Welcome back, my fellow Christians, music enthusiasts and all those who seek the Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit! I really love the way Planetshakers leads the praise and worship of the Lord. This past September, God blessed the Philippines with Planetshakers worship events and I am very thankful to Him as I was able to attend the September 10 worship event and got blessed in return. I was among the many thousands who attended that night and praised the Lord with Planetshakers leading the way to Him with their incredible music, the powerful prayers led by Pastor Sam Evans and dazzling lights.
Planetshakers’ return here in the Philippines was part of their Greater Asia Tour this year and their latest album is titled GREATER. For the newcomers reading this, Planetshakers is a Christian church based in Australia and their worship music team produced a lot of worship songs that became not only popular with Christians around the world but also became part of their worship of the Lord. I reviewed several Planetshakers worship songs on this website and I encourage you to take to read my Christian Music Appreciation (CMA) featurearticles of their worship songs by clicking here, here, here, here, here, here and here.
Most recently, Planetshakers launched on their YouTube channel the official video of GREATER – Live At Chapel which shows them leading the worship of the Lord on-location on a mountaintop vista near Melbourne in Australia with several Planetshakers Bible College students participating. The video has several GREATER album songs played such as Beauty For Ashes, No. 1 Sound, Greater, Victory of Jesus, Move in Power, Psalm 23, Emmanuel, Heaven is My Home, It is Done, Stay (You Are Good) and Never Thirst Again.
The GREATER – Live At Chapel video on YouTube is 57 minutes long and you can watch it right here right now!
To add more emphasis about worshiping the Lord with music and a lot of heart, posted below are selected scriptures from the Holy Bible…
Go ahead—sing your new song to the Lord!
Let everyone in every language sing him a new song.
Don’t stop! Keep on singing! Make his name famous!
Tell everyone every day how wonderful he is.
Give them the good news of our great Savior.
Take the message of his glory and miracles to every nation.
Tell them about all the amazing things he has done.
For the Lord’s greatness is beyond description,
and he deserves all the praise that comes to him.
He is our King-God, and it’s right to be in holy awe of him.
Other gods are absolutely worthless.
For the Lord God is Creator-God,
who spread the splendor of the skies!
Breathtaking brilliance and awe-inspiring majesty
radiate from his shining presence.
His stunning beauty overwhelms all who come before him.
Surrender to the Lord Yahweh, all you nations and peoples.
Surrender to him all your pride and strength.
Confess that Yahweh alone deserves all the glory and honor.
Bring an offering and come celebrate in his courts.
Come worship the Lord God wearing the splendor of holiness.
Let everyone wait in wonder as they tremble in awe before him.
Tell the nations plainly that Yahweh rules over all!
He is doing a great job, and nothing will disrupt him,
for he treats everyone fair and square.
Let the skies sing for joy! Let the earth join in the chorus.
Let oceans thunder and fields echo this ecstatic praise
until every swaying tree of every forest joins in,
lifting up their songs of joyous praise to him!
For here he comes, the Lord God,
and he’s ready to judge the world.
He will do what’s right and can be trusted
to always do what’s fair.
Psalms 96:1-13 (TPT)
Planetshakers with their students worship the Lord together at this very scenic location. Pastor Sam Evans, Joth Hunt and the others are here.
Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! Praise God in his holy sanctuary!
Praise him in his stronghold in the sky!
Praise him for his mighty miracles!
Praise him for his magnificent greatness!
Praise him with trumpets blasting!
Praise him with piano and guitar!
Praise him with drums and dancing!
Praise him with loud clashing of cymbals!
Praise him upon the high-sounding cymbals!
Let everyone everywhere join in the crescendo
of ecstatic praise to Yahweh!
Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!
Psalms 150:1-6 (TPT)
Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; meditate on and talk of all His marvelous deeds and devoutly praise them.
Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those rejoice who seek and require the Lord [as their indispensable necessity].
Psalm 105:2-3 (AMPC)
The cross of Lord Jesus at the mountaintop. Let this image remind you to worship the Lord always and forever. Jesus is Lord and Savior of all!
If you want to discover and learn more about Planetshakers, I encourage you to click here (Facebook page), here (Instagram), here (Twitter) and here (YouTube). To know more about Planetshakers itself, visit https://www.planetshakers.com/
In ending this article, I posted below the official music videos of worship songs related to the album GREATER. May these enlighten you, delight you and motivate you to come to God, Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit without hesitation. Seek Lord Jesus first, follow His light and always be the fearless and aggressive church of Lord Jesus! Peace and amen to you all!
Hillsong Church, one of the major Christian churches in Australia, announced recently that the next edition of their popular Hillsong Conference will be held from July 3 to 5, 2023. The good news here is that people are welcome to register online for Hillsong Conference 2023 by clicking here.
To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from Hillsong’s official announcement about Hillsong Conference 2023. Some parts in boldface…
With the success of Hillsong Conference 2022 including over 300 decisions for Christ, 49 nations represented in person and online, and an amazing atmosphere of worship and Spirit-inspired preaching, we are excited to announce that we have dates for Hillsong Conference next year on Monday 3rd – Wednesday 5th July.
2023 conference theme is, Again to our First Love.
This is a new era for Hillsong Conference, and with this in mind we asked for your thoughts on how we can best take the conference forward in the most relevant and meaningful way. A huge thank you to those who participated and provided valuable feedback to help us move forward in strength and with relevance. Survey results were particularly useful as a window into the specific areas of delegates’ interests. This information helps us to focus and refine our direction.
The results revealed approximately 60% of those surveyed want to keep Hillsong Conference in July and for the same length of time. 2022 was attended in the majority (75%) by members of Hillsong Church and 25% from other churches – in keeping with our mandate to champion the cause of the local church. Many of those who attend, do so to hear the speakers and experience corporate worship. Over 65% of those who responded to the survey said their areas of interest were leadership and creative, although almost 25% expressed other areas such as evangelism, the Holy Spirit, theology, and biblical learning, plus areas of social and family support, among others. Feedback on the availability of streaming services and interactive live sessions was very positive, with 75% saying they were open or interested.
In relation to the above announcement, check out this official promo video about Hillsong Conference 2023.
For the newcomers reading this, Hillsong Conference is a very popular and long-running annual worship and Bible-focused event of Hillsong Church. The local church where I attend regularly has pastors who were sent to attend Hillsong Conferences years ago and what they learned was not only valuable but also anointed by the Lord. Hillsong Conference undeniably helps worship leaders from around the world gain insight on worshiping the Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit, and leading more people to the Lord.
To see the official photos of Hillsong Conference 2022, click here. To register early for Hillsong Conference 2023, go to https://hillsong.com/conference/
Let me end this post with the bible scriptures below.
Lord Almighty, you are the one who created all the nations. Look at them—they’re all on their way! Yes, the day will come when they all will worship you and put your glory on display.
Psalms 86:9 (TPT)
O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker [in reverent praise and supplication].
Psalm 95:6 (AMPC)
Beloved friends, what does all this imply? When you conduct your meetings, you should always let everything be done to build up the church family. Whether you share a song of praise, a teaching, a divine revelation, or a tongue and interpretation, let each one contribute what strengthens others.
1 Corinthians 14:26 (TPT)
Whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.
Colossians 3:17 (NASB)
Know (perceive, recognize, and understand with approval) that the Lord is God! It is He Who has made us, not we ourselves [and we are His]! We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Psalm 100:3 (AMPC)
That’s plain enough, isn’t it? You’re no longer wandering exiles. This kingdom of faith is now your home country. You’re no longer strangers or outsiders. You belong here, with as much right to the name Christian as anyone. God is building a home. He’s using us all—irrespective of how we got here—in what he is building. He used the apostles and prophets for the foundation. Now he’s using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone that holds all the parts together. We see it taking shape day after day—a holy temple built by God, all of us built into it, a temple in which God is quite at home.
Ephesians 2:19-22 (MSG)
Now my beloved ones, I have saved these most important truths for last: Be supernaturally infused with strength through your life-union with the Lord Jesus. Stand victorious with the force of his explosive power flowing in and through you. Put on God’s complete set of armor provided for us, so that you will be protected as you fight against the evil strategies of the accuser!
Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Sharing this Christian piece means spreading the good news of the Lord to others. It can help you save the unsaved and the lost souls out there. Also please consider making a donation to support my publishing of faith articles and CMAs.
Welcome back, my fellow Christians, music enthusiasts and all those who seek the Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit! As I write this, I declare that I, along with many thousands of others, got blessed by the Lord through the Planetshakers Greater Asia Tour worship event I attended on the evening September 10 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
For the bigger picture, Planetshakers returned to the Philippines for the first time since early 2020 (shortly before COVID-19 lockdown happened) and they organized worship events for four consecutive nights from September 8 to 11, 2022. Indeed, the Lord blessed the Philippines with Planetshakers whose music and leading of worship are clearly anointed by Him.
For the newcomers reading this, Planetshakers is a Christian church based in Australia and their worship music team produced a lot of worship songs that became not only popular with Christians around the world but also became part of their worship of the Lord. I reviewed several Planetshakers worship songs on this website and I encourage you to take to read my Christian Music Appreciation (CMA) articles of their songs by clicking here, here, here, here, here, here and here.
If you want to discover and learn more about Planetshakers, I encourage you to click here (Facebook page), here (Instagram), here (Twitter) and here (YouTube). To know more about Planetshakers itself, visit https://www.planetshakers.com/
Before attending the Planetshakers Greater Asia Tour worship event of September 10, 2022, I should say that I literally wrestled a bit to secure an Upper Box ticker online at SM Tickets’ website when the tickets where first released on July 21, 2022. On that particular day, I was in a virtual line as there were more than 2,600+ others ahead of me on SM Tickets. That was a great reminder of how popular Planetshakers worship leaders and musicians really are among my fellow Filipinos. I did not see the long line as a problem at all as I kept faith that my turn will come and that a ticket with a good seat will be available.
After more than 30 minutes waiting, I had my turn searching for whatever available tickets I could find and all the tickets for the VIP section were already sold out which is not surprising at all. Thanks to the Lord, I got myself an Upper Box ticket and successfully used my credit card to complete the transaction. Eventually, all four nights of Planetshakers worship events here in the Philippines got sold out! I picked up my ticket at an SM Tickets branch a few weeks later at the near SM shopping mall.
On the evening of September 10, I went inside SM MOA Arena more than 90 minutes ahead of schedule. As I arrived, I noticed Planetshakers merchandise being sold as well as backdrops related to the church for picture-taking. I bought two posters before moving upstairs.
As I made my way going upstairs, I felt the excitement and high energy around me which is not a surprise since the Planetshakers worship event was expected to be amazing as it has been anointed by the Lord.
Planetshakers Greater merchandise sold at the ground floor of the SM MOA Arena.
The Planetshakers backdrop for picture-taking.
Finally, with the help of an usher, I find my assigned seat in the Upper Box section of the SM MOA Arena. While the foot space was little, my seat was comfortable enough and I had a diagonal view of the stage below. Already, I was thankful to our Lord and Savior Jesus for the blessing. This event was my 2nd time in life to see Planetshakers lead worship with music but it was my first time to actually attend a Planetshakers-led event. To be clear, I first saw Planetshakers live on stage during the Jesus Global Youth Day in 2019.
Another spot for Planetshakers event merchandise at one of the upper floors of the SM MOA Arena.
At a little past 8PM, almost all the seats were filled and then Planetshakers’ worship event started very energetically! The music was amazing and the lights on the stage and in other parts of the venue really dazzled! It was more than a raving experience…it was holy as the Holy Spirit in my heart moved within. As the music was played, I really experienced blessing from Him, I reached out to Him, expressed my thanks to Him for the blessings and emphasized the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus.
While my Upper Box seat was distant from the stage below, the monitors by the stage were clear enough to help me see who was speaking and who was on stage. Planetshakers co-founder and global senior pastor Sam Evans was there and so was Joth Hunt, their dance ministry members and the others.
The view from seat. Tremendous worship led by Planetshakers combined with music, dazzling lights and the strong faith of the attendees in the Lord proved this was an anointed event.
The worship songs played during the event was a mix of past and new (from the newest album GREATER). Each song played drew praise towards the Lord from the many thousands who attended. A lot stood up, raised and waived their hands to the Lord as the music played and the lights dazzled. The praise towards the Lord was undeniably real and powerful with Planetshakers helping lead attendees to Him. This reminds me of what was written in Chapter 150 of the Book of Psalm in the Holy Bible which goes as follows:
Praise the Lord!
Praise God in His sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty firmament!
Praise Him for His mighty acts;
Praise Him according to His excellent greatness!
Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet;
Praise Him with the lute and harp!
Praise Him with the timbrel and dance;
Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes!
Praise Him with loud cymbals;
Praise Him with clashing cymbals!
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 150:1-6 (NKJV)
Very clearly, Planetshakers’ worship events are aligned closely with the above holy scripture. What I attended was a lot more than “just a concert”. It was truly worship of the Lord with Planetshakers’ worship music, modern instruments, strong focus and a strong leading of prayers to Him.
Speaking of prayers, I am very thankful to God that I personally witnessed Pastor Sam Evans leading prayersand got blessed that night. Whenever she leads prayers, it is always powerful, truly wholehearted, engaging and compelling! Pastor Sam Evans is truly anointed by the Lord to lead people to Him. The power and holiness of worship led by Pastor Sam Evans is even more tremendous when she is physically present with you. Her prayer was clearly done with all of her heart! This ultimately confirms the Lord’s blessing of the Philippines with Planetshakers and its sold-out worship events! More on the power of praying to the Lord and the truth about Him listening to us, learn from the holy scriptures below…
Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things, fenced in and hidden, which you do not know (do not distinguish and recognize, have knowledge of and understand).
Jeremiah 33:3 (AMPC)
Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.
Jeremiah 29:12 (ESV)
Seek the Lord and His strength;
Seek His face evermore!
1 Chronicles 16:11 (NKJV)
You are the Lord who reigns over your never-ending kingdom through all the ages of time and eternity! You are faithful to fulfill every promise you’ve made. You manifest yourself as kindness in all you do.
Weak and feeble ones you will sustain. Those bent over with burdens of shame you will lift up.
You have captured our attention and the eyes of all look to you. You give what they hunger for at just the right time.
When you open your generous hand, it’s full of blessings, satisfying the longings of every living thing.
You are fair and righteous in everything you do, and your love is wrapped into all your works.
You draw near to those who call out to you, listening closely, especially when their hearts are true.
Every godly one receives even more than what they ask for. For you hear what their hearts really long for, and you bring them your saving strength.
God, you watch carefully over all your devoted lovers like a bodyguard, but you will destroy the ungodly.
I will praise you, Lord! Let everyone everywhere join me in praising the beautiful Lord of holiness from now through eternity!
Psalms 145:13-21 (TPT)
During that same event, a prepared video was played recalling Joth Hunt’s bout with cancer a few years ago. Being hit with cancer is always difficult and even heart-breaking. Ultimately, Hunt did not give up as he kept his faith in the Lord. He never gave up on God! He recovered successfully from cancer and remains active with Planetshakers to this day! Hunts’ testimony and recovery are proof that the Lord will never abandon His children and only He can heal and restore you as long as you maintain unwavering faith in Him! Learn from the following scriptures below…
Fear not [there is nothing to fear], for I am with you; do not look around you in terror and be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen and harden you to difficulties, yes, I will help you; yes, I will hold you up and retain you with My [victorious] right hand of rightness and justice.
Isaiah 41:10 (AMPC)
For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.
Jeremiah 29:11 (AMPC)
Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed;
Save me and I will be saved,
For You are my praise.
Jeremiah 17:14 (NASB)
And the Lord turned the captivity of Job and restored his fortunes, when he prayed for his friends; also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.
Job 42:10 (AMPC)
More on the latest album GREATER – which itself is a key theme in the latest Planetshakers tours of worship events – there is biblical significance behind its title. It is a lively reminder about the greatness of our Lord and that we must always be with Him, follow Him and walk with Him in faith. The Heavenly Father, His Son Jesus our Lord and the Holy Spirit are always greater! Learn from the scriptures below…
Great is the Lord and highly to be praised; and His greatness is [so vast and deep as to be] unsearchable.
Psalm 145:3 (AMPC)
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.
John 3:16 (NASB)
For the Lord your God is the God of gods and Lord of lords. He is the great God, the mighty and awesome God, who shows no partiality and cannot be bribed.
Deuteronomy 10:17 (NLT)
Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and the earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and Yours it is to be exalted as Head over all.
1 Chronicles 29:11 (AMPC)
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Romans 8:28 (NKJV)
Go ahead—sing your new song to the Lord! Let everyone in every language sing him a new song. Don’t stop! Keep on singing! Make his name famous! Tell everyone every day how wonderful he is. Give them the good news of our great Savior. Take the message of his glory and miracles to every nation. Tell them about all the amazing things he has done. For the Lord’s greatness is beyond description, and he deserves all the praise that comes to him. He is our King-God, and it’s right to be in holy awe of him.
Psalms 96:4 (TPT)
Another shot from my seat. See if you can identify who is who on stage.
By the end of the September 10 worship event, I got very blessed by the Lord and I noticed many others around me left for home happy, thankful and positive. There were no signs whatsoever about disappointment and that is not surprising at all because the event was a blessing from the Lord. I felt great and deeply satisfied as I walked to the parking area to get into the car. I was overwhelmed with the Lord’s holiness and was really happy as I drove all the way back home.
Very clearly, Planetshakers and their highly successful worship events are big blessings of the Lord for the Philippines! In 2020, people prayed for His protection as COVID-19 swamped the nation. In 2021, people prayed to Him for social and economic recovery from COVID-19. This year, our faith in Him strengthened further which will lift the Philippines to emerge from the COVID-19 stronger and more confidently. Planetshakers’ events here in the Philippines are clearly part of the Lord’s plans for the Filipino people. As such, I urge you my readers to always pray to the Lord, ask for His plan for you, follow His Word and live with uncompromising faith in Him. Become a blessing to others as you get blessed by Him. Always remember that the personal relationship with the Lord is truly essential.
Always remember that God has plans for you and you only need to decide to let Him into your hear, to walk with Him, follow Him all the way and let His Spirit – the Holy Spirit – in your heart work in guiding you. Never forget that Jesus is our most definitive Lord and Savior and it is only through Him that we can connect with the Heavenly Father. That being said, the Planetshakers event I attended heavily emphasized Lord Jesus’ name as worship went on inside the SM MOA Arena. All our praise and all the glory are for God, Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Always have unwavering faith in the Lord! Always praise, honor and thank the Lord with all your heart!
At this point, I encourage you all to pray to the Lord wholeheartedly and with enduring faith in Him. For true quality time with Him, be in your room with the door closed and locked, then pray to Him. As the Lord blessed our nation with Planetshakers and their four nights of sold-out worship events, I also encourage you to pray for Planetshakers so that their ministry and network of church will continue to preach God’s Word and help people come to Jesus. Pray for Planetshakers’ co-founders Russell and Sam Evans so that the Lord will bless them as they keep on working tirelessly in serving Him and leading people to Him. Pray for Planetshakers’ pastors, musicians, dance ministry members and all their employees and stakeholders so that the Lord will bless them and support them as they organize more worship services. As Planetshakers keeps on serving the Lord and help lead people to Jesus, the following holy scripture below will resonate with the faithful and those who seek Him. I also encourage you to share the scripture to others…
Those who give thanks that Jesus is the Son of God live in God, and God lives in them.
1 John 4:15 (TPT)
In ending this article, I posted below the official music videos of worship songs related to Planetshakers’ latest album. May these enlighten you, delight you and motivate you to come to God, Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit without hesitation. Seek Lord Jesus first, follow His light and always be the fearless and aggressive church of Lord Jesus! Live by Jesus’ eternal victory! Peace and amen to you all!
Welcome back, my readers and fellow Christians! In this newest edition of my Christian Music Appreciation (CMA) series, we will focus on a decades-old worship song that pastor Darlene Zschech composed during her time with Hillsong Church and the Hillsong Worship team – I Will Run to You.
As for Hillsong Worship, follow them by clicking here (Facebook), here (Instagram) and here (Twitter).
Before getting into the analysis of the Biblical relevance of I Will Run to You, posted below for your reference are the lyrics. Words and music of this song were credited to Darlene Zschech.
Your eye is on the sparrow
And Your hand, it comforts me
From the ends of the Earth to the depth of my heart
Let Your mercy and strength be seen
–
You call me to Your purpose
As angels understand
For Your glory, may You draw all men
As Your love and grace demand
–
And I will run to You
To Your words of truth
Not by might, not by power
But by the Spirit of God
Yes, I will run the race
‘Till I see Your face
Oh let me live in the glory of Your grace
–
You call me to Your purpose
As angels understand
For Your glory, may You draw all men
As Your love and grace demand
–
To begin with, let’s take a close look at the lyrics of the first paragraph of the song: Your eye is on the sparrow, And Your hand, it comforts me, From the ends of the Earth to the depth of my heart,Let Your mercy and strength be seen.
The above lyrics emphasize that the Lord is ever present and He will never abandon His faithful children no matter how divisive and chaotic this world is. As long we keep faith in Him, honor Him and follow Him, the Lord will keep us up with His mercy, strength and peace. This also means we should keep on pursuing Him wholeheartedly and without hesitation! To be with God requires being with His Son Jesus who is our Lord and Savior! Learn from the holy scriptures below…
And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
Exodus 33:14 (NKJV)
Do not fear, for I am with you;
Do not be afraid, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, I will also help you,
I will also uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
Isaiah 41:10 (NASB)
And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:13 (NKJV)
But I’ll keep coming closer and closer to you, Lord Yahweh, for your name is good to me. I’ll keep telling the world of your awesome works, my faithful and glorious God!
Psalms 73:28 (TPT)
Jesus explained, “I am the Way, I am the Truth, and I am the Life. No one comes next to the Father except through union with me. To know me is to know my Father too.”
John 14:6 (TPT)
Next, take a close look at the following lines of lyrics from the 2nd paragraph: You call me to Your purpose, As angels understand, For Your glory, may You draw all men, As Your love and grace demand.
The above lyrics is a lively reminder that as creations of God, there is absolutely no way we could fully separate ourselves from Him. To be separated from Him is futile and only leads to darkness. When the Lord calls you, it is your destiny to answer His call which is undeniably a high call. Without the Lord, we are nothing, we won’t have glory and we would fall into darkness, sadness and wickedness. Answer the Lord’s call and come to Him. Run to Him and be with Him wholeheartedly! Never forget that God sent Jesus to save humanity and that alone shows how much He loves us and how faithful He is. We only need to answer the high call from our Lord and come to Him decisively with love and obedience. The Lord is always the holy one we must connect with. Learn from the scriptures below…
Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will do it.
1 Thessalonians 5:24 (NASB)
When he calls to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
Psalm 91:15 (ESV)
But as for me, I will call upon the Lord to save me, and I know he will!
Psalms 55:16 (TPT)
By having the eyes of your heart flooded with light, so that you can know and understand the hope to which He has called you, and how rich is His glorious inheritance in the saints (His set-apart ones),
Ephesians 1:18 (AMPC)
With this in view we constantly pray for you, that our God may deem and count you worthy of [your] calling and [His] every gracious purpose of goodness, and with power may complete in [your] every particular work of faith (faith which is that [a]leaning of the whole human personality on God in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness).
2 Thessalonians 1:11 (AMPC)
“Loving me empowers you to obey my commands. And I will ask the Father and he will give you another Savior, the Holy Spirit of Truth, who will be to you a friend just like me—and he will never leave you. The world won’t receive him because they can’t see him or know him. But you know him intimately because he remains with you and will live inside you. “I promise that I will never leave you helpless or abandon you as orphans—I will come back to you! Soon I will leave this world and they will see me no longer, but you will see me, because I will live again, and you will come alive too. So when that day comes, you will know that I am living in the Father and that you are one with me, for I will be living in you. Those who truly love me are those who obey my commands. Whoever passionately loves me will be passionately loved by my Father. And I will passionately love him in return and will reveal myself to him.”
John 14:15-21 (TPT)
There is no one holy like the Lord,
Indeed, there is no one besides You,
Nor is there any rock like our God.
1 Samuel 2:2 (NASB)
Exalt the Lord our God,
And worship at His holy hill;
For the Lord our God is holy.
Psalm 99:9 (NKJV)
Next, take a close look at the following lines of lyrics from the 3rd paragraph: And I will run to You, To Your words of truth, Not by might, not by power, But by the Spirit of God, Yes, I will run the race, ‘Till I see Your face, Oh let me live in the glory of Your grace.
The above lyrics collectively emphasize the Holy Spirit, God’s Word, His grace and our union with Him. The said lyrics, in my view, are the very essence of the Hillsong worship song. Learn from the holy scriptures below…
For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the [a]breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12 (AMPC)
Jesus commented, “Even more blessed are those who hear God’s Word and guard it with their lives!”
Luke 11:28 (MSG)
Now, the “Lord” I’m referring to is the Holy Spirit, and wherever he is Lord, there is freedom. We can all draw close to him with the veil removed from our faces. And with no veil we all become like mirrors who brightly reflect the glory of the Lord Jesus. We are being transfigured into his very image as we move from one brighter level of glory to another. And this glorious transfiguration comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
2 Corinthians 3:17-18 (TPT)
May the God of your hope so fill you with all joy and peace in believing [through the experience of your faith] that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound and be overflowing (bubbling over) with hope.
Romans 15:13 (AMPC)
He gave us resurrection life and drew us to himself by his holy calling on our lives. And it wasn’t because of any good we have done, but by his divine pleasure and marvelous grace that confirmed our union with the anointed Jesus, even before time began!
2 Timothy 1:9 (TPT)
But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31 (NLT)
But God shows and clearly proves His [own] love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) died for us.
Romans 5:8 (AMPC)
For God’s Word is something to sing about! He is true to his promises, his word can be trusted, and everything he does is reliable and right.
Psalms 33:4 (TPT)
Jesus answered him, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, that unless a person is born again (anew, from above), he cannot ever see (know, be acquainted with, and experience) the kingdom of God.
John 3:3 (AMPC)
For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.
Jeremiah 29:11 (AMPC)
Just as the Father has loved Me, I also have loved you; remain in My love.
John 15:9 (NASB)
And it’s true: “Everyone who calls on the Lord’s name will experience new life.”
Romans 10:13 (TPT)
Indeed, the lyrics and title of I Will Run to You are holy and anointed! This Hillsong worship song is also musically beautiful and written to motivate your heart of worship of the Lord. That being said, I strongly recommend the playing of I Will Run to You during Sunday worship services as well as during church special events. I Will Run to You is clearly all about us – the children of God – to always come to our Heavenly Father through Lord Jesus no matter what happens. This Hillsong worship song is also a great reminder of our union with the Lord.
Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Sharing this Christian piece means spreading the good news of the Lord to others. It can help you save the unsaved and the lost souls out there. Also please consider making a donation to support my publishing of faith articles and CMAs.
Welcome back fellow geeks, Blu-ray collectors and movie buffs! When it comes to cinematic martial arts and stunt works that are thrilling to watch, I can say Hong Kong action filmmakers and performers really stand out. More notably, Jackie Chan and Michelle Yeoh are the cinematic icons of Asia whose decades-old works remain memorable to this day.
That being said, if you are fond of Jackie Chan and Michelle Yeoh, and if you want something really fun to add to your collection of 4K Blu-ray movies, then you should get ready for the release of the 4K Blu-ray of the 1992 Hong Kong action film Police Story 3: Supercop (also referred to as Police Story III: Supercop) which has been set for December 13, 2022. The good news here is that advanced orders of Police Story 3: Supercop 4K Blu-ray are being accepted already. You can order it right now by clicking here.
The 4K Blu-ray cover.
For the details of Police Story 3: Supercop 4K Blu-ray, posted below are technical stuff sourced from its Blu-ray.com page.
Video
Codec: HEVC / H.265
Resolution: 4K (2160p)
HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Audio – TBA
Subtitles – English, English SDH
Discs – 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray Disc, Single disc (1 BD)
Packaging – Reversible cover
Playback – 4K Blu-ray: Region free, 2K Blu-ray: Region A
Police Story 3: Supercop 4K Blu-ray will come with extra stuff and key features. Check out the official product trailer below…
I personally am interested in this upcoming 4K Blu-ray of the movie that had Jackie Chan and Michelle Yeoh as the stars. For one thing, I only saw the Dimension Films version released in 1996 simply titled Supercop and that version had some content of the original Hong Kong version cut out. I am also interested in the extra stuff related to the dangerous stunts Chan and Yeoh pulled off while making the film. Other aspects of the film’s production, which includes filming in Malaysia, are something I would like to see.
As for the movie itself, it has a lot of thrills and to watch them – as well as Jackie Chan and Michelle Yeoh themselves – again in 4K is something to look out for. On the aspects of story and continuity, this 1992 movie was the 2nd sequel to the original Police Story (1985) movie that I saw long time ago on home video. Filled with lots of action, very dangerous stunts (note: Chan doing the dangerous pole stunt with exploding electric lights inside a shopping mall was the definitive stunt to see) and car chases, Police Story became successful and spawned sequels. Police Story 3: Supercop had Chan working with Michelle Yeoh (note: this was her comeback) and in my view, they had fine chemistry together and proved how great they are with fighting and stunt work. No computer-generated images here as the action and stunts were really done by the stars with high risk and danger. Chan and Yeoh are movie legends now and their team-up in 1992 is alone a solid reason to anticipate the 4K Blu-ray release.
Asian region movie poster of Police Story 3: Supercop.
Watch out for Police Story 3: Supercop 4K Blu-ray on December 13, 2022.
In closing this Better than Streaming piece, posted below are Police Story 3: Supercop-related videos and some videos related to Jackie Chan and Michelle Yeoh.
Welcome back, my readers and fellow Christians! In this newest edition of my Christian Music Appreciation (CMA) series, we will focus on Running, an original worship song from Planetshakersreleased through their album REVIVAL (click here for the official page of the album) For the newcomers reading this, the previous Planetshakers worship songs I examined and analyzed in the CMA series were How I Praise, All, Great Outpouring, 247 365, Encounter Song and So Good. Let me share to you also that Planetshakers will be returning to the Philippines with worship events scheduled! In fact, Planetshakers has been touring internationally to lead people to the Lord with music and powerful worship!
If you want to discover and learn more about Planetshakers, I encourage you to click here (Facebook page), here (Instagram), here (Twitter) and here (YouTube). To know more about Planetshakers itself, visit https://www.planetshakers.com/
Before getting into the analysis of the Biblical relevance of Running, posted below for your reference are the lyrics. Words and music of this song were credited to Andy Harrison and Joth Hunt.
VERSE 1
Who You are is holy
Nothing in this world compares
Hidden in Your glory
Are treasures far beyond compare
PRE-CHORUS
Beauty on beauty, wonder on wonder
Lord there’s none like You
Closer and closer, You draw me in so
I will run to You
CHORUS
I’m running, running to You
I’m longing, longing for You
I’m pouring, my affection on You
‘Cause all I want is You, all I want is You
VERSE 2
Who You are is worthy
All creation bows to You
All You do is perfect
Every word is proven true
BRIDGE
Holy, holy Lord almighty
There is none like You
Worthy, worthy, You are worthy
There is none like You
TAG
All I want is You
To begin with, let’s take a close look at the lyrics of Verse 1 of the song: Who You are is holy, Nothing in this world compares, Hidden in Your glory, Are treasures far beyond compare.
The Verse 1 lyrics emphasize that our Lord is holy and His holiness can never be matched by anyone nor anything in this very divided world we live in. As God is our creator, He is also our source and the ultimate planner. Therefore, we only worship, honor and glorify the Lord. The Lord is the one we approach. Run to God, His Son Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit! Learn from the scriptures below…
No one is holy like the Lord,
For there is none besides You,
Nor is there any rock like our God.
1 Samuel 2:2 (NKJV)
Keep exalting the Lord our God facedown before his glory-throne, for he is great and holy!
Psalms 99:9 (TPT)
And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, to the extent that He has inherited a more excellent name than they.
Hebrews 1:3-4 (NASB)
Moving on, we have the Pre-Chorus lyrics which go as follows: Beauty on beauty, wonder on wonder, Lord there’s none like You, Closer and closer, You draw me in so, I will run to You.
The Pre-Chorus lyrics emphasize that the Lord God is much greater than us and the whole world we live in. The greatness of the Heavenly Father can never be matched and as He is our creator, it is only our destiny and responsibility to be faithful to Him, to honor Him and be with Him above everything else. All the glory, all the praise and all the prioritizing belong to the Lord! We move to the Lord because our rightful place is with Him! Do not forget that the Heavenly Father sent His Son Jesus to save us. Learn from the following bible scriptures below…
There is none like You, Lord;
You are great, and Your name is great in might.
Who would not fear You, O King of the nations?
For it is Your due!
For among all the wise men of the nations
And in all their kingdoms,
There is none like You.
Jeremiah 10:6-7 (NASB)
For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; He also is to be [reverently] feared above all so-called gods.
1 Chronicles 16:25 (AMPC)
And I will vindicate the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord,” declares the Lord God, “when I show Myself holy among you in their sight.
Ezekiel 36:23 (NASB)
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
Matthew 11:28-30 (MSG)
But everyone my Father has given to me, they will come. And all who come to me, I will embrace and will never turn them away.
John 6:37 (TPT)
Next, take a close look at the following lines from the Chorus: I’m running, running to You, I’m longing, longing for You, I’m pouring, my affection on You, ‘Cause all I want is You, all I want is You.
The Chorus clearly magnifies our purpose with the Lord and this, I believe, is the basis of the worship song’s title. As children of the Lord, we are meant to come to Him, open our hearts to Him and have unwavering faith in Him. Posted below are more holy scriptures about coming to the Lord…
Now that we know what we have—Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God—let’s not let it slip through our fingers. We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin. So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.
Hebrews 4:14-16 (MSG)
Lord, you are so good to me, so kind in every way and ready to forgive, for your grace-fountain keeps overflowing, drenching all your devoted lovers who pray to you.
Psalms 86:5 (TPT)
Jesus said to him, I am the Way and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except by (through) Me.
If you had known Me [had learned to recognize Me], you would also have known My Father. From now on, you know Him and have seen Him.
John 14:6-7 (AMPC)
Jesus replied, “Loving me empowers you to obey my word. And my Father will love you so deeply that we will come to you and make you our dwelling place.”
John 14:23 (TPT)
Next, the lyrics of Verse 2 are as follows: Who You are is worthy,All creation bows to You, All You do is perfect, Every word is proven true.
After that, here are the lyrics of the song’s Bridge: Holy, holy Lord almighty, There is none like You, Worthy, worthy, You are worthy, There is none like You.
Collectively Verse 2 and the song’s Bridge emphasize the greatness, the almighty power and love of the Lord. He is faithful and He always keeps His promises. He is also our Source, our Creator and the Way Maker. The Lord is worthy of all the praise and faith from us. The Lord is almighty and nothing else can ever compare to him. No idol and no form of opposition will ever come close to the Lord’s power and holiness. Learn from the following scriptures below…
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8 (NASB)
But you, O Lord, your mercy-seat love is limitless, reaching higher than the highest heavens. Your great faithfulness is infinite, stretching over the whole earth.
Psalms 36:5 (TPT)
For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him.
John 3:17 (AMPC)
Nevertheless in Your great mercy
You did not utterly consume them nor forsake them;
For You are God, gracious and merciful.
Nehemiah 9:31 (NKJV)
And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you [with abundant increase of favors] and make your name famous and distinguished, and you will be a blessing [dispensing good to others].
Genesis 12:2 (AMPC)
The Lord has done great things for us! We are glad!
Psalm 126:3 (AMPC)
Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,
My lips shall praise You.
Thus I will bless You while I live;
I will lift up my hands in Your name.
Psalm 63:3-4 (NKJV)
Come on, everyone! Let’s sing for joy to the Lord! Let’s shout our loudest praises to our God who saved us! Everyone come meet his face with a thankful heart. Don’t hold back your praises; make him great by your shouts of joy! For the Lord is the greatest of all, King-God over all other gods! In one hand he holds the mysteries of the earth, and in the other he holds the highest mountain peaks. He’s the owner of every ocean, the engineer and sculptor of earth itself! Come and kneel before this Creator-God; come and bow before the mighty God, our majestic maker!
Psalm 95:1-6 (TPT)
Indeed, the lyrics and title of Running are holy and anointed! This worship song by Planetshakers is a strong reminder about who our Lord is and why we are meant to be with Him, follow Him and honor Him eternally. As faithful children of God, our destiny and purpose are with Him. We are meant to come into His presence, be ready to follow His commands and preach His Word in this very divided world we are currently living in. Musically, Running is motivating and solemn at the same time. It is an ideal song to worship the Lord during Sunday worship services or during prayer events with the spiritual family.
Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Sharing this Christian piece means spreading the good news of the Lord to others. It can help you save the unsaved and the lost souls out there. Also please consider making a donation to support my publishing of faith articles and CMAs.
To put things in perspective, posted below is the excerpt from their official announcement. Some parts in boldface…
Planetshakers is so excited to visit Manila once again in September 2022! God is greater! He is greater than any circumstance that we may face and our trust in Him will see us overcome any obstacle and see victory over every enemy that may come our way.
With this belief in our hearts and that declaration in our mouths, we will experience greater than our highest thoughts and prayers. Join us at “Planetshakers – GREATER TOUR” to experience the greatness of our God as we worship together and come in faith around His word. He has greater things in store for us so with this in mind we know we will see His miracles unfold and the empowering of His Spirit to take us to that greater level in Him.
As of this writing, ticket categories and prices are listed as the following:
VIP – P1,600
Patron – P1,600
Upperbox – P1,200
Lowerbox – P1,200
General admission – P600
The ticket prices do not include the ticketing service fee. When purchasing the tickets online at SMTickets.com, be sure to have your own website account up and running, and your credit card should be prepared as well. Again, ticket sales will go live online on July 21,2022.
Planetshakers is coming back to the Philippines for the first time since 2020! Truly a blessing from God!
For the newcomers reading this, Planetshakers is a Christian church based in Australia and their worship music team produced a lot of worship songs that became not only popular with Christians around the world but also became part of their worship of the Lord. For your enlightenment, posted below is their official church statement…
The heart of Planetshakers Church is to see people’s lives radically transformed as they encounter Jesus, His tangible Presence and God’s family in a personal and powerful way.
Planetshakers Church is a church for all. It is a large, diverse and rapidly-growing family, made up of people of every age and cultural background (over 150 nationalities) who genuinely love each other and are whole-heartedly committed to the church’s mandate of Empowering Generations to Win Generations.
Planetshakers Church is led by Senior Pastors, Russell and Sam Evans, and an incredible team of pastors and leaders who are driven by an urgency to present the good news of Jesus Christ to a broken and hurting world. We have multiple campuses, both locally and internationally, and believe that the local church is the greatest vehicle through which people’s lives can be touched and changed by the power of God’s love.
Everyone is welcome!
With regards to the Planetshakers music team, their worship songs are truly anointed and I reviewed several of them on this website. Check out my Christian Music Appreciation (CMA) pieces of Planetshakers’ songs by clicking here, here, here, here, here and here.
Very clearly, the return of Planetshakers to the Philippines is a new blessing from the Lord and we should all be thankful to Him, praising Him and honoring Him! In closing this post, posted below are varied worship music videos of Planetshakers for your enjoyment and your praise to the Lord.
Ren Sato and Yuka Sato shone as champions with ease, catapulting Japan to regain her thrones in the 2022 NTT ASTC Subic Bay International Triathlon–29th edition of the country’s longest-running triathlon event with international cast–at Subic Bay Freeport Zone Sunday.
Asia’s No. 3 and 56th in the world rankings Ren Sato and inaugural Youth Olympic Games triathlon gold medalist and Rio Olympics 2016 15th placer Yuka Sato (10th– Continental Ranking; 90th– World Ranking) clocked one hour 43 minutes and 11 seconds and 1:58:49 in living up to their billings as top seeds in the elite men and elite women divisions, respectively.
Japan’s Ren Sato the Elite Men’s champion. (photo credit: Henry Vargas)
The Elite Women’s champion Yuka Sato of Japan at the finish line. (photo credit: Henry Vargas)
The other medalists in both divisions of the 1.5-kilometer swim, 40km bike and 10km grind organized by Triathlon Association of the Philippines in cooperation with Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, Philippine Sports Commission and Philippine Olympic Committee pulled the rug from under the favorites.
Ryoya Tamazaki, ranked 14th in Asia and 201th in the world, made it 1-2 Japanese finish in the elite men, checking in 26 seconds adrift of Sato at 1:43:37; it was Tamazaki’s first podium finish in 13 starts. Another 11 seconds behind at 1:43:48 was Australia’s Oscar Dart (27th-CR; 189th– WR).
On the women’s side of the race sanctioned by World Triathlon and Asian Triathlon Confederation with Standard Insurance, Asian Center for Insulation Phil (ACIP), Pocari Sweat, Aurora Suites & Pavilion and FINIS as sponsors, Hong Kong’s Yan Yin Hilda Choi grabbed the silver in 2:00:37 and Slovakia’s Margarita Bicanova (2:01:02) the bronze.
The last time the Japan dominated SUBIT was in 2013 when it was staged in conjunction with the Asian Triathlon Championships (second time TRAP hosted it). Yuka Sato then finished runner-up to Mariko Adachi who had retired and Yoichi Hosada, who topped the 2021 JPN Triathlon National Championships was the men’s gold medalist.
Top 10 finishers included: men– 4th Tsz To Wong HKG (1:44:00); 5th Genta Uchida JPN (1:44:16); 6th Jason Tai Long Ng HKG (1:44:33); 7th Makoto Odakura JPN (1:44:56); 8th Kanta Ando JPN (1:45:21); 9th Koki Yamamoto JPN (1:45:46) and 10th James Tan HKG (1:45:52); women– 4th Brown Bailee HKG (2:02:14); 5th Yoshiko Eda JPN (2:02:35); 6th Charlotte Hall HKG (2:02:47); 7th Chia-chia Chang TPE (2:03:03); 8th Chi Wen Chang TPE (2:03:35); 9th Kotomi Anzai JPN (2:04:21) and 10th Cade Wright HKG (2:05:12).
The Top 5 Elite Men with SBMA chairman Rolen Paulino, Sr. during the awarding ceremony. (photo credit: Rey Nillama)The Top 5 Elite Women during the awarding ceremony. (photo credit: Rey Nillama)
Emerging as top performers among the locals were 32nd seed John Chicano (1:51:02) and 26th Andrew Remolino (1:52:11) who placed 22nd and 23rd, respectively, and 18th seed Raven Alcoseba who landed in 13th position as the country’s top woman triathlete Kim Mangrobang who recently returned from her training base in Portugal retired in the run phase.
Chicano’s and Remolino’s times were faster than the clocking of 1:53:26 of the former when he clinched the first gold medal for the PHI in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.
+++++
The above information was sourced from an official press release issued by the Triathlon Association of the Philippines. Some parts were modified for this website.
For related triathlon stories about the Subic Bay International Triathlon and the SEA Games this year, click here, here, here and here.
Japan served notice it is all out to regain her pre-eminence in the NTT Asia Cup SUBIT as she entered a powerhouse squad in the 29th edition of the country’s longest running triathlon event outside of the National Championships set at Subic Bay Freeport Zone this Sunday (May 1).
Asia’s No. 3 and 56th in the world rankings Ren Sato is installed as the No. 1 seed in the elite men category followed by Tsudoi Miyazaki, ranked 4th in Asia and 59th in the world.
In the elite women, inaugural Youth Olympic Games triathlon gold medalist and Rio Olympics 2016 15th placer Yuka Sato (10th– Continental Ranking; 90th– World Ranking) gets the top billing and Tsudoi Miyazaki (14th-CR; 145th– WR) the main supporting role.
Rounding out the top 5 men favorites are: Rio 2016 veteran Azerbaijan’s Rostislav Pevtsov (47th– CR, 76th-WR), Genta Uchida (8th– CR; 97th– WR) and the last SUBIT (2019) champion Hong Kong’s Oscar Coggins who finished 33rd in the Tokyo 2020 (10th– CR; 120th-WR).
Completing the pundits’ choices for a podium finish in the distaff side is Australia’s Jessica Ewart-mctigue (16th-CR; 153- WR).
The last time the Japanese ruled the elite men was in 2017 when they romped off with 1st,3rd and 5th positions with the Koreans inserting themselves in-between; and in the elite women in 2015 when they finished 1-2.
Partnering with organizing Triathlon Association of the Philippines in SUBIT are Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority under newly-installed Chairman and Administrator Rolen C. Paulino, Philippine Sports Commission and Philippine Olympic Committee with Standard Insurance, Asian Center for Insulation Phil (ACIP), Pocari Sweat, Aurora Suites & Pavilion, and FINIS as sponsors.
Seeing action in SUBIT where top performers gain points for continental and world ranking are hopefuls from aside Japan, Azerbaijan, Hong Kong, and Australia are Chinese-Taipei, India, Singapore, Slovakia and the Philippines.
Conspicuously absent are the Chinese, particularly Mengying Zhong, the back-to-back women’s champion of the last two editions of SUBIT.
The country’s bets to the 31st Hanoi SEA Games, namely, Kim Mangrobang, Raven Faith Alcoseba, Lauren Plaza, Andrew Kim Remolino, Fernando Casares and John Chicano banner the Team Philippines.
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The above information was sourced from an official press release issued by the Triathlon Association of the Philippines. Some parts were modified for this website.
For related triathlon stories about the Subic Bay International Triathlon and the SEA Games this year, click here, here, here and here.
War is tragedy. No matter what caused the war and no matter what political ideologies clashed, there will always be victims left and right. Over there in Europe, there is a war between Ukraine and Russia (the invader) going on and already many Ukrainians saw their lives disrupted and filled with uncertainties. The war is already affecting the global economy which is very unfortunate because much of the world is still struggling to recover from the COVID-19 crisis.
Over in Australia, Hillsong Church officially launched the Ukraine Appeal online. The Ukraine Appeal is an act of emergency to help the Ukrainians. It is also notable that Hillsong Church has its own church there in Ukraine – Hillsong Kiev.
To put things in perspective, posted below is Hillsong Church’s message emphasizing the Ukraine Appeal…
After weeks of escalating tensions, on February 24, Russia orchestrated a military invasion of Ukraine. Hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes to neighbouring countries, the capital of Kyiv is under siege and thousands are sheltering in any place of safety they can find.
Globally, our hearts and prayers go out to our Hillsong church family in Kyiv. As such, Hillsong Global has launch an emergency appeal so our church family world-wide can support @hillsongkiev as they continue to assess the needs of their community in very rapidly changing and difficult circumstances. Giving is non-tax deductible for non-USA residents.
Please continue to pray for the people of Ukraine and Russia and @hillsongkiev as they endeavour to respond to the needs; for these hostilities to cease, and for a lasting peace to ensue.
Thank you for your generosity to the people of Ukraine.
If you have decided to help the Ukrainians through Hillsong Church’s Ukraine Appeal, then head on to https://hillsong.com/appeal/
Do not forget to also pray for the people of Ukraine who are struggling a lot in this new crisis. In case you missed the news videos and details recently published by CBN News covering the situation over there, there are lots Ukrainian Christians who are strongly worshipping and trusting in God. They are not giving up in their faith in Him even though there is danger around them. These details alone should convince you to pray for Ukraine and help them by donating through Hillsong Church’s Ukraine Appeal. Also pray for the Russians and for Russia’s leaders to look up to God, realize their destructive method is very wrong and stop the invasion.
Let me end this post with the bible scriptures below. Certain lines in boldface…
This is what the Lord says: Be fair-minded and just. Do what is right! Help those who have been robbed; rescue them from their oppressors. Quit your evil deeds! Do not mistreat foreigners, orphans, and widows. Stop murdering the innocent!
Jeremiah 22:3 (NLT)
Love empowers us to fulfill the law of the Anointed One as we carry each other’s troubles.
Galatians 6:2 (TPT)
My times are in Your hand;
Deliver me from the hand of my enemies,
And from those who persecute me.
Psalm 31:15 (NKJV)
But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
Note: Hillsong logo is a property of Hillsong Church.
Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/
Author Carlo Carrasco 