Is There An Imminent Danger To Come Why We Need To Become Alert And Watchful Always? Part I

When I worked in the cemetery of my uncle in the Philippines at a very young age of ten (10) to twenty one (21) years old (1973-1985), I've experienced an extreme hardships, shame, and bullying  then just to earn a meager income to support my studies in high school and college.  Every Friday at 5 in the afternoon, my cousins and I have to prepare our clothes and some food and have to walk at least three (3) miles going to the cemetery and went home in the afternoon of the following day and have to walk the same miles.  Our parents died at that very age and were forced by poverty to work even to that place which we didn't dreamed off.  I knew that all of us were trained to face life which is full of hardships discipline, patience, endurance, and hope that someday all of us will finish the race and to become successful in life.  Thanks to the hard training we had cause we're all trained to fight life which were full of challenges by parents who were believers of Jesus Christ. For more than ten (10) years of continuous work in the cemetery, I realized that death is coming to all ages in different time, day, month and year.  I observed that people who were buried were just babies, kids, children, youth, adult and seniors.  I told to myself that one day I will die and be buried too in a cemetery.  My mind was filled with mixed facts about poverty, death, shame and bullying that's why I promised to myself that one day I will become somebody and that all of these painful experiences I've been through will be the motivating reasons why I have to strive more in life.  I made to finish my college level in 1986 major in Accounting and made to pass the board examination as a Certified Public Accountant of the same year.

When I was working as an independent auditor of more than twenty companies and aside from my main job as the Finance Manager of a non-profit religious radio broadcasting in Manila, the Lord reminded me of my vows when I was in elementary and high school levels that if God will heal me from my skin sickness, eye cataract and the numbness of my two feet, I will follow him and will enroll in a Bible School.  When I finished my college and to take the board examination as an accountant, I prayed to God that if he will help me to pass the board examination, I will follow him and will enroll in a Seminary.  While I'm working and earning money, it seemed that life was so good and I felt relax and made to forget my vows.  At the age of twenty three (23) one businessman came to our office and looked at me and said,  here is the P500,000.00 or $18,518.52 as professional fee for signing a certificate that the financial statement is right and true to the best of my knowledge and he will use it for loan purposes.  But I refused to sign it not until he let me check and verify his books of accounts.  He left my office and looked for other Accountant who will accept his very enticing offer.  After three months, one of the sponsors in dedication of my eldest son was my classmate in college and an accountant of one of the big suppliers of gasoline in the country, called me through telephone and asked me to sign their company's financial statement for bank loan purposes.  He offered me P2,500,000.00 or $89,285.71.  I told him with excitement and since I knew him very well and told him, " classmate",  bring to my office your books of accounts to make some reviews and checking and I will sign the certificate but the company didn't send the books to me.  He called me again the following day and told me, Ok classmate,  we'll pick you up in your office to eat lunch in one of the finest hotels in Quezon City.  We'll bring the check which is pay to cash amounting to P2,500,000.00 and you'll sign the documents of the company.  After intense prayer, I phoned my classmate and told him, sorry, but I can't sign the documents.  In his dismayed, he didn't call me for two years.  If I accepted those two offers in the same year, I made to reach my goal immediately to become a millionaire though it was my dream then that on or before my 30th birthday, I should be a millionaire if I accepted those offers and my goal would be made in much earlier time!

For almost two years, life seemed so exciting and I almost drowned to my goal to become a millionaire and I felt within me that If you have a goal you can make it.  All my resources, talent, hours and other assets where all focused on the attainment of my goal but while doing these many ways to earn a lot, there were struggles within me.  Every time I hear a bible message, it reminded me that I have vows to God that need to fulfill.  And these struggles became so intense and led me to kneel down in prayer and ask God for wisdom and direction to my big decision to make.  I asked him for the last time that if it is his will for me to be in the full-time ministry of the word, open the best seminary in the Philippines that will mold and prepare me to become an effective minister of his Words.  I wrote to the managing director of Back To The Bible Philippines for scholarship and my letter and application were sent to Back To the Bible, Nebraska, USA for approval.  After two weeks, I received a letter from our managing director and gave me the letter of approval from the home office in Nebraska, USA and all the financial support for my education until I finish the the four-year program but I finished it for seven straight years cause I did it on a part time basis while working.

Why I made to leave my big earning profession?  Did I make a wrong decision?  What do you think?
Wait for the continuation of this article and hoping to bless you and to strengthen your faith in Christ.

For more messages about life, direction, true purpose in life, harmonious relationship in the family, marriage, dating and others, visit our website at savelifewithjoy.com or go to our blogs at hopeandlifeforyou.com and Eugenio "EJ" Juarez.  For your comments, suggestions and prayer requests, email us at agn623@gmail.com.

May our Almighty God bless you all.  Philippians 3:1-11