Tell me who your friends are, and I will tell you who you are and where will you be at. – Don Magsino

Kahit anong ganda at ‘high-grade’ ng binhi ngunit hindi natanim sa magandang lupa, the seed may not fully grow or worse die. Kung yan man ay buto ng papaya or atis, pero kung iyon ay natanim sa lupang maraming bato o mga tinik, maaring mabuhay ang binhi ngunit hindi healthy.

Ganyan din sa buhay ng tao. You are a seed with talents, skills and potentials but if you are planted in a bad soil, if you are surrounded by toxic people, mga taong nagpapahina sa iyo: “hindi mo kaya yan…” “sino ka para mangarap ng ganyan…” magiging bansot (dwarf) ka at hindi mo maaabot ang mga dakilang bagay na sana ay ma-achieve mo. This is not to say that something is wrong with the seed, because God built-in upon a seed, the power to bloom. The problem is which soil the seed is planted. The rocks, the thorns, the weeds are choking the life out of your seed.

In relationship, choose someone who loves Jesus because that Jesus in that person will teach him or her to love you, to care for you and to do you good.

Jesus spoke the Parable about a seed planted in a ground. May binhi na natanim sa maganda at matabang lupa and it produced great harvest. Another sowed the seed was planted on rocky ground but the weeds and the thorns stopped the seed from growing. Mapapansin mo dito na same seed, but the difference was the soil. Maaring ang mga tinik sa atin ay ang mga kaibigan natin na nagtuturo sa atin, or nakaka influence sa atin to compromise and disobey God. Maaring ang mga weeds ay yong mga kasamahan natin na puro tsismis ang alam, paninira sa kapwa ang gusto palaging gawin. The rocks could be some family members that tell us we cannot become what we want because of some restrictions and limitations. These are some factors that may limit your growth. The atmosphere and environment you allow yourself to be into, is very crucial.

Kahit maganda ang binhi, kelangan maganda ang lupa. If you want to win a race, you cannot have a good car but a poor driver. You have to be selective of who you want to stay with, hang around with and talk to. Some miserable people want company. Some people are so dramatic, they want you to participate in their show that only them is the leading actor. Stop hanging around with rocky, thorny, weedy friends who will put you down and belittle you because their negativity can contaminate your soil. Your future is too wonderful to be wasted by people who do not add value in your life. Feel free to walk away in an environment you are not honored and welcomed.

Bro Don, baka magalit sila? I will answer: “baka patayin nila ang binhi mo, ang pangarap mo.” Tell me who your friends are, and I will tell you how are you and what kind of life you will live.

Ang mga maling bagay na ayaw mong iwanan, iyon madalas ang dahilan bakit hindi ka lumalago sa buhay. Kung alam mo na yong tao na iyon ay nagpapahina sa iyo, pero ayaw mong iwanan or iwasan, you will get stuck where you are. Your seed cannot grow in a bad soil. If you don’t allow bad people to come out of your life, you will never have an opportunity to meet the right ones. Yes you may lose a friend or two and it sometimes sad, but God will send the better people who will inspire you and empower you.

Lot

The Lord told Abraham to leave his village and his relatives and go to a new land. Sumunod nga si Abraham pero isinama niya ang kanyang pinsang si Lot, kahit alam ni Abraham na dapat “immediate” family members lang. Nagkaroon ng argumento si Abraham at si Lot, hanggang sa nag-aaway na pati mga tauhan nila. Umalis si Lot at napahamak pero feel pa din ni Abraham na obligasyon niyang ipaglaban si Lot. Maraming lakas, armas at mga tauhan ang isinangla ni Abraham para kay Lot na dapat sana ay naiwasan kung iniwan siya ni Abraham in the first place.

There are problems in our lives that could have been avoided if we were wise enough to leave them. The word “Lot” means covering or veil. Kapag iniwan mo si Lot, iniiwanan mo din ang mga cover or veil na magpapabagal at magpapahina sa iyo. Kapag natuto mong iwanan yan, you will the greater blessings of God.

I read a story of the old “South Indian Monkey Trap”. Gumawa ng trap ang villagers para hulihin ang mga monkey that steal their food. Ang trap ay may maliit na butas na bao ng niyog at nakabitin sa puno. Nilagyan nila ng kanin ang niyog which can be grabbed through a small hole. The monkey’s hand fits through the hole, but his clenched fist cannot fit back out. With that, the monkey is suddenly trapped. Akala niya basta may rice, wow big time, jackpot, pero hindi niya alam na yong rice na yon ang mitsa ng kanyang buhay.

Kung ikaw ay may weed or maraming damo sa buhay, yan ang magpapahina sa iyo upang hindi mo maabot ang iyong mga pangarap. Yang mga Marites na walang ginawa kundi manira, pumula at mag tsismis ng buhay ng iba, wala kang mapapalang mabuti sa kanila. Just like the monkey, you can be trapped for not letting go of the rice in your hand. God has given you a gift that it is only to you it was given in particular. Nobody but you. Your seed has a built-in power and greatness in it. But you have to protect that seed that it is not planted into an unhealthy soil – that’s your responsibility.

Kaya naalala ko ang ating kanta sa church: “Noong araw ako ay tsismosa, tsismis dito at tsismis doon, but when Jesus ay nakilala, ngayon ay good girl ng talaga.” Ephesians 2:10 reads “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Marami sa ating mga kapatid ang malaki ang ipinagbago ng buhay dahil nakilala nila si Hesus. Dati puro social media, ngayon palaging naghihintay ng link to listen to our daily Bible Studies and Worship Services.

Keep your seed in a good soil. Saturate your mind with good stuff. There is a saying, “Your mind is a garden, your thoughts are the seeds. You can grow flowers, or you can grow weeds”. 

Minsan nag pray si Hesus sa isang batang babae na patay na. When Jesus came to their house, lahat ay umiiyak. Jesus said that the girl was just sleeping, “she is not dead”. People laughed at Jesus and ridiculed Him. Pinalabas silang lahat ni Hesus at naiwan lang sina Peter, James and John. Jesus healed the girl and she came back to life.

Bakit kelangang palabasin sila ni Hesus? Of course God could heal the girl kahit andoon ang lahat ng tao, He is God. But Jesus showed us the importance of having the right environment because there are people who are distractions. Their negativity can infect you. Sometimes, it is ok to say, “we can be friends but I won’t allow you to destroy my dream…”

Moses

Ito ang nangyari sa mga Israelita noong panahon ni Moises. He sent 12 men to spy out the Promised Land. They all came back but the ten (10) men came bringing a negative report saying: “Moses, we don’t stand a chance against those giants. We felt like grasshoppers.” But there were other two (2) spies namely Joshua and Caleb who had a different report. They said to Moses: “We are able to defeat them. Let’s go and take this land.” The negative report of the 10 spies infected the 2 million Israelites who asked Moses for them to go back to Egypt to become slaves again. They were discouraged because of the negative report they heard from the 10 spies.

What is surprising is that God promised them to enter the land where milk and honey flows. This Promised Land was inhabited, decorated, furnished by the Anakites, the giants so everything was prepared. May pangako ang Diyos sa mga Israelita but those 10 people and their tribes who complained and murmured against God, did not enter the Promised Land. Why? because their soil is contaminated with grief, dissatisfaction, anger and complaints.

These are the names of the twelve spies who searched the land of Canaan in obedience to the instructions of the LORD:

1. Shammua from the tribe of Reuben.
2. Shaphat from the tribe of Simeon.
3. Caleb from the tribe of Judah.
4. Igal from the tribe of Issachar.
5. Joshua from the tribe of Ephraim.
6. Palti from the tribe of Benjamin.
7. Gaddiel from the tribe of Zebulin.
8. Gaddi from the tribe of Manasseh.
9. Ammiel from the tribe of Dan.
10. Sethur from the tribe of Asher.
11. Nahbi from the tribe of Naphtali.
12. Geuel from the tribe of Gad.

Iwasan ninyo ang mga toxic na tao. Hanapin ninyo ang mga Joshuas and Calebs that will inspire you and will lift your spirit up. Find people who ignite your flame and that will fan your flame, hindi yong bubuhusan ng tubig ang inyong mga nagbabagang pangarap. Isama ninyo ako sa mga kaibigan ninyo na magpapalakas sa inyo.

Who pushed me?

A story is told of a rich man who had a beautiful daughter ready for marriage. The father of the young lady organized a contest for his daughter. He sent word to his townsmen inviting all those eligible for the contest, promising that the lucky winner would marry his daughter with so many added benefits.

As you can guess, many men turned up. The rich man took them to his swimming pool and said to them; “any of you who can swim across this pool will become my son in-law. He however added that the pool was full of alligators, crocodiles and sharks”. And indeed these creatures could be seen swimming in the pool. Then suddenly a man jumped into the pool and succeeded to get there to the finish line. While people are cheering him on, he took the microphone and said “who pushed me.”

A pastor I met 10 years ago sent me a letter: “Don thank you for encouraging me to invest in a condominium in Makati and a house & lot in Batangas. In few days time, me. and my husband will pay those properties in full. Salamat sa buhay mo.”

Henry Ford and Thomas Edison

When Henry Ford wanted to make a car with an engine, he started working on it, but everyone told him it wouldn’t work and wasn’t a good plan. Thomas Edison came to see him just as he was about to stop. They’d never met before. They told people that Mr Ford was the person who was trying to make a car that ran on petrol. Edison’s eyes got big, he hit his fist on the table, and he said, “You’ve got it. It’s a great idea for a car to have its own power plant. Henry Ford would talk about how that talk and that friendship kept him going. If he hadn’t found that good land, none of us would drive a Ford.

Marami talagang maninira, bashers sa buhay ng tao. It’s 10 out of 12 spies brought the negative report. That means 80% of people in your life will tell you, you cannot do it but your job is to find the 20% to propel you and become the person you wanted to be. That 20% is the good soil, and that in itself is a favor from God.

Me

When I was terminated by my previous company, I was so down because I like selling, I like to talk to people because I believe was good at it. But then the company believed the people who destroyed me so I was removed from the office. They locked the door and did not allow me to enter. Marami pala ang nanira sa akin but because God made me a good seed, He did not allow. me to remain planted in an unhealthy soil. Sis May told me I could become a lawyer. She and my family encouraged me to get into immigration law and then into the University of Law in London UK. I have become where I am now because of those people surrounded me, filled me, encouraged me to achieve things I could not have done on my own.

I encourage you to have a good friend who light the fire in you. Humanap kayo ng mentor, someone who can teach you to go where you wanted to go. Just as the wrong people will pull you down, but the right people will pull you up.

Peter and the Crippled Man

May isang lalaking pilay at namamalimos sa temple gate sa maraming taon. In the Book of Acts chapter 3, Peter saw the crippled man, felt sorry for him but he said to the man: “Silver and gold I have none, but I will give you something better, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk…” The man could have said, “ganito na ako sa maraming taon, what do you mean “rise up and walk…” Peter could say na nasabi ko na, nagawa ko na part ko, bahala ka na sa buhay mo. But no, Peter took the man by the right and and lifted him up. Suddenly, the man’s leg were instantly healed.

You need a Peter in your life who will not just pray for you, but will help you stand up. Just like that crippled man, he could not have made it without a Peter. You have to stay around people who are stronger, more successful than you. Hindi kayang akayin ng bulag ang kapwa bulag. You need someone who can see better than you.

Naghanda ang Diyos ng Pedro sa buhay mo. He will connect you to people who can lift you up, people who will inspire you and take you higher. Wag kang manatili kasama ng mga taong dysfunctional because your seed cannot grow in that soil. Wag mong paniwalaan ang sinsabi nila na you have reached your final stop and you can never reach your higher potentioal Those are lies! Do not believe those lies.

When your seed is planted in the right soil, you will grow bigger and higher. Iwasan mo na ang mga thorny friends mo na walang gagawin kundi papanghinain ka. Get ready to bloom. May Peter na darating sa buhay mo to lift you up.