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by Bo Sanchez

Be true to how God made you.

Don’t try to be someone else.

Be the best that you can ever become.

Or else, Cherie Gil’s words will describe you (from an old Sharon Cuneta movie): “You’re nothing but a second-rate, trying-hard, copy-cat.”

Friend, God created you with a special gift. And only you can give this gift to the world. If you don’t become true to yourself, if you don’t give this gift to the world, the world becomes a lesser place.

Love yourself. Celebrate yourself. Be yourself.

Be true to how God created you.

In other words, follow your heart.

Follow your path.

Follow your calling.

Follow your destiny.

Unfortunately, very few people encouraged us to do this.

“Why Don’t You Become Like Ate?”

The opposite is true.

Some of us grew up being compared to others.

Some of us grew up hearing these words:

“Why can’t you be like your elder sister who’s bright?”

“Why aren’t you like your cousin who is more responsible?”

And worse, we heard our parents say, “Why don’t you become like me? At your age, I was already doing this and doing that—and I never did this and I never did that…”

Parents, these are toxic words.

It’s like giving poison to your kids.

I know you don’t mean it, but this is what they hear: “You’re no good. You’re not good enough for me. If you want me to love you, you’ll have to be someone else.”

I Still Remember

When I was six years old, I came home with our class photo.

I wasn’t too proud of it, but I had to show it anyway.

I gave it to my father.

When he looked at it, he couldn’t find me. He said, “Bo, where are you?”

Sheepishly, I pointed to myself in the photo—somewhere at the back of the crowd. You could only see half of my face.

Dad groaned. I’m sure he didn’t mean to hurt me. Parents usually don’t. But that day, he did.

Because he said, pointing to the mestizo guy in front, “Bo, why don’t you be like this guy! Be in front! Wave at the camera!”

Ouch.

I said, “Yes, Dad.”

But I felt very sad that day.

Because I was a shy kid at the back.

And Dad wanted me to be like that mestizo kid in the front row. Confident. Outgoing. Aggressive.

That happened when I was six years old.

That was 35+ years ago.

Yet to this day, I still remember how I felt that day.

That’s how toxic those words were to me.

Parents, you need to love your kids with their personality, their temperament, and their unique gifts.

Never compare them with others.

After all, this is how God loves you.

Friend, are you still hurting?

Perhaps people around you are looking down at you. People around don’t believe in you. And all they do is point out your weaknesses.

You have a God that doesn’t do that.

He never compares you to anyone else.

He loves as you are.

He celebrates who you are.

He enjoys you—your idiosyncrasies, personality, gifts…

And He accepts you as you are—the entire mix, the whole package.

The Seeds Of Your Success Were Already Planted In Your Childhood

Yesterday, I was going over my photo albums.

I saw this photo of me as a baby.

When my mother brought me to Chinatown, people bowed to me with great reverence.

Because they thought I was the reincarnation of Buddha.

My mother said she could leave me in a box the whole day and I won’t budge. She said I didn’t need a baby sitter. Because I’ll just stay in my box and imagine the entire day.

Because my physical body may have been inside the box but my mind was creating worlds and galaxies.

As a kid growing up, I remember always having such a wild imagination.

Like I wasn’t satisfied reading comic books. I had to draw my own comic books. Complete with my own characters and storylines. It was a series! Comic Book Volume 1, 2, 3… (Now you know why I give a Teaching Series at the Feast!)

To this day, you can leave me in a “box”.

That’s why my wife says I’m a low-maintenance husband.

She can leave me for a few days with my books and I’ll be happy.

Why did God make me this way?

Because He wanted me to write talks, write books, and design organizations that will bless the world.

That’s why the Bible says, For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made… (Psalms 139:13-17)

I Appreciate Myself Now

I appreciate the fact that I’m creative.

I appreciate the fact that I was a baby who liked to stay in the box the entire day.

I appreciate the fact that I like imagining worlds in my head.

If you look at your childhood, you’ll see the seeds that God planted—seeds that will later grow and bear fruit in your life.

Here’s another thing I love about myself.

And this photo represents it so well…

That’s not a toy chicken.

That’s a real, live, warm-blooded chicken in my hands.

Thankfully, I didn’t become a sabungero.

They said that when I was a toddler, I would chase after chickens and grab them. I wasn’t afraid.

I appreciate the fact that I like chasing what I want.

To this day, I like taking risks.

I like daring stuff.

That’s why I’m a pioneer.

That’s why I like building organizations from scratch.

I like blazing a new trail.

This was how God made me.

I appreciate that.

I thank God He made me this way.

That’s why the Bible says, Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart, I appointed you as a prophet to the nations. (Jeremiah 1:5)

Are Martha’s Second Class Citizens Of The Kingdom?

One day, Jesus visited his friends, Mary and Martha.

Mary was the quiet one who liked listening to Jesus.

Martha was the cook with the outgoing personality.

Honestly, this Bible story has disturbed a lot of Martha’s in the world. Because many people see themselves as Martha. Busy. Hardworking. Talkative.

Very few people see themselves as Mary. Quiet. Contemplative. Reflective. Introspective.

Here’s the story from the Bible itself.

Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what He taught. But Martha was worrying over the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.” But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are so upset over all these details! There is really only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it—and I won’t take it away from her.” (Luke 10:38-42)

Because of this, a lot of Martha’s out there feel like they’re second class citizens of the Kingdom.

That’s why people believe that monks are holier than businessmen.

That contemplative nuns are holier than salespeople.

That hermits who live in deserts are holier than policemen, nurses, accountants, and laborers living in the world.

That’s not true.

Holiness has nothing to do with your personality or your job.

Holiness is all about love.

Let me say something that will change the way you interpret this story: Jesus wasn’t correcting Martha’s busyness. And he definitely wasn’t correcting Martha’s service. Jesus was correcting Martha’s “comparisonitis”.

If You’re Martha, Be Yourself!

Martha’s problem?

She kept comparing herself with Mary.

Comparisonitis is a spiritual disease that has become an epidemic. It’s the cause of much unpeace in our lives.

To drive home my point, let me change the story a bit.

What if the Bible story went this way…

While Martha was preparing dinner, Mary sat at the Lord’s feet, trying to listen to what He taught. And then Mary said, “Lord, can you tell my sister to stop all her work and sit here with us? Why can’t she be like me?” But the Lord said to her, “My dear Mary, you are so upset over this! There is really only one thing worth being concerned about. Martha has discovered it—and I won’t take it away from her.”

My point?

You can be a Martha and be at peace.

How? Be true to yourself.

Don’t Fulfill Someone Else’s Dream For Your Life

I came to know God when I was in second year high school.

At that point, my mind was made up—I wanted to serve God forever. So I opened myself to the most obvious way of serving God—to be a priest.

But for many years, I never felt a strong call for the priesthood. Believe me, it was difficult to say “No” to priesthood.

Because ever since I can remember, my mother wanted me to be a priest.

She never forced me. She would just say, “Bo, I’ll be very happy if you become a priest,” oh, about 16 times a day.

Okay, that’s an exaggeration.

But you know what I mean.

My mother can be very insistent. (She used the power that all mothers have. It’s called Em2: “Emotional Maternal Manipulation”.)

But when I searched my heart, I realized that this was her dream, not mine. And my parents respected my decision not to pursue priesthood.

Today, I thank God I didn’t become a priest.

God called me to be a lay preacher instead.

Because my talks come from my experience as a husband, a father of two boys, and as a small entrepreneur.

People don’t see me on an altar.

They see me as one among them, living their lives and facing their problems. With marriage problems to fix. With kids to love. And bills to pay. And cars to repair.

And I’m happy doing what I’m doing now.

Honestly? I can’t imagine myself doing something else.

Follow Your Bliss

I heard of a sad story of a priest who, after only one month after his ordination, left the priesthood.

No, it wasn’t because of a girl.

It was because of the original girl in his life.

When he was ordained, he realized he became a priest because of his mother.

Because he knew he’d never be happy, he left.

I know of a doctor who—after 10 years of studying medicine—left his medical practice and became a businessman selling kitchenware.

When I asked him why, he said, “I come from a family of doctors. My parents were both doctors. My elder brother was a doctor. My uncles were doctors. And I was expected to be a doctor. So I took medicine. Only to realize later that this wasn’t what made me happy. What made me happy was when I sold stuff to people!”

Henry David Thoreau said, The greatest tragedy in life is to spend your whole life fishing only to discover that it was not fish you were after.

Friend, God has given you a dream for your life.

That’s the dream that you have to fulfill.

And you’ll only be happy if you fulfill that dream.

Joseph Campbell said, “Follow your bliss.”

What makes you truly happy?

Truly fulfilled deep inside?

That’s the path you need to take.

Success Is Effortless

Here’s what I learned in life: The most stressful thing for you to do is to be someone else. And the easiest thing to do in the world? To be yourself.

And there lies your greatest success.

And your greatest happiness.

When you become yourself, you discover that success and happiness becomes almost effortless.

I’m not saying “without work”. Success entails lots of work. But it’s work that’s done effortlessly.

Have you seen a world-class singers sing?

They sing effortlessly.

Have you seen world-class athletes perform?

They perform effortlessly.

They do so because they’re following their bliss.

Once Upon A Time, I Felt Envious

I have a confession to make.

A very embarrassing confession.

Some years ago, I used to compare myself to Mike Velarde of El Shaddai. And Frank Padilla of Couples for Christ. And Tony Meloto of Gawad Kalinga.

And I felt very small.

I felt very insecure.

I didn’t want to admit it, but I felt envious.

I preached to thousands. But Mike preached to millions.

I built a group that has grown in a few countries. Frank built a group that is now in 156 countries.

I built four small ministries for the poor. Tony built 1,700+ GK villages for the poor.

As I compared myself with these giants, I asked myself a terrible question: “What is wrong with me?”

Let me give you a background.

Many years ago, I suffered from a shame-based personality. (I shared in my books, Your Past Does Not Define Your Future and 7 Secrets Of Freedom.)

My shame-based personality was partially connected to my being molested as a child.

Basically, I was ashamed of myself.

I didn’t like being me.

Because I hungered for love, I wanted to be someone else. In an unconscious way, I wanted to be more successful so that people will love me.

But thankfully, God made it his fulltime job to heal me. (Wink.)

He told me that He loved me.

And He told me to love myself.

Over and over again, God told me, “I didn’t create you to be Mike Velarde or Frank Padilla or Tony Meloto. I created you to be Bo Sanchez. To be the best Bo Sanchez in the world.”

I like what Judy Garland said: “Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.”

And one day, I learned to love myself.

To accept myself.

To celebrate all that I am.

To embrace my calling.

When I did that, it was like I turned a key in my soul.

All of a sudden, peace flooded my spirit.

Like a heavy burden lifted from my shoulders.

I felt free. Liberated. Whole.

Instantly, I gained confidence.

Today, I no longer feel envious.

Today, I no longer look over my shoulder, comparing myself with this guy or that guy.

Because I’m at peace.

I am where I’m supposed to be.

And I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing.

I want you to have that same peace today.

Deep in your spirit, receive God’s embrace today.

God Wants You To Be You

Friend, God has chosen you.

You’ve been handpicked by God.

Your destiny awaits you.

Don’t look down at yourself.

You might say, “But Bo, I’ve not been a very good person lately. I’ve fallen into sin. I’ve been far from God.”

I’ve got news for you: If you’ve been far from God, God has never been far from you. He’s pursued you, chased after you, and He’ll never give up on you.

God wants you to be another Jesus in the world.

But I’ve got a radical announcement to make: He’s not interested in making clones of Jesus. (That’s what happens in Pampanga every Good Friday—they crucify themselves.) He’s interested in making the best “you” in the world—to be Jesus in your unique way.

Yes, God wants you to be you!

Learn To Appreciate Yourself

Friend, God created you in a very special way.

He shaped you, fashioned you, and molded you.

God designed every part of your being.

You may not feel good about yourself right now.

You may feel you have no gifts.

You may feel down now because you’ve failed so many times in the past.

But remember that God has a great plan for your life.

Friend, you have a sacred mission to fulfill.

God has appointed you to be a prophet.

Every raw material you need to do His work is already there within you.

And God appreciates you!

So first things first—Appreciate yourself.

One of my favorite Bible passages is this:

The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17)

One Bible translation says, “God will dance over you.”

Have you ever imagined God dancing?

And why is He dancing?

Because He delights in you.

Because He’s throwing a party in your honor.

Wow.

That’s how much He appreciates you.

So start appreciating yourself.

And be true to how God made you.

May your dreams come true,

Bo Sanchez 
http://bit.ly/internetguru

by Bo Sanchez

       Eagles are amazing parents.

       I didn’t know how special their nest was for their babies. 

To make it, Daddy Eagle picks up sturdy twigs and sharp thorns to build this special home. But to make the nest comfortable, he’ll cover the twigs and thorns with soft grass. 

And here’s the amazing part: Mommy Eagle will pluck her own feathers from her breast! She’ll place them on the nest for added warmth and softness.

       Many times a day, Mommy Eagle will fly out to look for food. She’ll fly back to put fish and other food into the open mouths of her hungry kids.

       Because the nests are built on high rocky cliffs, winds are very strong. Whenever there’s a storm, Mommy Eagle covers them with her large wings.

       The tiny eaglets live a pampered life. 

Because every need is met by their loving parents.

       But one day, it’s time to teach them how to fly.

       And in an instant, their entire world changes.

Flight Training Is Always Cruel

       To teach their young to fly, Eagles follow four stages—all painful.

       First, Mommy stops bringing food. 

The tiny ones are crying out in hunger but she doesn’t seem to hear them. The kids are in shock. They ask, “Why is Mommy not listening to our cries?”

Second, she flaps her wings to sweep away the grass and feathers in the nest. The sharp thorns are now exposed, pricking the delicate skin of the Eaglets.

Third, she does the unthinkable: She throws them out of the nest. The little Eaglets jump back in, only to be pricked by the thorns. They’re now bleeding. They’re shrieking in pain. And they’re wondering, “Why is Mommy torturing us? Why is she cruel?”

Fourth, Mommy pushes the Eaglets off the nest again. But not just off the nest, but all the way off the cliff! 

The little Eaglets hurtle down to the ground—one thousand feet below—towards sure death.

But before they hit the ground, Daddy Eagle swoops down and catches them on his wings. He drops them back into the nest.

They cry out, “Mommy, why are you killing us? What have we done?” But they barely are able to catch their breath, when Mommy pushes them out again.

This death-defying, terrifying ordeal is repeated seven to eight times until the Eaglets get the message—and start flapping their wings.

       Soon, they’re soaring on top of the clouds with their proud parents beside them.

       Friend, this is exactly what happens to you when God teaches you how to fly.     

God Taught Me How To Fly

       Twelve years ago, I launched myself as an entrepreneur.

       Because I was serving God, I felt God would bless my little businesses. I mean, that was the least He could do! After all, I served Him already for almost 20 years. 

Confidently, I got my savings and poured it all into food carts.

I started with a “squid balls” cart. 

I stationed it on the sidewalk, very near a market and a municipal hall. Perfect location, I said.

But the results were pathetic. Some days, I was breaking even. Some days, I was losing money. I felt very discouraged. But I told myself, “No worries. I’ll try again.”

So I bought two more food carts. This time, it was a hotdog stand and an ice cream scooping station. I rented space in a new mall here in Ortigas Center.

But month after month, I was losing money.

Soon, I was forking out money just to pay for my rent and salaries of my workers.

Finally, before the year was over, I had to accept defeat, and close all the food stores. My entrepreneurial ambitions were now dashed to the ground. 

I lost P600,000+.

That may not be big for you, but that was my life savings as a missionary.

I felt depressed.

I asked God, “Lord, why did you not bless my businesses?”

I was confused. I told myself, “Perhaps God doesn’t want me to be an entrepreneur. Perhaps He just wants me to be a preacher.”

For many months, I didn’t know what to do. I was lost. I was like a ship trapped in a thick fog. What should I do now?

Looking back, I now know what God was doing…

What Will It Be: Thorns Or Clouds?

Like the Mommy Eagle, God stopped feeding me.

When provision stops, God isn’t saying, “I’ve decided not to love you today.” When your provision stops, God is saying, “I’ll provide for you in a greater and more abundant way.”

Like Mommy Eagle, God removed the soft cushion of my nest. My food businesses were like sharp prickly thorns beneath me. Every little move I made was painful. 

When your life becomes painful, God isn’t saying, “I don’t care for you.” When life becomes painful, it means God is saying, “I have a better place for you.”

Like Mommy Eagle, God was pushing me out of my nest. But I jumped back right in, only to be hurt again.

I have seen this happen with people in toxic relationship. They get very hurt in the relationship and cry buckets of tears. But soon, they just jump back right in—only to get hurt again. They get attached to the toxic relationship.

But pain is life’s messenger. It’s saying, “There’s a better place for you. You weren’t born to live around thorns. You were born to soar above the clouds.”

Failure isn’t God’s rejection.

Failure is God’s redirection.

Proverbs 20:30 says, Sometimes, it takes a painful situation to change your ways.

He didn’t want me in the food business. He didn’t make me a cook. He made me a communicator. He didn’t make me to feed bodies. He made me to feed minds.

Failure Isn’t God’s Rejection;

Failure Is God’s Redirection

       Like Mommy Eagle, God was teaching me how to fly.

       He wanted me to get out of the food business because it wasn’t my big thing. It wasn’t my passion. (I just had a passion for eating!) It wasn’t my core gift. 

       Totally discouraged and without much money left in my savings, I was forced to create businesses that didn’t need any capital. The only possible businesses for me were those in my turf: Communication. 

My first successful business was corporate seminars. 

I was already preaching for 20 years. Why not preach to companies and get paid?

I hit the road running. No learning curve. From Day 1, I started earning.

Today, I run 12 small businesses. All of them incredibly successful.

Today, I thank God that my food businesses failed. If they didn’t, I would have been stuck there, doing what I didn’t love.

       Friend, is God pushing you out of your nest?

       Has your provision stopped?

       Perhaps God is saying, “There’s a better life for you than this. There’s a better relationship for you than this. There’s a better job for you than this. There’s a better business for you than this…”

       Believe that God wants to teach you to fly!

Is It A Dip Or A Dead End?

       Seth Godin is one of my favorite business writers.

       He says that when we get into a difficult situation, we need to decide if it’s a dip or a dead end.

       A dip means there’s great success if you persevere through that difficult time. Dead End means there’s no great success even if you persevere for a thousand years.

       So ask yourself: When you get over this difficulty, will you be number one or number two in that niche?   If not, it may be time to bail out. And look for an area where you can be great.

       Like I’ll never be great in the food business, no matter how much I persevere with my food carts. But I knew that I’d be great if I just stick to my core gift of communication. 

Same Thing In Ministry

When something isn’t working, when something is causing pain, when something is not growing, be quiet. Listen to God’s direction in your heart. He may not be asking you to change location, or change a job, or change a business, or change a relationship.

He may be asking you to change strategy.

       Let me give you an example in my ministry. My spiritual family is Light of Jesus. For over 10 years, Light of Jesus was stuck. Like we were stranded. Our growth was stagnant. We tried various ways to make Light of Jesus grow, but we felt like we were ramming our heads on an iron ceiling.

       For years, Light of Jesus got stuck with 2000+ members.

       We tried everything. We gave Life in the Spirit seminars, built prayer meetings left and right, but nothing was working. 

Psalms 119:71 says, My suffering was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention to your decrees.

       Our suffering made us listen to God.

And He spoke to us. He led us to change strategy. And the results have been mind-boggling.

From “Chapters”, we created “Feasts”. 

Here’s the big difference: Chapters were traditional, religious prayer meetings for “Insiders”. Feasts were wild parties, radically obsessed to reach “Outsiders”. 

Basically, God told to us, “Forget yourself. Love your neighbor.” In the old structure, we were serving ourselves. We spoke our own language (Christianese). We designed all our events for us, locals. But God led us to give up our selfishness and love those who didn’t belong to our group. We began to design the entire event for those who felt out of place in church.

       What happened? We shattered that iron ceiling. 

Two weeks ago, we were expecting 6000 people to come to our Easter celebration. But on that day, 9000+ came—and that’s just for Metro Manila alone.

For one year, Light of Jesus has been growing explosively. 

       Friend, do you feel that you’re stuck? Do you feel that life is stagnant?   That you’re not growing?

       Listen to God’s voice. He may be asking you to change your strategy. Don’t be attached to how you did things before.

       Because what brought you to where you are now may not bring you to where you want to go.

Success Doesn’t Teach You Much;

Only Failure Teaches You

Your Most Powerful Lessons Of Victory

       This is the irony of life.

       Success doesn’t teach you much.

       It’s only Failure that teaches you your most important Lessons of Victory.

       When you’re successful, you don’t know why you’re successful. You just assume that perhaps it’s this or that thing.

       When you’re successful, you’re complacent.

       When you’re successful, you’re not teachable.

       When you’re successful, you’re proud.

       When you’re successful, you’re hard-headed.

       But when you fail, you fall on your face.

You hit the ground. 

Bang!

       You’re stunned. 

       You’ve dazed.

       You’ve got blood on your lips.

       You’ve got massive pain on your knee.

Suddenly, you’re attentive.

       Suddenly, you’re quiet.

       Suddenly, you ask hard questions. 

“Why did I fail?”

“What can I do so I won’t fail again?”

As you answer these questions, you learn lessons of victory.

And when you apply those lessons of victory, that’s when you succeed.

See Everything As A Blessing

       One day, a man who was stranded in an island.

       He decided to protect himself from the burning hot sun. For many days, he built a grass hut.

       But on the day he was to sleep in it, a lightning hit the roof, starting a fire. He hurried to put it out, but it was no use. Everything burned down.

       He was devastated. He clenched his fist towards the heavens and screamed, “God, how could you do this to me?”

When he woke up the next day, a ship was going to the island. He was being rescued! He jumped up for joy. 

When the ship landed on the shore, the man asked his rescuers, “How did you know I was here?”

The men said, “We saw your smoke signal last night.”

Friend, what is your grass hut?

What has been taken away from you?

What has been destroyed and lost forever?

Is it a relationship?

Is it a job opportunity?

Is it a dream gone bad?

Don’t fear. Don’t give up.

God is teaching you a lesson of victory.

Through your loss, your failure, your trial, God is rescuing you. God is saving you. God is bringing you to a better place.

Eagles Are Made For Storms

       Let me end with one more thing about Eagles.

       When a storm comes, other birds hide in trees and caves.

       But not the Eagle.

       Because Eagles love storms.

       Eagles sense in their bodies that a storm is coming. And they get excited.

       Because Eagles don’t really fly. Eagles soar. All they do is spread their 7-foot wings and use the wind to carry them. So the stronger the wind, the higher they go.

       Some say that Eagles can sleep in the storm.     

       Friend, your storm will lift you higher.

       Rest in God’s love.

       May your dreams come true,

       Bo Sanchez

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Do You Want To Prosper? Serve!
by Bo Sanchez

I got this crazy list from a friend.

It’s title?

The 9 Ways To Pretend You’re Busy At Work.

Here are 6 of them…

1. Always walk with 3 folders in your hands, even if the folders are empty.

People with folders in their hands look like people going to meetings. People with nothing in their hands look like they’re doing nothing. And people with a newspaper in their hands look like they’re going to the toilet.

2. Always leave your entire cubicle messy.

Build huge piles of folders on your desk. Build stacks of books on the floor, even if you never read them. People around you will think you’re overworked.

3. Always look harassed.

This will give your bosses the impression that you’re really stressed out because of work.

4. Send important emails to your boss at wee hours of the morning.

Set your alarm clock at 2 AM, send the email, and go back to sleep. Your boss will be so convinced you’re such a hard worker.

5. Sigh loudly when many other people are around.

Give the impression that you’re under extreme pressure.

6. In your conversations, say technical words even if you don’t understand them.
For example, if an officemate complains that the internet is slow, say, “It’s because of nanotechnology and the 2nd Law of Physics.” You can speak gibberish, and you’ll still sound impressive.

It got me thinking: This list was made by a genius. Why not use this genius to make work thrilling, fantastic, and excellent?

Which brings me to my message today.

Some people think that spiritual people should be poor.

I beg to disagree. I believe that spiritual people can be the most prosperous people in the world.

Why? Because spiritual people love to serve.

You see, there are two kinds of prosperity.

Happy prosperity and sad prosperity.

You can become rich by stealing and lying to people. But that’s the path to sad prosperity.

Do you want happy prosperity?

I believe the only path to happy prosperity is through service.

So yes, I believe you can prosper.

You can be rich.

Let me teach you how.

Do You Believe You’ll Prosper?

Last week, I talked about “Belief”. I said that if you want to prosper, you need to believe that you can prosper. But what is faith without works? The Bible says it’s dead. So if you want to prosper, you need to express your faith through action.

And for me, action is service.

My big message for you today: Increase your income by increasing your service. Because when you serve, you get rewarded. When you serve, you get paid. Guaranteed. That’s a law written in every atom of God’s universe. When you give, you receive. When you plant, you harvest.

Many times, you don’t get rewarded right away. Many times, the person you served won’t even reward you. That’s okay. Keep serving anyway. And God’s universe will see to it that you get rewarded in some other way.

“Hey, I’m Serving A Lot;

Why Am I Not Wealthy?”

I can hear your objection now.

“But Bo, I’ve been serving all my life! I’m still not rich.”

I know what you mean.

When I look back at my life, I experienced the same thing too. I started serving God at age 12. I preached, sang in the choir, played the guitar for them, organized events, washed dishes, mopped floors, cleaned toilets,… You name it, I did it.

Okay, I didn’t do everything. I didn’t join the kitchen ministry and the dance ministry. Kitchen, because I didn’t want anyone to die of food poisoning. Dance, because I didn’t want anyone to die laughing.

But for 20 years—from age 12 to 32—I was poor.

Why I Wasn’t Rich

For 20 years, I wasn’t rich despite the fact that I was serving people like crazy.

Why? Two reasons.

First, because I didn’t want to become rich.

Second, because I didn’t know how to become rich.

That’s why I talked about “Belief” last week and why I’m talking about “Service” today. Because I subconsciously believed that God preferred me to be poor, I rejected wealth.

Let me just give you three examples…

• I Had No Investments

I was receiving a small allowance as a missionary. But I never thought of saving 10% or 20% for my future. Because if I did that, I felt I wasn’t trusting God enough.

• I Thought Businesses Were All Bad

Through those 20 years of being poor, I got to know a lot of businesspersons. They became my close friends. But not once did I ask them to teach me how to create a sideline or another income stream for myself.

• I Didn’t Like Charging For My Services

There came a point in my life that big companies asked me to give talks for their employees. But when they asked me for my speakers’ fee, I told them, “Oh, I don’t charge. I speak for free.” I felt “awkward” and “icky” just imagining myself telling these companies I charge for my services. (In hindsight, it was also my pride that prevented me from charging. I wanted people to think I was holy.) And so for years, I would speak to these large and rich corporations, events held in 5-star hotels, where everyone got paid. The emcee got paid. The events coordinator got paid. The audio guy got paid. The waiters got paid. Except the keynote speaker!

So I remained poor.

How poor?

I remember that day when I was applying for a visa…

My Net Worth In My Pocket

I was 25 years old.

In the application form, it asked for my net worth.

I asked someone beside me, “What does net worth mean?”

He said, “Your assets. Do you own a house?”

I told him, “Nope.”

“Do you have a car?”

“Yes and No.”

“Yes and No?” he asked, “What brand? What model?”

“I don’t know what brand or model,” I said.

I shook my head. “It’s an old jeep. The one you assemble in the backyard. Model? 1943. Probably World War II.”

The guy looked at me with pity. “If you were to sell it now, how much will be your price?”

“P1500.”

“P1500? That’s all you’re asking for your jeep?”

“Actually, that’s what I’m willing to pay anyone who’s willing to take my jeep out of my hands. It conks out every other day. Because even now, I’m praying for its future owner. For patience amidst tribulations.”

He sighed, “Do you have money in the bank?”

“Uh, no.”

“None?”

“None.”

He looked at me in disbelief. “So your net worth is in your wallet?”

“I guess so,” I smiled.

I thanked him and went back to answering my application form. I opened my wallet, counted my money, and wrote the answer on my application form.

Obviously, my visa application was denied that day.

The Turning Point

But when I was 32 years old, I decided to become rich.

And like a giant dam that broke open, financial blessings entered my life.

Why? Because I was already serving. All I needed to add was belief.

Through the years, I discovered that service was the path to happy prosperity.

For 20 years, my problem was that I didn’t like to be financially rewarded. But the moment I cleared that out of my mind, I began to receive the financial rewards.

Let me repeat my big message today: Increase your income by increasing your service.

Which brings me to the next question.

How To Increase Your Service

How do you increase your service?

There are only three ways: Increase the (1) Scale, (2) Satisfaction, and (3) Spirit of your service.

Here they are…

1. Increase The Scale

Henry Sy is the richest man in the Philippines.

In 2009, according to Forbes Asia, Henry Sy was worth $3.8 billion. Not bad for someone who came to the country as a 12-year old kid owning nothing but the clothes on his back.

Why is the guy so rich?

Here’s one reason: Everyday, 2.5 million people walk into his 43 malls. 2.5 million people who buy stuff, eat meals, watch movies, drink coffee, or simply sit around in benches.

He’s rich because he’s serving 2.5 million people everyday.

Let me ask you: How many people are you serving?

Five people? Fifty people? Five hundred people?

Now you know why you’re earning what you’re earning.

This is what I mean by the scale of your service.

Let me give you another example.

I run a small school. I serve 150+ students.

My friend runs a big school. She serves 9000+ students.

So guess who earns more?

Sometimes, I speak to companies. Because my ministry work has multiplied tenfold, I usually can only give one corporate talk a month.

My friend Francis Kong, a fantastic business speaker, gives 2 to 3 corporate talks per day.

So guess who earns more?

If you want to increase your income, increase the scale of your service. Increase the number of people you serve.

Hey, if you’re employed, this principle is applicable too. The more responsibilities you have in your job, the more people you serve. The higher you go up the company ladder. And the bigger your salary becomes.

Increase your income by increasing the scale of your service. So ask yourself now: How can you serve more people?

But serving more people isn’t enough…

2. Increase The Satisfaction

I have a barber named Bench. From the moment I walk through the door, Bench makes me feel like a king. He greets me and makes me feel right at home. After the really nice haircut, he gives me a free shoulder massage that brings me to heaven. He also gives me a hot towel for my face.

Because I feel so satisfied, my tip is bigger than what I pay for the haircut.

More importantly, the next time I want a haircut, I look for him. By increasing my satisfaction, he has no problems retaining me as his customer.

If you want to become rich, you need to increase not only the quantity (scale), but also the quality (satisfaction) of your service.

Both are indelibly connected.

Let me give you another example.

My nephew Marco is a gifted photographer. He’s so good, Playboy was hiring him to work for them fulltime. He turned down the high paying job (Thank God) and put up his own studio, Shmile. It’s unique because it’s a mobile studio. He can go to your home, set up his lights, props, and backdrop, and start shooting world-class photos. (Check him out at www.shmile.com)

His little business is booming.

Why? Quality. People just love the creativity he puts in his photos.

In “Scale”, you ask, “How many customers do you serve?” In “Satisfaction”, you ask, “How many customers are happy with your service?”


Employees, Think Like Entrepreneurs

Are you an employee?

The Bible says, “Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve before kings; he will not serve before obscure men.” (Psalms 22:29) If you raise the quality of your service, kings will seek after you—and pay you well.

If you’re an employee, satisfy both your external and internal customers. External customers are people who buy your end products. Internal customers are other departments who depend on your output.

Friend, it’s very possible that your boss won’t appreciate you. It’s very possible that your company won’t recognize you. Don’t worry. Serve with excellence anyway. Because one day, you’ll be rewarded. You’ll be appreciated by someone else! One day, others will hear about you and hire you on the spot.

And God will reward you for all the years you served.

Serve your boss the way you serve God. Yes, even if you think your boss is the brother-in-law of the devil. (Just kidding.)

And your promotion will come from God.

I repeat: When you increase the satisfaction of your service, your income increases too. So ask yourself now: How can I make my customers happy?

Finally, the extra magic in the pudding…

3. Increase The Spirit Of Your Service

By spirit, I mean love.

This is the magic ingredient behind real success.

I believe a real business is about loving customers. This is the best business strategy in the world.

Imagine two salesmen selling the same product and quality. One is someone you don’t know and the other is someone you know. Who will you buy from?

Second scenario: Two salesmen selling the same product and quality. One is someone you know and the other is someone you like. Who will you buy from?

Third scenario. Two salesmen selling the same product and quality. One is someone you like and the other is someone you love. Who will you buy from?

The answers are obvious.

Bottomline, business is about relationships.

Sometimes, when the scale (quantity) and satisfaction (quality) are lacking, the spirit (love) of your service can make up for your weaknesses.

In “Scale”, you ask, “How many customers do you serve?” In “Satisfaction”, you ask, “How many customers are happy with your service?” In “Spirit”, you ask, “How many customers have become your friends?”

How I Got Rich

My formula for getting rich is simple: Serve first and the money will follow.

From age 12 to 32, I was serving without much pay. But in reality, I actually earned two things more valuable than money. I developed (1) my talents and (2) my network of trust.

And that’s what happens to you when you serve unselfishly.

I repeat: When you serve, you get rewarded. Everytime!

30-Years Of Service

Developed My Talents

Let me give you one example.

For years, I was running 9 non-profit organizations. Only one of them was paying me a salary. So I led 8 of them without pay.

But I was paid in another way. I learned the skill of delegation, working with people, and empowering my leaders.

Today, using the exact same skill, I run 12 small businesses—all of them earning money for me while I sleep.

I wouldn’t be able to do this if I didn’t learn to lead many organizations in my ministry.

Another thing…

30-Years of Service

Developed My Network Of Trust

Robert Kiyosaki said, “Poor people go to work, Rich people build networks.”

But let me add: They must be networks of trust. Facebook users, having 2834 friends in Facebook is useless if these people don’t really trust you.

I’ve been serving God for 30 years now.

Honestly, I never realized I was building a network of trust.

I was just loving people.

11 years ago, when I started in business, I had no money.

One day, my favorite mother-in-law called me up and said, “Bo, I heard you’re going to business. I have P1M sitting in the bank. You can borrow it if you want.” That’s why she’s my favorite mother-in-law.

Soon, the Uncle of my wife called me up.

He said, “Bo, I have P1M here. I’m earning peanuts from the bank. I was wondering if I could invest it with you.”

Instantly, I had money to start my small businesses.

A year later, he invested P2.5M more.

I want to believe these wonderful people are lending me money because of my charm and irresistible good looks. But that’s not true. They’re lending me money because they trust me. Through the years, I’ve earned that trust.

I don’t search for the money. Money searches for me.

Keep Serving, Rewards Will Follow

When I was 32 years old, I decided to become rich.

That one decision changed everything.

The moment I decided, it was easy.

Friend, may I ask a question?

Have you already decided to become rich?

From my experience, there’s a difference between wishing to be rich and deciding to be rich. Everyone I know wishes to be rich. Very few have decided to be rich.

Wishing is simply hoping.

Deciding is committing to be rich. If you want to be rich, you’ve got to commit yourself to become rich using God’s way of becoming rich.

How? Serve others and the money will follow.

Be the best in your job.

Be the best in your business.

Love your customers.

Serve them with all your heart.

One day, a river of blessing will flow into your life.

May your dreams come true,
Bo Sanchez

by Bo Sanchez

Do you want to be free from financial worry?

Do you want to pay your debts?

Do you want to send your kids to good schools?

Do you want to buy a car that doesn’t break down every two months?

Do you want to buy your own house?

Do you want to, one day, walk up to me and give me a one million donation? (Yes!)

Friend, all this is possible.

For the next six weeks, my goal is make you prosper.

How? You’ve got to learn a new system.

The legendary business guru, W. Edwards Deming, said, Your system is perfectly designed to give you the results you’re getting.

What did he mean by that?

That if all the cars coming out of a car factory have inverted bumpers, then that factory’s system is perfectly designed to produce cars with inverted bumpers.

It’s the same with your finances.

If you have a mountain of debt,

If you can’t make ends meet,

If you’ve got more “month than money”,

It’s because your financial system is perfectly designed to give you your financial struggles.

In this next six weeks, I’ll teach you a new financial system.

This system is composed of six actions:

1. Believe

2. Serve

3. Grow

4. Duplicate

5. Invest

6. Tithe

By making changes in your financial system, you’ll be able to change the results you’re getting in your financial life.

Today, I’d like to share about the power of belief.

Prosper Your Mind, Prosper Your Money

My friend told me a funny story.

He said he was in the States, talking to a Fil-Am guy. The man was boasting about the technology in his country.

He said, “Here in the US, I have this gizmo in my car that tells me very accurate directions of where to go. When I hop in, all I have to do is type in where I want to go, and presto, that gadget will guide me. It’ll tell me whether I should turn right or to turn left, until I arrive at my destination. It’s really fantastic.”

My friend smiled and said, “I guess we’re not as lucky. In the Philippines, when I hop in the car, I say to my driver, ‘Jun, go home.’ I close my eyes and sleep. When I wake up, I’m already home…”

Oh, I know the feeling.

We just don’t know how blessed we are to have house helpers and drivers and gardeners.

But with that blessing comes a responsibility: I believe our duty is to help them prosper.

My Passion Is To Teach The Poor To Prosper

Each week, I preach to thousands. I preach on TV too.

I also lead a small group of very big businessmen—all multi-millionaires. We pray and study the Bible together.

But each week, I lead another small group in our home, composed of my driver and three helpers. In our small group, we do the same thing. We pray together, study the Bible, and share our lives. Last year, I taught them how to save, invest, and tithe.

In last week’s meeting, they thanked me for teaching them how to prosper. They were crying tears of joy! I was so touched by their gratitude.

My driver said, “Sir, for the first time in my life, I now have savings. I’ve never saved before. Now, I have P20,000!” He said he has P5,000 in the bank, and another P15,000 invested in a business.

My driver lives in the slum area. To him, P20,000 was like a million pesos.

My helpers? Last week, the three of them opened an account in citiseconline, an online trading platform. Yes, my helpers will be investing in the stock market under my guidance. (A year ago, one of them already invested in a Euro Mutual Fund—and earned very well.)

I shocked them. I told them, “If you’ll continue the investment program I taught you, you’ll retire as millionaires!”

You should have seen their faces. I wish I took their picture!

Awe. Joy. Disbelief. Most of all, it was hope shining through their eyes.

In other words, I was changing their beliefs.

Once they prosper their minds, I knew their money will prosper too.

I Want To Give You Hope

Six years ago, I started preaching on how to be truly rich.

I knew it was controversial. A few people were turned off. They asked me why I kept talking about money. It’s so unbecoming of a preacher, they said.

One person even emailed me and said, “Bo, you’ve become worldly. I wish you go back to your old self and talk only about prayer, faith, and love. Stop talking about money!”

I’m sorry. I can’t do that.

Let me give you two reasons why.

First, the Bible talks about money more than any other topic. Goodness, it talks about money more than prayer and faith combined. Jesus spoke about money more than Heaven and Hell.

Second reason? I love you. (Sorry for being mushy.) I really do. I want you to prosper. I want you to have financial freedom.

My heart breaks when I see God’s children suffer in want. And I know this pain I feel in my heart isn’t just mine. And I know that God’s heart breaks as well. I believe God wants you to prosper in all areas of your life—including your finances.

It’s possible! There’s hope. You can prosper.

And the first step of becoming financially free is by changing what you believe. Prosper in your mind, and you prosper in your money.

Is Money Evil?

Yesterday, I showed my audience a crisp P1000 bill in my hand. I asked them, “Is this evil?”

There was a split-second pause. And then some people answered, “No!” But it wasn’t convincing.

I knew it was their subconscious at work.

Consciously, they knew money wasn’t evil. But deep within, their old programming was pulling them.

That’s our problem.

I said, “If this is evil, why does Anawim, our ministry for the abandoned elderly, need P700,000 every single month to feed and care for the poorest of the poor?”

“And if this piece of paper is evil, why do our two orphanages (Tahanan and Grace), our scholarship fund (Pagasa), and our streetkids ministry (He Cares), need another P700,000 to do God’s heavenly work on earth every month?”

I gave them my punchline: “And please tell me, how can this P1000 bill be evil if the person holding it is very good? And handsome?”

And everyone laughed. (They thought it was a joke!)

I Want Good People To Prosper!

Friend, money is evil only if the person holding it is evil.

But money becomes very good if the person holding it is good.

That’s why I want you to prosper!

I know you’re a good person.

Read carefully: If good people won’t be wise investors and entrepreneurs, then all the money of the world will go to hands of selfish men. Then God can’t use that money.

Banish the idea in your mind that money is evil. Drive it away from your subconscious. This warped idea had already robbed you of so much wealth!

Remember, every object in this world triggers an emotion in you. Everything has what I call an “emotional association”.

For many people, money’s emotional association is this…

“Money = Evil”

If this emotional association is branded in your subconscious, you’ll never get rich.

Because we don’t like to be evil.

So we’ll reject money like it was the devil itself.

Unless you change your emotional beliefs about money, you’ll never become rich. It’s impossible.

Here’s the truth: You’ll gravitate towards what you subconsciously want, and avoid what you subconsciously do not want. If you believe that money is evil, you will subconsciously avoid money.

Remember the people who criticized me for teaching about money? They’re very few. So I made an informal survey. I discovered that 80% of them were financially struggling.

Why?

Because in their minds, they believe a spiritual person shouldn’t be talking about money or focusing on money. So subconsciously, they avoid it. And inwardly, they actually feel more holy because of their financial struggles. I pitied them so much.
But the idea that “money is evil” isn’t in the Bible.

Instead, let me quote three passages for you to change your emotional association of money.

Create A New Meaning For Money

I’m a father of two fantastic boys.

That’s why I understand this next passage.

Jesus says, “So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.” (Matthew 7:11)

This is so true! I’m not perfect, but I love to give good gifts to my kids. Instead of “Money = Evil”, burn this new emotional association in your brain…

“Money = God’s Provision”

Next. The Bible says,” It is God who gives you the power to create wealth.” (Deuteronomy 8:18)

Question: If God thinks that wealth is evil, why would He give us the power to create wealth in the first place? Pretty illogical, right?

Create this new emotional association in your brain…

“Money = God’s Power”

When you earn money, you’re using God’s power. When you work, God’s power is working within you.

Confess this, “I have the power to create wealth.”

Say this Faith Declaration everyday!

One final passage. The Bible says, “The Lord takes pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.” (Psalms 35:27)

Wow. God is happy when He sees you successful. He claps. He sings. He hops. He does the boogie when He sees you blessed.

I think I know the feeling.

Last year, through her savings program, one of my house helpers built a small house for her family. My other helper bought a piece of property in her hometown.

Despite those expenses, the two of them still had P15,000 in each of their bank accounts—now ready to be invested in the stock market.

Gosh, I was so proud for them. Yes, I felt pleasure in their prosperity!

And I believe God takes pleasure when we prosper too.

So burn this emotional association in your brain…

“Money = God’s Pleasure”

Some people think God wants us to be poor because Jesus was poor. Yes, Jesus was poor. But I believe poverty is a special call He gives to very special people, like celibates in religious orders.

But the Bible also says that you need to provide for the needs of your relatives and immediate family, or you’re worse than an unbeliever. (1 Timothy 5:8)

If you’re like me, you’ll understand what I’ll say next: My heart is big and I have a very big family!

Oh, this topic is very close to my heart.

Let me tell why…

How I Changed My Belief About Money

Once upon a time, I was a poor missionary.

I had very little money.

Once, my hair was growing long. People were telling me, “Bo, you need a haircut.” I said, “I want to look groovy.” Actually, I didn’t have money for the barber.

One of my joys was eating in a restaurant and reading a book. But many times, before I entered a Jollibee (Yes, there was already a Jollibee then. I’m not that old!),

I had to first count the coins in my pocket. Many times, I had to turn around—because I couldn’t afford even one burger.

I couldn’t even buy the things I needed for my preaching.

For example, I couldn’t afford books. I would go to a Bookstore, read a book, return it, go home, and go back the next day to continue reading it. If the sales lady or the security guard looks at me in a funny way, I’d just go to another branch.

But all that was nothing. What was most painful to me was my inability to help the people I wanted to help…

“Why Don’t I Become Rich?”

I remember a friend who called me in the middle of the night. He said, “Please pray for my baby, Bo. She can’t breathe. We’re in the emergency room of a hospital now. They’re asking for a deposit, but we don’t have money.”

I realized they weren’t just asking for prayers. They were asking for money. But I didn’t have any! So I called up a friend who I knew was rich. But no one was answering the phone. (It was 2am.) I tried another friend.

As I dialed, I remembered he was abroad. I called up a third person. And a fourth person. And a fifth person. All night, I was trying to call up my rich friends.

And then it hit me, “Why don’t I become rich myself?”

And little by little, the wrong emotional link of money was replaced by new emotional links. I began to see money as God’s provision, God’s power, and God’s pleasure.

Soon, I was praying a new prayer: “Lord, prosper me so that I can prosper others.”

God Planted A Seed Of Prosperity In You

I don’t know what you’re financial condition is now.

You may be in debt.

You may be in a financial famine.

You may be without a job or stuck in a low paying job.

You may be where I was 12 years ago—wanting to help people but not having enough to help.

Friend, here’s my message to you: There’s hope. Prosper your mind and you prosper your money.

When you were born, God planted a seed of prosperity into your life.

Yesterday, I gave our Feast attendees (that’s what we call our gathering) a small potted basil plant as a symbol for the six weeks we’ll be talking about “Prosper!”
I also showed them what the plant will look like six weeks later—it was a large plant in a large pot.

I told them that if they want their plant to grow, they needed to do one thing: Transfer the plant to a bigger pot.

If they don’t, their plant won’t grow. It’ll become a bonsai.

Friend, the container of the plant is a symbol of your belief.

And the seed of prosperity will grow to the size of your belief.

The reason why many people don’t prosper is because their wrong beliefs prevent them from prospering.

They don’t believe that they will prosper.

They don’t believe that they deserve to prosper.

They don’t believe that God wants them to prosper.

Their container is too small!

Inside You Is A Giant

Yesterday, I also placed the tiny seed of the basil plant on my hand. I showed it to my audience. It was smaller than a mongo seed. I told them, “But inside this seed is the tree.”

I then looked at them and said, “You are a seed. And inside you is a multi-millionaire.”

I may have been imagining it, but I really felt that right at that moment, people were changing their beliefs.

I then shared a powerful story of someone who created a new wealth by creating a new belief about herself…

The Story Of A Champion

When Marion Luna Brem was thirty years old, she was diagnosed to have cervical and breast cancer. She had her cervix removed. And then her breasts.

And then the very painful chemotherapy.

Even with the chemo, doctors gave her only two to five years to live.

That wasn’t all. She had other problems.

First, while taking her chemo, her marriage ended. Cancer had taken its toll not only on her body but on her marriage. Her husband divorced her.

Second, she was in a financial hole. She owed $500,000 in medical bills.

Third, she had no job. She was a housewife most of her life. How could she now feed her two boys?

One day, she was having a really bad day with the chemo. She was mostly on her knees, kneeling on her bathroom tiles, hugging the toilet bowl. She was vomiting the entire day. She felt absolutely awful.

Meanwhile, she could hear her two kids making a lot of noise in the kitchen. And then she smelled something burning.

Her two kids entered the bathroom, holding a pan of macaroni and cheese. “Don’t worry Mom,” the oldest said, “only the bottom is burned. We can still eat the top part.”

Right at that moment, something clicked in Marion’s heart. She knew that dying wasn’t an option. She grabbed a powerful belief in her heart. She believed she must not die. She cannot! And she pulled herself from the floor.

That was a defining moment for her.

Though still weak, she put a cheap wig (because she was bald) and a prosthesis on her bra, and went out to apply for a job.

She knocked on a car dealership and applied to sell cars. She literally begged for a job, explaining her situation to the man.

She couldn’t even enter the dealership. She was told to go away.

After two weeks, and after 16 rejections, she was inside her car, crying. She was losing hope.

But she held on to her belief.

This wasn’t the end of her story. She wasn’t going to end it this way!

And she got out and tried one more time.

And that was when she changed her strategy. “I won’t tell them that I need a job,” she said, “I’ll tell them that they need me!”

She knocked on the door of one more car dealership and said, “I can do something for your company. I can sell your cars!”—and she was accepted on the spot.

Once upon a time, a doctor gave her only 2 to 5 years to live.

Today, she’s is strong and healthy—twenty-five years later!

Once upon a time, she was not only penniless, she was buried in a mountain of debt.

Today, Marion has built a business empire with revenues of $45 Million a year. And a part of this empire is her very own car dealership!

Nothing Is Impossible!

Marion was a 30-year old jobless housewife, stricken with cancer, divorced by her husband, and in debt. Yet today, she’s a multi-millionaire running many companies.

Friend, there is hope for you.

You don’t have to be poor.

You don’t have to be buried in debt.

You don’t have to suffer financial struggles.

You can be financially free.

How?

Change your beliefs.

Prosper your mind so you can prosper your money.

May your dreams come true,
Bo Sanchez

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By Bo Sanchez

You have lies in your mind.

These lies have stolen much of your joy and blessings.

Here’s the problem: You don’t know they’re lies.

My friend priest told me this hilarious story.

One day, a priest saw a group of kids surrounding a dog.

Curious, he came over and asked, “What are you doing?”

One kid said, “Father, we’re arguing as to who would own this stray dog. We all want him. So we decided that the one who can say the biggest lie would take home the dog.”

The priest shook his head and said, “That’s wrong! Do you know that lying is bad? It’s against the commandments of God. Do you know that when I was your age, I never told a single lie?”

For a moment, there was silence. All the kids looked very sad. The priest was happy. He felt his message hit home.

Finally, the smallest boy said, “Okay, no one can beat that. Give him the dog.”

The First Lie I Ever Told

I remember the first lies I ever said.

I was in Grade 3.

One day, I opened the classroom door, not knowing my classmate was right behind it. The door hit his forehead, and blood flowed down his face, all the way to his white polo uniform. He looked like a victim in a horror movie.

That was when my teacher arrived on the scene. And she screamed, “Who did this?”
There I was, still holding the door knob, and with a shaking voice, said, “Not me!”

I remember how terrible I felt that day.

If you ever told a lie before, you know the feeling.

Suddenly, you don’t feel at peace. (Obviously, I’m disqualifying chronic liars. They’ve deadened their conscience and feel nothing.)

Let me tell you why we lose our peace.

Because God is truth. And when we speak untruth, we move away from God. You move away from the one who said, “Peace be with you.”

Lying isn’t worth it.

Inner peace leaves you.

And your relationships are affected. Because relationships are based on trust—which is based on truth. More so, you can’t even have a great relationship with yourself because you lose respect for yourself.

But let me talk about a different kind of lying.

When We Lie To Ourselves

One day, I was preaching about the power of our words.

I asked my audience to say out loud, “I’m beautiful!” We laughed and had so much fun.

After the talk, I saw a young woman waiting for me at the foot of the stage.

I noticed that physically, she was stunningly beautiful.

She had lovely eyes, but when I looked at her, I sensed deep sadness.

She asked me, “Brother Bo, if one says, ‘I’m beautiful’, but she feels ugly, isn’t she lying?”

I already knew she was talking about herself. I asked, “Why do you think you’re ugly?”

She told me her story. When she was a little child, her father would tell her, “Dorothy, you’re ugly.” And he’d laugh the meanest laugh. He’d tease her again and again. Most of the time, he was drunk when he did this. And she said, “Ever since, I’ve always felt ugly. You were telling us on stage to say, ‘I’m beautiful’! I couldn’t say it. I felt I’d be lying…”

I asked her, “Define lying.”

“When I say something that’s not true.”

“We’ve got a problem here. There are three persons involved. You, your father, and God. You say you’re ugly. Your father said you were ugly. But today, I announce to you that God says you’re beautiful.

Who is telling the truth? You, your father, or God? Out of these three persons, only one of you claimed, ‘I Am The Truth.’”

She began to break down.

She said, “Bo, you don’t know what kind of life I’m living now. I live an ugly life. I’ve had 7 boyfriends, some of them married men. I’ve given away my body to all 7 of them and I feel so dirty. I am ugly.”

I knew what happened to Dorothy.

Words have power. And she allowed the words of her father to create ugliness in her life. She was jumping from one lover to another, searching for someone to tell her that she was beautiful.

I said, “Dorothy, God says you’re beautiful. Because He doesn’t look at your mistakes. He doesn’t look at your past. He only looks at the original beauty He created in you from the very beginning. And He also looks at the glorious beauty of your future.”

I have this habit of praying for people on the spot. I prayed for God’s healing on her life. I said, “Lord, dethrone this cruel lie in her mind.”
The next time I saw Dorothy, she was a different person.

She was free from all her bad relationships. She was serving God in her prayer group. And her eyes no longer had sadness. I saw happiness in them. And yes, she was indeed beautiful.

Stop The Lies

You may be like Dorothy today.

You feel you’ve made mistakes in the past. And you believe you’re a bad person. Or you failed in your school or job or family—and feel that you’re a failure.

But I speak words of truth to you: God says you’re not a bad person. God says you’re not a failure. Sure you’ve made mistakes. But those mistakes don’t define you. God says you’re very good, made in His image. God says there’s a champion in you.

Dethrone the lies in your mind.

Listen to what God is saying instead.

My friend George Gabriel told me that in Facebook and other social networks, there’s such a thing as “Status”. Most often, he sees people type in negative words like, “I feel lazy today,” and “I’m depressed,” and “I’m broke.” He says that these negative words are typed in the internet forever.

Hey, it’s good that we’re being emotionally honest. That’s important. Don’t deny what you feel. But I think we shouldn’t stop at emotional honesty. I think we should also proclaim the truth.

If you feel sick, don’t just say, “I don’t feel well.” Say, “I don’t feel well but this is temporary. Health and healing are flowing into my body.”
If you don’t have money today, don’t say, “I’m poor.” Say, “I’m temporarily broke. Abundance is coming my way.”

If you had a relationship that didn’t work out, don’t just say, “I have a broken heart.” Say, “I have a broken heart but I know the best is yet to come. Someone better will walk into my life and I will find my one true love.”

My friend Vic Espanol told me of Dr. Masaru Emoto. I read his fascinating work years ago, but reading it again opened my eyes to the power of our words…

The Power Of Words Over Water

Wait A Minute – Aren’t You Made Up Of Water?

Yes! 72% of your body is made up of water.

Imagine how your words affect your own body.

When you say, “I’m a failure,” or “I’m hopeless,” or “I won’t get well,” imagine how these words weaken your health.

Make a choice to say the best words out there. Say often, “I’m wonderful,” and “I’m beautiful,” and “I’m God’s child,” and “God has a great plan for my life!”

It’s not only water.

Dr. Emoto also experimented with cooked rice.

He placed one cup of cooked rice in two airtight jars. On one jar, he wrote, “I love you,” and on the other, “You fool.” Everyday for 30 days, Dr. Emoto would say these words to each jar of rice.

After 30 days, the “I love you” rice was still white. But the “You fool” rice was so rotten, it was black. How can you explain this?

Just as a side note: When I was a child, my mother taught me to pray before meals. Now I realize it wasn’t just a nice thing to do.

When I pray over my meal, I know a material transformation takes place in the molecular level of the food that I pray for.

I say, “Be blessed,” to the water and food on the table—and I expect it to be blessed.

Can Water Read Or Listen To Words?

Yes and No.

Let me explain this in the simplest way I can.

I’m taking a deep breath now, because I can’t believe I’m going to do this: I’m going to give a mini-lecture on Physics. Me, the guy who got a D in all my science subjects!

Do you remember Albert Einstein?

My friend Albert said that everything is energy.

Remember his formula E=mc2?

Well, he believed that energy and matter are interchangeable. Because in a subatomic level, the most solid matter you can think of, like a table or a rock (or my biceps) isn’t really solid at all.

Everything is a sea of vibrating energy. Ever changing, ever moving, at the speed of light.

Thus, in a mind-boggling way, there’s really no difference between a thing and a thought. All is energy.

Because of this, everything is interconnected. We’re all inside this ocean of fluid energy. That means my thoughts and words can really affect the entire material universe.

Amazing? You bet.

When you start speaking like this, people automatically think this is New Age and reject it. Not necessarily. What I gave you are reflections based on the Theory of Relativity and Quantum Physics.

(Note: From a scientific perspective, I probably will get an F with my explanation above. I apologize to all the scientists out there.)

Friend, use your words to create your desired destiny.

Speak Words of Faith. Believe that your words affect your universe.

The Power Of Prayer

I have a confession to make.

For many years, I’ve never understood why we needed “intercession”.

Why do I need to ask you to pray for me?

Let’s say I need money to buy food.

Doesn’t God love me enough to give me money if I ask Him? Why do I need to ask my friends to pray for me?

Is God moved if instead of one person praying, we come as a group? Is God like a politician that is moved by numbers?

Is God saying, “Hmmm, you’re only one person praying. Tsk, tsk. Not enough. Come back to me if you’re a crowd, okay?”

Let’s say you’re sick and want healing.

Why ask the saints to pray for you? Doesn’t God love you enough to heal you—without the backing of saints? Palakasan ba ‘to? Is God saying, “Don’t you bring References with you?”

I also couldn’t understand “Soaking Prayer”. Someone told me, “Our mother was sick and we soaked her in prayer for two whole hours. And God healed her!”

At the back of my mind, I asked, “Why? Why two hours? Doesn’t God hear us the first time we ask for healing?

Is He that type of God who will wait if we’re really insistent—and then relent to our pleading?

If so, then God is a capricious God who doles out blessings to the strongest, loudest appeals.

But as I reflected further, I began to understand.

This understanding was a giant breakthrough for me.

The Blessings Are Already Given

I believe God has already made available all the blessings that you need. Healing. Miracles. Abundance. They’re all there. The Bible says that (Ephesians 1).

He’s not hiding any of that from us.

He’s not keeping it in a giant storehouse under lock and key, and giving them out piece by piece whenever we ask for them.

I repeat: He’s made them all available to you.

Imagine yourself swimming in an ocean of blessings. That’s the picture!

But here’s the reality: One person can be a sponge. And another person can be a rock. The sponge absorbs the water, the rock cannot.

What makes you more absorbent? Your faith.

That’s why prayer has a powerful effect. It increases your faith. It makes you ready to receive blessings.

And when others pray for you, their faith increases your faith. No mater how far they are, their words travel at the speed of light and bless you. Something happens to you when others proclaim blessing to you.

(And note: Love is the greatest power on the planet. When I pray for you, I’m loving you with God’s love. You receive this love. And this love heals and performs miracles.)

That’s why Intercession is powerful. That’s why soaking prayer is powerful. The problem isn’t in the giving of the blessing. The problem is in the receiving of the blessing. Many times, we’re not yet ready. Our faith isn’t ready. (Another note: Faith isn’t only the reason why we don’t receive blessings. There are other reasons that I don’t have time to talk about today.)

But being surrounded by the prayer and love of others, we increase our faith and receive His blessings.

And when you speak words of truth, you affect the universe.

Let me end with one last story.

Who Is Telling The Truth?

One day, a young guy and a young girl fell in love.

But the guy came from a poor family. The girl’s parents weren’t too happy.

So the young man decided not only to court the girl but to court her parents as well. In time, the parents saw that he was a good man and was worthy of their daughter’s hand.

But there was another problem: The man was a soldier. Soon, war broke out and he was being sent overseas for a year.

The week before he left, the man knelt on his knee and asked his lady love, “Will you marry me?” She wiped a tear, said yes, and they were engaged. They agreed that when he got back in one year, they would get married.

But tragedy struck. A few days after he left, the girl had a major vehicular accident. It was a head-on collision.

When she woke up in the hospital, she saw her father and mother crying. Immediately, she knew there was something wrong.

She later found out that she suffered brain injury. The part of her brain that controlled her face muscles was damaged. Her once lovely face was now disfigured. She cried as she saw herself in the mirror.

“Yesterday, I was beautiful. Today, I’m a monster.” Her body was also covered with so many ugly wounds.

Right there and then, she decided to release her fiancé from their promise. She knew he wouldn’t want her anymore. She would forget about him and never see him again.

For one year, the soldier wrote many letters—but she wouldn’t answer. He phoned her many times but she wouldn’t return her calls.

But after one year, the mother walked into her room and announced, “He’s back from the war.”

The girl shouted, “No! Please don’t tell him about me. Don’t tell him I’m here!”

The mother said, “He’s getting married,” and handed her a wedding invitation.

The girl’s heart sank. She knew she still loved him—but she had to forget him now.

With great sadness, she opened the wedding invitation.

And then she saw her name on it!

Confused, she asked, “What is this?”

That was when the young man entered her room with a bouquet of flowers. He knelt beside her and asked, “Will you marry me?”
The girl covered her face with her hands and said, “I’m ugly!”

The man said, “Without your permission, your mother sent me your photos. When I saw your photos, I realized that nothing has changed. You’re still the person I fell in love. You’re still as beautiful as ever. Because I love you!”

This Story Is A Parable Of Your Life

Friend, the girl believed she was ugly.

The man believed she was beautiful.

Who is telling the truth?

Simple answer: The man who loved.

You may be like that woman. You feel you’re disfigured by your failures. Marred by your mistakes. You feel you live an ugly life. But God says you’re beautiful! Because He loves you.

He doesn’t look at your mistakes. He doesn’t look at your past. He looks at the original beauty He created in you—and the glorious beauty of your future.

I encourage you to speak words of truth.
Dethrone the lies in your mind.

Say, “I’m beautiful.” Say, “I’m a wonderful person.” Say, “I have a great future.” Say, “I’m anointed. I’m strong. I’m blessed.”

Use your words to create your desired reality.

May your dreams come true,
Bo Sanchez

Source

How To Use Your Words To Create Your Reality
By Bo Sanchez

Do you want to know your future?

So many people are awed by Nostradamus, Edgar Cayce, Jean Dixon, and even Madame Auring (yes, her!) because they claim to predict the future.

Friend, I have a big announcement to make: You can predict the future.

You don’t have to look for a prophet, a seer, or a fortune-teller to know your future. You don’t have to consult the horoscope, the crystal ball, your palm, tea leaves, or fortune cookies to know your future.

You can predict your future.

How? All you have to do is listen to your words.

By examining the words that come out of your mouth, you’ll know your future. Guaranteed.

Let me share with you three people…

Where Do You Want To Go?

Nineteen years ago, I had a friend who was always miserable.

Constantly, I heard “Glenda” say, “Life sucks,” and “Life is terrible,” and “I’m doomed,” and “I’m a looser.” I heard her always sigh with heaviness, “Hay buhay, parang life…”

We lost touch for 11 years.

But I met Glenda recently

Guess what. Her life is still miserable.

Her words created her reality.

My other friend, “Marcel”, liked talking negatively about his health. Ever since I can remember, he kept saying, “I’ll die when I reach fifty.”

I would tell him, “Fifty? My gosh. Don’t say that!”

He’d say, “My father died in his fifties. My grandfather died in his fifties too. So I’m sure I’ll die when I reach fifty.”

True enough, at the exact age of fifty years old, Marcel was walking in the sidewalk. All of a sudden, he fell like a log. Wham. He died of a heart attack.

His words created his reality.

The Bible says that your tongue is like a rudder of a big ship. Like a rudder, your tongue directs your life.

So let me ask you: What kind of future do you want to have?

Don’t use your words to describe your reality. Use your words to create your desired reality.

Another way of putting it: Don’t just talk about where you are. Talk about where you want to go.

Use Your Words To Direct Your Future

My third example is my 84-year old mother.

Last Sunday, Mom was limping.

By Monday, she couldn’t get out of bed. She said her leg was so painful, she couldn’t move it. She couldn’t even walk to the bathroom by herself.

By Tuesday, she was so depressed because we had to put her on a wheelchair. She hated the idea. “I don’t want to be paralyzed!” she said. The entire time, she was moaning and groaning, complaining about the pain and her condition.

That day, I visited her and spoke words of faith. I said, “Mom, this is temporary. You’ll get better.” I prayed for her and taught her a simple healing exercise. I also told her, “Mom, you’ve got to change your words. I know you’re discouraged, but you’ve got to say, “I’m getting better and better everyday.”

She laughed. She asked, “How could I say those words when she had so much pain and could barely move her leg?”

“You’ve got to try!” I said.

But I called her Wednesday and she was better.

I called her Thursday and she began walking.

I called her Friday and she went down the stairs already.

And Sunday? She was at the Feast, walking around like nothing happened.

Perhaps you’re sick like my mother today.

Say, “I feel better and better everyday.”

Echo Joel 3:10, where it says, “Let the weak say I am strong…” So even if you feel weak, believe that God will heal you.

Let me tell you how this works…

Why Faith Words Work

I can explain it in many ways:

• Faith Words affect your emotions in a positive way.

• Faith Words—repeated again and again—create new neural pathways in your brain.

• Faith Words also train your Reticular Activating System (RAS) to be attentive to see the blessings you desire.

All that is true.

But here’s my favorite explanation: Faith Words aren’t just mere positive affirmations; They open your life up to the supernatural power of God.

In Biblical thinking, words aren’t just sounds or noise.

Words are imbued with God’s creative power.

In Genesis, God created the world by His words. He didn’t create light by mixing up stuff with His hands. He simply said, “Let there be light” and there was light.

The Bible also says that death and life are in the power of our tongue. Pretty awesome, right?

God Will Provide

In 2009, my friend Rey Ortega felt God was calling him to rescue babies from abortion. He discussed this with me and passed this dream to my heart. I told him, “Let’s start a ministry.”

Rey then told me, “But I have a problem. How can we raise money for this new work? I’ve exhausted all my friends already for our other work. They all now donate to our Tahanan orphanage and Pagasa scholarship for poor children.”

That’s when I told Rey my Faith Words. Just three words. I said, “God will provide.”

He said, “Wow, I’m impressed by your faith!”

Actually, I was hiding my fear. I was actually scared! In my mind, I said, “Oh no, here I go again, getting myself into another ministry…”

When I said, “God will provide,” we had nothing. Zero. But soon, blessings began to flow like a waterfall.

That month, out of the blue, My Ninang (godmother) called up my office because she needed a speaker for her little prayer group. Specifically, she wanted a speaker to share about the topic, “The Sanctity of Life”.

Obviously, the best speaker on the topic was Rey Ortega. He was the one who had this dream of rescuing babies from abortion in his heart. So I told Rey, “Give the talk. And share our dream to my Ninang. She’s rich!”

And that night, he did.

My Ninang heard Rey’s story and invited him for lunch the next day. When they met, my Ninang said, “You can use my building for your ministry. You have 300 square meters for your halfway house.” Not only that, she spent two million pesos of her own money to remodel it for our use.

We didn’t even call her. She called us.

Was that coincidence?

No. That’s synchronicity of grace. That’s the universe conspiring to bless us. We were no longer chasing after blessings. The blessings were chasing after us. Resources were rolling at our feet, begging that we take them.

“God will provide,” is a powerful Faith Word.

In May 2009, we began Grace To Be Born, a halfway house for pregnant women in crisis and an orphanage for babies. In 6 months, we’ve rescued 15 babies from abortion.

Friend, are you praying for God to provide for you?

Here’s my belief: Sooner or later, your outside world will match your inside world. What’s does your inside world say?

Remember, your faith is more powerful than your sight.

Your sight can only describe your situation, your faith can direct your situation.

Let me tell you the story of Elijah…

I Hear The Sound Of Heavy Rain Even When There Is No Rain

I love this incredible story.

For 3 years, there was a drought in Israel. Absolutely no rain in the whole land. In our language, a very bad El Nino.

But one day, the prophet Elijah told King Ahab, “Your problems are over. Go, eat and drink, for I hear the sound of heavy rain.” King Ahab was relieved and followed Elijah’s orders.

But was there actually rain?

None. Not a drop.

In fact, there was not a single cloud in the sky.

That was when Elijah prayed very hard. The Bible says he went up to Mount Carmel, bent over, and placed his head between his knees. If you pray in that posture, that means Elijah was desperate. I should know. That was how I prayed when I was courting my wife. (It worked!)

Elijah then told his servant, “Look towards the sea and check for clouds.”

The servant looked and said, “No clouds.”

You can imagine how worried Elijah must have felt.

So Elijah prayed one more time and told his servant, “Check again.” The servant looked and shook his head, “Nope, no clouds.”

The Bible says this scene was repeated 7 times.

By the seventh time, I can imagine what the poor servant was thinking. I bet he wanted to say, “Elijah, I told you 6 times already, the sky is empty. Nothing. Nada. Zero. Zilcho. When are you going to quit? When are you going to tell King Ahab that you made a big booboo?”

But Elijah didn’t quit. He asked him, “Check again.”

Big Clouds Come From Little Clouds

When the servant looked a seventh time, he said, “I saw a little cloud no bigger than a man’s hand, coming up from the sea.”

In other words, he was saying, “Uh, there’s a tiny cloud. But don’t get your hopes up too much. It’s so itsy bitsy tiny, I can cover it with my hand. See? I don’t see it no more.”

But that little cloud was enough for Elijah. He said, “Tell King Ahab to hurry home as he might be caught by the downpour.”

Wow. That’s faith.

And the Bible says the wind began to blow and the heavy rain began to fall.

Friend, it’s your turn to create your miracles.

Do you see an empty sky or a little cloud?

When you focus on emptiness, more emptiness will come. But when you focus on the blessings—no matter how small—more blessings will come.

Speak Blessing Into Your Future

Here’s my message: There’s a connection between what you say and what will happen.

You have a choice: You can say, “There’s not a cloud in the sky” or you can say, “I hear the sound of heavy rain.”

Perhaps today, you don’t see the healing happening yet in your body. But you can confess, “I’m being healed by God right now. Health and healing are flowing into my body. I’m getting better and better everyday.”

Perhaps today, you don’t see your child changing yet. He’s still making bad choices. He’s still hanging out with bad company. He’s still taking drugs. But you can confess, “My child is coming closer to God. As I speak, God is working in his life.”

Perhaps today, you don’t see your financial situation getting better. But you can confess, “I’m getting rich and richer everyday. God is prospering the work of my hands.”

Perhaps today, you don’t see yourself free from addictions yet. But you can confess, “I may have had addictions in the past, but God is starting a new chapter in my life. I may feel weak right now but I declare that God is making me strong.”

Like Elijah, you need to hear the sound of heavy rain even when there’s not a cloud in the sky. You need to hear the heavy rain of blessings into your life even when you don’t see anything yet.

Start speaking words of faith into your future.

Because your words create your reality.

Let me tell you my last story.

Use Your Words To Direct Your Future

Last year, one of my small businesses collapsed.

In a snap, it simply sunk.

Circumstances beyond my control pulled the rug beneath it and it came crashing down.

My small business was almost one year old. All of a sudden, in one day, I lost all my customers.

I wish I could tell you that because I’m a preacher, I smiled and sang, “Give thanks with a grateful heart…”

That’s not true. At least, not right away.

Believe me, I was so discouraged. I was so frustrated, I wanted to say, “This business is dead,” and “I’m a failure,” and “Why did I let this happen? I’m so foolish.”

But I didn’t say those words.

Because I knew words have power.

Instead of using my words to describe my reality, I decided to use my words to create my desired reality.

Every time I wanted to say those negative words, I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and proclaimed with faith, “My business will rise up stronger than ever. This failure is temporary. This failure will make my business even better.”

For three months, I tried to resurrect my business. And I couldn’t do it. I felt like I was hitting my head on a brick wall. But no matter how discouraged I felt, I kept saying these faith statements, “My business will rise up stronger than ever.” And I didn’t stop trying to fix it.

And soon, I discovered the blessing within the problem. Because I had to start from scratch, I was able to change my business model.

Today, that small business is doing so much better. Today, I have more customers, more sales, and more profits!

You know what? Today, I thank God my business collapsed. Because it gave me the chance to transform it and make it better.

What happened?

My words—my Faith Words—created my desired reality.

Proclaim Those Faith Words

Look, I’m not saying that speaking Faith Words is all that you need to do to succeed in life. This isn’t magic.

To succeed in life, you need love, wisdom, mentors, action…

But speaking words of faith is incredibly important too!

May I suggest something?

I want you to take five minutes everyday declaring Faith Words. I guarantee that it can change your life. Five minutes in the morning, declare God’s word, including your positive beliefs about your life.

Here’s why. In Mark 11:23, Jesus said something incredible. He said, I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.

Friend, what is your mountain?

It may be sickness. It may be a troublesome relationship. It may be a lack of money.

Don’t just pray about the mountain. Don’t just talk about the mountain. Instead, speak to the mountain.

That’s what I did to my failed business. I told it to resurrect.

My message again: Don’t use your words to describe your reality. Use your words to create your reality.

Below, you’ll find God’s Word combined with my own positive words. I wrote these Faith Words so that you can speak them everyday. In fact, depending on your particular “mountain”, I want you to say these Faith Words not just once, but many times during the day.

Talk to the mountain of sickness:

“With long life, He satisfies me and shows me His salvation. I’m getting better and better everyday. I am getting stronger and stronger everyday. The power of healing is flowing through my body, mind, and spirit. New health, new joy, new peace, new hope is increasing within me.”

Talk to the mountain of a loved one going astray:

“My child (husband, brother, etc.) is growing closer to God. Deep inside his heart, the Holy Spirit is busy working, changing, and transforming him. He is set free from all his addictions. He will fulfill God’s purpose for his life. I declare that as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Talk to the mountain of addictions:

“I may have had addictions in the past, but God is starting a new chapter in my life. I may feel weak now but I declare that God is making me strong. God is setting me free.”

Talk to the mountain of relationship conflicts:

“God is blessing my relationships. Love is increasing. Service for one another is growing. Forgiveness, humility, and understanding flow like a river in my relationships. Old wounds are being healed. Bonds between us are getting stronger and deeper.”

Talk to the mountain of confusion in decision-making:

“The steps of the good person are ordered by the Lord. God directs my steps. God helps me to distinguish what is right from wrong. God shows me the paths to abundance.”

Talk to the mountain of financial difficulty:

“I’m rich and getting richer. I’m generous and getting more generous. God’s abundance is supplying my every need. Everything I touch prospers and succeeds. New doors will open before me. The right people will walk into my life. God will prosper the work of my hands. As I use my core gifts to serve others, I will be richly rewarded.”

Friend, there’s a miracle in your mouth waiting to be released.

Release it today.

May your dreams come true,
Bo Sanchez

Source

by Bo Sanchez

One day, I was preaching about expressing our love more.

After the talk, two grey-haired gentlemen walked up to me.

The first man said, “Brother Bo, in all the years that I’ve been married, not once have I have ever told my wife that I loved her. I was never trained to be expressive.”

The other man added, “Bo, I don’t feel a need to say ‘I love you’ to my wife. What other proof does she need? I’m still here married to her, am I not? I guess I want my actions to speak more than my words.”

I studied the men in front of me. And I understood them.

Because I realized what epoch they came from. Let me give you an idea of how old they were: I was wondering if they were classmates of Jose Rizal or Emilio Aguinaldo.

Just kidding.

They were as old as my father.

And that’s why I understood them.

Because I understood my father.

Dad’s Favorite Word

I loved my father.

And I know that he loved me so much.

Everyday, he would spend time with me. He filled my heart with love.

But he wasn’t perfect.

Like those two older men, I remember how Dad didn’t speak much.

His favorite word was a grunt.

He had this special grunt language that I learned to decipher through the years.

Here’s a typical conversation I had with him as a boy…

Little Bo: “Hi Dad!”

Dad: “Mmm.” (Blank stare.)

Little Bo: “Where’s Mom, Dad?”

Dad: “Mmm.” (Slightly jerks his head towards the kitchen.)

Little Bo: “Can we go to the toy store this Saturday?”

Dad: “Mmm.” (Shrugs his shoulders.)

Little Bo: “Will you buy me a Voltes V robot?”

Dad: “Mmm.” (Frowns.)

Little Bo: “Can you explain the theory of Relativity?”

Dad: “Mmm.” (Blank stare.)

Little Bo: “Wow Dad, everything makes sense to me now.”

Dad: “Mmm.” (Blank stare again.)

Did They Teach This in Fatherhood 101?

I think Filipino fathers of that generation were trained in this special “grunt” language. When they took up Fatherhood 101, they were taught how to be strong, aloof, and stoic as a grey wall.

Don’t get me wrong. I repeat: My Dad loved me. Very much.

But he just wasn’t good with his words.

In my entire life, I don’t remember my father telling me, “I love you”. Not once did he tell me, “I’m proud of you” or “I’m happy that you’re my son.”

Looking back, I wish he said these words to me. My spirit hungered to receive that blessing from him.

If you’re a parent, don’t hold back simply because you’ve never done it before.

You might be saying, “But Bo, my kids are now adults. I guess it’s too late.”

No, it’s not. It’s never too late.

You can pick up the phone and tell them how much they mean to you. Honor them and give them the blessing.

Remember: You’re the only one who can do it. You’re the only one who can give them this special blessing.

As a parent. As a spouse. As a friend.

I know this from personal experience…

In His Strange Way, He Honored Me

I was eighteen and already preaching.

But I was receiving so many invitations to preach, I was turning them down.

So one day, Dad scolded me. He said, “Bo, you have a gift to preach! I don’t have that gift. I wish I had it. But I don’t. You do. If I were you, I’d say yes to every single invitation. Because you need to use your gift. If you won’t use it, God may take it away from you!”

There was anger in his voice. But in the process, words of honor slipped out of his lips. In a tangential way, he was praising me. And my spirit was rejoicing. Though he didn’t say it, I got an inkling of how proud my father was for me. Those words meant so much to me, because I still remember them today—after 20+ years!

A Deep Desire In Every Human Heart

There I was, getting applause from everyone in the planet.

My audience admired me. People were praising me.

But all that wasn’t enough. Deep inside, I still wanted my own father to praise me. I wanted my Dad to honor me.

I believe that in every human heart is a deep need to be honored by one’s parents. All of us want to hear these words: “I’m proud and happy that you’re my child.”

Friend, honor your loved ones today with your words!

Don’t say, “Oh Bo, I’m too old to learn.”

Don’t be stuck in your old ways. For the sake of the children, you can change. Use your words to bless others.

Remember: When you honor a person with your words, you’re not just making that person feel good. Because words have power. God has imbued our words with immense creative power. Your words can create life. Your words can perform miracles. Your words can heal wounds. Your words can refresh the spirit.

But I know some people do the very opposite: They use they’re incredible power to curse.

You Have The Power To Bless Or Curse

One day, a woman came up to me and asked for prayers. She said a mangkukulam cursed her. She’s been sick for a year, suffering terrible pains in her body, but doctors couldn’t find anything wrong with her.

It was probably true. Because when our prayer team prayed for her, the healing was instant. She never suffered pains again.

Mangkukulams are feared by everyone. Because these witches have the power to kill or harm simply by cursing their enemies.

Scary, right?

I’ve got news for you: You don’t have to be a mangkukulam to have this power. All of us have this power.

When Parents say, “Buwiset ka! Wala kang kuwentang anak! Ang tigas tigas ng ulo mo! Ang bobo mo!” (You’re worthless, You’re dumb), they’re cursing their kids. They’re prophesying doom to their children. They’re acting exactly like voodoo witches.

Yesterday, I was reading about J. Paul Getty. He was a billionaire. He owned 200+ companies. He was a total success in business but a total failure in family.

He was married five times and divorced five times. He had six sons. But he was so busy building his empire, he never really spent time with his children. He was also very critical.

For example, his son Paul Jr. would write letters to his father. The letters would come back with the spelling and grammatical errors corrected—but there was no reply from the father. Paul later became a heroin addict.

His other son, Gordon, dealt with his father only through the court, fighting over money.

His other son Ronald went into filmmaking, and his father ridiculed him.

Another son worked with the father in the family business. But he took his life, stabbing himself in the stomach and taking an overdose of pills.

In one sense, J. Paul Getty cursed his kids.

You too have the power to bless and curse people with the use of your words. The Bible says that life and death are in the power of the tongue.

Let me share a very weird story from the Bible.

A Very Weird Story

Isaac had twin sons—Jacob and Esau.

When some Filipinos hear “Esau”, they automatically get hungry. (Focus on the story, please.)

Isaac and his wife Rebecca played favorites. With disastrous results. Daddy Isaac favored Esau while Mommy Rebecca favored Jacob. (Parents, don’t play favorites. The Esau-Jacob conflict continues to this day in the Middle East, about 3000+ years later!)

When Isaac was old and blind, he called his son Esau and said, “I’m going to die soon. I want to give you my blessing. Go and hunt a wild animal for me, cook it the way I want it and serve it to me. Then I’ll give you my blessing.”

But Rebecca was outside the tent, eavesdropping.

Quickly, she cooked a goat from their flocks. She then told Jacob to bring the meal to his father and pretend that he was Esau, so he could get the blessing.

Isaac, being blind, was fooled. He thought Jacob was Esau and gave him his blessing. He said, “May you have abundance, may the nations serve you, may all those who bless you be blessed, and may all those who curse you be cursed.”

When Jacob left, his brother Esau came in. Isaac was so surprised. And he said, “Sorry Esau, I gave the blessing to Jacob. I can’t take it back anymore.”

What Were These Guys Fighting For?

What’s weird? The brothers weren’t fighting for their father’s gold, or their father’s cattle, or their father’s land.

They were fighting for their father’s words.

They were fighting for an old man’s blessing.

Why?

Because in Bible thinking, words aren’t just meaningless sounds. Words aren’t just noise. Words have creative power. Words define our reality.

When I tell my son, “I’m so happy that you’re my son. I know you’ll be very successful in all areas of life and everything you touch will prosper,” I’m not only honoring my son, I’m also giving him a supernatural blessing.

When I tell my wife, “I love you. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me,” I’m not only honoring her, I’m also giving her a supernatural blessing.

Part of this supernatural blessing is a prophecy…

People Will Rise To The Level Of What You Prophesy

You’re a prophet.

You can shape the destiny of your children, of your friends, of your loved ones by your words.

Here’s what I learned: People will rise to the level of what you prophesy. People will adjust to your prophecy.

Remember, if you don’t tell your kids who they are and what their destiny is, someone else will. The television will tell them. The internet will tell them. Bullies in school will tell them.

Don’t let that happen. Honor your kids!

This is the story of my life.

Once upon a time, I was 13 years old who was a poor student in school. I didn’t know what to do with my life.

But one day, this woman came up to me, prophesied to me and said, “Bo, you’ll receive the gift of wisdom. I believe in you. You’ll preach God’s Word to many people.” She then asked me to give a talk to our prayer group. She did it again and again.

From a nobody, I rose up to her prophecy.

“But Bo, My Parents Didn’t Honor Me!”

Perhaps your parents failed to give you the blessing.

Then here’s what you do.

Go to God and receive that blessing directly from Him.

When the Father introduced Jesus to the world, He said, “This is my son with whom I am well pleased.” What was the Father doing? He was honoring and blessing the Son.

I believe God says these same words to you. “This is my child whom I am well pleased!”

You may have a difficult time swallowing that. “No Bo, I’m a big sinner. I’ve failed God. I’m sure He won’t say that about me.”

But that’s Grace. When God looks at you, He doesn’t see your mistakes. He sees the goodness He created in you.

Last Thursday, I listened to Fr. Cantalamesa preach.

Who is he? Fr. Cantalamesa is the Retreat Master of the Pope. Whenever the Pope goes on retreat, he’s the guy who gives it. For 30 years, he’s been the Preacher to the Papal Household.

Fr. Cantalamesa said something that blew me away. He said he likes saying to God, “Father, look at me… and rejoice!”

Wow.

Friend, God delights in you.

He doesn’t only love you, He rejoices over you. When God sees you, I believe He’s so happy, He sings, jumps, and dances for joy.

What Do You See In The People Around You?

Once upon a time, I was a “negative” spiritual leader.

My most predominant question was, “What is wrong with my flock?” I focused on their faults. I looked at their weaknesses. I’d say, “They lack commitment,” and “They’re so hard headed…”

So I preached fear, hoping that people will get scared enough to change their lives. I looked down at my listeners. I told them to shape up or else…

But one day, my leadership changed.

Because I changed.

I believe I changed when I became a father.

Because I learned that focusing on my children’s weaknesses only multiplied them. I learned to focus on their strengths, and by doing so, their strengths increased. The good news? Their strengths spontaneously pushed out their weaknesses!

So I became a “positive” spiritual leader.

Now, when I look at my flock, I ask, “What’s wonderful about them?” Today, I’m amazed at how committed, generous, and loving they are. I can’t ask for a better spiritual family!

Today, I preach love. I can’t help it. God has filled my heart with so much love, it overflows.

Let me tell you my last story …

You Are My Sunshine

I love this story so much.

One day, 3-year old Michael wished for a baby sister.

So when his mother got pregnant with a baby girl, the little tyke was delighted. Everyday, he’d rub his mother’s tummy and sing to his baby sister, You are my sunshine, You are my sunshine, You make me happy, when stars are grey…

But when the baby was born, there were complications. The baby was in critical condition.

Little Michael waited at home, wondering why his mother and his baby sister weren’t coming home yet.

A few days later, the doctor told the mother that the baby may not last long. The mother decided to bring Michael to the ICU and see his baby sister before she died.

She knew it was against the ICU rules, but she knew she had to do it. She brought in little Michael and let him stand beside his very sick baby sister.

That was when the Head Nurse saw Michael and shouted, “Children are not allowed here!”

But before they could pull him out of the room, little Michael sang to his baby sister, You are my sunshine, You are my sunshine. You make me happy, when stars are grey, You never know dear, how much I love you, please don’t take my sunshine away…

Immediately, the baby grew calm. Her heart rate, which was abnormally fast, slowed down.

The Head Nurse noticed what was happening and said, “Little boy, whatever you’re doing, keep doing it. Something is happening to the baby!”

Michael kept singing to his sister. And everyday, she got better. Until she got totally well.

Because little Michael used words of honor to bless his sister.

Friend, you too can heal others.

You have the power of God in your tongue.

Use your words to bless others.

May your dreams come true,
Bo Sanchez

by Bo Sanchez

I’m a legendary artist. (Ahem.)

I’ve produced legendary artwork.

So legendary, in fact, no one remembers them.

Michaelangelo uses paint.

Leonardo da Vinci uses charcoal.

Me? I use my sons’ magic sketchpad.

Okay, it’s a toy.

But I love this toy.

My boys and I would sit on the couch and doodle for hours. Together, we’ve drawn literally thousands of sketches. We’ve created entire worlds and galaxies together. Roller coasters, spaceships, rockets, monsters, aliens—you name it, we drew it.

Here’s why I love this toy.

When I make a mistake, I don’t get angry. I don’t curse myself. I don’t condemn myself. I simply pull the eraser button and draw again.

Which is what we’re supposed to do in life.

I’ve met some people who think that just because they’ve made mistakes, just because they made bad choices, God won’t bless them anymore.

Hey, we’ve all made mistakes.

Perhaps you gave yourself to addictions. Perhaps you were a rebellious child and made your parents unhappy. Perhaps you married the wrong person. Perhaps you didn’t raise up your kids well. Perhaps you made poor financial decisions.

I want to give you hope today. Your future is brighter than your past. How do I know? Because God’s plan is bigger than your mistakes. Your mistakes are no match to God’s great plans to bless your life.

Have You Missed Your Chance At A Happy And Blessed Life?

I’ve met so many people who think they’ve “blown” it.

People like Jordan and Cindy.

As boyfriend and girlfriend, they practiced pre-marital sex. Eventually, Cindy got pregnant. She was 18 years old.

They rushed into marriage. Both of them had to drop out from college. Cindy, being the eldest in the family, once dreamt of working in an office and sending her younger siblings to school. That dream was no longer possible.

Jordan had a dream of getting a job abroad. He gave that up too and took a low-paying job to feed his small family.

Today, they’re very poor. Everyday is a struggle to survive.

But when I talked to them, I realized that the lack of money was not just their problem. Jordan and Cindy had a lack of hope.

First, both of them blamed each other for the pregnancy and the foolish decision to get married. Cindy felt Jordan always forced himself on her. While Jordan felt Cindy manipulated him to get married to save face.

Deeper than that, guilt had never left their hearts. At the back of their minds, they felt they deserved their poverty as punishment for their sins.

They told me, “Brother Bo, we blew it. We missed our chance at a happy life.”

Meet The God Of Second Chances

I told them, “You’re wrong. God has a great plan to bless your life. And He has many ways to make this great plan a reality. You made a detour. But that doesn’t mean you no longer can receive His abundant blessing.”

Both began to cry. Cindy said, “I know that God forgave us. But I don’t know if He’ll ever bless us…”

I shook my head. I said, “Here’s what I learned about the mercy of God: No mistake you made can totally destroy God’s plan for your life.

I talked about a few not-so-perfect people in the Bible.

About Jacob—how he lied, deceived, and swindled. Yet God named an entire nation after him.

About David—how he became an adulterer and a murderer. Yet God still made him the greatest king of Israel.

About Elijah—how he ended up depressed and a coward before Queen Jezebel. Yet he was there with Jesus and Moses at the miracle of Transfiguration.

About Peter—how hot headed, temperamental, and out-of-control guy he was. Yet God made him the head of the Church.

About Paul—how he was a murderer of saints. Yet God made him one of the greatest apostles of the Bible.

I told Cindy and Jordan, “If you read the Bible, you’ll realize that the biggest stars were the biggest sinners. They’ve fumbled big time. But God’s love is bigger! And God gave them a second chance. And a third chance. And a fourth chance. He will never stop giving you a chance to live a life of happiness and abundance.”

I then shared a powerful Bible verse to them: Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

“God wants you to go to Him with confidence. With boldness.” I prayed over them. I told them to boldly pray for God’s abundance.

Believe me, it was such a moving experience to see the eyes of Jordan and Cindy shine with hope that they can actually live a happy life after all.

As happy as these 4 female friends of Jesus…

Do You Feel You’re Trapped?

Let me pick 4 of his female friends who failed big-time. They represent the crowd he hung out with.

The 4 female friends of Jesus were a demon-possessed woman, a divorcee, a condemned person, and a prostitute.

Let’s start with the famous Mary Magdalene.

According to the Bible, she had 7 demons in her.

The number 7 in Jewish culture is a symbol of perfection. That meant she was perfectly bad. Perfectly depraved.

Yet Jesus made her his friend—and she became a staunch follower of Jesus and a strong pillar of the early church.

Today, you may feel like Mary Magdalene.

Perhaps you’re trapped by your own demons. By your addictions. You’ve tried everything to kick the habit, but nothing has changed. Perhaps you’re trapped by your depression, your fears, your anxiety. You feel imprisoned.

So you feel you’re beyond repair.

Listen to me. God wants to repair you. God wants heal you. In the same way He drove out the demons of Mary Magdalene, so will he drive out all that’s holding you back from your freedom.

The next person was a divorce expert.

Have You Failed In Your Relationships?

Second on my list is the Samaritan Woman with 5 husbands.

Which is worse, having 7 demons or 5 husbands? One woman told me it’s worse to have 5 husbands, because one husband is equal to 3 demons. (My personal answer: Having 5 husbands is worse because you’ll have 5 mothers-in-law.)

Perhaps like her, you’ve suffered many failed relationships. Perhaps you cheated your spouse. Perhaps you have a broken marriage. Perhaps you come from a broken family. And you think you’ll suffer forever from your past mistakes. You may think, “I’ve blown it. I’ve missed the boat of happiness. I guess I’ll be miserable for life…”

That’s not true.

Friend, God loves you. He wants to bless you with great relationships and great people. Because His plan to bless you is bigger than all your mistakes.

The next person was caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

Do You Feel Rejected By Others?

Third on my list was the woman caught in the very act of adultery. They had no hidden cameras then, but they had full-proof evidence. Can you imagine being dragged into the street by a mob ready to stone you to death? Yet Jesus told those guys to take a walk. And he told her point blank, “I do not condemn you.”

Friend, you may have made a big blunder. And people look down at you. People condemn you for being foolish. People talk behind your back and reject you.

Yet God is saying these words to you right now: I do not condemn you. I have a plan to bless your life.

Receive this declaration in your spirit.

Believe when the Bible says, There is therefore now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus.

The next one was probably the worst of all…

God Doesn’t Focus On Your Past

Finally, the town prostitute. (Note: Some people think Mary Magdalene was this prostitute. But there’s no biblical proof to ascertain this.)

When Jesus was in a party, she gate-crashed.

The woman knelt at the feet of Jesus, washed his feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. Everyone in that party knew that the woman was a prostitute.

They started murmuring, “Hey, is this Jesus really a holy guy? Doesn’t he know that the woman touching him is a whore?”

But Jesus didn’t mind the talk around him.

Everyone else saw who she was yesterday. Jesus saw who she will be tomorrow. Everyone else saw a prostitute. Jesus saw a woman who loved much because she was forgiven much. Everyone else saw her past. Jesus saw her future.

Friend, here’s my message: Never define yourself by your mistakes. Define yourself by your destiny.

They Are Nameless

Out of these 4 women, only one was named—Mary Magdalene. The other 3 are nameless. The Samaritan woman didn’t have a name. The woman caught in adultery didn’t have a name. The town prostitute didn’t have a name. Why? Perhaps God is saying, “This could be you. My mercy will give you a new future.”

That’s the kind of God you have. I repeat: His plan to bless you is bigger than all your mistakes put together.

My Experience As A Father

One day, when my son was 5-years old, he said, “I want to cook pancakes!”

“Sure,” I said.

Immediately, I had a sense of remorse.

Because when he ran into the kitchen, it sounded like the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The banging of pots and pans was so loud, I bet you could hear it all the way to China.

When I walked into the kitchen, I saw the chaos mentioned in the book of Genesis. Like a tsunami hit our kitchen.

There were broken eggshells all over the place, flour on the floor, spilt milk on the table. He wasted so much ingredients. He made so many mistakes.

But then again, I expected him to make mistakes. That’s key.

Today, at 9-years old, my son still loves to cook pancakes, cheese omelette, and other simple dishes. Because he’s short, he has to stand on a chair in front of the cooking range. (It’s so cute.) I’ve noticed that each time, he commits lesser mistakes. Each time, there’s lesser chaos.

It’s not just in cooking.

I’m a father of two growing boys.

My sons have failed thousands of times.

But that’s okay. I still love them. They’re still the darlings of my life. And I still want them to grow up and succeed.

Why do they make mistakes? Because they’re still growing, they’re still learning, and they still have a long way to go. I know their mistakes are all part of their growth. Without those mistakes, their growth won’t be complete.

I love them—all their mistakes included.

God Expects You To Make Mistakes Too

I have a controversial belief I’d like to share with you: God expects you to make mistakes too.

Do you think God is surprised that you fall?

God has made room for your mistakes.

So in a sense, He has incorporated your fumbling, stumbling, and struggling as part of His over-all plan to bless your life. By His mercy, He even uses your mistakes to bless you. The Bible says that all things work for good to those who love God. Yes, even your mistakes. (More on this later.)

Friend, I’m not saying this as our license to sin. I’m saying this to give hope to those who think their lives are doomed because they have sinned in the past.

God Has Bigger Plans

Thirty years ago, my father had a young man working for him in his department. His name was Pio Español. When Light of Jesus began, Dad invited this young man to the prayer meeting but Pio would always find excuses not to go.

Why? Pio, though a married man, had a young girlfriend. In fact, he had a few young girlfriends in various parts of the country.

One day, Pio was in a restaurant, waiting for his girlfriend. But that day, he felt a deep emptiness in his heart. He felt terrible. He felt something was missing in his life.

And then something strange happened.

Suddenly, he heard singing. It was such happy singing. He got curious and walked towards the music. He found out that right in that restaurant was a prayer meeting—a prayer meeting similar to what his boss, my father, was inviting him to attend.

And in that room, he saw very happy people. All of them were smiling. In his heart, he began to desire that same kind of happiness.

Soon, he started joining the Light of Jesus prayer meeting.

Soon, he cut off all his extramarital affairs and won his wife back. He restored his marriage. He changed his life.

Fast forward 30 years later, Pio is our Elder Missionary to North America. Because of him, we have many Light of Jesus chapters in Toronto, Mississauga, Calgary, Vancouver, Edmonton, Los Angeles… Today, Pio preaches to thousands about marriage and family life. He is indeed a walking miracle.

You may be like Pio 30 years ago. All you want is to be happy. All you want to do is recover from your mistakes. He never thought God had bigger plans for him.

But God did.

He will not only straighten you out. He will make you a blessing to the nations.

God Didn’t Give Up On Me

I give this message born out of my own experience.

God didn’t want me to be addicted to sex.

But I was. For many years, I was so addicted to porn, it literally ruled my life. It consumed me.

So God’s Plan A for my life didn’t happen.

But guess what: He had a Plan B for my life.

But my porn addiction lasted longer than it should have, and so I destroyed God’s Plan B too.

And Plan C.

And Plan D.

And Plan E…

I believe I stayed with my addiction for such a long time, He offered me Plan Z. And I rejected it.

What did God do?

He invented a new letter for me.

In fact, He invented a whole new alphabet for me.

Nothing I did could ever stop Him from offering me another plan to bless my life.

Today, I’m healed from my addiction.

I’m experiencing so much blessings, I sometimes pinch myself. Am I really living this charmed life? I don’t deserve this!

I Can’t Understand Why I’m So Blessed

I’m swimming in an ocean of blessings!

Today, I’m married to this wonderful woman for almost 12 years now—and we have an incredible marriage.

I’ve got two fabulous boys.

I’ve got the best family and friends one can ever wish for.

My businesses are growing.

And hey, I must mention this. I’m even good-looking. (If you disagree, I’ll pray for you less.)

Can you believe my “luck”?

And I’m serving God in such a phenomenal way.

Yesterday, I came from Vietnam and preached God’s Word. Vietnam, would you believe? So far, I’ve visited 36 countries, written 16 books, publish 7 magazines, and lead 9 non-profit organizations that are doing the craziest work for God.

Who’s doing this?

A former porn addict.

Why is this happening?

There can be only one reason: Mercy!

I’ve approached God’s throne with boldness and received His mercy.

God Even Uses My Mistakes

And here’s the crazy thing: God even used my failures as part of His plan to bless me.

How? Because of my failures, my preaching has become very different than what you hear from many religious people. Precisely because of my own mistakes and how God dealt with me.

Dear friend, God hasn’t given up on you.

So don’t give up on yourself.

And God hasn’t given up on your destiny.

So don’t give up on yours!

Some of you may say, “But Bo, I’ve messed up. I’ve missed God’s best plans for my life.” I say No. Believe that the best is yet to come.

And always remember, God’s plan is bigger than all your mistakes put together.

I wrote a special declaration for you to say below. Say it with all your heart. Confess your faith. Let your words define your reality:

“I may have messed up, but this is temporary. I may have made mistakes in the past, but my future is brighter than my past. Today, I come boldly into God’s presence to receive mercy. I reject condemnation. Because of God’s mercy, my best blessings are yet to come. Each day is a new beginning for me. Each day, I shall live a new life. Each day, I shall live in abundance. Each day, I shall walk in God’s favor. Amen!”

May your dreams come true,
Bo Sanchez

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By Bo Sanchez

Have you been hurt before?

Have you ever been rejected by others? Ridiculed? Maligned? Gossiped about?

Have you been cheated? Betrayed? Lied to? Stolen from?

If your answer is yes, then I’m writing to the right person.

That means you have emotional wounds, and my big message for you is that there’s only one thing that can heal your wounds.

Let me start by talking about something of great cosmological and eternal significance: My bloody ingrown toenail.

Sometimes called hangnail.

Let me translate that in Pilipino: hangnail is kukong nagbigti.

Anyway, would you believe my ingrown toenail lasted for two years? Because the nail kept re-growing, puncturing my wound again and again. The wound got infected and my entire toe was filled with foul-smelling yellow pus. (I apologize for grossing you out. I’m actually doing it on purpose and having fun.)

This is my claim to sainthood. If St. Francis of Assisi had his stigmata, I had my two-year old bloody ingrown toenail.

After two years, my mother scared me to death and said if the wound doesn’t get well, they might have to cut off my toe.

I loved my toe.

So I visited a doctor. And he said he had to pull out half of my toenail. I fainted.

I still remember that fateful day. The anesthesia didn’t work because of the pus. So I felt like San Lorenzo Ruiz who was tortured in the same way. (Please mention this tiny detail in my sainthood application.)

Here’s how the Doc did it.

Step 1: He pushed his scissors in between my nail and my toe, all the way to the very end. The pain was so horrific, I was ready to recant anything he told me to recant. Even my love for peanut butter.

Step 2: He cut my entire toenail into two. “Snap!”

Step 3: He got his metal pliers and yanked out half of my toenail. Blood and pus spurt like a little fountain.

But it worked.

My wound was now free to heal itself. What lasted for two years took only a few days to heal.

Why am I telling you this gory story?

To tell you that your emotional wounds are just like physical wounds. Bitterness is like the ingrown—it keeps the original wound alive by puncturing it again and again. So your emotional wound doesn’t heal.

And your soul gets infected.

If you’re not careful, the emotional wound can grow until it amputates parts of you, slowly killing you.

I’ve met people like these.

I pity them so much. They’re like the living dead. They are alive but they’re dead.

Like Minette, for instance.

Pressing The Rewind Button Again

Minette’s husband left her three years ago.

But when you talk to her, it was like it happened yesterday.

Adultery is one of the deepest wounds a human heart can have. After entrusting your entire life to one person, that one person betrays that trust.

But I believe even the emotional wound of adultery can be healed. I’ve met many wives whose husbands became unfaithful—and they were able to move on by the power of forgiveness.

But Minette couldn’t forgive.

Because everyday, she pressed the “Rewind” button of the most hurtful scenes.

Today, Minette has cancer. It doesn’t take a psychologist to connect the dots. Her bitterness was eating up her body as well.

But it doesn’t have to be this way.

I should know.

I Forgive For Selfish Reasons

I was sexually molested twice, not by strangers on the street, but by an older cousin and by my own youth group leader. William Blake said, “It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend.” That’s so true.

Those traumatic events warped my thinking, opened my life to addictions, and gave me self-contempt that would affect my entire life. I hated myself. I was ashamed of myself. Oh yes, my wounds were deep.

Yet in my heart, I’ve forgiven them. Totally.

I’ve released the bitterness in my soul.

Why?

Because of a very selfish reason.

Remember: Forgiveness is first of all a gift you give yourself.

I forgave because I wanted peace.

I wanted to move on with my life.

I wanted to get rid of the emotional baggage.

I wanted to be free.

And today, I am!

Let me share with you one more personal experience…

When You Forgive, You Bless Your Future

Many years ago, I started a tiny business with a friend. I was the investor and he was the guy who ran the show.

One day, I saw him with a new cell phone. A really cool, top-of-the-line thing that had everything you could think of—camera, video-cam, GPRS, missile guidance system, and an umbrella.

“Wow, that’s a great cell phone,” I said.

“This is a gift. Someone gave it to me,” he said.

The next time we meet, he brought a new laptop.

“That’s really nice,” I said.

“Oh, this is also a gift…,” he said.

A few months later, the business collapsed.

After looking at the records, I realized I was the one who gave them to him!

He was stealing from the business.

A year later, he came to me and asked for forgiveness. I forgave him even before he asked for forgiveness.

Here’s the reason why I forgave him.

Again, I did it for selfish reasons. I didn’t want to waste any of my time and energy trying to get the money back. Instead, I wanted to use all my time and energy to earn ten times what I lost. I used my frustration to create more wealth. I wanted to focus on the future, not the past. I wanted to focus on my dreams, not my wounds.

Imagine if you lost one peso. And you have two options: Spend one hour looking for that one peso or spend that same hour earning P100 somewhere else?

A bitter person will choose the first option. Crazy but true.

Today, let me report to you: I’ve earned many, many times what I lost from that tiny business. This is the power of forgiveness. It heals your wound and blesses your future. That’s why I believe forgiveness is one of God’s greatest inventions!

Let me tell you how to forgive…

Stage One: Get Angry

Forgiveness is not a one-stage process.

It’s a two-stage process.

Here they are…

Stage One: Get angry.

Stage Two: Release the anger.

That’s it.

Don’t be shocked, but anger is the first stage of forgiveness.

You have to admit the hurt.

You have to acknowledge the pain.

You have to say, “What he did to me was wrong.”

Some people think forgiveness is pretending nothing bad happened. That’s not true. If you’re angry, feel the anger.

But you must express your anger in a non-hurtful way, without screaming or attacking. Bring your anger before God. Share your pain to a few trusted friends. Ask for prayer. Go ahead, cry. Offer your tears to God.

Anger heals because it’s about loving yourself—and love always heals. Anger means you’re standing up for you. As an abuse victim, I had to do this. Anger is needed to rebuild my broken personal boundaries.

How long should you stay in Stage One?

Not too long.

Because anger has an expiry date.

How Long Have You Been Angry?

Here’s the truth: Bitterness and anger is one and the same thing. But Bitterness is anger past its expiry date.

Let me illustrate.

I love spaghetti.

Served hot, it’s wonderful.

But left on the kitchen counter for a whole day, it may still be good but be careful.

After two days, you may get an upset stomach.

After one week, there’ll be more germs than spaghetti. At that point, the plate of spaghetti has become poison

Just like anger.

If anger stays too long in your heart, your anger no longer heals but kills. When anger turns into bitterness, it’s poison.

The Bible says, “the sun must not go down in your anger.”

I believe it. Except perhaps for severe wounds (like abuse, adultery, betrayal, etc.), I feel Stage One should not last for more than a day. I’m talking about the regular hurts we encounter everyday. Before nightfall, move onto Stage two.

But deeper wounds may need weeks or even months of anger and grief. For deeper wounds, I believe there’s no clear divide between Stage One and Two. There’ll be an overlap. But your movement must be towards Stage Two.

Because that’s where the real magic happens.

Stage Two: Release Anger

In Stage Two, you decide to forgive. Key word: Decide.

It’s not about feeling, but about willing. The feelings of anger can linger (that’s normal) but the decision has already been made in your heart.

Remember, Love is a decision, not just a feeling. If forgiveness is love, then forgiveness is a decision too.

But here’s a very important footnote:

Forgiveness isn’t necessarily bringing back the relationship to where it was before. If you caught your boyfriend cheating on you, what should you do? Forgive him! But that doesn’t mean you have to get back with him again. That’s all up to you.

Let’s say you caught your boyfriend cheating on you twice. What should you do? Again, you have to forgive him. Now, do you get back into his arms? If you’re a psychotic with sadomasochistic tendencies, go ahead. Your desires will be granted.

Forgiveness is also not opening up yourself to more hurt. For example, if your alcoholic husband beat you up, you still need to forgive him; But do you back into the house? No way. You run away and never see him until he gets counselling and stops drinking for 6 months.

Forgiveness Heals The “Enemy”

The cousin who molested me has long been dead. So forgiving him in my heart was enough.

The youth group leader who sexually abused me is still alive. After 30 years, I have yet to face him. You see, I reported his name to a Bishop, asking that he be barred from doing any religious work until he gets help for his perversion. I had to protect other young boys who may be working with him. He has yet to come to me to ask for forgiveness. But even if he does not, I’ve forgiven him—and sent that “spiritually” to him.

The guy who stole money? As I said, he asked for forgiveness, and I was able to say to him, “I forgive you.”

When you forgive someone, you also offer healing to that person. Whether he accepts it or not is not your concern.

And by some magic, you don’t only heal yourself and the other person. You also heal all your loved ones.

Forgiveness Heals Everyone In Your Life

Imagine a room of ten people.

And one person there stepped on poop. (Sorry, my article is really gross today—about ingrowns and poop. But bitterness is gross.) Slowly, everyone in the room smells the awful stench. Only one person has the poop, but everyone is affected by it.

Bitterness is like that.

It wounds everyone. Your family. Your friends.

Bitterness is an evil spirit and people feel it. They smell the poison. They sense it. They want to run away.

Sometimes, when I enter a home filled with conflicts, I feel the collective wound of the family. You cannot breathe.

But when a person forgives, he’s like opening a window in a smelly room because one person stepped on poop. Fresh air comes in. If bitterness wounds everyone, forgiveness heals everyone too.

My last story is a story that I created, adapted from other sources. Be blessed as you read it.

The Son Who Hated His Father

“Hi John,” the priest greeted his favorite nephew.

“Fr. Chris,” the young man said, his voice betraying his troubled soul.

The cleric felt so much pity for the teen. “I heard you’re having problems with your father.”

A frown formed on John’s face. “You know him. He’s your brother. You know he’s impossible to deal with. He’s so selfish. He’s so cruel…” He fought back his tears.

“Tell you what, son,” the priest tried to sound encouraging, “let’s pray for him.” He stood up and pinned the photo of the boy’s father on the wall.

“What’s that?” John asked. The sight of his father’s face stung him. He clenched his fists.

The priest said, “It’s just a way to help us pray for him. It’ll be our visual connection to your father.”

“But I don’t want to pray for him!” the young man shouted.

At that moment, the phone rang. “Excuse me, son,” Fr. Chris said, “let me answer this call and I’ll get back to you right away.” He left the room.

John found himself alone, staring at the photo of a man he despised with his entire being. Seething with rage, he saw a knife on the kitchen counter. On impulse, he grabbed it and ran back to the photo of his father. “I hate you!” he screamed, and stabbed the photo many, many times.

That was when Fr. Chris ran back. “Oh my God…,” The priest said, as he could only look in horror.

His energy spent, John thrust the knife into the photo one last time.

He took one step backward, panting.

“John, I had other photos there,” Fr. Chris said.

“What?” The young man looked at the priest.

Fr. Chris walked to the wall and removed the damaged photo.

John couldn’t believe his eyes.

Because underneath it was John’s photo. Also torn.

The priest explained. “After praying for your father, I wanted to pray for you, John.”

The young man looked at his damaged photo. His face was torn, punctured by the same stabbing he himself made.

Tears rolled down his cheeks.

But even as his vision blurred, John noticed that there was something else behind his torn photo.

He pulled it off the wall.

Underneath his photo was the picture of Jesus, His face, also torn, also wounded.

And John collapsed on his knees, and wept for a long time.

— 0 —

This is the ultimate reason why we forgive: Because even if we sin against God, He still forgives us. We don’t deserve His love, but He loves us anyway.

Heal yourself, my friend.

Forgive anyone who has wronged you.

May your dreams come true,
Bo Sanchez

by Bo Sanchez

            Did you suffer a loss recently?

A job? A relationship? Material things stolen from you?

Many of my friends lost many things in the recent flood.

My friends lost homes. My friends lost businesses. With tears, my auntie said, “Bo, I lost all the material things I’ve collected over the past 50 years of my life!” Some friends told me that what was most painful was loosing all their photographs—the memories of a lifetime.

Friend, I’ve got a message for you today: Believe that every storm will end. And after the storm, a new morning begins.

          Remember that every loss is temporary.

If you lost a loved one, that loss is temporary. In heaven, you’ll see your beloved again and your reunion will last forever.

If you lost photographs, believe that in heaven, God will give back to you DVD copies of all the sweetest memories you’ve had in your life. (I’m not sure what video version they use up there, but I’m sure it’ll be the most modern. Perhaps it’ll be a virtual reality video!)

If you lost material things or opportunities or relationships, believe that God is creating room for something better to come your way.

How will this “better” happen?
Start being grateful.
That’s not a typo.
In the midst of your loss, be thankful.
I know you’ll complain, “Bo, there’s nothing to be thankful for! I lost half my life!”
Well, be thankful for the other half that you still have.

          Don’t focus on what you lost, focus on what you still have.

You’ve got too many good things happening to you to be down!
          Say this with me, “I’m too blessed to be stressed.” (Not original from me. Got it from a bumper sticker.)
          Why be grateful?
          Because you attract what you focus on. I’ve said that before so many times, but I’ll keep saying it until God calls me home. Because it’s so powerful.
          When you become grateful, you attract more of what you’re grateful for.
          Gratitude is a blessings magnet.
        
My Business Loss

Many years ago, I lost a lot of money in a businesses venture.
It was a big loss for me. At that time, I lost almost my entire net worth.
I was tempted to mope, to sulk, to carry a heavy burden for a long time.
Actually, I allowed myself to grieve for awhile—which was very healthy.
But I decided not to grieve for too long, or I would be stuck forever.
After some time, I declared, “God has something better for me.”

I chose to smile. I chose to look at the brighter side. I chose to believe that better businesses would come my way. In fact, I began declaring the unbelievable. I said, “I’ll earn ten times what I lost!”

Later that week, a friend asked me, “Is it true that you lost a lot of money in that business?”
          I said, “Yes, I did.”

“It happens to you too, huh? And I thought people like you are exempt from these things. So why are you smiling?”

“Because I believe God is redirecting me to a better business. And I know that I’ll earn ten times what I lost.”
It was a big claim and some friends couldn’t understand why I was so relaxed.
But a few years later, what I declared happened.

I started new businesses and I began to earn ten times what I lost. What I lost—my savings for years—I earned in a few months. Today, my new businesses are multiplying. I ask myself sometimes, “What if I didn’t fail in that business?

I would still be stuck in that business! I wouldn’t have the new business that I have now.”
And imagine if kept moping and sulking—would I have seen the new opportunities around me? Imagine if I kept mourning my loss—would I have had the energy to venture into something new?
Friend, don’t focus at the problems in your life.

Don’t focus on what you loss.

Instead, focus on two things: look at what you still have and look at the new things that God will give you.
And be grateful.

Where Is The Real Storm?

Typhoon Ondoy came and went.
But the real storm is not out there.
The real storm is in your mind.
Do you believe that great things will happen to you?
Imagine a party balloon.
At first, it’s bright and fat and goes up to the ceiling.
But after a few days, it becomes deflated.
It stays on the floor.
We’re like balloons.
What keeps us up is hope.
But life happens, and everyday, we leak hope.
Especially when big trials come, we surely leak out a lot of hope.
And we’re deflated.

Here’s what you need to do: You need to refill your heart with hope. So that you can rise up again.

          Dispel the storms in your mind.
          It may be stormy on the outside but it shouldn’t be stormy on the inside.
          The only way to dispel the storms is to be grateful for what you have today and what will happen tomorrow.
          God is redirecting you to something better.
          Sit up straight. Out loud, say this declaration with me…

I’m strong in the Lord. I’m blessed. I’m forgiven. I’m protected. I’m redeemed. I’m equipped. I’m anointed. Healing flows in my body. New doors will open before me. I’ll meet the right people, the right opportunities, at the right time, at the right place. I’ll regain ten times what I lost… In Jesus name!

          May your dreams come true,
          Bo Sanchez