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Jeroboam: a Revisionist Yahweh worship

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  1 Kings 11:31-39 [31]He said to Jeroboam , "Take for yourself ten pieces; for thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, 'Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and give you ten tribes [32](but he will have one tribe, for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel), [33]because they have forsaken Me, and have worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of Moab, and Milcom the god of the sons of Ammon; and they have not walked in My ways, doing what is right in My sight and observing My statutes and My ordinances, as his father David did. [34]Nevertheless I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, but I will make him ruler all the days of his life, for the sake of My servant David whom I chose, who observed My commandments and My statutes; [35]but I will take the kingdom from his son's hand and give it to you, even ten tribes. [36]But to his son I wi...

Prayers for enemies

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  Matthew 5:10-12,44-45 [10]"Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. [11]"Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. [12]Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Disciples and the World [44]But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, [45]so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 1 Peter 3:8-9 [8]To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; [9]not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing. This is the 5th instalment of prayers, Nieto-style...

Prayers para sa mga kapatid

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  Ituloy natin ang 4th installment ng prayers, Nieto-style .  Matapos kong ipagdasal ang aking immediate family, sunod ko namang ipinagdarasal ang aking spiritual family, ang mga kapatid sa Panginoon .  Sa mga kumukuwestiyon kung bakit inuuna ko ang aking pamilya kaysa sa simbahan, well they're the closest and dearest to me and I won't apologize. Secondly, they are not only family members, they are brother and sisters in Christ. I mean I personally evangelize and lead my own children to faith in Christ when they were elementary. I baptized them both. Every father should evangelize and baptize their own children.  Yes sinabi ko iyan at titindigan ko iyan.  I started with prayers for the brothers and sisters in Dahat , Amoguis, Palayan/Maysalay, May-Suwa and Agosais. We have brothers and sisters meeting in these places. I am sure there are many other Christians gathering elsewhere but it is other Christians responsibility to pray for them. Hinihiling kong ang mga ...

We don't the know the whole story

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  "God failed me. Iniwan na Niya ako." These are words na hindi dapat marinig mula sa mga Cristiano. Unfortunately maraming Cristianong nagbitaw ng ganitong mga pananalita. Sa gitna ng kanilang nararamdamang kirot, hindi nila maunawaan kung nasaan ang Diyos.  Mayroon ding hindi nagbitiw ng ganitong pananalita ngunit sa isipan ay sinisisi ang Diyos sa mga nangyari.  Most of the times, we don't mean it. Nasabi lang natin ito because we're hurting. I believe that God understands. Ang Awit ay puno ng hinaing ng mga mananampalataya mula sa kanilang mga puso.  Ngunit mayroong nagbitiw ng ganitong pananalita hindi dahil sa pain but they reject Him. Long after the pain is gone, when they have the time to reflect, they conclude, God failed them. Tinalikuran sila ng Diyos and they wonder kung ito na ba ang time para talikuran na rin Siya.  I believe this is more serious. And most of the time it is because we don't know the whole story.  We can only see a portion of ...

Prayers for my family

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  This will be my third installment on prayers, Nieto-style .  Gaya ng nasabi ko sa nakaraang blog, ang unang isang oras ng aking umaga ay maikling (napakaikli) prayer ng pasasalamat at mahabang pag-aaral at pagbabahagi sa FB ng Salita ng Diyos .  Ang aking prayers ay madalas kong ginagawa bago ang unang subject na aking tinuturuan. I find this the best for my schedule.  This works for me. This may not work for you.  So anong laman ng aking prayers?  I started with praying for my immediate family. They are the closest to me at sabi nga ng Nescafe, dahilang kung bakit ako bumabangon. So it makes sense na sila ang una kong pinanalangin.  Hinihiling ko sa Amang balutin sila ng biyaya at pag-ibig. Itinataas ko sila sa Ama dahil alam kong on my own, I cannot keep them safe and well provided. I need the Father's grace and power for that.  Hinihiling kong bigyan ng strength and endurance ng Ama ang aking misis upang magampanan ang kaniyang obligasyon sa ...

Don't usurp the Spirit's job

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  Minsan gigil tayong magbahagi ng Salita ng Diyos . Talo pa natin ang nakikipag-away sa kalsada.  Don't get me wrong, natutuwa akong maibahagi ang mensahe ng buhay na walang hanggan . Ngunit sa harap pa ng agresibo at grace-less na sharing of the gospel , minsan napapaisip ako kung mas marami pang damage ang dala nito kaysa sa benefits.  May mga tao akong nakasalamuha na sa halip na lumambot ang puso sa evangelio ay lalo pang tumigas laban dito dahil sa grace-less na sharing. Yung isa kung nakasama, sinisigawan na ang kausap. Yung isa nakikidebate na. May nakita rin akong gusto nang idukdok ang Biblia sa mukha ng kausap. Ang sabi ng kausap, "Kapatid hindi naman kita inimbitahan sa bahay!" Marahil dala lang ito ng excitement. Marahil dala ng immaturity kung saan iniisip nating ang may pinakamaraming nasabi ang panalo. O marahil iniisip nating nakasalalay sa ating galing ang kaligtasan ng ating kausap.  Let us be careful not to win the battle but lose the war ! Maaar...

Keep me and mine safe

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  Ituloy natin ang aking repleksiyon sa prayers, Nieto style .  Pagkagising sa umaga, nagbibigay agad ako nang maikling panalangin ng pasasalamat. I admit I am not a man of long prayers so pagkatapos ng pasasalamat sa Diyos, magbabasa at magpopost na ako ng mga Bible materials sa aking Facebook. Ise-save ko na rin ang mga materials na ise-share ko sa maghapon. Ang unang isang oras ng aking umaga ay kritikal dahil dito ko pinakakain ang aking kaluluwa at ito rin ang magdidikta kung ano ang gusto kong ishare sa aking FB. Gaya nang lagi kong sinasabi, ang aking FB ay extension ng aking ministry at kung ayaw mong makabasa ng mga materyal patungkol sa Biblia, pamilya at konserbatismo , malaya kang mag-unfriend at mag-unfollow.  Pagkaalmusal at pagkaligo, maghahanda na akong pumasok sa school. Siyempre nagpapasalamat ako sa almusal na binigay ng Panginoon at hinanda ng aking misis. Ang aking araw-araw na paalam sa aking misis ay, "Bye, ingat, yabyu , mwah-mwah." Hindi pwedeng ...

Kindness is free

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  "Pirmi ka na sanang turog, dae ka mapagkakatiwalaan." "Ika kuta an sakuyang inasahan, ano ta dae ka nag-abot?" "Kinakan ka na kan kinaban." Madali para sa ating husgahan ang Cristiano dahil sa kaniyang ginawa (o hindi ginawa). Iyon ay dahil nakatuon lang tayo sa mga panlabas na bagay. Pero hindi natin alam ang lahat ng mga detalye sa buhay ng ating kapwa at sa maraming pagkakataon, mas mabuting manahimik at makiramdam muna.  Alam mo bang kaya laging tulog ang isang kapatid ay dahil kailangan niyang magpuyat upang makahanap ng panggastos? Alam mo bang kaya hindi siya nakarating dahil siya ang inaasahan sa bahay, na maglaba at magluto, dahil ang kaniyang mga magulang ay nasa malayo at naghahanap-buhay? Alam mo bang kaya siya laging ginagabi ay dahil siya ang gumagawa ng mga school projects dahil walang pang-ambag sa eskwelahan?  Ang mga halimbawang aking binigay ay hipotetikal upang itindig ang isang punto- ang inaakala nating kaalaman sa buhay ng isang ...

Just pray

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  I am not an expert on prayer. I admit I read a lot, I read widely (from different theological perspectives) and I discipline myself to write daily, but I don’t pray a lot, pray long or pray eloquently. So I am not sure I am your go-to when it comes to prayers. What I am sharing is my own take on prayers. We’ll call this prayer, Nieto-style. The first thing I wanted to share is prayer is conversation between God and the believer. It is not a ritual. It is not a duty to check. I think of prayer as between a boss and an employee, of a parent and a son or between friends (after all reconciliation is removal of hostility). And in all cases, relationship develops the more you converse to each other. An employee who doesn’t consult his boss will definitely fail to accurately determine what the boss wants. A son who doesn’t check in with his father will lose fellowship with him. And friends who don’t talk will soon lose in touch with each other. I am always amused by people who make...

Behold the Man!

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  John 19:5b ... Pilate said to them, "Behold, the Man!" And thus Pilate present Jesus before men. Unlike Pilate who presented Jesus in unbelief, we present Jesus in belief.  Unfortunately maraming mga Pilatong mas magaling pang magpresenta kay Jesus. Maraming Cristianong tahimik sa kanilang pagiging Cristiano.  This does not make sense. Kung ikaw ay may nobyang hindi mo magawang ipakilala sa iba, I think everyone is justified in thinking you're ashamed of her and you didn't value her.  Valuing includes public affirmation. I am not saying you're not a believer if you don't confess Him. I am saying you can't say you value Him if you keep Him a secret.  May karapatan ang iyong nobyang pumalag kung hindi mo siya maipresenta sa publiko. Ano ang iyong tinatago? Mayroon ka bang iba? Ikinahihiya mo ba siya? Maybe you love her but that love can't stand public scrutiny.  Walang nakakahiya sa pagpahayag publicly kay Jesus. Everything He did is for our good. The ...