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Help! The Pharisees controlled the pulpit!

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  Luke 18:14 [14]I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.” We have a problem. In Jesus’ day the publicans and the sinners are entering the kingdom despite the Pharisees and scribes trying to bar the way with self-righteousness, evangelizing them to be twice the son of hell. But now our pulpits are being controlled by the Pharisees, by the legalists. Matthew 21:31-32 [31]Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you. [32]For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him. Something is going on. Somewhere along the way we’ve substituted human abilit...
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Invest in your children

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  Our children are our greatest treasure. Yet most of the time we act as if they are for granted. We are busy earning a living that we forgot they are actually living. Sa halip na personal na tutukan ang kanilang edukasyon, pinagkatiwala natin ito sa iba. Naiintindihan kong tayo ay laging abala at mas efficient na mga may mga trained persons to take over teaching our children. Pero pati ba naman ang espirituwal na edukasyon nila? How can we raise children in the fear of the Lord if we’re not there to raise them. What our children need is not more money but a present parent. The sad thing is we’re absent when we need us most- during the formative years when they’re learning their beliefs and values. Then we wonder why our Christian beliefs and values ended with us. They’re not being received and transmitted because they don’t think these are necessary. After all you give time to give them supplies but didn’t make an effort to teach them the Word of God . The lesson is bread is m...
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Maybe in the millennium

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  Minsan nakikita ko sa Facebook ang aking mga friends na nagtatravel sa magagandang lugar o kumakain sa magagarbong restoran. I will admit nawish kong sanaol. But the truth is maraming bagay na nais kong gawin ngunit hindi ko magawa. Laging may priorities. Laging may hadlang. Trabaho. Pamilya. Church. Kaya minsan sinasabi ko sa misis ko, “Someday.” Kapag nakatapos na ang mga bata. Kapag nabayaran na ang mga utang. Maybe sa Millennium . Yes, I believe in a future earthly kingdom kung saan maghahari si Cristo for a thousand years in righteousness. And after that one thousand years, and a short rebellion by Satan and his Gog and Magog Army, that kingdom will merge with the eternal state . Dahil diyan, hindi ako nagmamadali. I can delay any gratification for the hope of that future. Mas interested akong maging overcomer ngayon kaysa ubusin ang aking buhay sa layaw. As a believer in Christ, I have eternal life that cannot be lost. I can afford to wait sixty or seventy years (o...
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Keep it so simple

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  I have heard so many presentations of the salvation message and some are clear and some aren’t. Ang simpleng kundisyon upang magkaroon ng buhay na walang hanggan ay pananampalataya kay Cristo . Ngunit kung pakikinggan mo ang mensahe ng karamihan, kung saan-saan nakakaabot ang mensahe. May narinig akong kailangan mong magsisi . May nagsabing kailangan mong bumalik sa Panginoon (how exactly can you do that?). May nagsabing kailangan mong magbagong buhay. May nagsabing dapat mong tanggapin si Jesus bilang personal na Tagapagligtas at Panginoon . Bakit hindi na lang tayo manatili sa lenggwahe ng Kasulatan ? Ang nag-iisang kundisyong sinasabi ng Kasulatan ay manampalataya kay Cristo. For some reason, hindi nasasapatan dito ang mga tao at kailangang magdagdag ng iba pang kundisyon o kaya ay baguhin ang kundisyon ng kaligtasan. Keep it simple. Ang object ng kaligtasan ay si Cristo. Ang kundisyon ay manampalataya. Huwag na nating baguhin o pahirapin o palabuin ang kundisyon ng kaligt...
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Performative preachers

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  Gusto nilang laging may hawak na mikropono kahit wala namang sinasabi. Gusto nilang laging nasa sentro ng atensiyon. Gusto nila ang pagkilala ng madla. They dressed different, they talk holy and they act a certain way. Welcome to the world of performative preachers . Sino ang mga performative preachers? Sila ang mga mangangaral na excited magturo ngunit kulang sa aral. Hindi pinag-aralan nang malalim ang Kasulatan ngunit very dogmatic sa kanilang pronouncements. Walang humility ngunit arogante sa kanilang pagpapahayag. Makikita mo ang mga ito sa haba ng strings of Dos and Donts. Why not? Mas madali ang mag-display ng panlabas na kabanalan kaysa sa panloob na pagbabago. Through a series of dos and donts, they are trying to change the spotts of the leopard (plus point ang nakakaalam ng reference na ito). Sa halip na magbigay ng tutok at sistematikong oras sa pag-aaral ng Biblia at hayaan itong baguhin, una sa loob, bago ang panlabas, masaya na silang mamulot ng mga outlines mu...
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Do not let the world make you cruel

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  The world is cruel to the weak. And it is natural to get even. Don’t let that happen to you. If you do, you become the very person that abuses you. Wala ka nang pinagkaiba sa kanila. The oppressed is now the oppressor. Alam ng Diyos na napakalaki ng temptation to avenge. That is why He said, “Vengeance is mine.” Ayaw Niyang tumigas ang ating puso sa poot and miss the blessings of developing healthy relationships. Kapag pinatigas natin ang ating puso, nakakaiwas tayo sa pain. But it also means we miss the joy of developing genuine relationship with others. Love carries with it vulnerability. To love is to risk pain. And when we’re hurt, pain can drive us to want to get even. To be cruel. That will destroy our capacity for life and love. Leave justice to where it belongs. Huwag nating ilagay ang hustisya sa ating mga kamay. Yes we will feel good for a moment. We will feel powerful. But in the end it will destroy us. Vengeance has a way of changing us for the worse. Wala ako...
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Gracious in speech

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  Putok sa FB feed ko si Alvin at Izzy. And honestly hindi nakatutuwa. Matutuwa sana akong may Kristiyanong viral dahil sa pagpaliwanag ng mensahe ng buhay. Kaso ang nakikita ko ay pagtuya. And in fairness may basis ang pagtuya.  Now let me clarify that I am with Alvin on the issue of transgenderism , purity culture and sexuality. Natutuwa akong laban siya sa mga sumisira ng Biblical view of sex and gender. Pero I will be honest, and I am sure maraming agree, off-putting at very arrogant ang kaniyang arrive.  May paraan upang ibahagi ang turo ng Biblia sa mga paksang ito nang hindi arogante ang dating. I mean nagagawa ito ng Focus on the Family , at ibang pro-family organizations. Let's face it: truth hurts. No matter how gracious we are in sharing the Word of God, people will be offended for they reject God's Word. Mas nais ng tao ang mga ideya at pagpapahalaga ng sanlibutan.  So we should expect to be persecuted for our beliefs .  And that is my point. It is...
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Kapag mali, bitawan mo na

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  Kapag mali, bitawan mo na. Hindi katapangan o katapatan ang patuloy na manghawak sa mali.  Sometimes we can be stubborn. Kahit pinakita na kung saan tayo nagkamali, ayaw nating bumitaw. For some reason we become attached to our mistakes. Iniisip nating masyado na tayong baon, malalim na at malaki ang ating taya, panindigan na. Sasabihin pang, "Bahala na. Nagkasubuan na eh." O kaya, "Huli na ang lahat. Diyos na bahala." Aba dinamay pa ang Diyos.  Eto ang katotohanan: lahat tayo ay nagkakamali at kung tayo ay buhay pa, may pagkakaroon pang magbago at magsimulang muli.  There is no reason to become a victim of our past or wrong decisions. Wala naman siguro tayong Stockholm's syndrome .  May mga inabusong kahit nilayo na ay bumabalik pa rin. Parte rito ay mababang self-esteem . Iniisip na wala nang tatanggap pa sa kaniya. Another is the feeling of helplessness na walang options. Much better ang maling pamilyar kaysa nagsimula ng bagong buhay on uncharted territor...
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What is truth to you may not be truth for me

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  What is truth to you may not be truth for me.  Uso ang kasabihang iyan. Now I wonder if this statement is true for me o sa nagsabi lang.  This is relativity and I am pretty sure ang nagsabi nito ay hindi seryoso rito. Nobody can consistently live this statement. Imagine sinerohan ko ang student dahil sa maling solusyon sa problem and then sabihan niya akong the solution may be wrong for you but for me perfect iyan? Or bayaran mo ng kulang ang iyong tax and sabihin mong maaaring kulang sa iyo pero sakto iyan para sa akin.  These examples may sound absurd and because they are.  When it comes to what is truth and what is moral, we need a standard. It cannot be human standard dahil hindi tayo magkakasundo kung sino sa ating mga humans ang dapat gawing standard. We are selfish enough to make ourselves the measure of all things but deny the same to our neighbors.  What we need is God's standard and that standard is the Bible . If we wanted to know God's stand...
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Why not? What's the issue?

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  I am not sure why this becomes a big deal though I have my suspicion. Maraming taong nagtagumpay sa buhay (tumubo sa negosyo, nakapasa sa board exam, nanalo ng acting awards, etc) ang regular na in-ascribe sa Panginoon ang kanilang tagumpay pero walang nagtaas ng kilay kung paano sila tinulungan ng Panginoon.  My suspicion is hindi gusto ng mga critics kung anuman ang "sinabi" ng Panginoon. Sa kulturang hindi marunong makipagdayalogo, ang tanging alam gawin ay cancellation.  This is immaturity.  Now to be clear, hindi ako pabor sa metodo ni Alvin Aragon . In a previous blog I write on " Making enemies for the sake of making enemies " (see here: https://nietobiblepage.blogspot.com/2026/02/making-enemies-for-sake-of-making.html) . In my opinion there is more gracious way of sharing God's Word. And in my opinion we have to make a careful distinction between what the Bible actually says and what we think it says (yes I believe wearing bra is an area of freedom, ni...
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