories of people the society tries not to think about because they don’t have money to buy their goods! Hence, there is no advertising in Jeepney, except for a sponsorship ad at the back. It’s not just something put together haphazardly just to make a buck, a lot of thought and heart are put into every issue. We need a magazine like this out there amidst the fashion, beauty, sex, society magazines that people are buying (and i work for those kinds of magazines… *sigh*).

So what can we do to help? That’s the question.

1. Contacts— corporations that we can introduce the Jeepney Magazine to for sponsorship– not for ad placements, but as a corporate social responsibility thingy (heh).
— contacts or connections with the MMDA and the local city government that we can lobby to to make Jeepney Magazine vendors legit
2. Placements — of magazines and vendors (which is closely connected to the above item)
3. Sustainability — sponsorships, Bill and Deb are publishing this magazine out their own pockets! They need a way to have this magazine paying for itself, at least. This is not   even for profit, per se… it takes a lot of money to print a magazine.
4. Buy Jeepney Magazine! — when one of their vendors approach you, it’s better to buy a magazine from them than just giving them money. It’s their job to sell the magazine, let them do it.

And if there’s anything else you can think of, just do it!

I got a story to leave with you guys, I hope you don’t mind. It’s about my friend and her boyfriend,  one afternoon, they were standing on a hill overlooking a residential development surrounded by the shanties of squatters area somewhere in Quezon City. My friend, a professor in UP Diliman, looked at the sight before them and shook her head. She said, “How can anybody live like that?” Her boyfriend, a son of a well-off businessman and a UP graduate student, nodded his head, and replied, “Yeah. Can you imagine living in rooms that small?” He was looking at the residential development with its tiny units, while my friend was looking at the squatters’ area.

Who are the poor that we’re looking at? I’m sorry to point out the obvious, but UCM is a rich church, with rich church members. Not all of them, of course, but most. I’m not from UCM, but I go to Station One, and seriously, UCM has nice stuff. The sanctuary is gorgeous, Basement 2 sactuary is more than a lot of churches hope for. Station One even has people in uniforms to set up the chairs and light the candles every Tuesday night! Sometimes we’re surrounded by all these nice things that the poor that we look at are just the ones who have less than we have, and not the ones who actually have nothing.

We need to cast our sights farther, beyond our “comfort zones” and see the ones who sleep on the benches in our parks, in the doorways office buildings, on the sidewalks, and DO SOMETHING to help.

“With the poor around us, I don’t know how the church can stand it,” Bill said.

Time to get out of the box people.

Sincerely,
Stef

p.s. See you at Station One tonight! It’s every Tuesday, 7:30pm, Basement 2, Union Church Manila, cor. Legazpi and Rada St., Legazpi Village, Makati City

Hi Guys,

Wow… I think I missed a whole month’s worth of weekly summaries of what was said in Station One… I’m really sorry about that. I’m not going to make excuses anymore.

But September was pretty interesting, it being Open Mic: Young Adults Speaking to Young Adults. It was such a blessing to hear from people our age, who are going through nearly the same stuff that we’re going through right now. We got to hear what it is that needed to be said to our generation. So here are the summaries of each message last September. The same summaries will come out in the October issue of Plug In– the Station One monthly newsletter, available at Station One, every Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. at Basement 2, Union Church Manila, cor. Rada and Legazpi St., Leagazpi Village, Makati City.
WHAT WE LEARNED IN SEPTEMBER

Sept. 2
Dior de Leon
Matt. 7:15-23

Being a Christian isn’t just in the name. It’s about holiness and a changed life. If a head-on encounter with a truck leave you indelibly marked—if you’re still alive, that is—how much more would an encounter with the God of the universe change you? We must not live by the standards for holiness set by man, but by the standards of God! By our fruit, we are recognized for who we are. If you’re a Christian, Jesus is in you, and your life would surely show it.

Sept. 9
Atty. Law Aritao
Eph. 1 onwards
Seek Justice

God has equipped His people well. He has given us the grace, the strength to change the world. These blessings are not for show, but it’s to bring about justice in this world. What’s keeping us from reaching out and helping the people who are in need around us? Time to leave behind falsehood! Throw away the useless things that we hold so our hands will be free to do God’s work. We can live safe or live courageously, choose the way of the Gospel, or go down the other wider path that leads to destruction.

Sept. 16
Jason Quick
Gen. 37-46

What do you want to be when you grow up? You are the same person as the day before! The truth is, you will become who you are now. If you look at the life of Joseph, he was the same person throughout his story—even as his circumstances changed, his character still remained the same. You can’t grow up over night. This is the key to your future: chose to be the person you want to grow into NOW. Who are you going to be today that will change your life tomorrow?

Sept. 23
Ro Peñaranda
Acts 14

What does it mean to fight for your joy in Christ? Fighting for joy is found in sharing the Gospel to others. The pursuit of joy implies the hatred of sin because sin destroys joy. Fighting for joy in Christ is loving God for all He is. That means the overflow of God’s spirit in our lives should overflow in everything we do, especially telling people about the truth about our loving God, whether they would want to hear the truth or not. Where’s your joy? It’s not found in people’s approval—it’s already in Christ! You just have to fight for it.

Sept. 30

Kristoph Sun
Isaiah 55:3Isaiah 55:3
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
3 Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.  

Where is your heart today? Are we just striving for godliness, piety, and looking good for the sake of the people who are watching us, our are we really hungry for God’s Word? If you’re wondering about what you can do for God, smell out what God’s doing at the place where you are now, and do that. Our Father is always at work, and we must be working with him. Have hope in what God’s about to do and what He’s already doing. This always makes for a great story.
See you guys at Station One!

Stef

Station One
Sept. 2, 2008
Speaker: Dior de Leon

You will know the tree by its fruit. Calling an orange tree and apple will not make it bear apples. This very simple and very obvious statement likewise applies to Christians.

Being a Christian isn’t just about the name– it’s about holiness and changed lives! One of the biggest heresies in church is praying a prayer of acceptance without repentance! There has to be repentance, a complete turn-around away from your old life and on to the new life in Christ.

“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ (Matt. 7:15-23)

A genuine Christian has been given a new nature. He cannot continue to live in sin. This doesn’t mean that you would automatically stop sinning, but you will walk in the path of righteousness. Whenever you stray, God will discipline you and put you back on track.

Because if you’re a Christian, your life has to show it! If a man meets a truck head-on, he would be left unarguably marked (and possibly irreparably/fatally damaged), how much more if you meet God! If you say that you’re a Christian, but your life doesn’t show, then there’s a definite chance that you’re not a Christian at all.

Looking to others and pointing, “But what about him? I’m just as good a Christian as he is!” doesn’t really mean anything. We are not being judged by the standards of man, but against God’s.

Are you living a life based on the Word of God?

So examine yourself—there’s nothing wrong with that. You have nothing to lose, but everything to gain! Because being a Christian is having a burning desire to walk as Jesus walked!

Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test? (2 Cor. 13:5)

So, do you have Christ in your heart, just as you had prayed that he would be, or not? Read the Word of God and find the answer there. While it’s not too late. Because you can say that Jesus knows you, but what’s more important is that He knows you!

We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. (1 John 3:3-61 John 3:3-6
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. ⁴ Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. ⁵ And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. ⁶ Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.  

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See you guys at Station One (Every Tuesdays, 7:30 p.m.) in Basement 2 of Union Church of Manila, cor. Rada and Legazpi st., Legaspi Village, Makati City.

Cheers,

Stef

FAITH TREK: THE LIFE OF ABRAHAM
August 26, 2008st 26, 2008
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
Izbrano poglavje ne obstaja!

Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,

In the conclusion on the series of Abraham, what struck me the most about this message is about owning one’s faith. We say that we have faith in God, but how far does it go? When God tells us to do something that seems– not impossible– but unreasonable, how fast are we in getting up to obey? And to what end do we follow Him?

The story of Abraham sacrificing Isaac is a classic. God promises Abraham descendants as many as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore through his son, Isaac. Then one day, God tells Abraham to go sacrifice his son– his one and only son, the one whom he loves– to Him! Didn’t make sense, but still, Abraham obeyed the very next day. The story ends well, it was just a test! God provided a ram in the place of Isaac. Abraham proved that he witheld nothing from God.

See, God doesn’t want any competition in our lives. Just as He weaned Abraham from his love for Isaac, He would wean us from anything that could take His place in our lives. It was a hard test for sure, but God tests us not because He wants us to fail, but because He knows that we will succeed. Abraham had a lot of years of walking with God before he went through this test. His faith matured as he walked closely with God, just as ours would if we do the same.

So why does God put us through these tests? Well, for one thing, we have to learn to give up control! It’s easier for us to give up control if we understand why God gives us trials. These tests are not for His benefit, but for ours, and for the cloud of witnesses that surrounds us. Tests not only help us know ourselves better, but they also help us assess our relationship with God.

Abraham passed God’s test because God was the only object of His faith and His love. Abraham knew that God would not fail him. Belief has to be a settled conviction. Without trials, belief would be just a creed. With trials, we put our faith into a test, we learn to give up control.

Faith is not an intellectual assent! We have to own our faith and imbibe it into the very core of our being.So thank God when He puts you into a test, because that gives you a chance to put your faith into good use in the real world.

Join the conversation on this topic here.

See you guys later at Station One, it’s every Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. In the bowels of Union Church of Manila (basement 2), cor. Rada and Legaspi St., Legaspi Village, Makati.

With faith, hope and love,

Stef