Posts

Rest in peace

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  Rest in peace.  Madalas natin itong sabihin sa mga namatayan upang ipatungkol sa kapahingahan ng namatay. Marahil bedridden for years and namatay at ang kamatayan ay kapahingahan sa kaniya. Marahil may sakit, may kapansanan o kaya ay hirap sa buhay ang namatay, and supposedly death is an escape from all of these.  Gusto nating aluhin ang namatayan. Gusto natin silang i-comfort. So we say condolences to them and rest in peace to the departed.  But. I don't want to burst your bubbles. I don't want to remove any comfort. But the truth is, if you die without believing in Jesus Christ , you won't have peace on the other side of life. You'll be in eternal torment, day and night.  Sin separated man from God and unfortunately all are sinners. The penalty for unpaid sin is the Lake of Fire . But in God's love, He sends His only begotten Son Jesus to die at the Cross for our sins. He removed sins as a barrier before God and man. All a person need to do to benefit from C...

A strong wife

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  I am very thankful that I have a strong wife. Alam kong hindi madaling maging asawa ko.  I have so many flaws that I wonder kung anong nagustuhan sa akin ng aking misis (other than my extremely good looks ✌️🤣). But seriously, I am thankful that despite of the fact that "too many billion people running around the planet" she find her way to me.  I firmly believe in the doctrine of right man and right woman . If you don't believe, that's okay. I just hope your marriage is happier than mine.  I am thankful that my wife is submissive, respectful and supportive of my leadership and headship. I am not a perfect husband. I don't think I am even good, but she manages to make me look good.  It takes a lot of skill to make my mediocre headship looks passable.  I am thankful that she is strong enough and trusting enough to point out my flaws. She will tell me respectfully my errors. Most of the time I agree with her and change. On the few moments I disagree and put...

A new YOLO

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  Luke 16:26 [26]And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.' Hebrews 9:27 [27]And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, YOLO . You only live once. This is the motto of this generation. Usually they use it to mean getting the maximum happiness in this life because when you die, you lose opportunities to enjoy life.  This is a very hedonistic view of life.  But there is truth in this. You do live only once. Then after that is the judgment. There is no second chance to undo or redo whatever decisions you made while you're alive.  What this means is while you're still alive, use this to secure your eternal destiny . Wise businessmen plan years ahead. They deny themselves immediate gratification in favor of future success. Wiser people plan not only years ahead but eternity ahead. When y...

God made us unique because He loves diversity (not the woke kind)

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  Jesus prayed for unity:  John 17:22-23 [22]The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; [23]I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. Paul did too: Ephesians 4:1-3 [1]Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, [2]with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, [3]being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Unfortunately most of our churches do not have this Biblical unity. Many churches are like the Corinthians who have hero-worship and personality-driven. Or unwise like the audience of James.  Others misunderstood unity as uniformity. They looked alike, they talk alike, they dressed alike and they only associate with people who looked, talked and dressed lik...

Fame and fortune won't give you eternal life

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  It doesn't matter how rich or famous you are, sooner or later you will die. And when you die, you'll face judgment . If you believe in Jesus you go straight to Him. If you didn't, you go straight to judgement.  Even unbelievers instinctively know this. That is why they don't like to die.  They try to prolong life using technology and medicine. They tried to immortalized themselves by being the best in what they do.  But none of these give comfort. Because no matter how many people surrounded you at deathbed, you'll be alone when you walk the shadows of the valley of death.  For unbelievers, death is a frightening experience. Having rejected Christ, they don't have assurance of what happens after death. They may wished they have been annihilated to their last atoms.  But for believers, death is a doorway to eternity. Believers in Jesus, whether rich or famous, will enter into eternity with God. And that will be an eternity of happiness and holiness. ...

Seek God first

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  "Life doesn't make sense. It is just one darned thing after another." Marahil maraming beses ninyo na itong (or variations of this) narinig. People are complaining about the meaninglessness of life .  This isn't new. Solomon raised the same issue in Ecclesiastes .  For unbelievers (and unfortunately for many believers out of fellowship with God), life has no meaning. They only breath, eat, work, sleep, then repeat. Maybe go to church on Sundays and then wait until you die.  But for believers, life is meaningful. It is our opportunity to grow into Christ-likeness and become overcomers  in this life and servant -rulers in the future. Having been born again through faith in Christ, life gives us the opportunity to bring to maturity that which was given to us. This life enables us to participate in maturing into the likeness of Christ.  When you view life like this, things fall into place. You understand why you undergo prosperity and adversity. Both are t...

What a tragedy

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  We will all die except for a certain generation that will undergo Rapture . It is a matter of who dies first.  For many that is tragic. For believers, it is a promotion to glory. It means passing through the gates of time towards an eternity with Jesus.  Yes those left behind will grieve. But never as without hope. Believers have the hope of grand reunion one day when all the dead in Christ will rise first, the living ones translated and both raptured to be with Christ forever.  The real tragedy is dying without believing in Jesus. That will result to an eternity without Him. That is an eternity in the Lake of Fire.  Jesus became a Man for one main purpose - to remove sin as a barrier between God and men. His Incarnation accomplished many purposes - fulfillment of prophecies, revelation of God to men, inauguration of the new covenant, etc- but His death at the Cross as propitiation for our sins is one of the primary, if not the primary purpose. He died so sin...

Sayang na mga oras

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  I am middle age. At this point in my life, I have made so many mistakes that I regret wasting a huge portion of my life on nonsense.  Naaalala ko yung dami ng perang inubos ko sa arcade noong highschooler ako. Ngayong pamilyado na ako at kada sentimo ay mahalaga, nanghihinayang ako sa perang nilustay ko kalalaro ng video games .  Naaalala ko ang daming beses na- scam ako. Kung hindi ako nagmamadaling magkapera, naiwasan no sanang magbayad ng loans for years. Imagine umutang ka sa bangko, pinaiskam mo lang tapos magbabayad ka pa rin sa bangko.  Naaalala ko ang panahong naging fornicator ako. Sinira ko ang aking reputasyon bilang Cristiano , binigyan ko ng sama ng loob at kahihiyan ang aking pamilya at pamilya ni misis, and that mistake and sin ensure that we'll be below poverty line for many years. Even though God forgives our sins when we confessed them, hindi na maibabalik ang mga panahong naubos out of fellowship. The only thing to do is confess the sins, isol...

Meekness and lowliness aren't for weak

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  Meekness and lowliness are dirty words in our culture. People associated them with weakness. But the Bible never associated them weakness. Just the opposite, meekness is power under control and lowliness is the path to greatness. We must learn that to be the greatest you must be the least.  The picture that comes to my mind when it comes to meekness and lowliness are the old kung fu movies . In the movies there are always bullies who are loud. They are strong and champions in their art. In their pride they think they can unbeatable. Then there is always this old man (or a young protagonist) who looks weak and unassuming. While the bullies are loud in their boastfulness, this old man tries to be unassuming as possible and even leave the area. The bullies thought this is weakness and tried to hurt the old man much to their regret. That lowly and meek old man happens to be some secret super martial arts expert.  Not all of us know martial arts. I am not. You probably a...

Positional vs experiential forgiveness

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  I believe the Bible teaches 4 types of forgiveness.  First there is forgiveness at the Cross when Jesus died for the forgiveness of sins of the whole world. He is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world. At the Cross, He removed sin as a barrier between God and man. Sin is no longer the reason why man cannot be with God. Instead the issue is have you believed in Jesus. If you do, you have access directly to God.  Then there is forgiveness at the point of faith just like Peter preach in Acts 10 . When we believe in Christ, all of our sins are forgiven. All the benefits of the Cross were credited in our account. We start the spiritual life with zero sins. This enables God to fellowship with us and to credit righteousness in our account. This happens only once. Once justified, justified forever.  Then there is familial forgiveness when believers confess their sins to God the Father. This happens as often as we recognize personal sins in our life and confess ...