Spiritual Journey

LINGERING THOUGHTS

2009-10-13T09:10:00.000-07:00

By Joel Ferraris

As images of the calamity flood the internet links provided by people following the developments in our country my thoughts are flooded too with many memories as if they're floodwaters too that seem not bent on leaving. And as I gaze on my family sound asleep in our cozy flat here in Hong Kong after we said our prayers to the Almighty God the Father, in the name of Lord Jesus Christ, together and continue to be assured of their protection and well-being because I firmly believe in His grace, mercy and love I cannot lull my self to sleep that easy thinking about many things.

Fleeting thoughts of specific significance swirl inside my mind like debris floating in the murky floodwaters. People at this very moment sleeping or cannot sleep on rooftops, evacuation centers, trapped underneath building spaces destroyed by landslides elsewhere or even abroad thinking about their love ones back home are only a few in a mélange of images fit for a surreal painting. They are juxtaposed with other issues expected to take effect as a result of these calamities.

More than two weeks ago just before the three typhoons all sorts of news in the Philippines fight for the headlines for prominence and priority and one of these was the revelation of one senator about the corruption and the sins of one former president that would most likely pour out an avalanche. What bothered me that same night while I was about to sleep was the thought of how Edgar Bentain died. He was still a young man, a high school student, when I was a university student boarder in their apartment inside the university campus. He was then full of energy, a young man who liked to play soccer. What happened to him? How did he die? It was reported that he was murdered. What about those other students in our universities who died because of fraternity violence? Was there or will there ever be justice in all of these? Did the truth come out finally? Only people so wicked and possessed by demons were capable of doing these crimes as it is written that they are servants of “the devil who is a liar and a murderer from the very beginning.” John 8:44

“Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” John 8:44

Many people suffer injustice from the unrighteousness of spiritually corrupt people who hide the truth. Still many people are spiritually ignorant about the will of the Almighty God the Father and cannot accept the reason why Lord Jesus Christ came as a Savior and therefore cannot be free from captivity to sin.

Floodwaters will hopefully subside one day especially in the lowest areas which are still in danger of being submerged permanently and therefore the actual total destruction will be finally revealed to a certain extent. But how about in those cases where the dead cannot be found? Are they too buried into oblivion just like the truth that is still hidden from the families of victims of the many crimes committed in my country?

This recent calamity and the magnitude of destruction it caused present a big lesson for people to ponder upon deeply. There are those who, as expected, look forward that everything will be back to normal. But what is normal? What is normalcy? Are there serious lessons learned from this tragedy? Are these simply lessons for an arrogant secular society with science-powered pragmatism as its guiding light and with foresight as its prophetic thought? If this is purely a secular thing then does it mean that apostasy as well as idolatry goes on unhampered whereby goodness towards neighbor is simply a twisted version of the law Love thy Neighbor and where acts of goodness prominently added to the laurels of big companies, religious or secular groups vying for new members, supporters or profits?

There are some parallelism from the past that could still apply in the present and the future because the Almighty God the Father's laws are still the same.

From Ezekiel 14 http://kingjbible.com/ezekiel/14.htm

1 Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me. 2 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 3 Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them? 4 Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols; 5 That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols.
6 Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations. 7 For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet to enquire of him concerning me; I the LORD will answer him by myself: 8 And I will set my face against that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

What will make us more terrified is this:

12 The word of the LORD came again to me, saying, 13 Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it: 14 Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord GOD. 15 If I cause noisome beasts to pass through the land, and they spoil it, so that it be desolate, that no man may pass through because of the beasts: 16 Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters; they only shall be delivered, but the land shall be desolate. 17 Or if I bring a sword upon that land, and say, Sword, go through the land; so that I cut off man and beast from it: 18 Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they only shall be delivered themselves. 19 Or if I send a pestilence into that land, and pour out my fury upon it in blood, to cut off from it man and beast: 20 Though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness.

What about the aftermath?

2009-10-13T09:05:00.000-07:00

By Joel Ferraris

Prompted by the behavior of the three typhoons I have to write this very important note as a reaction to the recent calamity and the ongoing devastation caused by the 2nd typhoon (Parma) still wreaking havoc in Luzon (as of this writing) while it changed its course and is forecast to move South Southwest at 12 kph. http://www.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/

People familiar with military strategy (learned either by experience or through computer games), I presume, could easily agree that if one part of the army is used for advanced frontal attack on the enemy a second wave of attack behind to hit enemy supply lines will cause so much damage to weaken and eventually defeat the enemy.

Such a scenario is what I have observed in what's going on in my country. While Ondoy devastated parts of Metro Manila and its neighboring areas before its final exit Peping (Parma), followed by another typhoon (Quedan), went north as if to purposely target the farmlands wherein crops supposedly ready for harvest in the coming months were destroyed. Now one understands and could imagine what this will eventually mean.

I am seriously thinking as to why all these things happened. What are the reasons? What is the main reason? What have we done to deserve such fate? What will the aftermath be?
It’s all Biblical.

What comes to mind is the more serious calamity happening to an individual. The presence of reality that there is confusion going on about religion and spirituality whereby true Christianity, suffering serious attacks from all sides, is either absent, obscured, ignored or even dismissed as dying or even inexistent in an age of computers makes one question about life and the afterlife and if there is a need for repentance.

Meanwhile, as soon as everything’s back to normal old habits and continued ignorance of what ways are sinful might come back again and everything’s back to “normal” again especially when society follows a confused sense of morality whereby the line dividing right from wrong is obscured. And as in the aftermath of the flood in Noah’s time evil will continue to lurk and resume business to devour the next victims without them having the chance of salvation through Lord Jesus Christ in order to have eternal life.

I have my own share of personal calamities as a citizen of a country ravaged by all sorts of calamities big and small, subtle or obvious. But all these have ceased their hold on me in 1988 when I was finally baptized in the Holy Spirit and accepted God the Father Almighty and His Son Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior. And truly, the gifts of the Holy Spirit available for free are what a person needs for him or her to be able to walk a straight path towards the right direction and make life easy and most of all to obey the will of the Almighty God the Father and make one identify what things are evil to be able to resist it and be free from captivity to the many deceptions of the evil one.

Indeed, after practicing true worship, my prayers were answered many times in many ways and instances. In the devastation brought by typhoon Frank last year in Iloilo my old, 80+ year old mother, who lived in our small house together with my younger brother, was spared from that calamity that not only destroyed property but also claimed many lives. Our house is located in lowland too but it was not directly affected by the devastation.

I love my family and I always pray for them and because of this that I teach them about true worship and I give my trust and faith to the Almighty God the Father who is the One who could protect not only me but all the people I love as well in this lifetime. And this love is indeed really true if we all enjoy it in the eternal afterlife.

I have no control of what happens to them but the fact that I have not hidden the truth from them about Lord Jesus Christ and the salvation through Him makes me accept the will of the Almighty God the Father for them.

Calamities and God�s Judgment: What Can We Learn From Natural Disasters? by Bob DeWaay http://cicministry.org/commentary/issue90.htm

Tsunami, Sovereignty, and Mercy by Dr. John Piper
http://www.leaderu.com/theology/tsunami_sovereignty_mercy.html

The God of Disasters by Vincent Cheung
http://www.rmiweb.org/other/disasters.pdf

Another Test Of One's True Christian Spirituality

2009-03-30T10:58:00.000-07:00

By Joel Ferraris

I just want to share my views on this new issue (RP envoy demands apology from HK writer By Veronica Uy, Lira Dalangin-Fernandez ) sending disturbing ripples to the whole community of Filipinos.

Violent reactions against incendiary comments or intrigues (like the statement by that person about us as a "nation of servants") are a common occurrence among fratmen. According to reports, just last year and even early this year a series of frat rumbles terrorized UP Diliman again. Due to unchecked spirituality of each member of a group (comprising of different but conflicting spiritual beliefs) plus the kind of secular mindset and culture that each frat as a collective group espouses could result in violent conflicts that we termed "rumbles".

Fraternities are smaller compared to countries or races but we could derive the same pattern whereby patriotism is akin to loyalty to a frat. A fratman insulted by another means big trouble and they are ready to kill and to die which is similar to the loyalty demanded from each citizen to protect one’s country. The long-running fratwar in Cebu between two rival frats started just because of one T-shirt as reported. It sounds silly but it proved deadly. The same is true here with that comment from a Chinese man who claimed he was misunderstood. And to a lesser degree, the same is true even in egroups wherein issues to be taken objectively for the purpose of finding solutions to social problems seem to offend the very sensitive. We need to go no further but in homes the husband and wife conflict could lead to broken families. And the same is true too in religious groups defending their faith.

All of the above are simply a test of one’s spirituality. A true Christian will look at this more objectively knowing that the enemy is not the flesh but the unseen unclean spirits and principalities.

10Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
http://kingjbible.com/ephesians/6.htm

Anyone acting violently either in words or in deeds is unknowingly under the influence of the unseen who is unclean and the real enemy. And the one who knows Paul’s teaching on love looks at the problem more calmly with love and concern for others because of the Holy Spirit’s guidance. Yet concern and love for others could still be viewed negatively through dirty lenses. Lord Jesus Christ was crucified and died for our sins, yet He was mocked.

33And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. 34Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. 35And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them derided him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God. 36And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar, 37And saying, If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself. 38And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
http://kingjbible.com/luke/23.htm

Anywhere we go in the world people belonging to any race encounter any form of discrimination. People are victims in one way or another. But even in the safety and comforts of our home or country and even if these zones are all heavily-guarded no one could save us from other threats to life. Illness, terminal illness, depression, fear of the unseen, global warming, volcanic eruptions burying our churches and mansions, financial difficulties, the temptations to do sin, etc are just but a few of the countless problems a man and his family (and without even the knowledge of his own family) has to face. Here there’s no one to blame. Yet at this point people do make the mistake of blaming Him up there in heaven for all these miseries. The question is… did the sufferer believed, understood, obeyed and loved the One who is Eternal and Living God?

If I were to face this problem or if I were to help my fellowman or a domestic helper I will go back to the privacy of my room and pray to our Almighty God the Father for help in the name of Lord Jesus Christ. And I will open the Holy Bible and learn some lessons from the past and most especially discern what message the Lord has for me for this particular situation for these Words of Wisdom will make me strong as a person and I could teach my fellowmen how to be strong too. Strong to have self-control and ready to welcome a wider understanding of what pleases the Almighty God the Father.

10Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
http://kingjbible.com/ephesians/6-1.htm

The fact is, before I learned of this recent news through the email I opened the Holy Bible and read the Book of Hosea. There in front of my very own eyes I saw the message and the lessons which apply to this current problem.

The Book of Hosea touches on issues about:

1. ERRING RELIGIOUS LEADERS wherein they become even richer as people become more sinful
2. PROSTITUTION, adultery and immorality
3. RAMPANT IDOLATRY and how the LORD repeatedly condemns its practice
4. POLITICAL CONSPIRACIES
and many more.

Can we really close our eyes to the truth that similar things are happening in our society today?

A particular passage that caught my eyes was:

11Because Ephraim hath made many altars to sin, altars shall be unto him to sin.

12I have written to him the great things of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing.

13They sacrifice flesh for the sacrifices of mine offerings, and eat it; but the LORD accepteth them not; now will he remember their iniquity, and visit their sins: they shall return to Egypt.

http://kingjbible.com/hosea/8.htm

As the return to Egypt symbolizes return to idolatry and paganism what has happened to us after the dictatorship is going more deeply into idolatry after a glaring symbol was erected at the historic EDSA site. They even boasted about erecting even a much gigantic one in Luzon to rival the statue of Liberty which is likewise pagan.

The disappointing and irritating comment by that man should make us face the mirror and ask a question…why are we a nation of servants? Why are our women who are poor becoming prostitutes or “mules” carrying illegal drugs?

I, for one, was also a victim of sort to discrimination by other races here. I worked as a freelance with a few companies and of course I experienced discrimination too. But I always have the Words of God the Father Almighty in my mind and in my heart always. To serve other people, my human master, well is to serve God the Father Almighty whereby I have to work with all honesty and integrity despite the absence of cameras to check my performance because He sees me all the time. Likewise, as a boss too to my workers when I had my own projects I have to see to it that I do not lord it over to them. Let us be reminded too that those faithfull people of God the Father Almighty are courageous in the face of exploitation and oppression in following His will and are not concerned with what the world will say of them.

5Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; 6Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; 7With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men: 8Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.

http://kingjbible.com/ephesians/6.htm

Come to think of it, we haven't been freed yet from idolatry as a country ever since. Not yet. Although Spain introduced Roman Catholicism as a form of Christianity it brought with it a tainted one. We see the same pattern wherein in festivals for the so-called saints people of all sorts parade graven images made by artists and craftsmen, perform all sorts of dances in all sorts of costumes and when evening comes they become drunk and unruly as a result of alcohol and drugs and later on we read news about deaths!!!

3For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries:

http://kingjbible.com/1_peter/4-1.htm

The Holy Bible shows us how people in their rebellion against the Almighty God the Father are delivered to be defeated, abused and ridiculed by their enemies!

Before we react unwisely or even cause others to do likewise on this issue gaining heat let us ask ourselves...what have we done as believers to deserve this? Have we forgotten something serious about our faith in the Almighty God the Father? Are there not lots of graven images in the whole country misleading people to practice idolatry? Isn't this clear signs of apostasy the reason why we became a race of servants? Isn't it that because of all these iniquity our people, their families and especially the young are most affected? Let's be reminded by these Biblical passages:

1And God spake all these words, saying,

2I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

3Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

4Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

http://kingjbible.com/exodus/20-1.htm

The above will remind us that the errors of the past, those clearly wrong traditions as a result of disobedience to the Commandments of our Almighty God the Father, are being practiced and perpetuated until today causing us all to suffer His wrath. Are there no Pinoys who are servants in other countries? Are there no drug trafficking activities going on? Is drug addiction not a problem in our country? Is the frat culture of violence not laying havoc on families and distorting the mindset of our youth? Etc., etc., etc..

More troubling and seriously fearsome than the results of those incendiary comments by that man who is at the center of this issue is the message in the Second Commandment “for I The Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate Me”

How would we react when we hear these Words from Lord Jesus Christ Himself?

1Judge not, that ye be not judged. 2For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. 3And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 4Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? 5Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.

http://kingjbible.com/matthew/7.htm

Lastly, are we not a blessed nation because we, at least, have faith in Him who is the One Eternal, Living and Most Holy Almighty God the Father who sent His Son our Lord Jesus Christ to save us? What have we done to displease Him? How about a look at the preceeding entry to this blog titled "MESSAGES FROM HEAVEN?" and discern the messages therein and examine how others who are mature in the Christian faith discern these? Or how about surfing the internet to see what idolatrous practices are going on in the Philippines or research in the Holy Bible about idolatry? If we are convicted by the Truth that these practrices are abhorrent in the eyes of our Almighty God the Father, are we then ready to get rid of it in order to please Him so that we could be assured of His protection, guidance, blessings and graces and eternal love?

Going back to the frat culture, how do our government leaders or even our kababayans react to intrigues and threats from outside the country if they are trained as fratmen and seasoned as fighters and strategists in those fraternity wars all these years? In the last years before I left the frat to which I belong before for more than 30 years there was another instance when our resident brods in UP Diliman were attacked by rival fratmen. What followed were a barrage of emails in the egroup to plan a retaliation. I pacified them by reminding them about the Words of our Almighty God the Father in the Holy Bible and for them to pray and ask for protection and guidance. Until now, even after I left the frat for good, I haven't heard them involved in violent conflicts anymore despite the fact that only last January this year there was another series of conflicts in UP involving 2 rival frats locked in a long time bitter conflict. And everytime I visit my ex-frat brothers in the university I am like a crazy preacher proclaiming the Gospels of Lord Jesus Christ in this age of computer and digital technology.

THE WRONG SACRIFICE

Bible verses: IDOLATRY

JOB VACANCY

MESSAGES FROM HEAVEN?

Understanding the Filipino seaman: His Values, attitudes and behavior TOMAS D. ANDRES

THE FILIPINO AS THE QUINTESSENTIAL DRINKER: A Study
of Alcohol Drinking Patterns Among Filipinos
Maritona Victa Labajo

Drugs in the Philippines

Drinking and Driving in the Philippines: Until Death do they part?

Aklan and Ati-Atihan

M E T H A M P H E T A M I N E

Alcohol and media: The situation in the Philippines
Joyce P. Valbuena

One reason Pinoys want to leave RP

Sharing The Word Of God At The Penafrancia Festival in Naga City Philippines

Naga City 2009 Penafrancia Procession turns violent

Clash between Penafrancia tradition & the secular festivities of Naga City government

Drug Addiction In The Philippines

Pagoda & other fluvial tragedies

Bicolano Zarzuela “Manto” staged in UST

TRAGEDIES AND VIOLENT INCIDENTS DURING RELIGIOUS CELEBRATIONS

One for the books: Boy lost life saving 4 kids

idolatry and admiration

Revisiting fraternities

Maritime Disasters by death toll

Idolatry, mammon and leadership

A Buddhist's Conversion to Christianity & His Thoughts on Idolatry.

The Destructive Power of Idolatry

Ati-Atihan massacre

Wowowee, Penafrancia fiesta, & the 229 people injured in the Black Nazarene procession of Quiapo

PASTORAL APPROACH TO INDIGENOUS PEOPLES IN ASIA

MESSAGES FROM HEAVEN?

2008-07-31T10:40:00.000-07:00

HOME. SICKNESS. (Part 9)

2008-03-23T13:48:00.000-07:00

HOLY WEEK REFLECTIONS

By Joel Ferraris

This is an opportune time to focus our attention to the more important things that matter in life.
While the witches of Siquijor, as what has been told in stories even when I was younger, gather and make their magic potions during Good Friday to make them powerful because of their alleged belief that God is dead, what true believers in the Almighty God the Father must do is to examine the Holy Bible.

Here's one story about Siquijor:
Herbalists scour Siquijor’s forests to cure the incurable

Here’s another:
Shamans of Siquijor Island - Dumaguete - Negros Oriental - Philippines

Part of the Gifts from the Holy Spirit is this: "(8) To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit," 1 Cor. 12:8

Equipped with this, a faithful believer cannot allow dubious beliefs to further ruin the gullible and weak in conscience and understanding who are also prone to become victims of the manipulations of dirty politicians.

Given the privilege to have education, the literate has to take time and effort to study the Holy Bible, with prayers of guidance from God the Father Almighty through His Holy Spirit, and impart their knowledge derived from this Spirit-guided study to others and, with a heart of a servant of the Almighty God the Father, try and help others avail of the infinite blessings only He could offer. And reflecting on the lives of the apostles of Lord Jesus Christ, who themselves are mostly simple people, the would-be disciples of today need to focus on the attainment of the purity of their hearts to please our Almighty God the Father who values this trait rather than outward looks no matter how visually impressive they seem to be.

“7 But the LORD said to Samuel, Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”1 Samuel 16

This is the answer to the problems that Filipinos are experiencing now in the midst of the renewed call to oust the perceived corrupt leadership while the poor majority wallows in poverty. In this time of what is considered as the most holy time of the year, the Holy Week, a newspaper editorial titled “Un-holy Week” plus lots of latest news and opinion columns present a disturbing picture of the current political, economic and social crisis as well as problems involving the religious in the country.

Most opinion columns and editorials I read never failed to mention verses from the Holy Bible when discussing and analyzing the current problems of our country:

A nation of lost sheep

Get thee behind me, Satan!

Healer, heal thyself

The fact that the biggest Catholic laity group, the Couples for Christ, experienced a disturbing division by splitting into two groups: CFC and CFC-FFL . What followed was a lot of discussions here ( In Defense of the Real CFC) and here (Couples for Christ Foundation) and added pain on the existing but silent debilitating wound to many believers affected by the division.

But what is more disturbing was the opposing views of the CBCP in dealing with the current grave problems about corruption in the government that rocked the people of a majority Catholic country, prompting them to issue a statement that there is corruption in all levels of society.

I agree.

The question is, why did it all come to this point - poverty amid corruption and vice versa? Of all the places, why the Philippines has become one of the most corrupt – a country that is majority Catholics equipped with all the safety nets in the form of moral and spiritual values?

What made these leaders corrupt and immoral? Or if they were falsely accused, what inspires their opponents and critics to relentlessly pursue such accusations? Are these critics honest, truthful and sincere in their mission? Are they well-equipped with integrity to cast the first stone? Were they sincerely repentant of grave personal sins that they were accused of or have secretly done in past that escaped public attention and justice?

And why is it that once people, even those said to have good moral standing and are perceived to be religious or God-fearing, as advertised by their election posters and adverts managed by their spin doctors, are prone to be corrupted once in power?

The next sets of questions are, are they morally and most of all spiritually equipped not to be corrupted once they assume office when in fact they are there to serve others? Were they molded correctly spiritually by their shepherds? Were the doctrines taught to them sound and free from errors? And are these doctrines based on what Lord Jesus Christ have taught in the Holy Bible?

Will the poor, just to escape squalor temporarily, accept bribes from politicians and the powerful that have evil intentions? And will they all, in the midst of pressing problems, kneel before a man-made image with expectant, long and repeated prayers? Can they differentiate clearly what is simple veneration from blatant worship of these images made by sinful hands?

Is it not then very important that people need to give importance first to their spiritual life before running for an office...they that were so privileged to have good education and can speak English well while the rest are being ridiculed for this disability?

Is it not most vital for people to understand their spirituality first and be sure to know the will of our Almighty God the Father, know Him well and understand Him better before they do anything to act in the midst of a crisis?

What about the fact that there exists opposing religious beliefs where what is wrong to some are right to others especially the use of hand-graven images?

And what then those institutions, like those fraternities in universities, that promised to mold students to become leaders did to set the right direction for these aspiring leaders? What guarantee, given the bitter rivalries they have with their enemy frats, that this organized groups will distance themselves from corrupt practices or take advantage of influence, connections and power once a member of theirs becomes a public leader?

Are we ready and willing to be herded again into other people power movements that have now turned into prayer rallies to oust another set of corrupt leaders once the existing ones are successfully ousted?

Are the ones who are strongly opposing now but are having unholy partnerships with their enemies to oust the ones in power also prone to be like what they so eagerly want to get rid of once they take the reigns of the government?

Has the Catholic Church failed gravely in leading its flock all these years? Have the sheep failed to follow their shepherds into the right path? Did all those teachings about the Words of our Almighty God the Father in the Holy Bible able to sink-in in and have won the hearts and minds of Filipinos despite the fact that we are surrounded with a lot of religious rituals, festivals and religious images to remind us of our faith? Or is it that because the Philippines is a country of believers, does it follow that it is the frontlines of the battle between the forces of our Almighty God the Father and the fallen angels led by Lucifer? The next more important question is, are Filipinos well-equipped with the full Armor of God the Father Almighty to fight and defeat evil?

Reading the views of two priests: "From Darkness to Light." and Jesus 'would not enter Vatican' and the fate of the Roman Empire:WHY CHRISTIANITY DID NOT ARREST THE RUIN OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE could somehow give us a glimpse why the Philippines is into this situation now. The fruit depends on the kind of tree.

We must realize that this is a battle not merely of human differences but a kind of persistent, subliminal and supernatural conflict orchestrated by unseen spiritual forces rebelling against our Almighty God the Father and His Kingdom.

To oust a corrupt leader is like killing one snake on the head of Medusa while the rest of the other serpents still actively wriggle and continue to thrive on the head of their host. How many would-be leaders are in reality, but in all subtlety, snakes in the making? And what or who keeps them to exist in darkness?

How many in this age of digital technology, and even those attending masses regularly, believe that evil spirits still exist today and are the forces behind these battles between good and evil?
Does and will modern man still believe in this reality that is clearly explained in the Holy Bible? Will they still believe that Judas Iscariot or even Peter was influenced by Satan?

Gone are the days, probably, of the likes of violent protests by left-leaning activists in Mendiola that peaked in a massacre during the rule of Cory Aquino. Strangely now, in dealing with the evils of society, especially the leadership perceived to be so corrupt and led by a leader whom they call “Evil Lady”, various groups who want her ousted devised a mixture of what seems to be sincere moves while some are clearly ridiculous means to drum-up support to get rid of her.

Some used physical exercise supposedly to “EXORCISE the EVIL in MALACANANG.” Yet they might not understand this: How to Cast Out Demons.

Others resorted to exhibitionism where young students, whose identities were hidden behind masks, run naked in one leading university of the country while the question whether this is a moral act remains: Oblation Run

Some used fasting publicly and running even when fasting is supposedly done in secret to avoid the dangers of hypocrisy.

Others tend to collaborate or be manipulated by groups with dubious intentions as in “let’s unite now and I’ll deal with you later.” Still others exhibited what strong influence did science fiction movies like Star Wars on them when wishing the best of luck to a whistle-blower whom they called a Pinoy Jedi in one senate hearing: Rodolfo ‘Jun’ Lozada: Pinoy Jedi Knight

But are these ways the right approach to fight evil? Are they morally or spiritually correct? Are they aware that what they were doing might be just part of the hidden agenda of the devil to distract people’s attention from the real problem and divert them from their path towards the Kingdom of our Almighty God the Father?

Michael Ovey writes:

"It is, no doubt, possible to perceive that one is supernaturally enslaved. C. Arnold suggests that the world of hostile supernatural powers was all too visible to the inhabitants of Asia Minor, [28] a view paralleled by some missionary descriptions of animist attitudes in Papua New Guinea. It is equally possible to be enslaved and be unaware of it. The question must be faced whether this better describes the modernised West, where perceptions of reality are so strongly shaped by powerful visual media, and values readily situated in a life of wealth and health, a carnival culture, to paraphrase Mikhail Bakhtin. [29] This too is an apt continuation of Genesis 3, and highlighted by Jesus' depiction of Satan as the ultimate liar (John 8:44) and the ‘false' believers there as liars too (John 8:55). But in vanquishing a person's idolatry, Jesus vanquishes a covert demonolatry, a victory indeed." Idolatry and Spiritual Parody: Counterfeit Faiths

Michael Ovey further writes about Idolatry and Harlotry and Idolatry, Demonolatry and the Victory of Christ.

The problems happening in the Philippines are not simply material or economic in nature. The mere fact that religion is intertwined with animist and pagan practices makes the situation even worst. And idolatry of all sorts, stemming from the use of hand-graven images, is one very serious problem strongly opposed and criticized by Bible-based Christian groups.

The rituals of sorcerers and the amulets of faith healers and quack doctors are just some examples of idolatrous tools and practices. I could attest to that in the several amulets given to me in the past by various disciples of counterfeit spirituality and I threw them all away even before I was baptized in the Holy Spirit. They come in many forms from handkerchiefs with strange drawings and allegedly Latin symbols said to have magic spells to medallions and small bottles containing "holy" oil complete with a tiny crucifix inside. There are those with drawings of a triangle with an eye in the middle.

I’m not so sure about the extent of the power of these amulets but they were tested by a famous sharp shooter: Time to test Anting-antings

I have witnessed too a woman who was using one amulet given to her by a faith healer yet she was possessed by Satan once the medallion was removed from her chest. The cunning of the devil made her cling to the medallion for protection – a clear practice and evidence of idolatry. When our pastor asked the evil spirit who he is he answered he is Satan and he is mad because the woman is already his yet she is being converted to the side of our Almighty God the Father.

What then does this clear example of the use of hand graven images or objects tell about idolatry and the strong influence of the evil one? And there are a lot more stories to tell, including psychics who are clear liars and deceivers just wanting money from their victims.

My resistance to these things became more reinforced after I received the power and gifts of the Holy Spirit that even in my dreams I battle demons, vampires, sorcerers and dark forces while I rebuke them strongly that only God the Almighty, Living, Holy and Eternal Father is the One to be worshipped, adored and loved above all.

When I was younger, a college student who just transferred to Manila from Iloilo City, Philippines, I was stopped by a mean-looking man in Cubao in Quezon City. He said that he has a gift for me and he handed me something wrapped in a piece of newspaper that he got from his shoulder bag. I asked him what it was and he said, “Open it, it’s my gift to you.” I was surprised to see a small Santo Nino or Baby Jesus made of plaster of Paris and, as a Catholic then, I said thank you…feeling happy for his kindness despite the fact that he is a stranger. But after taking the “gift”, he asked for a donation. I gave him 1 peso because I was still a poor student then but he complained and demanded that I give him 20 pesos. That was in 1978. So I argued that a donation must be voluntary but he insisted. So I angrily returned that religious object to him!

Idolatry and Lie, another topic of Michael Ovey's paper fits the picture of what's happening in the Philippines right now. In my country, where the use of hand-graven images goes along well with the existing animistic beliefs and pagan past, recent issues revolving around the search for truth amid blatant lies about corruption are a big question to a people so religious by the visible practices of using hand graven images yet so prone to malpractices or the manipulations of corrupt politicians using people power to make puppets out of the gullible.

History could attest that the past has seen a pagan Rome freely practicing idol-worship but soon Christianity became a redeeming faith. Yet the growing presence of sincere followers of Lord Jesus Christ who welcomed the worship in Spirit and adoration of and to love for His Father, our Almighty God the Father, was not able to rescue the Roman Empire from its ruin.
In CHAPTER XIII - WHY CHRISTIANITY DID NOT ARREST THE RUIN OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.

John Lord wrote:

“One of the most interesting inquiries which is suggested by history is, Why Christianity did not prevent the glory of the old civilization from being succeeded by shame? This is not only a grand inquiry, but it is mysterious. We are naturally surprised that literature, art, science, laws, and the perfect mechanism of government should have proved such feeble barriers against degeneracy, for these are among the highest triumphs of the human mind, and such as the world will not willingly let die. But a still more potent and majestic influence than any thing which proceeds from man still remained to the haughty masters of the ancient world. A new religion had been proclaimed with the establishment of the empire, which gradually broke down the old superstitions, conquered the hatred and prejudices of both Greeks and Romans, supplanted the old systems of Paganism, and went on from conquering to conquer, until it seated itself on the imperial throne, and proved itself to be the wisdom and the power of God.

“But we see that as this wonderful religion gained ground, whether in changing the lives of individuals, or in allying itself with dominant institutions, the Roman Empire declined. When Christianity was first proclaimed, the Roman eagles surmounted the principal cities of antiquity, and the central despotism on the banks of the Tiber was the law of the world. When it was a feeble light on the mountains of Galilee, the glory of Rome was the object of universal panegyric, and the city of the seven hills rejoiced in a magnificence which promised to be eternal. But when Paganism yielded to Christianity, and when the latter had spread to every city and village in the empire, with its grand hierarchy of bishops and doctors, the proud empire was in ruins. It would even seem that its decline and fall kept pace with the triumphs of a religion it had spurned and persecuted.

“What is the explanation of this grand mystery? Why should society have declined as Christianity spread, if, as we believe, Christianity is the great conservative force of the world, and is destined to regenerate all government, science, and social life? If the stability of the empire rested on virtues, and was undermined by vices, virtue must have declined and vice increased. But how can we reconcile such a fact with the progress of a religion which is the mainspring of all virtue, and the destruction of all vice? We do know that Christianity did not prevent the empire from falling, but also we have the testimony of poets and historians to the exceeding wickedness of society when Christianity was fairly established.”

Given this example and lesson from history, will the Filipinos’ dream of having a strong nation come true? Is there then a parallelism to what happened in Rome in the past and what’s happening in the Philippines now? Or is it likewise a mystery why despite the fact that majority of the population are Catholics, believers in the church as the body of Christ, became embroiled in corruption in all levels of society?

The picture seem to be a clear opposite of Rome, which got rid of paganism to officially embrace Christianity, yet a clear depiction of the product of an old system that re-embraced or has not really got rid of pagan practices but blended it with Christianity.

The Philippines is majority a Catholic country and the use of images are publicly allowed and encouraged. After the success of People Power 1 in Edsa a statue of Mary was erected as a symbol. I’m not sure to what purpose was it. It could be to thank God the Father Almighty for that freedom from the 20-year rule of Marcos and the restoration of democracy which draws a parallel picture with the freedom of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt when they made that Golden Calf to worship and thank YAHWEH.

Moreover, just recently, a popular healing priest is reported to have attracted a lot of people for miracle cures yet there was rumor that a fund-raising campaign was using his prayer sessions to raise funds for the construction of a gigantic, 33-storey high, statue of Mary somewhere in Luzon to rival the Statue of Liberty or the image of Jesus Christ perched on the mountain-top in Brazil. The fund-raisers was shown on TV as demanding no less that 200 pesos minimum donations from people.

All these actions prompted a group claiming to have the gift of prophesy to warn that this project, should it materialize, will become the downfall of the Philippines.

The lesson that was Edsa 1 saw that People Power 1 fizzled-out into merely a succession of dwindling street protests of opposing factions that morphed from a united force to topple a dictator to scattered protests actions or prayer rallies backed by men of the cloth with opposing views.

Is there not a parallelism here between the fate of the Israelites under the Pharaoh and that of the Filipinos under Marcos? And is there likewise another parallelism between the freed Israelites building the golden calf and the Filipinos erecting the statue of Mary in Edsa?

Although Rome used to be pagan and its symbols were of pagan origins the latter introduction of Christian images replacing pagan idols seem to show a culture rescued from the claws of paganism. But the wrong belief that since the Word became flesh and dwelt amongst men and Lord Jesus Christ was a visible person of flesh and blood allowed the use of hand graven images to be used and venerated has dangerously exposed the most gullible and unsuspecting believer into the dangers of idolatry?

Despite the defense of the Catholic Church of the use of hand-graven images as objects to remind the faithful of their faith as akin to family members being reminded of their love ones with the use of photographs, still the mere fact that a thorough Christian education to all the people, especially the grassroots prone to or are disciples of animism, is increasingly absent makes the problem about idolatry unchecked.

This questionable belief is made more confusing by the popular belief that Mary is a co-intercessor and, with pictures of Mary alongside Lord Jesus Christ, prompted one pre-baptism seminar lecturer to remind people that while Mary is Mama, Jesus is not Papa but only Kuya or older brother. So I asked, “how come the priests are called Father?”

This and all other factors presented above has diverted the attention of people from the very essence of the message of Lord Jesus Christ when, instead of focusing on God the Father Almighty’s Words in the Gospels by Lord Jesus Christ and the mission to bring the Good News of Salvation to the people and let them be part of His Kingdom people seem to be more distracted by a lot or ritualistic practices and long-repeated prayers.

The recent admission of a priest of the dwindling number of church-goers in the Philippines, despite the fact that Filipinos caused the church elsewhere in the world to be repopulated by their mere presence especially in the church choir, reveals a picture of an existing problem about spiritually educating people thoroughly. And even the laity group Couples For Christ, supposedly to aid in spreading the Gospels with its comprehensive approach to evangelization, including values formation targeting all levels of society, wasn’t spared from factionalism. CFC itself, under the Catholic Church, cannot or refuse to address the issue about hand graven images some of which are clearly visible in Gawad Kalinga villages.

So, here is the massive work for the poor to alleviate their plight. But is it not that a serious question remains: if idolatry, starting from the practice of the use of hand graven images, is still a very serious issue confronting a believer in God the Father Almighty through Lord Jesus Christ and a sure cause of other forms of corruption, will this be given serious attention and consideration when looking at the present case about the Philippines and in arresting completely its problems? If idolatry is hated by a jealous Almighty God the Father, will He listen to our cries if we continue to rebel against His will by the continued use of these objects of worship?

The entry of church homilies into popular multi-media like Youtube is seen as a new tool in evangelization. But this is just merely a new arena continuously spreading a usually tainted doctrine with the use of hand-graven images as an existing issue and whereby other Christian groups that are Bible-based clearly oppose.

Not content with just presenting King Hezekias moves to rid the Almighty God the Father’s people of idolatrous practices in support of the many verses in the Holy Bible against idolatry, I will add here the article written by Ernst Martin: Lingering Idolatry in the Temple of God.

Despite the belief that the Catholic Church is the real body of Christ and has the fullness of the Gospel, why is it that the CBCP in the Philippines is clearly divided and its clergy strongly reacting to its present stand regarding the current crisis in the country? REPLY TO THE CBCP STATEMENT:WE HAVE LONG KNOWN THE TRUTH:

As a final thought…by looking and observing what’s been happening, it is the fight against evil that is now actively being fought in my country and clearly it isn’t just a material one. Materially, people quarrel because of huge amounts of money being stolen from the people by their leaders. But in closer look, if because of the fact that the love for money is the root of all evil and the evil results that goes with stolen money could surely victimize the stealers and their families, will the citizenry who are mostly believers and Catholics, not be concerned with the welfare and the souls of their corrupt leaders instead of simply getting justice? If they are the ones being wronged, and they are spiritually and morally clean, then they are on the safe side as in the side where the sheep belong while the corrupt are in the side where the goats are? Is this not a lot disturbing if our neighbors fall into the snare of Satan while we so angrily want vengeance?

And isn’t it the right thing to do that we need to examine more if our link to our Almighty God the Father, with Lord Jesus Christ as the only mediator, is strong that by just praying He will hear us and let us out of this mess we are in? But first we have to consider if the Parable of the Sower has reached an important place into our hearts and minds and to be prepared for the harvest.

Otherwise this is just simply a battle about worldliness between worldly men and women.

More links;
Don’t turn Holy Week into a circus - Pampanga bishop
Paete stages procession of life-size images of saints
Fewer Filipino Catholics go to Mass, says Fr.Orbos

HOME. SICKNESS. (Part 8)

2008-02-24T22:14:00.000-08:00

My views on the split of Couples For Christ and its effects on Gawad Kalinga

This thing that happened to GK affecting the whole country, soon revealed internationally and made available in the virtual world presented a lot of issues and concerns for a true believer in God the Father Almighty to think about.

Groups and organized religions are tools that could either aid in one’s spiritual enlightenment…or, sadly, in one’s eternal doom.

To reveal the truth is to allow people the chance to see what they are following…not blindly.

If this is really God the Father Almighty’s work and for His own glory, He will protect it the way He has protected the Ark of the Covenant when it fell into the hands of the Philistines.

What transpired in GK is to reveal the truth about people’s true intentions, the insincerity of others and the monopoly of one religious group in expressing love for others when in truth what matters in the Last Judgment is the purity of our heart and soul.

Here also … what is revealed are the whitewashed walls and how unleavened …or leavened…the bread is.

CFC started only in the early 80s…and GK followed. All these happened in the midst of the continuing plunge of the state of morality in our country worsened by corruption and dirty politics. Also, the fact that serious issues regarding conflicts among Christian groups are still not settled, especially about doctrines.

The questions is, why did and what made the country arrive in that sorry state prior to the foundation of CFC? Were we not believers ever since?

Therefore, there are still a lot of stories to unfold as the battle to introduce God the Father Almighty and His will to the people continues against forces that either try to ignore Him or twist His truth.

What a true believer in the message of Lord Jesus Christ must do is to study the real essence of Christianity and endure till the end…because the sad thing to hear when that time comes is ” I never knew you” …from Lord Jesus Christ Himself.

(Read more here. Also read Boo Chanco’s Is Gawad Kalinga too good to last?)

HOME. SICKNESS. (Part 7)

2008-01-25T11:53:00.000-08:00

The Ironies of Christmas

The holiday season is gone but most probably people are still recovering from a lot of expenses or even debts due to gift-giving, to hospitalization caused by firecracker accidents or, worst, of deaths caused by stray bullets from guns fired by drunk men last New Year.

According to this article (Philippine Firecracker Injuries Drop by JIM GOMEZ):

“Many Filipinos, largely influenced by Chinese tradition, believe that noisy New Year's celebrations drive away evil and misfortune, and the staccato blasts of powerful firecrackers could be heard all over Manila and other cities on Monday night and early Tuesday morning.”

In my previous posting titled HOME. SICKNESS. (Part 6) “I want and I’ll Share Life-Giving Gifts”, I expressed my thoughts on the relevance of Christmas exposing its hidden distorted nature. There I wrote about how people have become blinded by materialism and consumerism without really understanding the meaning of this celebration about the birth of our Savior Lord Jesus Christ. Equally blinding is the distorted belief that noise could drive evil and misfortune away!

Last Christmas I did not give material gifts and I did not expect to receive any (except a greeting card from artist-friends, a couple from the US). To me the most important thing of all is to practice true Christian love all year long for the rest of our lives. To treat people the way Lord Jesus Christ did is the best gift to them and the struggle to achieve this level in life is likened to saving a lot for the holiday seasons. But this time what I aim to save is Wisdom and Love, according to what pleases our Almighty God and Father, so that I can share and express these to others. These are the things that cannot be bought or hidden by the shallowness of cosmetics just to look nice from the outside for these gifts run deep in the very foundation of one’s Christian spirituality.

It is ironic that during this supposedly “season to celebrate and be happy” still others become depressed and entertained the thought of suicide. (Watch this video here about people depressed during the holiday season and read this article to learn the other meaning of the word SAD.) Obviously, these people who wanted to commit suicide were the ones who were not equipped with real Christian spirituality for they gauge everything in terms of material things just to be “in” during Christmas with the rest of society enslaved by materialism and consumerism.

“Christmas is the season of profound love” according to one article Holiday Depression By Dr. Richard Boyum . Yet it misses the point about the real essence of Christianity. The profoundness of the love that Lord Jesus Christ taught is not confined only during Christmas season. It will not dissipate after Christmas and will not cause depression just because someone has no money to buy gifts or celebrate. Lord Jesus Christ conquered worldliness and materialism when He succeeded in fasting for forty days and forty nights in the wilderness despite the temptations of the devil who offered Him the wealth of this world if and only if He will bow down to this fallen angel.

Likewise it is ironic too that we celebrate the supposedly birth of Lord Jesus Christ on a date challenged by critics as not the real date of His birth but the date of an ancient pagan celebration to worship the sun. There are links of websites on the Internet discussing this topic. People might even feel sad to see a Christmas without Christmas trees, lanterns, Santa Claus and all those glittery gift-wrappers but won’t care at all to lift a finger and do their share of spreading the Gospels of Lord Jesus Christ. They have obviously fallen in love and in awe of the grandeur of paganism not to get rid of it rather than be joyful of the Good News of Salvation and embrace it.

To me the date is irrelevant because the real essence of His coming is the most important point of all. We may celebrate his birth and experience short-lived happiness but the rest of the year we are depressed, hateful, angry and vengeful among other wicked acts and thoughts because we are ignorant of His teachings. Therefore it is very important to understand the reason for His first coming here on earth to prepare us for His second coming.

If the reason for the birth of Lord Jesus Christ to be celebrated on a pagan holiday is to win converts and save souls then the real meaning of His birth needs to be inculcated in people’s minds and hearts first and foremost rather than for paganism and its original festivities to blind the people with the glitter of gold and bury the real essence of Christianity by materialism and consumerism and to hide the truth about the birth of Lord Jesus Christ from the spiritually ignorant and hungry people.

There is danger in devising dubious means in replacing pagan rituals by what we perceive as Christian yet questionable ways to save souls. The mere fact that with Christmas falling on a pagan holiday the real essence of Christianity lost to paganism and secularism, to materialism and consumerism so is true faith and worship in danger of losing to idolatry when the acceptance of hand graven images was introduced and widely accepted practice in the Catholic church despite the fact that there is confusion among the faithful about what differentiates blatant worship from mere veneration or devotion.

Helpful links:

Bible verses: IDOLATRY

IDOLS ABOLISHED

Isaiah’s Polemic Against Idolatry (Isaiah 40-48)

Jesus Christ vs Santa Claus

HANDLING THE SANTA CLAUS DECEPTION

The Great Christmas Crime

Bible verses: IDOLATRY

2008-01-25T07:24:00.000-08:00

Reading the Holy Bible one will come across a lot of Bible verses about the written Word of God the Father Almighty against the use of hand graven images and about idolatry as He instructed to His inspired prophets of the Old Testament and the disciples of Lord Jesus Christ.

The following verses about idolatry are easily available from this website.

GEN 35:2 So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, "Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes.

EXO 20:3 "You shall have no other gods before me.

4 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.

5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,

23 Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold.

23:13 "Be careful to do everything I have said to you. Do not invoke the names of other gods; do not let them be heard on your lips.

32:4 He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt."

LEV 19:4 "'Do not turn to idols or make gods of cast metal for yourselves. I am the LORD your God.

26:1 "'Do not make idols or set up an image or a sacred stone for yourselves, and do not place a carved stone in your land to bow down before it. I am the LORD your God.

DEU 4:16 so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol, an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman,

19 And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars--all the heavenly array--do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven.

28 There you will worship man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell.

27:15 "Cursed is the man who carves an image or casts an idol--a thing detestable to the LORD, the work of the craftsman's hands--and sets it up in secret." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!"

1SA 15:23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you as king."

2KI 18:4 He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it.
(It was called Nehushtan.)

PSA 115:4 But their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.

5 They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but they cannot see;

ISA 42:17 But those who trust in idols, who say to images, 'You are our gods,' will be turned back in utter shame.

45:20 "Gather together and come; assemble, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood, who pray to gods that cannot save.

47:13 All the counsel you have received has only worn you out! Let your astrologers come forward, those stargazers who make predictions month by month, let them save you from what is coming upon you.

57:5 You burn with lust among the oaks and under every spreading tree; you sacrifice your children in the ravines and under the overhanging crags.

JER 19:4 For they have forsaken me and made this a place of foreign gods; they have burned sacrifices in it to gods that neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah ever knew, and they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent.

5 They have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as offerings to Baal--something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind.

EZE 23:37 for they have committed adultery and blood is on their hands. They committed adultery with their idols; they even sacrificed their children, whom they bore to me, as food for them.

ACT 15:29 You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell.

17:22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.

23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.

29 "Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone--an image made by man's design and skill.

ROM 1:22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools

23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator--who is forever praised. Amen.

1CO 6:9 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders

10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

8:1 Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.

2 The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know.

3 But the man who loves God is known by God.

4 So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one.

5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords"),

6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.

7 But not everyone knows this. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat such food they think of it as having been sacrificed to an idol, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled.

8 But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.

9 Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.

10 For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol's temple, won't he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols?

11 So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge.

12 When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.

13 Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.

10:7 Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: "The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry."

14 Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.

20 No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons.

12:2 You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols.

COL 2:18 Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions.

1PE 4:3 For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do--living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.

1JO 5:21 Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.

REV 2:14 Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality.

20 Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols.

9:20 The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood--idols that cannot see or hear or walk.

21:8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."

Links:

Idolatry of the church of Rome

Pope John Paul II Commits Idolatry

Falling statue kills toddler in Tondo

HOME. SICKNESS. (Part 6)

2007-12-17T19:19:00.000-08:00

I WANT AND I'LL SHARE LIFE-GIVING GIFTS

By Joel E. Ferraris

Now comes another season of gift-giving. As shops and big malls are being pumped-in by companies with goods that are expected to catapult profits into another all-time high, the buying public are preparing their strategic shopping moves.

People work hard for months as they look forward to the 13th-month pay and other year-end bonuses. But as these incentives trigger wishful fantasies the imminent storm of possible pocket holes, empty bank accounts and increasing credit card debts after Christmas make people anxious and cautious.

As an experience, especially when one works abroad, going home every Christmas season is not only going through the hassle of rushing to buy plane tickets months ahead of schedule but also going through a lot of preparations to buy gifts depending on how long the list of friends and relatives is. Some even try not to go home to spend Christmas with their love ones with the thought of going through this nightmare especially when working abroad means to pay a big debt incurred during the job application stage.

Reunions with family, relatives and friends plus other social gatherings also compel people to once again meet those they hate or despise. But as fast as money is gone in the aftermath of this short-lived celebration, those temporary signs of reconciliation vanish and everything's back to normal. This is clearly seen in those well-publicized temporary cessation of hostilities between, say, the government troops and rebel groups in the Philippines. After Christmas, war resumes and the short-lived peace vanishes as fast as the smoke from the New Year’s Eve firecrackers.

In the University of the Philippines, for example, the sick culture of frat violence continues as fraternities that are locked in bitter and bloody rivalry do not even recognize the relevance of Christmas. In one instance that I know of, one frat attacked a rival frat during the early part of December in early 2004 while the country was still recovering from one of the worst calamity that claimed many lives in Quezon province.

Those students not only turned a blind eye on the well-publicized sufferings of their countrymen but, worst, also ignored the gift of salvation through Lord Jesus Christ. They abused the privilege to have an education despite the fact that they tower above the rest of the poor, out-of-school youths in the slum areas all over the country. These acts, combined with the reality that the country is in a lot of mess, aggravated the fact that this prime university fared low in the recent survey of the authoritative Times Higher Education Supplement. Out of the 500 leading universities in the world, the University of the Philippines is ranked 398th. This virus that our country is inflicted with becomes more apparent with the recent death of another student in UP.

Just recently, a failed coup attempt also ignored that the whole country is busy preparing for Christmas. What a timely date to call and entice especially the religious “to act as their moral obligation” to revolt against a corrupt government when from the very beginning the methods and tactics that these disgruntled people were using are questionable. Besides, the religious leaders should have done more to spread the Gospels of Lord Jesus Christ to the corrupt instead of fighting with other Christian groups to win more flocks. Are they really there to save souls or fight over a steady in-flow of tithes? They should examine themselves where they fall short of teaching people, rich or poor, not to be corrupt.

I cannot remember any passage in the Holy Bible, particularly in the New Testament, about Lord Jesus Christ teaching that the message of His ultimate sacrifice includes temporary peace in celebration of His birthday. I do not remember either our Master saying that one has to preoccupy Himself with buying and giving lots of gifts to people to show their love to others specifically on Christmas. I cannot also remember that He called for people to arms to oust a corrupt government to satisfy the struggles of the Zealots to revolt against Rome.

All I know is that the love He taught His disciples is a lifetime commitment instead of a brief expression to remember Him during the holidays. All I know is that He gave us this passage as a guide when giving to others:” but when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,” (Matthew 6:3). And all I know is that His sword is the Word of our Almighty God and Father by teaching people His statutes and not killing them or flirting with violence especially through coup d’etats as a way fo changing a corrupt system.

I'm not sure about the origins of gift-giving among people but what I'm sure of is the story about how our Almighty God the Father was pleased with and accepted the offerings of Abel. It is because He looks at the purity of the hearts of men and not at the outward visible offerings and looks. This is true when He commanded Samuel to go and anoint the shepherd boy David to be king. This is true when He rebuked people who offer lavish tangible gifts to the altar instead of forgiving their enemies and correcting wrongs.

The gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh of the Three Wise Men for the infant Jesus also loudly ring a bell especially because of their profound significance. Again that was another act of man offering gifts to our Almighty God the Father as these men from the East recognized that Infant Jesus, as the Messiah, was from God the Father Almighty. Also, there are many instances in the Holy Bible about gift-giving between people starting as early as the Genesis period.

In some cultures, dowries are a must. These compulsory practices are often abused by people and even during Christmas season this is also exploited by those who have vested interests. This is very true now in the world where materialism and consumerism dictates global trends. It is funny how one survey revealed that a certain percentage of respondents admitted that they "recycle gifts."

The glaring and overwhelming allure, in strong colors, of commercialism during Christmas thickly clouds the real essence of this celebration. This prompted one Chinese writer to point out that there is "MAS" without Christ because of materialism, apostasy and secularism. Another writer, Pastor D. A. Waite wrote, "THEY HAVE TAKEN AWAY MY LORD WITH GIFT-GIVING. Depending upon the financial resources available in the families involved, gift-giving is stressed, pushed, and exalted beyond all possible measure. The ones that push the hardest for such gift-giving are the stores who have a vested interest in the profits which accrue most certainly in such booming sales."

Gifts are defined as "something given voluntarily without payment in return, as to show favor toward someone, honor an occasion, or make a gesture of assistance; present."

Mankind was created by Almighty God the Father as special beings. We are supposedly superior to other creations because of our ability to have a higher spiritual enlightenment, a chance for Salvation and the privilege to enter the heavenly kingdom despite the fact that a 5-year-old chimp beats college kids in computer game. But we seem not to evolve spiritually enough especially when we mimic the insect world. A study showed that by manipulating the nuptial gifts that female insects receive during copulation, female preferences can be exploited by males who are "cheating" on their reproductive investment by presenting easily obtainable token gifts.

People who focus on what they will receive, especially from the well-heeled friends and relatives or what they will give even if their economic status do not permit doing so miss the whole meaning of the coming of the Son of God and His foretold second coming. They miss the chance to avail of the gifts that our Almighty God the Father has prepared for them through Lord Jesus Christ. And a lot of them even refuse and completely avoid these gifts when they fail to study the Holy Bible to examine the kind of faith they need to have and to learn about the manner of true worship that they need to do that is pleasing to our Almighty God and Father.

Tradition has proven to be big obstacle in allowing people to accept spiritual enlightenment. As they become so complacent and too stubborn to discard wrong practices, they continue to carry this unnecessary burden called wrong tradition.

Wrong tradition has blurred the purpose why we, as children, had Godfathers and Godmothers whom we, perhaps, only see during holidays to give us material gifts instead of giving us spiritual guidance. Now I am questioning why we call them Godfather or Godmother.

9And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. 10Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. 11But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. 12And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.

http://kingjbible.com/matthew/23.htm

The best gifts therefore that we could offer to and receive from our friends, relatives and family members are not those that are wrapped in glossy paper and tied with brightly-colored ribbons but those that are unseen but felt. The Words of our Almighty God the Father, the message about freedom from captivity to sin and salvation through Lord Jesus Christ, the free gifts of the Holy Spirit and the real way of worshipping Him to please Him. All these are lifetime gifts waiting for us and for them. These were all prepared as promised by our Redeemer direct from His Almighty God and Father.

The purpose of the birth and ultimate sacrifice of Lord Jesus Christ and the preparations for His second coming must not be relegated to a mere recollection at the end of the year. They are supposed to be given emphasis as a way of life in this world in order to attain Eternal Life.

What a lifetime gift that you or me give or receive each day of our lives when we all trust each other by being truthful, honest and sincere as real children of an Almighty God the Father.

What a lifetime gift we could offer to others when we share the good news of salvation through Lord Jesus Christ.

Lastly, what is there to celebrate at the end of the year when the whole year we forget about the real essence of what it means to be a disciple of Lord Jesus Christ?

HOME. SICKNESS. (Part 5)

2007-12-14T11:55:00.000-08:00

Misleading Heroes And Dangerous Toys

By Joel E. Ferraris

In spite of the fact that there was almost a bloodbath that ensued after the recent attempt by an opposition group to grab power, some business-minded people have come up with novel ideas to make money. They used the Magdalo soldiers as theme for their new products - toys.

Will these toys be nice Christmas gift for children in the season when we celebrate the birth of our Savior? Will parents be able to stop their kids, Ninongs and Ninangs from buying them?

Well, these are good propaganda for the next power grab attempt huh!?...molding the minds of unsuspecting and gullible children who will make heroes out of the likes of Magdalo and Trillanes or the Marlboro man. And if the coup succeeded and bloodbath ensued, how many lives would have been lost and how many Christmas celebrations and parties be soured by tears, sobs and mourning?

The coup plotters' methods of renewing our system are tainted by the fact that they are military men. Military men are identified with war, killings and violence. And war is a business that cause death just like cigarette smoking. Besides, untold psychological effects on people witnessing carnage and seeing people die or killing people might not have been well publicized or told religiously to warn others of this malady.

"Thou shalt not steal". The money stolen by public officials is just money. If they repent sincerely they will be forgiven and maybe ill-gotten wealth could be recovered. Besides, to those who are not servants of money they know to whom they serve and that is to our Almighty God and Father. But the lives that will be lost, especially because of a distorted cause and methods as a result of spiritual blindness is far worst than losing money!!!

"Thou shalt not kill". We cannot replace life. And most especially if our loved ones have not yet been spiritually enlightened to have sure entry to heaven. We cannot even guarantee to save souls despite many and long repeated prayers like the rosary if we fail to spiritually enlighten our love ones and strengthen their faith before they died for souls have no guarantee of entering heaven if the one who died did not repent, did not accept Lord Jesus Christ and the salvation through Him and worst if the one who died do not recognize our Almighty God and Father and do not love Him. We cannot even guarantee our own salvation if we are so spiritually ignorant and blind and belong to the hordes of confused individuals what with the sea of conflicting and confusing doctrines and beliefs nowadays.

Thanks to our Almighty God the Father that it is by His grace that we are saved.

These acts of vendors remind me of a report in the past that a businessman in China set-up a themed restaurant using the war in Iraq to attract customers. These kinds of people are the ones gullible to be manipulated by people with charisma (but with distorted and anti-Christian mindsets) to do wrong just for the sake of business without thinking about the moral and spiritual aspect of what they're doing.

The corruption in the government is a problem. But isn't it a bigger problem if our children will be influenced by anti-Christian ideas and we later find them becoming one of those corrupt leaders in our country especially when we failed to teach them now what real Christianity is?

Here's some insights from Howie Severino regarding the use of Magdalo by a group of soldiers:

"Magdalo was one of the quarreling factions in Cavite that Andres Bonifacio tried to reconcile. But in leaving his bailiwick in the hills around Montalban, the Katipunan's Supremo eventually lost his life. Some history buffs believe that enticing Bonifacio to unfamiliar territory was a Caviteno plot to grab power."

Read Why use the Magdalo name?

One thing more...I am always disgusted whenever I go home to the Philippines every Christmas and New Year. Why can't people stop selling or buying toy guns? Those airsoft pellet guns are sold in shops and they look very real. I even scolded two groups of boys in Laguna when they played war games using these dangerous toys. The pellets even hit me and my old mother-in-law when they were having war games in the street. It was really a bad Christmas when you find yourself scolding children.

Why can't people stop firing their guns during New Year's eve? I really feel bad about people firing their guns! My own brother was almost hit by a stray bullet that pierced and went through our roof many years ago. It missed him a few feet away while he was sitting on a bed next to me while we were having a chat!

Trigger-happy people who are either drunk or high on drugs do not understand the foolishness of their actions. These acts, including being so intoxicated with alcohol or high on drugs as an escapists' way of forgetting problems, cannot eradicate those problems. Besides, wrong beliefs and traditions must be discarded for no amount of noise and explosions during new year's time can scare our deep-seated problems away. It will always be there to remain after the new year smoke have dissipated not unless we accept the sound teachings of Lord Jesus Christ on how to deal with them by following and obeying the will of His Father, our Almighty God the Father.

It is time that we should start educating our families and relatives and friends simply because not all means are good just to solve the problem of material poverty. We have to be attuned to the statutes of our Almighty God and Father through the teachings of Lord Jesus Christ. Once we established that proper link and right connection to our Almighty God and Father He will answer our prayers and send His blessings and graces to us in His own perfect time while we sit and wait contented and with peace of mind.

HOME. SICKNESS. (Part 4)

2007-12-13T01:38:00.000-08:00

The way, the truth and the life.

By Joel E. Ferraris

6Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
John 14:6

In the recent event at the Manila Peninsula Hotel as an attempt to grab power or oust GMA what comes to mind are three things:

1. The way of the coup plotters in changing the government,

2. The truth behind all that had happened and

3. The threat to life should violence have erupted or the kind of life we will have after the coup's victory.

The way that the coup plotters, and those who are behind them, to remove GMA from power and to install a caretaker government is questionable not only morally but also spiritually. Their motives are likewise questionable because violence, when they flirted with it, is unacceptable.

The truth about this whole thing, especially with the aid of the press, are either inaccurate or half truths or worst, lies. No one could tell who is behind the plot to conspire to remove a corrupt leader. No one even knows the truth behind their own real intentions or if they could deliver and guarantee a fool-proof governance free from corruption and immorality.

In that failed coup lives are at stake and could have been put in danger's way should cool heads have not prevailed. But to waste one's life for a questionable cause without the benefit of real and true Christian spiritual enlightenment is the worst thing that could happen to a person. It is worst than suffering poverty in the slums. It is spiritual blindness that the rich and the powerful cannot even bribe or buy their way out.

The materially poor, who knows Lord Jesus Christ and follows His teachings to obey God the Father Almighty in heaven, enjoys a kind of contentment that the filthy rich and powerful unbeliever do not or cannot have.

HOME. SICKNESS. (Part 3)

2007-12-12T22:48:00.000-08:00

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)

2007-12-12T11:05:00.000-08:00

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)

2007-12-12T09:19:00.000-08:00

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!

JOB VACANCY

2007-07-31T03:25:00.000-07:00

(for other artpieces of this series kindly visit FREE FLOW)

(for other artpieces and thoughts kindly visit HEART, ART & SOUL)

By Joel E. Ferraris

Painted on top of layers of newspaper daily headlines and stories that I directly transferred from old newspaper to the canvas surface are bits and pieces of images that represent the Christian religion. These antique-looking remnants symbolize the gradual weakening and continued decline of religion and spirituality as they float in the midst of fleeting stories of social, political, economic and even religious turmoil. These juxtapositions of strong currents of life's pressure are real threats that could even shake the strongly faithful at times.

As drug addiction, among other abuses and tools of decadence, threatens not only the youth but even professionals in my country and elsewhere, with divorce taking its toll on family values and morality and where terrorism tops the list of all human excesses there seem to be no end to these sources of fear, frustration, despair and anxiety. The uncertain future now looks grim to the spiritually blind even more especially when global warming comes into the picture and makes these concerns more heated. And, in the course of people's struggle for survival, they tend to bring that feeling of hatred against their fellowmen into their graves as fear about the renewed nuclear arms race are fueled by distrust among powerful countries.

But humanity in general and individuals in particular are not without any hope and bright future. Created by Almighty God the Father and equipped with a manual on how to live in righteousness, people have a chance to walk a straight path. Deprived of genuine peace from a world under the control of the evil one, the faithful is guaranteed with the real peace that Lord Jesus Christ has promised. The question that confronts us, however, how do we achieve that and who will teach us?

History is not without a list of men gone mad even though they claim to believe in God. Many people still do that nowadays, either blinded by false teachings or themselves twisting religion for their selfish agenda. And in their secret brotherhood's codes of conducts the word God is sometimes reduced to a mere decoration to give their group a good image.

There are lots of work to be done to help enlighten people spiritually. With the news of dwindling number of priests to take this responsibility, the laity is given the task to take up their crosses and see to it that the young will be molded to become good and responsible adults. This will only be possible in the right environment that will start in the family as a basic unit of society founded on strong spiritual foundation.

There is really a need for spiritual renewal and, for people to effect such changes, there is a need to re-study and re-examine deeply one's religion and to correct the mistakes of the past. Moreover, the Christianity that the faithful need to strive for must be the kind that is not shallow. They need to dig deeper into its real essence, examine and understand the meaning of the unleavened bread and remember God the Father Almighty's standard in selecting His chosen people, as in the case of how he selected King David for example.

In my case I was humbled by Gandhi's non-violence, by the Amish forgiveness that shamed the whole world and the Philippines' Gawad Kalinga that is now being embraced by our Muslim brothers in Mindanao. To me these role models are examples of "walking the talk", of living the Lord Jesus Christ's Gospels that has been preached for so many centuries. But above all these I am focusing my mind to the real role model of them all - Lord Jesus Christ.

It is widely accepted, and most of all biblically supported, that He is the model of obedience to His Father, our God Almighty. He has set an example for us to emulate so that we, too, could enter the kingdom of heaven. And as Christians, while we are still here on earth awaiting for the life eternal, we need to strive hard and endure till the end as true Christians and obedient followers of God the Father Almighty.

Through the years in my life as an artist I had witnessed a lot of things that made me question the ways of this world. I witnessed friends suffer because of their own stupidity and stubbornness. Lucky I am that I prayed one night and asked God Almighty to help me out of my personal quagmire. And, miraculously, in less than a month's time I found His healing hand. I was cured spiritually after I was baptized in the Holy Spirit in 1988 in Pasig in the Philippines, turned away completely from my dark life and was able to forgive my enemies. It seems that everything was put in place when I realized that the future of my marriage and the molding of our children are being guided by the Words of God the Father Almighty in the Holy Bible.

As religious practices among peoples of this world vary, others believe in saints as their role models of faithfulness and obedience to God the Father Almighty. But all these saints have one role model of total obedience and love for God the Father Almighty and that is Lord Jesus Christ. Mother Theresa, the Amish, and the movement called Gawad Kalinga believe in Him and even Gandhi and the Muslims recognized Him.

So to me, especially nowadays in my country, people need to emulate the real role model and listen to His Gospels and obey His Commandments rather than pray or devote themselves to saints represented by lifeless statues. They should instead pray to God the Father Almighty in the name of His Son Lord Jesus Christ and strive to become holy people themselves and manifest the miracle of love, kindness, mercy and forgiveness from God the Father Almighty to their neighbors. They need to follow the teachings of Lord Jesus Christ about love and must focus their devotion to God the Father Almighty, like what Lord Jesus Christ did, instead of going through a lot of religious practices, that are oftentimes blended with superstition and quackery, that serve as distractions that mislead their direction away from real personal holiness and away from focusing their hearts and minds to God the Father Almighty, the One that we need to adore, obey and love above the rest.

I have arrived at this perception and conclusion because in my country there are lots of saints and even Our Ladies (of this and that), co-mingling with superstition, where people's devotion seems to reveal their "deep" religiosity. But the fact that the rising crime and the perpetuation of corruption and violence plus the increasing immorality and decades of poverty seem to reveal the lack of true and deeper Christian spirituality in people.

Even the need for groups like Couples For Christ and all those Christian Life Programs expose the truth that people's usual practice of attending Sunday masses cannot guarantee that the Words of God the Father Almighty had firmly found their place in people's hearts and minds because the sermons of priests are ignored and where men are smoking outside churches during homilies. And to aggravate the situation more, the ongoing conflicts among Christian sects on who has the truth and the fullness of the truth, while increasingly threatened by secularism, has proven to be a big obstacle for people to practice real and true Christianity where the Two Commandments of Lord Jesus Christ are the main foundation.

That's precisely the reason why I painted these images in the manner that they appear to be mere silhouettes and empty images of people. I want to let people think why these saint-like figures are void and, with this accompanying written explanation, to let them understand that it is time for them to act and live according to the teachings of Lord Jesus Christ as written in the Holy Bible.

These artpieces are not meant to be worshipped or even venerated but are purposely made to serve as a mirror for people as they look not towards the artpiece but rather deep inside themselves whether they have a certain level of holiness or not. And if they are holy, whether they have to kneel down in front of lifeless, cold statues of saints made by sinful hands. And to those who have awakened and are spiritually enlightened it is therefore their duty to let others understand that these images are abhorrent in the eyes of God the Father Almighty and that they should instead love their neighbors as an expression of their love for God the Father Almighty by educating them about Him.

People also need to look back during the time of King Hezekias where the brazen serpent made by Moses was finally destroyed. It was because of man's nature of being weak. That instead of looking deeply why that symbol was designed, they venerated it. That instead of having strong faith and obedience in our Creator, they will have the tendency to stumble along the way and fall short of being true believers by their recurring sinful acts and continued spiritual ignorance amid a lot of complaining as a result of impatience in waiting for God the Father's blessing to come in His own perfect time.

They also need to look back at that time when Moses angrily rebuked the Israelites for using that golden calf when in fact they made that to represent and worship God the Father Almighty. They need to understand why handgraven images made from matter are abhorrent to the eyes of an unseen and infinite God the Father Almighty.

And people also need to understand too that it is still the fruits of the Holy Spirit, if they are really temples of the Holy Spirit, that will prove their holiness by the way they act, think, speak and being not happy with evil. It is how they tolerate all sorts of sinfulness that will become a yardstick to reveal the lack of holiness in their lives and how spiritually ignorant they are.

Nothing is impossible to God the Father Almighty. If He could create from nothing surely He could provide for our needs especially in this growing age of anxiety and uncertainty. In this world surrounded by man's wickedness and all iniquities the only thing of do is to seek the connection between God the Father Almighty and man and to fill up these job vacancies as servants of our Almighty God and Father and work for His glory and for our neighbors well-being. (Joel E. Ferraris)

UPROOTING THE ROOTS OF DISCONTENT

2007-07-11T13:01:00.000-07:00

By Joel Ferraris

When I was chosen to pose for the cover of the second edition of Review Asia magazine I paused for a second. A bit adamantly, I accepted the "opportunity" because, aside from the fact that it was my friend Victor Bautista who invited me, the photo shoot will be done in my studio.

It was a mixture of excitement and hesitation because I am concerned about some repercussions as a result of my decision to accept the offer but on the other hand it could boost my career as an artist. But in my pocket full of intentions, I see the opportunity to share my insights to others after the release of this edition.

Both concerns have profound significance deep within my thoughts. As a Filipino I am aware and have experienced a lot of things that have contributed to or have caused the discontent among the masses in my country. I am one of them.

And as a Filipino artist I also understand the dilemma that my peers in this profession undergo as a result of trying to enjoy the freedoms of self-expression and creativity and to compete in the world market of art amidst the reality that we are surrounded by squalor and live manifestations of discontent and violent protestations that have become good subjects for artmaking for most of the artists.

I find it funny and ridiculous that some artists paint about life's bitterness, sufferings of the poor and all sorts of things that display moral rottenness and sell these artpieces to the rich at exorbitant prices while the latter continue to abuse and exploit the poor. In turn the artists who seem to be callous and enjoy using the sufferings of the oppressed as subjects of their art to catapult them to fame and fortune continue to live in decadence while their wives, mistresses, children and illegitimate children suffer. Sadly these artists do not know the answers to the ills of society but instead are willing contributors, especially in the destruction of families where the young, innocent children are emotionally and psychologically much affected. All these are included in the multi-level causes of a society's moral decay resulting in discontent. Still other artists opted to turn a blind eye on these things and do art for art's sake in a social environment hungry for genuine change.

Having to cope with these realities that oftentimes connive in sometimes unholy partnerships, I have to make sure that I know the solutions and way out of these odd combinations.

Beauty amidst squalor? High art amidst the realities of the poor, hungry masses? Collecting exorbitantly expensive art despite the reality that the whole world cannot solve the problems of poverty? And many more...

As I see it, another main contributor to the sufferings of the poor masses and the callousness of the rich and where artists were and are still involved in, is the practice of idolatry wherein the ignorant multitude of people, rich or poor, are blinded from the real and proper way of worshipping a jealous God the Father Almighty.

The question is, if God the Father Almighty is a loving and caring God and provides for the needs of the people and protects them, why is it that He seems to be deaf and blind to the cries of the poor and the oppressed? Is He not angry that people give much more attention to those handgraven images rather than offer spiritual and material help to their suffering neighbors? And if the presence of these images made by sinful hands enough tools to inspire faith in people why is it that people nowadays seem to have less faith and love for others as seen from all those negative things happening around the world?

In the Holy Bible it is strongly emphasized in the 10 Commandments that the use of hand-graven images are not allowed. And even if those who insist on defending the use of it, especially the ignorant multitude, cannot even tell the difference between simple veneration, worshiping and adoration. Sadly, those who are literate amd much more educated seem to be very busy running in the ratrace of this world and have no time to help the poor and the ignorant to study and understand well and deeply the real essence of Christiniaty.

In this spiritual battle, I have witnessed spiritists and fake healers use hand-graven images and amulets while they are bleeding people's pockets dry and have used fear to coerce and fool the ignorant and superstitious. There is a thin, blurred line that divides what represents Christianity and spiritism in the use of amulets and religious objects. I have witnessed a demon-possessed woman cling to the amulet for fear that demon will return to her when in fact it was that evil entity that forces her to rely on these hand-graven objects. Triumphantly and with our help, our pastor was able to drive that strong demon away in the name of Lord Jesus Christ while we pray to God the Father Almighty.

In the same spiritual battle there are people who are willing instruments of the forces of darkness to sow terror, deceptions and lies just to grab power especially in the government. This is evident in our country where dirty politicians use every means posibble just to win, forgetting the teachings in the Holy Bible read by priests or pastors in every mass or religious services they attend. They go to church and, if Catholics, own lavishly decorated religious images or have their names emblazoned in every donations they contribute to the church or institutions to display their "religiosity" when in fact there are scores of bloody election violence, lies and vote buying in history plus the reality of rampant drug addiction not only among the young but among the young professionals as well. They even have the temerity to court each religious groups just to win the election when in fact some of them have been found to have mistresses.

One ray of hope is seen in several religious group, the Couples for Christ for example, as they try hard to develop a way of life that could somehow awaken the rich to care for the poor and start a peaceful solution to the Christian-Muslim conflict in the southern Philippines by building homes for poor Muslims through Gawad Kalinga. These people had seen enough of those anti-Marcos protestations and bloody rebellion and have opted to start a genuine change in people's spirituality and moral values. Their efforts to strengthen the family as a unit of society had saved a lot of the youth from becoming victims of drug addiction and the doctrines of violent rebellion and armed struggle.

But still, as I have seen in Gawad Kalinga projects for example, people still use hand-graven images to decorate their newly acquired homes without even understanding that these objects, which could be used as instruments of spiritism, are abhorrent to the eyes of a jealous God the Father Almighty, especially when the dwindling number of priests cannot cope up with the demand for more people to work as servants of God the Father Almighty to bring spiritual enlightenment to the multitude of the poor masses and the few rich.

Certainly there is serious debate when it comes to the use of religious objects and images. Some have gone to the extent of writing extensively to the defense of this practice. But a closer look at King Hezekias and the reforms that he did during his reign will make one realize why God the Father Almighty was very much pleased with him and lengthened his life for a few more years. He destroyed the brazen serpent that Moses made years before as a result of the people's tendency to worship the object rather than an unseen God the Father Almighty.

Nowadays even in Europe, where the seat of Catholicism is, and in the Philippines, the only largely Catholic country in southeast Asia, people begin to ignore the real essence of Christianity as seen from the daily news about corruption and violence during elections and a lot more of these display of unfaithfulness. Even the pope himself called for a renewal in faith and reminded the Euro countries to recognize their Christian beginnings which greatly affected the Philippines after it was turned into a Christian country as a result of colonization by Spain.

Nowadays, with the threats of terrorism that could endanger our dear lives and tend to drive us to become bitter, the people's options are to either buckle-up and prepare to resist violence with the use of violence, as exemplified by the frat wars in my country's campuses in particular or the cruel, raging war in Iraq and the looming threat of a renewed global arms race in general, or do what the Amish in faraway Pennsylvania did - to pray to God the Father Almighty and to forgive and teach their young to forgive. In my case I opted for the latter formula in dealing with the frat culture of violence in our university and I found it very effective because God the Father Almighty is a powerful and loving God.

Examining the Two Commandments of Lord Jesus Christ, one will surely see that the Love of Neighbor is second only to Love of God the Father Almighty and that we cannot love our God the Father Almighty that we cannot see if we cannot love our neighbor that we can see. But this connection between the Two Commandments is blurred by an obstruction in the form of hand-graven, or nowadays machine-made images.

People tend to care more for the objects made by man in the guise of worshipping God the Father Almighty instead of forgiving, caring and loving their fellowmen created by God the Father Almighty. Sadly others insist that since the Word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us then the use of hand-graven images is now an acceptable Catholic practice, because Lord Jesus Christ was born more than 2000 years ago, while ignoring the fact that their fellowmen, whom God the Father Almighty created, are supposed to become the temples of the Holy Spirit and thus needs to be loved and cared for.

Now, how could one defend the use of hand-graven images as an expression of faith yet ignore the need to love one's neighbor in need? This reminds us of the story about that Good Samaritan. And with the dwindling number of priests, some of whom succumbed to the sins of the flesh, who will have the heart and willingness to educate the multitude of the ignorant to understand the true essence of Christianity, even before another war or terrorist bombing take their precious lives away, just to prepare people's souls to enter the Kingdom of Heaven?

How could this be possible when nowadays people are so preoccupied in earning more to pay their credit cards or be abreast with the newest fashion and fast advancing digital technology?

It is faith, through the proper way of worship and adoration of God the Father Almighty, and deeper spiritual understanding that could help us uproot the roots of discontent because Lord Jesus Christ promised that the faithful will be protected and their needs will be provided. God the Father Almighty Himself delivered His people from their enemies most especially when they return to Him with a humble heart. Nowadays it is still true and possible, especially now that even our own selves are our enemies when we cannot resist the temptations of the prince of darkness and we succumb to human nature.

Love of neighbor is not enough if it only remains in the material plane. If we love our neighbor only according to our human version of love while ignoring the statutes set by God the Father Almighty to guide us on how to love then we are in the wrong direction. Worst is, if we become so engrossed in loving our neighbors, surrendering to our neighbors human will and desires at the cost of completely ignoring or forgetting God the Father Almighty and His commandments then we fall into the wrong hands.

If only people understand that, in the multitude of artists and craftsmen producing these religious images, there is the element of decadence going on, they might probably abhor the use of these hand-graven images done by sinful hands and go directly to their rooms and pray to God the Father Almighty in spirit and in truth ... for He is Spirit, pure and unblemished. This method of worship is possible because a lot of believers have done this and still maintain their strong faith without the use of hand-graven images. This mindset could easily be developed in childen when spiritually enlightnened parents start to teach them this proper way pleasing to the Eyes of God the Father Almighty. And I have done this since 1988 when I was baptized in the Holy Spirit.

Artists and craftsmen producing these religious objects have a lot to answer for becoming instruments in the practice of idolatry. King Solomon had warned about that. And even if it will be very materially beneficial for me to accept church-related projects by designing sculptures and murals that could spiritually inspire people to strengthen their faith I would rather use art mindfully so as not to let these cold, helpless objects alone speak a thousand words and become books to the multitude of the ignorant while I enjoy the material riches in payment for these for I have that fear too that someday, somehow these works of my still sinful hands could land in the expensive collections of art collectors and be kept from the sight of the rest who needs spiritual enlightenment.

The formula of armed rebellion during the time of our country's dictator had caused a lot of lives to be wasted in both camps before these poor souls could even have the chance to have spiritual enlightenment and enjoy the infinite heavenly bliss. Therefore it is the wisest and right move to seek first the Kingdom of God the Father Almighty and His righteousness so that all these things that we need in life shall be granted to us in His own perfect time. This is the best and most effective way to uproot the roots of discontent.

In that cover pose for Review Asia, I stand in protest against those, rich or poor, who ignore or completely forget the true essence of Christianity but instead fight for human rights and democracy and yet abuse these rights and free will granted to them by God the Father Almighty by surrendering to temptation of materialism, decadence and apostasy once these freedoms and rights are established.

To borrow a line from one Filipino social realist artist, "evil is not the monopoloy of the rich"...and yet some Filipino artists blame Christianity as the cause of sufferings in my country. Little did they know that it is human nature, as it succumbs to the sins of the flesh under relentless attacks of temptations of the devil, that is the culprit here simply because, even if the colonizers have gone a long time ago, nowadays it is those who are not faithful to the statutes of God the Father Almighty who are the willing pawns of the misleading designs of the evil one perpetuating the causes of discontent and misery.

I could have been a rebel commander in the hinterlands of Iloilo , equip my self with all sorts of amulets and secret spells as I used to, had I not been baptized in the Holy Spirit and given understanding to have a chance for spiritual enlightenment. I am witness to the power, glory and love of God the Father Almighty through His Son our Lord Jesus Christ. This is what my countrymen needs. This is what the world needs for this will lead the way to true and real love. And Christians must deeply and fully understand the true essence of Christianity, regardless of race and culture, to be able give love to their Muslim brothers, to truly end killings and fightings as Gawad Kalinga started a model in the southern Philippine province of Mindanao.

In these times where the youth, some of them products of broken marriages, resort to drugs to escape a bitter reality, parents, especially fathers, need to lead the family to create a strong home full of love and founded on strong spirituality. Unless these things are put in place people will either try to escape the grim realities of life through drugs and other worldly but temporal means to attain bliss and pretend to be happy or become willing soldiers of the dark forces of evil in this spiritual battle.

God the Father Almighty promises total liberation from captivity to sin and wrongdoing. His way of life under His command transcends any cultural divide because His kind of love welcomes all peoples of this world.

HOW MUCH DO WE LOVE? (part 1)

2007-06-25T10:44:00.000-07:00

By Joel Ferraris

How time flies.

Gone are the days when, as a kid, I marvel the amazing deeds of the characters in Marvel Comics. It seems that they were true, especially now that they are being "immortalized" in movies with lots of digital special effects to attempt and make "believable" these products of imagination.

Those days of innocence and carefree life are gone.

Gone are days when, as the kid mentality vanishes in me, I played the part of a "hero" in my college days with my own little exploits to boast. That was when, as students, we created our own "wars" in the midst of world peace where our parents enjoy the good life while forgetting the scars of that real world war. It seems that people are just hungry for trouble even if trouble had its fill in the early forties.

Until now I cannot understand the relevance why we did those fratwars in the university. It was then, buried in the past, that I cannot understand why I was so careless. Something was lacking then.

Those days of playing "heroes" in petty quarrels are gone. Now the problems are real!

Now I am approaching my 50th birthday. But instead of being free from worries, I realized that there is a lot of it coming. I keep hearing it from my family, from my friends, from my peers and even from strangers.

A single woman became pregnant but without a husband and she has to abort the child. A wife left her family for another man and so the kids will grow confused about morality.

A brother is sick and we do not have enough to give while another friend is asking for financial help too.

Our house is to be taken by the bank.

A brother is jobless but his wife is pregnant,

Some fraternity brothers are in jail and there is no clear signs of freedom while the rest of those restless youths are still mired in those stupid battles.

My very old Mom and her brother are fighting for an inheritance.

These are just a few in an avalanche of problems you hear each day from people. And in desperation some lay their hopes on crooked, greedy and corrupt politicians who peddle lies in their thirst for power.

I also feel pain inside me as my body starts to deteriorate. Of course what can you expect from a man getting older each day. That is why drug companies make a lot of money.

Gone are the days of manly strength, agility, and the supply of aggressive adrenalin. Gone are my strong physique, and firm muscles - the envy of my gym mates. Even my teeth are disappearing north and south as I remember the song of Cat Stevens.

How time flies so fast.

Yet, even if we see what seems to be dark, cloudy days of life signaling an imminent storm of depression, there is a sure bright streak of light, a flash of lightning while the thunder drumbeats its coming...

Wisdom is finally here! And this is what was missing in my life before.

Silvery gray hair, to some, comes with the approach of old age. It is said that older people have the wisdom. Well, yes it is true but not all. It all depends if this is founded on strong spirituality. It is true if that spiritual awareness reaches a level of enlightenment - that only God the Father Almighty has the answer to all of life's questions.

There are those who die old but are spiritually blind. They are doomed. They are the ones who are growing old and talking... while young men are dying (from the movie Troy).

But there are those who just physically die, or did not even have to die, and went to Heaven. Elijah and Enoch are the best examples. They are the messengers of God the Father Almighty. Their kind, whose words of Wisdom come from God the Father Almighty, save the young from destruction and death. Some of them grow old and talk... but the words that they speak have Wisdom and therefore gives life.

Amidst this emotional and psychological tempest of hearing my family, friends, peers and even strangers in their litany of life's difficulties what best remedy there is but to offer them the Words of God the Father Almighty. His commandments and teachings give life and answers for all life's problems. Only He, the Supreme Creator could offer the best solution.

It is therefore the best expression of love to family, friends, peers and strangers to impart the knowledge about the Wisdom of God the Father to them so that they will adore and glorify Him in truth for He is the Author of Life. Once faith and personal relationship between God the Father Almighty and people are established their prayers will be answered in His own perfect time.

As one true example, our ancestral house and lot, which was supposed to be repossessed by a bank, was sold to an unexpected buyer who just seemed to come from nowhere. The timely sale of our ancestral property enabled my mother to build a small but new and better place for her to spend the remaining years of her life. Of course this is no magic that come from nowhere but a sure miracle from Heaven because in the many years and months when we were burdened by this problem I always told my mother to stop the wrong ways and practices in worship but instead have strong faith and trust in God the Father Almighty.

And we did came out victorious in this battle without even applying the delaying strategy of law just to regain the property for to me a new beginning inspired by forgiveness, is better than remaining in status quo fueled by hatred, bitterness and lies.

This has a parallelism in the divine teachings that one needs to be born again in Spirit to have eternal life. One has to get rid of the old one to claim the new one. So the old house where I grew up as a child, with all its good and bad memories, is gone to make room for a new structure built on strong spiritual foundation. It is a product of faith.

And what better way to prepare my mother for her inevitable departure from this world but to teach her about peace, love and forgiveness...and most of all true worship.

With this I have one example too.

We went to visit her elder brother in a faraway mountainous town in Iloilo. In their 80's and have not seen each other for a long time, they missed each other a lot. Tears were silently flowing as they embraced each other. But after a few minutes of pleasant exchanges what ensued was the ever-expected sibling dispute about inheritance of ancestral properties.

Those pleasant smiles were soon replaced by anger and bitterness and loud voices. As expected in probably all disputes, one will accuse the other as the liar. I and my brother, together with our cousins, listened.

After giving them enough time to finally become tired of talking I broke my silence. I reminded them that they are already old and that there is neither enough time nor enough evidence from people long dead to testify the claims of falsity or truth of the other.

I reminded them about their faith in God the Father Almighty who sees all things and judges all things and that they have to prepare for their afterlife instead of fighting in this life and sadly die in bitterness and unforgivingness.

The best answer for disputes is forgiveness because, even if the aggressor will not recognize his mistake, sadly one day he will regret that he refused your offer of peace and forgiveness for judgement will surely come bitter and fearsome.

God the Father Almighty is not asleep and He is not deaf to the cries of the innocent and the oppressed. But what He values the most is our recognition of His place in our hearts, in our thoughts and in our whole life before He answers our prayers. And this is the truth that we need to impart to those who are close to our hearts as a measure of our love for them. In contrast, a worldly kind of love will only lead to death.

It is not how much we materially give but how much we gave up just to love and serve others. We give up worldly pride, positions and power and the image that the world expects of us. Instead we accept divine humility in becoming servants of God the Father Almighty to spread His Words to the needy, rich or poor, in the midst of mockery, ridicule and persecution by an unbelieving and unfaithful multitude.

Spiritual and material wealth will come to those who recognize, accept, adore and finally love God the Father Almighty.