It’s normal for us to be focused on ourselves and our small circle of loved ones. That’s our default mode. On the other hand, it’s “abnormal” for us to think of the well-being of others before our own.

Ego is a tenacious master.

To curb this distasteful tendency, we must make it a habit to personally GIVE something GOOD (time, talent, treasure) to someone outside our family or small circle of loved ones, every day. Whether we’re having a good day or not. That way, we get to spread goodness around — despite our innate selfishness and propensity to calibrate our kindness with convenience and hidden agendas.

If you think you’re Unselfish by nature, then this isn’t for you.

One major cause of depression is self-preoccupation. When we’re obsessed with ourselves, we tend to focus on the things that we want, the things we don’t have, the things others have that we want for ourselves, and other barriers to our happiness. This self-preoccupation is debilitating.

But just to be clear, depression is caused by many things – it can be a medical condition that needs professional care. What we’re talking about here is self-inflicted depression that comes from self-absorption.

One time, I was traveling alone to the US to attend a conference. I abhor traveling alone, so I was quite depressed as I waited to board the plane. There was this thick pall of gloom around me that I could almost touch.

On the plane, I was seated beside a medical doctor who had just come from a conference and was returning home. She told me she had a fear of flying. I found her honesty refreshing, to say the least.

So for the next four hours, I intentionally distracted her by plying her with the most captivating, fascinating stories I could pull out of my memory bank. And she, in turn, told me stories about her victories and misadventures as a doctor. End result: it was a most relaxing plane ride for the two of us! My feelings of gloom and doom disappeared.

Then disaster struck after we landed. The person who promised to fetch me from the airport (because I was bringing a package for her) didn’t come. Frantic, I called her – only to find out that she was home and didn’t even bother to reach me. Oh well. I told myself (with livid conviction) that – God help me – I’d never do that to anyone.

So my alarming situation was this: I was alone in a strange city where I didn’t have friends I could call for help, and it was my first time there.

Then out of the blue, this amazing shaft of sunshine pierced through my personal darkness, at 11:50 pm, in the dead of night, in that airport: the airline staff, learning of my predicament, offered to bring me to a nearby hotel where I could spend the night, before going to the conference the next day. Amazing kindness.

But suddenly, another ray of sunshine came: the doctor, my plane seatmate, quickly said, “Oh! No need to bring her to a hotel. My son is picking me up now so we’ll take her home with us and bring her to her conference tomorrow!” The airline staff smiled and said, “Oh, ma’am, that’s so sweet of you! May we have your name, address, and contact details please, so we know where to get in touch with you, in case we have to?” I thought that was quite thorough… and made me feel so secure and cared for.

Amazingly, the good things didn’t stop coming yet!

When we arrived at the doctor’s house – a big, luxurious, welcoming home – there was hot food waiting for us! My favorite food (which we talked about on the plane): Szechuan food! The doctor remembered.

How they managed to have the food delivered to the doctor’s house at 2am is still a mystery to me. We chatted till about 3am, then I pampered myself with a warm shower and a good night’s sleep. They assured me that I could sleep in as much as I wanted to because her son was bringing me downtown, to the Hilton, where the conference was. I found out that it was a good 1.5 hours drive from the doctor’s house!!! More awesome kindness.

When I woke up and went downstairs, breakfast was ready! The good doctor left a note that she had whipped up a quick breakfast for me before leaving for a morning meeting. She also said thank you for helping her overcome her fear of flying – even for that one flight only!

To this day, the unbelievable kindness of this doctor, her son, and his wife, still astounds me. That one act of spontaneous generosity made that whole trip an unforgettable one for me.

Imagine what one act of pure unselfishness can do to change a person’s perspective in life. The good news is – we can all do it, by God’s grace.

So there I was, totally awestruck by this American pastor whose podcasts, sermons, and bestselling books I had been reading, following, and learning from, all these years.

I couldn’t believe he was talking to me like I was an old friend. Not stand-offish at all, nor “I know I’m famous and I’m giving you one minute of my priceless time, you ordinary human being, you.”

Instead, he was refreshingly ordinary. He was asking where my husband was, so he could meet him.

As we walked towards my husband (who was a few meters away, talking to some friends), our celebrity pastor was asking me what country were we from? Were we attending a conference? How many were we from the Philippines?

What outstanding humility!  He walked to where my husband was, instead of asking me to bring my husband over to him.

He said he loved Filipinos and the Philippines! A beautiful country with very charming people. As we were talking, we were walking towards my husband who was absolutely clueless that he was about to meet a celebrity pastor in just a few seconds.

I wish I had taken a photo of my husband’s face when he saw this tall, burly man suddenly standing in front of him, flashing this disarming smile. He greeted my husband warmly, tapping him on the shoulder with one hand, and giving him a vigorous handshake with the other! It was such a warm introduction that immediately, our nervousness evaporated.

The pastor held an easy-going conversation with us for a while – until a man with a video cam came, and asked our celebrity pastor to greet this church in South America.

So the pastor softly excused himself, told us it was so nice to have met us, and turned to the video cam man.

I felt a new rush of admiration as I watched this ordinary human being – who keeps doing extraordinary things for God – carrying his celebrity status so well. If only more celebrities were like him. Not awestruck with themselves!

I’ve had other close encounters with celebrities – but this next one is hands-down memorable.

My daughters and I were given free tickets to the sold-out concert of this super famous Kdrama Hallyu star. He’s one of the most well-known, well-loved Korean actors today, with a squeaky-clean reputation at that.

He’s the only Korean celebrity I’ve ever met in my life. This was during a “meet and greet” where we were all given the privilege of meeting him face-to-face, as close as 3 feet in front of him.

We were allowed to give him maybe a four-second high five and a short greeting – all simultaneously executed, of course. So the line in front of him had to keep moving at a brisk pace. People were orderly and well-behaved.

It reminded me of this moving line we were in – the line closest to some heavy-duty glass compartments that looked bullet-proof. We were inside a room that was actually a huge vault. It showcased some of England’s magnificent Crown Jewels. Absolutely an eye-popping, mind-boggling experience.

The guards repeatedly told us – “Keep moving! Pls keep moving! There are many others behind you!”

So back to the Korean celebrity – when my daughters and I were so close to him already, so close that we could already see his dimples – I was thinking: what in the world will I tell this tall, fair-skinned, handsome young man with such a pleasant, innocent smile? Something that he’d hopefully remember for the rest of his life?

In a heartbeat, I knew what I was going to say! So I took firm, quick steps towards him, smiling from ear-to-ear when I high-fived him. Then I said in a cheerful voice, “Hey! Jesus loves you!”

In a split-second, I saw his eyes immediately light up, and he gave me this absolutely dazzling smile. He suddenly lunged forward as I was walking away. He called out, “Jesus loves you, too!!!” And he extended his arms to me, as if reaching out… like he was my long-lost grandson.

It’s a moment that’s forever etched in my memory. Crystal-clear, fade-proof.

Definitely a priceless encounter. And mind you, the focus was not on fame. Not on money. Not on prestige or power.

The focus was on Jesus. The most awesome Celebrity of all time.

Which is as it should be. True celebrity status belongs only to Jesus – and ironically, He didn’t even want it when He was here on earth. In fact, He shunned fame, power, and wealth. I’m thinking that should teach us volumes about wanting to be in the limelight!

It’s so easy to get awestruck with ourselves when we get a little bit of fame, when people kowtow to us, invite us everywhere, want their photos taken with us, or flock to us whenever we enter a room.

All that is quite dizzying and flattering, of course. But it’s also deathly  deceptive. Because the minute a little bit of fame goes to our heads, then we’ve just stamped an expiration date on ourselves.

Remember that saying – “The higher they go, the harder they fall!”

There’s a fascinating event described in the Bible that many people probably don’t know about – a global event that will affect everyone, in a terrific or terrifying way. It will affect YOU, whether you believe it or not.

It’s called “The Rapture.” A faster-than-the-twinkling-of-an-eye event where two kinds of people on earth will be caught up in the clouds to join Jesus Christ in heaven – while cataclysmic things will happen on earth.

Those who are raptured out by Jesus will have glorified bodies – immortal, perfect, immune to sickness and disease, the best versions of ourselves.

There are two kinds of people who will be raptured or caught up in the clouds, and taken away by Jesus:

1. Those who the Bible calls the “dead in Christ” – meaning, people who, before they died, personally accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior; and

2. Those who are still alive and have also accepted Jesus Christ into their lives as their Lord and Savior. These people won’t experience physical death. They’ll go straight up to the clouds to join Jesus, when The Rapture happens.

Everyone else will be left behind – specifically those who never committed their lives to Jesus Christ. The Bible calls them the “unbelievers.” They’ll be left behind to experience seven years of what’s called “The Tribulation” where the world will be ruled by one person who will establish a one-world government.

This one-world ruler (the anti-Christ) will bring global peace for 3.5 years (that’s why the world will gladly accept him as their global leader). However, after 3.5 years of peace will come 3.5 years of untold horror and terror, global famine, extreme pain and suffering never before experienced by man.

It will be so horrible that men will try to kill themselves. Billions will die – 1/3 of the world’s population will perish in plagues that will come one after the other. This is all told in the Book of Revelation, the only part of the Bible that’s waiting to be fulfilled.

For sure, I don’t want to be around when The Tribulation happens. Let’s see how the Bible describes The Rapture:

“We tell you this directly from the Lord: we who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet Him ahead of those who have died.

For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God.

First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, those who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4, verses 14 to 18)

To be clear, The Rapture isn’t the end of the world. But it will usher in the end times. During the end times, God will pour out His wrath upon the earth, specifically on those people who never committed their lives to Jesus Christ.

The Greek word “harpazo” which means “to snatch” or “to take away” was used in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 – to describe The Rapture. In the Latin Vulgate, the word used is a form of the Latin word “rapturo” or “caught up.” This describes how believers or followers of Christ will be instantaneously snatched up into the clouds by Jesus.

Imagine this in your mind’s eye – Jesus will literally snatch up His followers to remove them from this earth so that they won’t have to undergo untold suffering.

One day, billions of people who’ll be left behind on earth will be utterly shocked and horrified when suddenly, billions of people will disappear right before their very eyes – without a trace. Leaving the world in total chaos.

Airplanes will crash because there’ll be pilots who’ll suddenly disappear. Cars will crash into one another and pile up on streets, roads and highways. There’ll be countless accidents with cars and machines because their drivers and operators will suddenly vanish.

Imagine – people from all walks of life will suddenly disappear: doctors, nurses, lawyers, engineers, ship and plane crew, IT people manning our computer systems, your garbage man, your dentist, heads of state, your friends and family members who tried to persuade you to become a serious follower of Jesus.

Bible scholars say that there’s no exact date mentioned in the Bible when The Rapture will happen, but they say that it can happen anytime now. Anytime now.

The Rapture is the next big thing that’s supposed to happen, according to the Bible’s timeline.

Therefore, if one is wise, one had better make sure that one is qualified to be raptured out of here, into safety. It’s the biggest, wisest decision you’ll ever make in your life. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Humble yourself now before Jesus Christ, and say this prayer to Him, sincerely:

Dear Jesus, I admit I’m a sinner and I cannot save myself. I can never go to heaven on my own. Please forgive me for all my sins. Thank you that You died on the cross to pay the penalty for ALL my sins – which I cannot pay for. I ask you now to come into my life, into my heart, as my Lord and Savior. I accept your gift of eternal life. I believe that one day, you’ll bring me to heaven with You.

I commit my life to you, Jesus, and will obey you for the rest of my life. Thank you for being with me forever, from this moment on. Thank you, Jesus. In Your mighty Name I pray. Amen.

If you prayed that prayer sincerely, Jesus is now in your heart, in your life forever, as Your Lord and Savior. He’s the only One Who can bring you to heaven.

You are now Rapture ready.