The Holy Spirit and I
Dearest Father, thank You that the Holy Spirit and I can agree on every decision I need to make every day so I can bear much fruit for the glory of Your Name. As written in the First Reading today.
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But these have been written in order that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through your faith in Him, you may have life (John 20:31 GNBDK) - the rich and satisfying life in Christ. (John 10:10 NLT)
Today's Readings
First Reading: Acts 15: 22-31
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 57: 8-9, 10 and 12
Alleluia: John 15: 15b
Gospel: John 15: 12-17
Reading 1, Acts 15:22-31
Acts 15:22-31 GNBDK
[22] Then the apostles and the elders, together with the whole church, decided to choose some men from the group and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose two men who were highly respected by the believers, Judas, called Barsabbas, and Silas,
[23] and they sent the following letter by them: “We, the apostles and the elders, your brothers, send greetings to all our brothers of Gentile birth who live in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia.
[24] We have heard that some who went from our group have troubled and upset you by what they said; they had not, however, received any instruction from us.
[25] And so we have met together and have all agreed to choose some messengers and send them to you. They will go with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul,
[26] who have risked their lives in the service of our Lord Jesus Christ.
[27] We send you, then, Judas and Silas, who will tell you in person the same things we are writing.
[28] The Holy Spirit and we have agreed not to put any other burden on you besides these necessary rules:
[29] eat no food that has been offered to idols; eat no blood; eat no animal that has been strangled; and keep yourselves from sexual immorality. You will do well if you take care not to do these things. With our best wishes.”
[30] The messengers were sent off and went to Antioch, where they gathered the whole group of believers and gave them the letter.
[31] When the people read it, they were filled with joy by the message of encouragement.
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 57:8-9, 10-12
R. (10a) I will give you thanks among the peoples, O Lord.
My heart is steadfast, O God; my heart is steadfast; I will sing and chant praise. Awake, O my soul; awake, lyre and harp! I will wake the dawn.
R. I will give you thanks among the peoples, O Lord.
I will give thanks to you among the peoples, O LORD, I will chant your praise among the nations. For your mercy towers to the heavens, and your faithfulness to the skies. Be exalted above the heavens, O God; above all the earth be your glory!
R. I will give you thanks among the peoples, O Lord.
Gospel, John 15:12-17
John 15:12-17 GNBDK
[12] My commandment is this: love one another, just as I love you.
[13] The greatest love a person can have for his friends is to give his life for them.
[14] And you are my friends if you do what I command you.
[15] I do not call you servants any longer, because servants do not know what their master is doing. Instead, I call you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.
[16] You did not choose me; I chose you and appointed you to go and bear much fruit, the kind of fruit that endures. And so the Father will give you whatever you ask of him in my name.
[17] This, then, is what I command you: love one another.
Dearest Father,
Thank You that the Holy Spirit and I can agree on every decision I need to make every day so I can bear much fruit for the glory of Your Name. As written in the First Reading today.
Acts 15:28 GNBDK
[28] The Holy Spirit and we have agreed not to put any other burden on you besides these necessary rules:
I'm amazed at how the Holy Spirit reveals to me things I need to know to fulfill the desires God has put into my heart.
I've shared previously that I desired to build a garden resort with a natural recreation pond for swimming and, in part, for tilapia cultivation for my own and my family's consumption and for the visitors too.
I've desired this, having a natural swim and recreation pond, since 2 years ago, after my family and I went to the southern part of our province, 3 hours drive away from our place, just to enjoy each other in a beach resort.
Because we don't have any nice resorts right here in our city. Driving home, I suddenly desired to establish a resort of my own where I, and my family, can enjoy, any time we want, our neighbors as well, and whoever the Lord sends.
Having a resort is no joke in terms of funding, and so I know I can achieve that dream only by the GRACE of God - God's Riches At Christ's Expense.
There's an empty block of land near our home that I've been claiming for my own for 3-5 years now which I thought would be perfect for my dream resort.
So because Neville Goddard said to believe and live in the end feeling of the wish fulfilled always, in the matter of our dreams, I needed to see what kind of house and resort I'm to build when the Lord gives me the funds - cause He definitely promised to fund my dreams and my life.
That led me down the rabbit hole of researching resorts and houses.
I thought at first a mansion would be good for our family, to be shared with others by renting it out as a private resort. So I started visioneering it, getting images, imagining, and thanking God in faith for it, which I shared here.
But I felt a nagging in my spirit that it was too much house for me.
Then amazingly, the Lord led me to staycation resorts with tiny houses. That ignited a fire within me and a burst of faith.
The Lord is right. Instead of a huge house that would sit empty, why not use the huge lot, half for resort and half for sustainable living, like raising free-range chickens for organic eggs and vegetable growing, aside from tilapia cultivation.
That led me to aquaponics, basically combining the two: raising fishes in a fish pond or tank and using their wastewater to water the vegetable garden which eats up the ammonia in the fish waste as fertilizer, and filtering the water in the process which is then channeled back to the fishes.
Like here for aquarium fishes
And this, for tilapia or any edible fish cultivation with a floating grow bed below covering the fishes in the tank and the hydroponic plants which can grow lettuce very easily, which is very rare in our place and I really like to eat.
I got really excited. And then I realized, why wait for when the Lord gives me my billions?
Why not start now in our small front garden? So that we can have our own source of food for our family?
I found this really small fish pond which contains 20 fishes! They don't even have a filter and aerator, they just take out the fishes to clean the pond once a week.
When I asked my family how I could go about it, they just laughed at me. They said it's better to just go to the market and buy those rather than waste my time and effort.
But I really like the idea of having free food in hand, so I continued watching YouTube for easy backyard aquaponics farming and I got to this set up:
It's an IBC 1,000L converted water tank to an aquaponics system that uses the cut top as a grow bed for vegetables that will filter the water down to the fish tank.
Like this:
Cool, right? I found one in Shopee that costs around 1k. Hopefully, it's legit. I'll just have to find someone to cut for me the metal and the plastic can.
But in the video, it was a woman doing it and she did it with only a handheld metal saw! If she can do it, I can too, right?
My sister-in-law raises tilapia for a business and their food consumption too. That's why I started to like eating tilapias because hers are really fresh and delicious.
She buys her fingerlings from the Department of Agriculture in our city through my sister’s partner who has a friend who works there. So I know I can easily find fingerlings.
But I think I'd rather buy grown tilapias from my sister-in-law cause I know they're clean and they can already breed.
I want the fishes to grow to 1.5-2 kg, so I can stock maybe 30 fishes in my 1000L tank to give them enough space to grow and multiply.
This guy actually inspired me to consider raising tilapia in a 1k liter tank. He has a very small backyard space, has 2 1-L tanks, and sells 200 tilapias for extra income. Then he has a 300L tank with 17 tilapias which he uses for his family's consumption.
He even taught and inspired me how to raise giant tilapias, about 1.5-2 kg in the same 1000L tank.
This guy, though, started in a cement-made 2x1m fish tank and brought in 250 fry's, really small tadpole like fishes. He harvested after 4-5 months, just eating that with his family and friends.
He also used aquaponics, planting kangkong using PVCs, not only filtering the fishes’ water but also used as food for his fishes, free-range chicken, pigs, and family as well.
Now he's transferred his tilapias into a newly dug pond. Talk about starting from small beginnings.
And he never has to buy another fish ever again unless he wants to.
Really sustainable living. Food that endures
The Holy Spirit and I have agreed. This is the way to go for me.
Acts 15:28 GNBDK
[28] The Holy Spirit and we have agreed not to put any other burden on you besides these necessary rules
Who knows? It may be a tank for a start today, then tomorrow, a natural pond for tilapia cultivation and recreational swimming side by side, right?
So all I need to do now to set this in motion is to buy that tank.
I'll give it till the end of this week. If the desire is still there and the peace that the Lord gives, then I'll go for it. It’s my go signal from the Lord.
Thank You, Father, for this inspiration of raising tilapia in a water tank.
Thank You for the Holy Spirit guiding my every step in my effort to provide for my family with sustainable and endless food supply from the bountiful fruit of the earth, as You desire Your people to do - bear great fruit for the glory of Your Name.
Thank You for giving me the provision, the people, and everything I need coming to me as I embark on this project of sustainable living - living and bearing fruit that endures. The rich life in Christ.
Thank You for giving me whatever I ask of You regarding this matter and in all matters of my life, in Jesus’ Name!
John 15:16 GNBDK
[16] You did not choose me; I chose you and appointed you to go and bear much fruit, the kind of fruit that endures. And so the Father will give you whatever you ask of him in my name.
If you want to bear much fruit in your life that endures forever so that the Father will give you whatever you ask of Him in Jesus’ Name, live in Christ. Join me in our SpeakChrist RichLife Club. We'll do it together. St. Katharine Drexel, pray for us.
Live the RichLife in Christ today 🤟
The Holy Spirit and I.
Agreeing as one.
In all matters of my life.
The best thing for me.
Free 🎁 for you.
Agree with the Holy Spirit.
He'll lead and guide you.
To bear much fruit.
In the best way for you.
Say Amen! 🙏
Acts 15:28 GNBDK
[28] The Holy Spirit and we have agreed not to put any other burden on you besides these necessary rules.
Now Your Turn
(Questions to ask yourself when scripture journaling)
What verses spoke to me strongly and powerfully from the scripture readings?
What is God saying to me in these verse or verses?
What does God want me to do today?
Journal prompts of the day
Do you need to make an important decision right now or confused about something?
Have you asked the Holy Spirit regarding this matter or any matter of your life?
Are you in agreement with the Holy Spirit?
Vivo dives vitae in Christo. Live the RichLife in Christ.
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