Rule of My Life

My Philosophy of Life
It’s a common axiom “to live your life to the fullest”; nevertheless a significant imprint is fashioned into my head. I was beginning to ponder of what it is to live to the fullest. The quest to uncover the answer includes a comprehensive research from the reliable source- God. He, as the Creator, is the only One who can provide a concrete response to this ultimate life’s question.

God designed everything out of nothing to become something. He has conceived about my existence. I am created by Him and for Him. I can only live my life to the fullest if I serve the ultimate purpose of my life- to glorify God. Rick Warren says “living for God’s glory is the greatest achievement we can accomplish with our lives”. That may also mean my greatest reward is to see God being pleased with my life.

Intending to give him honor and to share with his cause, allows me to organize every facet of my life according to his perspective. It includes struggling to comprehend his divine will though, it remains my quest! I will be part of God’s pursuit in reaching out the fallen humanity for his own glory.

My Values and Priorities
Using a magnifying glass while looking at the same object, I could use a different kind of lens to find a different observation. When I have come to appreciate about God’s reason for creating me, it has redefined everything. It took a paradigm shift before I have accepted this revolutionary perspective. So the things that I value most serve the ultimate purpose of my life.

Lifestyle Worship
Since God’s ultimate desire of me is to glorify him, worship becomes the way of my life. Worship brings pleasure to God. It is my response to his character. I worship God for who he is not for what he has done. I know God smiles when he sees me doing things that please him. Like any parent who enjoys the moment while gazing upon his or her baby, so does God. He loves staring at me every second of each day in every way. Aware of this, I cultivate a lifestyle of worship. I want to glorify God in everything that I do; in the way that I think or talk; in all areas or circumstances of life; wherever I am.

Value Relationship
Relationship is eternal. Love is what describes the character of God. It serves as the driving force that keeps any relationship last forever. God is never tired of restoring the broken relationship between Him and human beings. He showed his unconditional love for people by sending his begotten son to the world. Jesus regarded “loving God and loving people” as the greatest commandments; and it is all that matters. The Church is built upon relationship with Christ and between his people. It is a community of love; the family of God. I can only relate to God as I develop intimacy with him. And my relationship with people is only as good as my relationship with God. Therefore the deeper I know God the farther I can go beyond myself.

Character Transformation and Spiritual Disciplines
Every life form is designed to grow and multiply. In spiritual life, character transformation marks our spiritual maturity as Christ followers. The height of our growth is opposite to the depth of our attitude. In other words, as we grow into a person of Christ-like character, we learn to become humble like Christ. I have valued every condition as a means of developing my character. I look up to Jesus whenever I struggle in this spiritual quest. In addition, Spiritual disciplines are essentials to my pilgrimage. I believe integrity reflects the authentic relationship with Christ. For this reason, I discipline my body to live a holy life and to be worthy of my calling.

Faith and Personality
God has fashioned us to be individually unique yet wonderfully complex. He gave us different set of traits so that we can express our own personality. It is all for his good pleasure. As we try to relate to an invisible God, our faith is essential. But because we have different makeup we express our faith differently. I think of creative ways to express my faith with God because I believe faith expressed in creative way boosts excellent personality. God deserves our best and I want to be excellent believer of Christ.

Stewardship and Redemption
Stewardship is our prime mandate from God. He entrusted humans to rule over the rests of his creation. However, we have failed to manage it in godly ways when sin entered the world. Then redemption becomes God’s grandest plan for the fallen humanity. God equipped every believer with spiritual gifts and talents, and blessed with all forms of heavenly blessings to redeem the people and the world. Therefore I am a steward and I have a mission.

Eternal Significance
Ministry or mission creates an everlasting impact when it is done without selfish conceit. Even death could not hinder a person, who has died to self and lived in Christ, to change the world by his or her life and service. The kind of service rendered to the people has eternal value. God is honored through it; and that would be eternal. I am pouring out my life to the young people and to develop a youth ministry that will impact not only the youth in our generation but also the generations to come.

My Life’s Vision and Goals
I have envisioned myself to be a man who has touched lives and honored God in his lifetime. Fueled by my passion for the young people, I endeavor to make a small impact upon their lives by sharing my life to them and living a life pleasing to the Lord. It is my hope that they see me as a person who fears God and someone they can emulate in their walk with Christ. I will strive to let them feel loved by me in one way or another.

I love my ministry to the youth and I enjoy watching each of them grow in Christ. When I made a commitment to serve in Youth Ministry, a dynamic transformation happened inside of me as I witnessed some powerful changes in my youngsters. They taught me many things which I could not learn apart from Youth Ministry. I have learned to embrace challenges and conflicts in a way that they push me further to serve them better.

I continually develop some ministry skills in trying to understand this post-modern generation. I always keep in mind that I speak their language or that they can relate to me. Unleashing my creativity is not always easy, sometimes it is painful, but it is paid off well to see at least one young people impacted by such risky attempt. Innovation becomes part of our Youth Ministry and it allows us to think creatively and work out the ideas to make the ministry more vibrant and relevant to the young people.
Several occasions have moved me deeply after knowing at least few of them have decided to follow Christ in their lives. It is always our desire that they thrive in the ministry and help them grow spiritually to be prepared for the challenges of the future. When they experience a genuine love from their leaders, they are drawn to Christ more closely. I am fulfilled to see a glimpse of their gradual transformation as they develop a relationship with Christ.

However, it is also logical to think that not every young people might experience a powerful transformation in my time, so I trust in the power of God to change the person. What motivates me to keep on doing my part is the joy of serving the Lord and honoring him through my sacrifices. I am laying the foundation for the coming generation: a community where they can thrive and a ministry that cares for every young people to become a genuine follower of Christ.

Being at young adult stage, I want to guide the youth and influence my fellow young adults in this spiritual quest. But to draw the spiritual map and build the road signs puts me ahead of the journey in passing through every landmark of spiritual growth. I am dreaming to be a youth minister for life and yearning to master this craft. I want to put everything in paper, substantially written, all the things I learned that will impact the youth ministers and young believers next to my generation. More than that, I am willing to obey God wherever he’s guiding me to go and whatever he’s leading me to do in every milestone of my life.

My Growth Development Plan
Essential to this pilgrimage of becoming the person that God wants me to be, is the discipline for personal and spiritual growth. I have endeavored to develop the character of Christ and achieve a complete transformation. I have set a plan that defines my path toward spiritual maturity.

Seminary Education
Not only does theological seminary prepared seminarians for ministry at but also shapes them to become spiritually mature ministers. In fact I am both personally and spiritually nurtured each time I am inside the classroom. I find it beneficial to interact with the community of ministers, who, like me have desired to be biblically equipped with our theological formulation.

Ministry Involvement
Involvement in ministry comes with a package of excitement and disappointment. Nevertheless, both are beneficial for spiritual development of the minister. I have gone through painful journey while leading the youth and dealing with leaders that shaped me to become mature at some sort. With a right ministry perspective, every painful process points to a joyful outcome.

Skills Development and Continuous Learning
Ministry focus is important to learn the dynamic of a particular ministry. Such attention can rightly develop the necessary skills for the ministry. I would give time to master the youth ministry but I also will never stop learning as change always happens and challenge keeps its existence. Attending ministry relevant specialized training and studying the trend for ministry opportunities are integrated to this plan.

Leisure and Travel
Besides the fact that I love to travel, I intentionally include this as part of my growth plan. Going to different destinations has revitalized my spirit. It replenishes my soul and keeps the passion alive in my heart. I want to connect with God through his wonderful creations and human’s powerful imagination.

Accountability Partner
I am not always strong when I’m alone. My experiences taught me that I need someone to help me succeed in this journey. Some significant people have ministered to me when I was about to give up in ministry. There are also those who have challenged me to be a better follower of Christ.

Spiritual Disciplines
People who were renowned to be “faith giants” have one thing in common: spiritual disciplines. I am beginning to develop my own spiritual disciplines become a habit. I kept on praying, studying scriptures, and having a quiet time with God to make my relationship with God intimate and personal. I am committed to cultivate my integrity and live a life away from sin.

I understand that I will always struggle to become faithful to this growth plan, but one thing I know, I will never give up my faith in God. I put my trust in his grace that one day he will completely transform me to become like his son and will bring a completely redemption to all my struggles.

I know the Holy Spirit is cooperating with me so that I would desire and do only the things that would please God. Even if I have failed to glorify him, I am praying that my desire to glorify God glorifies him.

King David, a man after God’s heart really knew the heart of God.
“Surely your goodness and unfailing love
will pursue me all the days of my life,
and I will live in the house of the LORD forever.”

I know that God will never give up on me because his love extends his patience. It is also my commitment to never stop loving him with all I am. I will always conform to his will and live in the presence of the LORD, even if it requires suffering or death. It is my rule of life.