HOME. SICKNESS. (Part 3)

WHAT WOULD LORD JESUS CHRIST DO TODAY?

By Joel E. Ferraris

In this article...

'What would Jesus do today? He wouldn't take up residence in the Vatican',

...there is evident disagreement among the men of religion on how deal with the moral, economic, social and political problems in our country.

Lord Jesus Christ came here more than 2,000 years ago not to topple governments or oust political leaders but to set the captives to sinfulness free. That's why He lambasted those men of religion because they are supposed to take care of people's spirituality whether they are in politics or tax collectors like Matthew or mere masa like Peter, etc.

Again I tell you, whether you oust GMA or whoever is in power when the individual Filipino's own spirituality is weak and not complete evil will simply win again and again!

But for those who listen and follow the Master Lord Jesus Christ as He teaches us how to love and obey God the Father Almighty above all this political, economic and moral illness will not win over them for they will become the salt of the earth of whom people will emulate and they will be well provided and at the same time they will be contented of the blessings given to them.

To love one's neighbor, especially the poor, is not merely giving them dole outs and trumpeting around for the whole world to see the charitable donations we give them to glorify us, Worst, it's not exhorting them to rise up and topple governments while their ignorance of our Almighty God the Father's will remains in them like an incurable disease.

BTW, when we give to others, do we give it secretly that only God the Father Almighty knows? And when the recipients of our good deeds thank us, do we say to them "thank our Almighty God the Father instead for He made me an instrument of His blessings to you".

Do we do charitable things for His glory or for our own glory to boast to others? Are our hearts pure and intentions good in giving help or do we expect something in return?

When the glory is only for us and when people do not understand that this glory and gratitude should have been meant for our Almighty God and Father, they will be easily manipulated, especially during election time, when we ourselves fall into the temptations of using them for our own agenda.

That's why dirty politicians can make people dance to their tune. They help other people for their own glory and not for the glory of our Almighty God the Father. And this practice invites corruption and immorality.

To love one's neighbor, the rich and the poor alike, is to give them knowledge about God the Father Almighty's will for knowing this will nourish their souls because man cannot live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the Almighty God and Father. That's what Lord Jesus Christ meant when he said to His disciples, "Love one another as I have loved you."

He did not merely gave them dole-outs or inspired them to become rich in material wealth so that they will enjoy life. They do not even enjoy what we have now, complete with our high end appliances, computers and trips abroad and all those perks. He showed them that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. He nourished His disciples with His teachings about what pleases our Almighty God and Father.

But then again, the question is, who are His sheep who meekly follow Him and who are the goats that are against His teachings. There will be goats and sheep among the rich and the poor alike for as long as they don't follow the will of the Almighty God and Father even if the political system in our country will change or the few rich that controls our economy are removed from power.

There is wisdom in being poor, as like what Job had undergone when he was tested, and there is danger in being rich for they could be serving another master, which is material wealth, instead of God the Father Almighty.

With this in mind, instead of shouting slogans to oust the corrupt leaders of our country who enjoy wealth from their corruption, we who are spiritually mature should instead be worried about them for they will burn in hell should they fail to repent and reform. But those who noisily protest against them are questionable because they could just be doing these acts not really as an act of loving their neighbors the way Lord Jesus Christ did but because they want to grab that piece of that big pie from those who have stolen it.

Now there are Jobs in our midst...people whose faith are tested. The thing is, Job succeeded in showing the steadfastness of his faith even if he became so poor and sick. But the poor of today or even the discontented rich are different. The poor, when they experience extreme poverty, will forget Him and rob and kill the rich. Or when they become rich they might forget Him again as the rich now are addicted to all sorts of worldliness and the aim to acquire more wealth.

Lord Jesus Christ Himself was poor and born in a manger and have no home to stay when He started His minitry.

The job of the priests and bishops and other men of religion is to instill in people's minds that come what may they will love our Almighty God and Father above all!

They have to fight the evil within and among themselves too! They have to rid themselves and the church of idolatry which is the cause of the people's sufferings when God the Father Almighty's anger befall them due to continued use of these abhorrent objects that mislead the flock.

The social eyesore that is the gap between the rich and the poor is clearly evident in the kind of hand-graven religious images the rich and the poor could afford to buy and posses.

This is why Lord Jesus Christ came here more than 2,000 years ago. He will say the same thing to the people of today. And if you are the temple of the Holy Spirit you will have the gifts of the Holy Spirit to guide you in order to survive, not only in the Philippines but in this messy world going more secular and worldly, and continue to preach the good news of salvation.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. (John 3:16-21)

It is therefore our duty as believers in God the Father Almighty and disciples of Lord Jesus Christ to proclaim the good news of salvation to the spiritually blind people so that they will not be condemned.

No matter how we fight for social and economic justice, for freedom and human rights and against oppression of all sorts if we do not accept the Son of God the Father Al;mighty and believe in His teachings we will continue to suffer materially, psychologically, emotionally and spiritually as condemned people!

HOME. SICKNESS. (Part 2)

ANOTHER WRONG SACRIFICE

By Joel E. Ferraris

The recent failed coup attempt is likened to a pre-Christmas surrealism if I were to paint it. Add to that the recent NPC mural controversy and the picture becomes a lot chaotic while people are busy preparing to buy gifts in yet another year-end shopping spree.

The true essence of the birth of Lord Jesus Christ seem to be forgotten again, covered by the mountains of material gifts in stock at the malls.

I suggest that we should pray for all of these people, especially Trillanes, the running priest and the bishop. This military man's mindset, probably molded and inspired by those religious personalities around him, produced this distorted statement here.

To me this is dangerous as it could inspire people, the spiritually blind, to make drastic actions without understanding what it is all about and without reflecting deeply on its adverse effects. It could spark violence given the fact that the leader is a military man representing Magdalo. And to make matters worse is the cloud of suspicion hovering over this group's name.

If this is his understanding of the "moral obligation of the religious to do what is right", then he better review the teachings of Lord Jesus Christ a lot instead on depending on the bullets and the votes that he has.

People have probably voted for him because they were fed-up with the system... but he added to the rottenness of that system by using force when in fact it is a collective guilt of the whole nation that caused this system to be rotten and no wonder that UP itself cannot solve the culture of violence in its own campuses.

One only needs to dig deeper and read what's happening in our country before resorting to abrupt change that has less wisdom, no moral as well as strong spiritual foundations to make it strong to resist more future attacks from the evil one..

Who has no speck blocking his eyes? Even cigarette smoking is a clear and present danger! Even the womanizing of those who cannot take care of their families produces more problems that cannot be solved by money!

The "defensive" frats, using violence against the aggressions of their rivals and the acts of coup plotters flirting with violence are just the same recipe produced by a mindset devoid of the real understanding of true Christianity.

Theirs is another wrong sacrifice.

Could you imagine Lord Jesus Christ and His disciples mouthing slogans against a corrupt Roman Empire and crying to oust the Roman Emperor just to install a care-taker government?

Instead He lambasted those blind religious leaders who misled the people by their wrong doctrines. Similarly, a current problem is seen as the cause of moral decay in our country.

Instead He empowered the people by the baptism of the Holy Spirit so that they will not be corrupted by those who are in power.

Instead He proclaimed that the Kingdom of His God and Father in Heaven is coming and will be within the people.

Will Trillanes' "moral crusade" ensure that the Kingdom of God the Father Almighty will be within us once they succeed in their designs? Will he eradicate all evil completely?

God the Father Almighty looks at the hearts of men whom He anoints as leaders. He is not mesmerized by good looks and strong build of men. or whether they are the darling of the press.

Too bad that people now vote for their leaders instead of them waiting for God the Almighty Father to anoint and send one to them.

I remember that in the past I wrote that GMA is the one anointed by God the Father Almighty to be the leader of our country. This was a divine message revealed to my spiritual sister. Even some might have noticed and deeply thought about it. That's why any and all attempts to grab power from her have failed.

Can Pedro grab the blessing meant for Juan? Can anybody fight the will of God the Father Almighty especially if He grants blessings to someone He sees fit and in His own perfect time?

Only those afflicted by the cancer called crab mentality are the ones squirming with envy for they cannot accept what is divinely granted to others.

I'll just pray for GMA, rather than protest in the streets ...that she will be guided by our Almighty God and Father...that He will correct her if she has done wrong and she will be protected from those who are just manipulating her. I hope that she will go to her room and pray privately to our Almighty God and Father in Spirit and in Truth in the name of Lord Jesus Christ and ask for guidance.

I hope that any other leader will do this too.

Isn't it very lonely up there? I was once a leader too but to a very much lesser degree and I know how hard it is to be up there.

If she is persecuting us we should pray for her because Lord Jesus Christ said so.

Not even a tyrant leader caused my fear in 2003 here in Hong Kong when I have my own share of difficulties. I cannot stage a street protest or a coup d'etat against SARS plus the possible cancerous lump on my wife's breast.

But I just prayed to our Almighty God and Father and His answer was a clear miracle:

This should have been the remedy for that young girl's problem instead of her committing suicide due to hopelessness. Wasn't it that Lord Jesus Christ promised that the faithful will be protected and provided for?

Where were the spiritual guides of that girl. Where were her Ninongs and Ninangs? Were they just there to give gifts during Christmas time?

Why wrestle for a small piece of pie when there's one whole piece meant especially for you?

Love is not happy with evil but then again evil cannot be defeated by another evil. It's in the Holy Bible. So why can't the coup plotters understand that when in fact we are living in a society where the freedom to exercise one's religion and to read the Holy Bible is allowed?

"Violence as a way of achieving racial justice is both impractical and immoral. It is impractical because it is a descending spiral ending in destruction for all. It is immoral because it seeks to humiliate the opponent rather than win his understanding; it seeks to annihilate rather than to convert. Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love." -- Martin Luther King Jr.

To battle the ills of our society we need to fight the evil within ourselves first but we have to wear the Armor of God the Almighty Father.

It is a lose-lose situation to fight a wrong war in a wrong battlefield using the wrong weapons and armor. In this foolish predicament the real enemy, the unseen evil spirit influencing men to be evil, always run away laughing, finding another host to manipulate.

If Trillanes' time to lead will come it will come in God the Father Almighty's own perfect time if he will be His anointed leader for the nation. Now, he better prepare himself and work hard to please Him who is up there, a king-maker, who is all-knowing and all-seeing, before he could please people looking up to him as a role model of change he is preacing to them.

If he fails to do this, then it will be another wrong sacrifice for a leader and his followers.

HOME. SICKNESS. (Part 1)

GRAVER CONCERNS

By Joel E. Ferraris

I cannot help but pour out my sentiments on the recent events in my country, the Philippines.

Another failed attempt to oust the president took place at the Manila Peninsula Hotel in Makati at a time when pre-Cristmas fever preoccupies people's minds as they prepare for the festivities. There were lots of reactions from people regarding this one in a series of attempts to oust a leader and her administration perceived to be so corrupt.

But despite two almost heroic attempts of a failed coup plotter-turned-senator, who is still serving a jail sentence, to bring abrupt change people seem not to bite the bait anymore by not joining in his cause. His recent caper started a ripple of reactions from people. I am one of them.

I have my own reactions too as a homesick, concerned citizen and Christian who see the ills in my predominantly Catholic country and is concerned about its welfare. It's sickness has got the attention of people who wanted to apply their own brand of medicines but despite repeated doses of antibiotics called "ouster of presidents after Marcos" the virus called moral vacuum and corruption persistently digs its roots on people's being.

Biblically this social and moral sickness is explainable but how the people will accept the explanation is another big question.

One man, in the last moments of his life, wrote (as translated here in English) in his blog how disgusted he was with what happened. This prompted one columnist to write:

"It's all very well not to be impatient because the process is slow. But what if the process is completely blocked? What if patience becomes indistinguishable from inaction and becomes the very ground upon which injustice thrives?

"What if the Rule of Law is the Rule of the Few?"

Read in full: (Grave Concerns by Conrado de Quiros)

I myself have these questions for my countrymen to reflect on:

So whose to be blamed here? Is it the frats who have, in its memberships, law students and lawyers who are locked in the cycle of violence when in fact they are supposedly the guardians of the rule of law? (Watch video here, here and here and read more articles in the links provided here)

Or the churchmen who are divided and have different approaches on how to solve the moral crisis in our country... (Read some of the articles here, here and here)

...when in fact the church has its own conflicts to face:

"Catholics in the Philippines have been too complacent.
We have to reach out to the unchurched, who are very
gullible and are attracted to fundamentalist,
fire-and-brimstone Protestant preachers on television
and radio. The church must counter that with their own
preaching, because these nominal Catholics are not
hearing any alternative. Protestant churches have made
big inroads in the Philippines. Now we have to fight
back." (Read the article here)

And the laity are also divided to either help the poor or not through GK.

My question is, would it be a lot better to oust GMA first so that we could concentrate in our spirituality or we take care of our souls first so that she and the corrupt people surrounding her will not be able to tempt us to be corrupt ourselves?

Another question I have is this: Is our Almighty God and Father deaf to the prayers of millions of Filipinos clamoring for change?

Does He not see the evils that the corrupt leaders are doing that He allows the "religious to do what is morally right" by attempting to have another violent coup d'etat that might have influenced the spiritually blind and spiritually ignorant to use force and violence to change rotten system of our society?

There must be something wrong with the connection between the multitude of believers and Him above who is the Owner of the floodgates of heaven.

Are we really ready not to take any slice of that tempting pie that could lead us into temptation of being corrupted ourselves once we are included in the caretaker government which was so envisioned by those who are so eager to grab power?

AND WHO ARE THEY? That human rights advocate and lawyer and that military man-turned senator did not name names!

Isn't it that the present administration a product of the victory of the united opposition that ousted Marcos? So, why is it that after years of having the chance to rectify the ills of society after getting rid of that dictator ...why are we left in a state of disarray?

Will the alliance of the faithful believer in God the Father Almighty through His Son our Lord Jesus Christ with unbelievers who don't give a damn about the Gospels produce good fruits? Whose decision will prevail?

If bishops, priests, pastors, evangelicals and all those religious leaders, in the midst of their squabbles who is best to shepherd people and save souls despite the claims to have the fullness of the truth by some, failed to correct the spiritual ignorance of people to make them spiritually enlightened in order to do what is good, what is moral and what is pleasing to the eyes of our Almighty God and Father, how could we, the people, expect a president, a secular leader, to correct a deeply-rooted problem she inherited.

We cannot even solve a perennial problem that is frat violence in a small community like UP.

We have to think, act and have strong faith in God the Father Almighty not to be corrupted ourselves.

Maybe let's try thinking like a president and we'll see what concrete moves are we gonna do...in simple things for example:

1. To eradicate the problem of traffic congestion Juan will reduce the number of buses in Metro Manila and replace all existing buses with double-decker buses so that there will be free-flowing traffic.

2. As a Christian leader, Juan will not allow miniskirts and spaghetti straps in the churches so that men will not be tempted by the vulgarity of women's dresses and destroy homes and families because of their infidelity.

3. While the color-coding is still being imposed, Juan will not allow people to have more than one car.

4. Juan will ban all cigarette smoking and the tobacco businesses in the Philippines because smoking causes cancer and is a problem of both the rich and the poor.

5. Juan will ban all frats in all universities because frat violence destroys the young and fratmen in power create a powerful political machinery that might breed corruption and therefore are inimical to the existence of a better society.

6. Juan will close all bars and ban the alcohol business in the Philippines because alcoholism is bad not only to one's health but causes family problems and domestic violence. Besides, it will be a waste of money to pay more police officers to see to it that this law is imposed.

7. Juan will regulate and censor all movies and videos and ban sexy films, whether it's art for art's sake, because morally it is unacceptable.

8. Juan will imprison all men or women with illicit affairs or have kabits and kulukadidangs because these acts destroy the family and the moral growth of children. Divorce will not be allowed by Juan.

9. Juan will limit the salary of professionals to just a few thousands of pesos, not so high, and raise the wages of the poor manggagawa so that the gap between the rich and the poor will be narrowed.

These are just a few and the idea sounds funny to others but not funny at all. Imagine the battery of lawyers and activists to argue the freedom of expression and the rights in a democratic society (to practice their own brand of freedoms which are against the teachings of the Holy Bible as echoed by religious leaders) being crushed by such initial moves to restore morality as listed above.

Therefore it all depends on the individual and how he/she is being guided by his/her spiritual leader and if and only if she will accept, absorb and live by such sound teachings or not. Lord Jesus Christ did not come to topple governments but to free us individuals from captivity to sin whether we are rich or poor.

That includes those who criticize the leader and those who are possible candidates of that caretaker government or else...HISTORY WILL JUST REPEAT ITSELF WHERE ALLIES WILL JUST BECOME ENEMIES AGAIN!