That One Percent

While I was attending a women’s conference last December, God asked me to do something unusual. He encouraged me to give Him my ONE PERCENT. Now, it might sound amusing because most of the time, we would hear others say “You’ve got to give Him 100%.” Or “You’ve got to work 100% to achieve this and that.” But at that moment, He made that action step very clear to me and I’ll let you know why, in a while.

A few days ago, my mom asked me to cook sinigang na hipon using the leftover frozen, tamarind fruits that I had before. When I heard her instruction, I honestly thought to myself “What?? But, cooking sinigang from scratch is hard work. (You can see the detailed steps here: https://encouragingtreats.com/sinigang-na-hipon/) I still have other plans for the day and I don’t feel like spending a lot of time getting the tamarind puree for the soup.”

I told mom that it’s sort of a hassle for me to cook the sinigang from scratch, but I said that I would do it anyway. On our way to church, God spoke to me and showed me how lazy I was and how it has been affecting me and my decisions recently. He told me “Nic, you’re having that ONE PERCENT moment again.” I smiled and said “Oo nga noh, Lord.” He reminded me of a principle that He taught me a few weeks ago. A principle that helped change my heart. :)

It was the week before my birthday (Dec. 16) when I experienced a drought in my spiritual life. Yes, I did get to spend time with God, but somehow, I knew that I wasn’t always making God the center of my life and decisions. At the conference, we were given 30 minutes of quiet time and I took that moment to share to God how I was feeling and what I was going through.

I spent that time confessing to God how I haven’t been giving my 100% to Him in the different aspects of my life. I told Him that I felt like I was only giving Him 1% and that I only had 1% desire for Him. Also, I knew that He had already forgiven me, but because I only had 1%, I felt that it would be better if I just didn’t go near Him. I thought that I might just end up disappointing Him again.

A few minutes later, He led me to read John 3:16-21.

Verse 21 hit me, where it says: “But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.”

I realized that maybe one of the reasons why I had 1% desire for God at that time, was because I was “hanging out with” and loving darkness more. And by darkness, I mean the things that distracted me from spending more time with God and focusing on Him. (e.g. laziness, being physically tired/not being physically fit, social media, music, etc.)

But, God pointed out to me one of the most amazing truths in the Bible, which is found in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

from Google Images

Right then and there, God comforted me as I remembered what Jesus did for us and how He saved us from the penalty of our sins by dying on the cross. What He has already done for us matters more than what we do for Him.

During the last few minutes of my quiet time with God, I wrote this down on my journal:

“Thank You, Lord, for encouraging me to not give up and let go of that 1% desire that I have for You… even if it’s just 1%. I know that there would still be times when I would get distracted and be lazy to spend quality time with You, but You’ve reminded me that You will never give up on me and that You will always love me. And so, by Your grace, I draw near to You again and pray that You will use this 1% desire that I have for You and allow it to continue growing in me each day. May You be honored above all.” :)

I realized that in the same way, just like how I’ve had that 1% desire for God a few weeks ago, I noticed how I’ve also had that 1% desire to work hard and cook the sinigang from scratch last Sunday. But by God’s grace, He encouraged me to give Him that percentage and cook the dish despite the hassle. Why? Because I knew that obeying mom by cooking it bwould honor God.

(By the way, the tamarind puree that I got from the fruits wasn’t enough, so I ended up adding Tamarind spices too. In the end, God also allowed me to experience the convenience of using instant Sinigang mix — what I originally wanted to use. :) )

Even if you only have that 1% desire to love the people around you; to forgive those who’ve hurt you; to thank others; to obey and respect your authorities; to humble yourself before God and others; to spend time with God; to work/study hard; and even to exercise/discipline your body… Do it anyway. :) Even if it’s just one percent, I encourage you to surrender it to God because He can still use it for the good and for His glory. :)

 

Sour Tamarind

 

Encourage yourself one treat at a time. :)

 

Before It’s Too Late

I recently learned from my officemates that cooking and then eating dead crabs could lead to seafood poisoning. I guess I didn’t care much at that time because our family rarely buys live crabs. But, just a few days ago, I saw five, huge ones in one of our palanganas (basins) in the kitchen. “Cool! Mom bought live crabs!” I said to myself. I immediately got one of the tongs and started tapping each crab. It was interesting because I saw some of them blink and slowly crawl. However, the others didn’t move at all.

The two, seemingly lifeless crabs caught my attention because I remembered the conversation that I had with my officemates. I thought, “The crabs couldn’t be dead. They just couldn’t be. Sayang naman kung ganun.”

I then called mom and my sister, told them about the “dead crabs”, and reminded them about seafood poisoning. So, mom tried to tap the crabs again and change the water in the basin. (I guess we were still hoping that what we were seeing wasn’t true.) But after a few minutes, I eventually accepted the fact and told my sister “Ate… *sigh* the crabs are still dead.”

She laughed and replied “Of course, they’re still dead, Nix. You can’t bring dead crabs back to life.”

I knew that we can’t bring them back to life, but I guess a part of me just got crushed by the thought of losing crabs; of not being able to fulfill the purpose that we had for them; and many more. In the same way, I realized that just like those two dead crabs, we can’t bring ourselves back to life after we’ve died. After we pass away, we can’t go back and change the decisions we’ve made or the things we’ve done on earth. It makes me think about how I’m living the life that God has blessed me with.

I remembered four days ago when the hashtag #EndoftheWorld was trending in Twitter. People from all over the world tweeted about the things that they wanted to do or say before they pass away/leave earth; before the end of the world. Some said that they wanted to travel the world. Some wanted to profess their love to another. And some even wanted to party all night long.

Although these things aren’t wrong, I was just reminded of how much more valuable our last days on earth would be if we invest in the things that would last forever and remember what matters most in life – Jesus Christ.

 

“As little children we would dream of Christmas morn, of all the gifts and toys we knew we’d find.

But, we never realized a baby born one blessed night gave us the greatest gift of our lives.

We were the reason that Jesus gave His life. We were the reason that our Lord suffered and died.

To a world that was lost, He gave all He could give to show us the reason to live.”

[We Are the Reason by Avalon]

photo by Mike Yap

I learned from the Bible that because of our sin, we were separated from God and we deserve the payment for it, which is death (Romans 6:23). But because of God’s indescribable love for us, He gave us His best and sacrificed Jesus (when He died on the cross many years ago) to save us from the penalty of our sins. He did this so that we could spend eternity with Him in Heaven.

It says in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

It brings tears to my eyes whenever I remember what Jesus did for us. He didn’t deserve to suffer, but He willingly obeyed God as He took our place on the cross. What amazed me more is the fact that He not only died for us, but, He also rose again! This just shows how Jesus really is the Son of God… the risen Savior that we need.

If the world did end four days ago (December 21, 2012), where would you be right now? What would have been your last few decisions and actions?

This Christmas season, I’d like to give you a very special encouragement: Don’t wait til it’s too late (just like what happened to the dead crabs).

Get to know Jesus more; spend time with God through prayer and His word; receive Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior; and thank God for His free gift of eternal life for us, before it’s too late.

Because, really, after all of the accomplishments, success, money, fame, relationships, power, and desires we’ve had… at the end of the day, we know that Jesus matters most in life. And nothing else should concern us more than our relationship with Him.

 

Thank You, Jesus for your unending love and grace! :)

Have a very merry Christmas everyone!

 

Encourage yourself one treat at a time. :)

I Did It My Way

“I knew it wasn’t the right time. I knew I should have waited more. I knew I should have obeyed. But even if I knew those things, I did IT anyway. I did it my way.”

 

“I flipped the fish.”

 

I was frying two boneless bangus fish for lunch one afternoon when God reminded me of the importance of obedience. I knew how to properly fry fish. My mom taught me two things when it comes to frying fish: First, the oil must be appropriately hot before putting the fish in the pan. Second, once the fish is frying in the pan, we have to wait for the right time before flipping it over, to fry its other side.

I was frying the first fish for two to three minutes already when I decided to take a peek on the side of the fish that was being fried. It seemed like it was almost done, but I knew that it still wasn’t cooked thoroughly. I remembered mom’s instructions and I knew that I needed to wait more before I could flip it. However, the hint of pride in me took control and I assumed that I knew better at that moment. I eventually flipped the fish to fry its other side.

Unfortunately, when I tried to turn the fish over, a lot of its meat got stuck to the pan. It was a disaster! I ended up with a weird-looking bangus and had less fish meat to eat. I thought to myself: “If I only followed mom’s instructions and waited a bit more, I would not have ‘ruined’ the fish. :( ”

God then spoke to my heart and showed me how it is comparable to experiencing the consequences of disobedience in the other aspects of my life. Moreover, He reminded me of some reasons why I should learn to obey Him more:

Job 36:11
“If they obey and serve him,
they will spend the rest of their days in prosperity
and their years in contentment.”

 

Being Obedient helps:

  1. Protect us from certain dangers, unnecessary pains, and regrets. (e.g. too much oil absorbed in the fish, difficulty in flipping/cooking the fish; heartbreaks, sin, bitterness, etc.)
  2. Us be good stewards of the resources that God has given us. (e.g. not wasting the fish that mom bought; the time used for cooking; the kitchen equipment/ingredients used; money; etc.)
  3. Us fully experience God’s blessings in life. (e.g. being able to cook a whole fish properly and enjoy eating it afterwards; blessings in the workplace, in relationships, in the decisions that we make; etc.)
  4. Us bring joy and honor to God. (e.g. shows how we value God and His thoughts and decisions more than ours; humility; surrender; trust; contentment; etc.)

Thankfully, I still had a second bangus to fry! By God’s grace, I learned my lesson and was able to fry it properly and beautifully. I gave this fish to my younger brother who was eating lunch with me, while I ate the first fish I fried. I somehow still enjoyed eating it because although it was a ‘messed-up fish’ and it reminded me of the consequences of my pride/disobedience, God reassured me that His mercies are new for me each day. By His grace, I know that every day, I can trust in Him, knowing that His ways and plans are way better than mine and obey Him with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength.

 

Are we doing it our way?

Are we obedient only when it is convenient?

Is there anything that is hindering us from obeying God at this point in our lives?

 

Psalm 119:10 “With my whole heart have I sought you: O let me not wander from your commandments.”

 

 

Encourage yourself one treat at a time. :)

Won’t Take My Eyes Off of You

I’ve always been fascinated with our digital camera’s macro mode. I like how it lets the camera focus on the main subject and sort of blurs the rest of the things behind or beside it. For the past blog entries that I’ve posted here at Encouraging Treats, I’ve used our digital camera to capture the memories I’ve had with the treats I’ve baked and cooked. However, to my dismay, I found out last Saturday night that our one and only camera wasn’t working anymore. I couldn’t believe it.

I was supposed to make my treat last Saturday night, but, I hesitated because I didn’t have a camera at that time. I remember telling God: “Lord, I can’t use my phone to take photos of the next treat. It doesn’t have a macro mode. It’ll only produce mediocre photos, and I can’t use mediocre photos in this food blog…” I sighed and eventually called it a night.

 

I didn’t realize how I stubborn I was until the next morning at church. Pastor Vince Burke shared about fixing our eyes on Jesus and focusing on Him in every situation. God convicted me while I was listening to His word because I clearly focused on the wrong thing. I focused on what was less important: having good pictures for this food blog.

After the service, I spent time with God and confessed what was in my heart. I apologized for my behavior and for focusing on the appearance and presentation of the food/treat, than on the ultimate encouraging treat: God’s Word.

 

I told God, “Sorry, Lord, that I didn’t want to blog this Monday just because I didn’t have a good camera. It was very foolish of me. I know that even without a camera and without photos of the treat, You could still use me and this blog to encourage others to know You more… if it’s Your will. Sorry, for not focusing on You. But, I thank You too, because I still have a camera phone to use.” :)

A few hours later, on our way home, I got a text message from my mom and she informed me that she had our camera fixed. I couldn’t believe my eyes! What a privilege! What an awesome treat! I immediately thanked God for His grace. Despite my stubborn and distracted heart, God still gave me another chance to use a good camera. More importantly, He gave me another opportunity to focus on Him and on His Word.

I spent the rest of the night preparing and cooking a batch of shrimp tempura. In the process of doing so, I decided to use both my phone and our camera (in macro mode) to take photos of the shrimps. It was interesting because I was able to compare the photos taken from both gadgets. Those taken using the camera (in macro mode) were indeed better and clearer than the blurry ones from my phone.

“Wow, Lord!” I told God. “Ang galing talaga ng macro mode sa camera! It really focuses on the main thing and blurs its surroundings. Because of this, I get to enjoy the clear, bright, and beautiful photos of the tempura! Thank You!”

Right then and there, I learned that God wasn’t only letting me appreciate the photos taken using the camera. He was also encouraging me to learn and apply this spiritual principle in my life as well: Just like how the macro mode in the camera allows the lens to focus on the main thing, we must fix our eyes too on the main thing. We must fix our eyes on Jesus.

It says in Hebrews 12:1-2

“…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”

“We fix our eyes on Him, even if we are in pain.

We fix our eyes on Him, even when our hearts break.

We fix our eyes on Him, even if we stumble and fall.

We fix our eyes on Him, because He is in control.

We fix our eyes on Him, whose love for us never fails.

We fix our eyes on Him, whose mercies are new each day.

We fix our eyes on Him, whose grace will see us through.

We fix our eyes on Jesus, who is faithful, right, and true.”

-Yours Truly

Have we been fixing our eyes on Jesus?

By God’s grace, I know that we can.

And I pray that we won’t take our eyes off of Him each day. :)

 

Encourage yourself one treat at a time! :)

 

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About Me

My name is Nicole Obligacion and I started this blog because I was inspired by Hebrews 10:24 and Hebrews 3:13. I love to eat, cook, bake, read the Bible, and encourage. :)

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