HOME. SICKNESS. (Part 8)

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)

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

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)

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)

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)

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)

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!