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Dear friends,

Nowadays, conversations about God, Jesus Christ, the Christian church and the Christian faith are prevalent in our society. This is a great development because religious leaders are given the privilege to talk about God publicly, and people are actually listening. Probably, most people were just concerned about the religious rituals before. But now, Filipinos are asking intelligent questions about their Christian faith. They want to be assured of the rock-solid foundation of their faith.

Let us remember the word ROCK so that we can be confident of what we believe in. A rock-solid foundation means that we:

R – Remember that Jesus is the foundation of the church, our Christian faith, and no one else.

In Matthew 16:15-17 Jesus asked the disciples, “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

Is Peter the foundation of the church? No. It is Jesus Christ. The truth of Peter’s statement is the rock – the foundation of the church. And this truth, this Rock, this foundation is: “Jesus is the Messiah (the Christ), the Son of the living God.” And those who professed this truth are like Peter, another small rock that will become a member of the church.

O – Offer our full commitment to Jesus Christ.

Just like Peter who was asked by Jesus to make a full commitment, we too should make a decision. Peter who correctly answered who Jesus is was asked later on by Jesus if he can commit to an agape kind of love. In John 21:15-17, Jesus asked Peter if he love (agape) Jesus more than all these things. Twice Peter answered, Yes Lord, you know that I love (phileo) you. Jesus was asking for an agape commitment but Peter can only commit to phileo. On the third time, Jesus only asked Peter for a phileo commitment, the one that he can offer at the moment. Later on, in church history, we can see that Peter committed to an agape commitment when he gave his life for the cause of Jesus Christ. God will surely expect us to make an agape commitment.

C – Challenge ourselves to always work for the cause of Christ.

Paul wrote in Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.” I dare say that Paul that did not only challenge us to “think” about these things, but more so to “act” on what we are thinking.

K – Keep on praying and keep the Bible close in our hearts.

When we pray we not only unload our burdens and ask God to answer our requests, but more importantly, what we should ask ultimately is the will of God for our lives. We must also remember the authority of the Scriptures in matters of life and faith. Let us make it a habit to read the Bible, meditate and ask God to reveal His purpose for us.

May God bless us all!

Sincerely,