Thursday, September 30, 2021
How To Lean On God When Losing A Baby
We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. 2 Corinthians 5:8
Nothing can be more devastating in life that for a woman to carry an infant for almost nine months and then lose that child, or to have an infant snatched from her arms in death. That’s when the question, “Why?” is poured out in scalding tears and agony.
“Why, God? Why my baby?” Is God indifferent to the pain that parents face at the loss of a child, whether the child is a newborn infant on a little tyke of four or five years of age. There are times when a child dies and there is no apparent reason for this to happen.
In his book Safe in the Arms of God, which I consider to be the finest book on the subject ever compiled, Dr. John MacArthur quotes an article about the death of infants, telling of the reactions of parents to the great loss, sometimes totally unexpected. Sixty percent of the parents felt anger and that anger is usually directed at God whom they feel could have prevented the loss. Fifty percent of the fathers and ninety percent of the mothers felt guilt. Seventy-five percent were irritable. Sixty-five to eighty percent of the parents lost their appetite for food and eighty to ninety percent had difficulty sleeping and ninety-five percent felt profound and deep sadness.[i]
When this happens there are two questions in the minds of parents and loved ones: The first is, “Why?” And usually it is “Why my baby?” and the second is “Where is my baby now?” While we will never fully understand until we cross heaven’s threshold, there are passages of Scripture that provide comfort in the time of grief.
Perhaps you will recall the event that is recorded in 1 Samuel 12 where David fathered a child by Bathsheba–something that was displeasing to the Lord. After the child was born, the infant became ill and weaker and weaker. David prostrated himself before God, wept bitterly and lay on the ground pleading with God. But on the seventh day, the child died. After the infant died, David arose, bathed, and dressed. Then he went to the house of the Lord and worshipped. When asked why he was doing this, he replied, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me that the child may live? But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me?” (2 Samuel 12:22-23). Notice if you would the last statement–“I shall go to him, but he will not return to me?’
In this regard, the Bible is very clear. I’m in complete agreement with John MacArthur who writes, “The Bible is very clear on this point: Life begins at conception. Any death that occurs after the moment of conception is the death of a person. And persons have eternal souls.” (MacArthur, 14).
There are times when it is very difficult to see the Father’s hand, and that is when you have to trust the Father’s heart. God told Jeremiah the prophet, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5).
Having had the sober responsibility of officiating memorial services for several infants whose lives were cut short, I can tell you only the Holy Spirit, the one who brings the comfort of God the Father can assuage grief and give strength to move on.
God is not indifferent to our pain. Remember, He also had a son who died, but His son rose from the dead giving us hope and assurance that we will someday join those whom we have lost in heaven.
Resource reading: Psalms 34:17-19
[i] John MacArthur, Safe in the Arms of God (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2003) 11.
https://www.guidelines.org/devotional/how-to-lean-on-god-when-losing-a-baby/
Sakto | TeleRadyo (30 September 2021)
Wednesday, September 29, 2021
Why Is God Doing This To Me?
Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.” Job 2:9-10
One of the oldest questions that has ever been voiced is the question, “Why? God! Why do you allow suffering?” You find that question voiced by a man whose name was Job and you read about him in the book that bears his name.
Who was Job? In her book What the Bible is all About, Henrietta Mears wrote, “Job may be one of the most ancient pieces of finished literature in existence. It is certainly one of the oldest, if not the oldest books in the Bible.” And what’s the issue that the author wrote about? One of the oldest questions that anyone ever voiced, Why is there suffering in the world? And why do Godly people, in particular, suffer? Never will I forget the encounter I had with an 80-year-old veteran who lay in the hospital in intense pain and he looked up and asked, “Why do I lay here and suffer? Why doesn’t God just take me home!” I was in my mid-20s at the time and certainly didn’t have a satisfying answer, yet the book of Job comes closer to addressing this problem than any other biblical book.
Now 60 years later if you’re expecting me to give you an answer in the next three minutes, don’t hold your breath. Yet, I have learned some of the lessons that Job learned, especially that we will never fully understand the reason why good people–moral, upright, generous, committed, and, yes, even righteous face pain and suffering while blasphemous, immoral, foul-mouthed individuals seem to avoid the sick bed. C. S. Lewis, professor of Medieval English at Cambridge addressed the problem of suffering in his book, The Problem of Pain. One of my favorite authors, Phil Yancey teamed up with Dr. Paul Brand, a dedicated surgeon and wrote two books about pain and suffering. Brand believed that pain was actually a blessing from God.
Job, the man who tried to make sense of pain and suffering, was “blameless before God. He was “upright” and the Hebrew words means “straight.” He feared God, and He “shunned evil.” Job’s friends, of course, believed they knew why Job was confronted with suffering. But this we know. Job found God in the midst of his suffering and heart cried out, “Why me, God?”
Take time to read the last chapter of the book that bears his name. In this you will hear the heart cry of a broken man who says, “I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore, I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:5). The book concludes saying, “And job died an old man, and full of days” (Job 42:17).
Far better than having an answer to the question, “Why me?” or “Why us?” is coming to understand that God has not chosen you as an object of affliction and persecution, but He does meet us in the very dark nights of our pain and anguish and show us something of His grace and goodness–His unrelenting love.
Many know there is a God and acknowledge something of His power and greatness, but it is in the valley that we hear the whisper of His voice saying, “My child, remember my son knows exactly how you feel. He experienced the nails of the Roman centurion for your healing and redemption. Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you. My presence will abide with you until it’s time to come home.”
Resource reading: Hebrews 4:14-16
https://www.guidelines.org/devotional/why-is-god-doing-this-to-me-2/
Tuesday, September 28, 2021
How To Wait Patiently For Your Future Spouse
…for your Father knows what you need even before you ask Him. Matthew 6:8
If ever there was a tough little lady who didn’t know what she could not do, it was Gladys Aylward. And, “Who is she?” you might ask. In the event that you have seen the movie (still available on the internet) The Inn of the Sixth Happiness featuring the Swedish actress, Ingrid Bergman, you would, at least, know her story. But actress Ingrid Bergman with her blond hair, rather imposing stature, and accent falls far short of depicting both Gladys’s looks as well as her character.
Aylward was a small woman, with dark hair, and a North London accent. But beyond that, the movie fails to accurately portray her life and what she did. In my book Heroes, I tell her story which is actually far more exciting than Hollywood portrayed it. This remarkable woman little woman-led several hundred Chinese orphans across mountain ranges during the Japanese invasion and occupation of China in World War 2.
One of her biographers wrote that Gladys Aylward never kissed a man in her life, yet the film’s ending portrayed her as leaving the orphans she rescued to join a colonel who romanced her, even though in reality she did not retire from working with orphans until she was 60 years old. But, please indulge me, rather than talk about her life story, I’d like to tell you about the time that someone asked Gladys if she would not have preferred meeting the right person, falling in love, and settling down to raise a family. “Yes,” replied, Gladys. Then she went on to explain that there had been a time in her life when she prayed earnestly for a husband, but she then said, “I think God called him to come to China where we would have met and married, but he refused to heed the call of God!”
How many women have prayed for a husband and yet remained single? Some of the most miserable women I have ever met have been single missionaries who told me how they had gone overseas, fully expecting to meet someone and get married and they never met the right person. “Go home,” I would advise them. If you can’t be single and handle the frustration, pack up and go home. However, putting a wedding ring on the fourth finger of your left hand is no guarantee you will be happy.
Does God answer the prayers of singles who are asking Him to provide a mate? In many cases, the answer is yes, but the caveat is that you can be single and miserable, and you can be married and miserable as well. You can be joyfully single just as you can be miserably married!
“Why God?” Why haven’t you answered my prayer and given me what I asked for? How many have voiced that complaint? It was a single missionary whose name was Paul who wrote, “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:12-13).
A closing thought. God always gives His best to those who leave the choice to Him. So, when you cannot see the Father’s hand, trust his heart. He loves you, and He will give you his best. I take great heart however, in the promise of Jesus, who said, “Your heavenly Father knows what you need even before you ask Him. But again, He said, “Ask and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
Resource reading: Romans 8:31-38
https://www.guidelines.org/devotional/how-to-wait-patiently-for-your-future-spouse/
Batasan bull’s eye: GMA, Recto, Alvarez, Velasco reportedly backing presidential bets with speakership as payback
Some top politikos running for a congressional seat have been making alliances amid the jostling for the 2022 presidential race to boost their chances of becoming House Speakers in the next administration.
It’s an open secret that the President anoints the House Speaker even though the speakership is decided by a majority vote of lawmakers.
This is the reason why Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez won as Speaker in 2016 even though the ruling PDP-Laban only had two members in the House after that year’s national elections.
Alvarez hopes to reclaim his old post in the 19th Congress by betting on the tandem of Senators Panfilo Lacson and Vicente “Tito” Sotto.
Lacson is the new chairman of Partido Reporma, which was revived by Alvarez years after it was founded by former Defense Secretary Renato de Villa.
A Politiko source said Senator Ralph Recto is backing Manila Mayor Isko Moreno’s presidential bid because he aims to become the Speaker after running to succeed his wife, Batangas Rep. Vilma Santos, in the House.
Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Jay Velasco, the incumbent Speaker, is leaning towards supporting Senator Manny Pacquiao’s presidential bid in exchange for retaining his post in the 19th Congress, Politiko’s source said.
Velasco is reportedly betting on Pacquiao as a fallback in case Davao City mayor Sara Duterte doesn’t run for president.
Former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, whose congressional comeback has been confirmed, also has her eyes set on the speakership but is adamant about supporting only Duterte.
Should the feisty Davao mayor enter and win the presidential race, Politiko’s source said she will likely follow her father’s Solomonic solution and share the Speaker’s term between Velasco and Arroyo.
In a novel twist, a senator will reportedly decide the speakership should former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. run for president and win.
Politiko’s source said Senator Imee Marcos would decide who will lead the House if her brother ends up in Malacanang.
Monday, September 27, 2021
Top ‘Why’ Questions We Ask God
The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen?”
If you could ask God any question, what would it be?” Today I’m going to address some of the “Why?” questions of the human heart.
There is a general consensus that we should never lift our voices toward heaven and ask the question, “Why God?’ If God should strike dead every person who had ever lifted eyes toward heaven and cried out, “Why? Why did you allow this to happen?” there would be few people yet alive on planet earth.
Perhaps it will assuage your guilt over asking “Why?” somewhat to realize that the first “Why?” question in the Bible was not spoken by either Adam or Eve or their offspring, it was God the Father who confronted Cain, following the death of his brother Abel. Genesis 1:6 says, “The Lord said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen?” “I don’t know!” he responded. He was not only guilty of his brother’s murder, but he compounded that by trying to lie to God!” The writer of the New Testament book of Hebrews observed, “Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do” (Hebrews 4:13, KJV).
Should you check a computerized concordance of various words in the Bible, you will discover that there are hundreds and hundreds of individuals who have asked, “Why?” Even God’s own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, the one who laid aside his attributes of deity to become fully human as well as fully God lifted his eyes toward heaven and asked His Father “Why?” when it seemed that the Father had forsaken him in this crucial. Both Matthew and Mark record the darkness that shrouded Jesus. Matthew wrote, “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46; also see Mark 15:34).
During the ministry of Jesus as he taught the multitudes, he often asked the “Why?” question, at times chiding them for their unbelief or wrongdoing. In a passage that we usually call, The Sermon on the Mount, Jesus asked, “Why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 6:28-30).
On more than a few occasions Jesus ask the “Why?” question. He said, “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye….” (Matthew 7:3) and when the winds were whipping the water to a molten frenzy on Galilee, he asked the disciples, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith” (Matthew 8:26).
Time allows just one more thought. Does God become angry when we pour our hearts out in anguish, and lift our voices crying, “Why, God? Why me?” Long ago, David, a man after God’s own heart, wrote, “As a father shows compassion to those who fear him, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103:12-14). Someday you’ll understand so for now just trust the Father’s heart. I fully believe that, someday when we stand in Heaven, we will have the answers. Until then, we must walk by faith.
Resource reading: Psalm 103: 6-18
https://www.guidelines.org/devotional/top-why-questions-we-ask-god/
Senate ratifies bill postponing BARMM elections
By MA. ANGELICA GARCIA, GMA News
The Senate on Monday ratified the bicameral conference committee report on the proposed measure seeking to reset the first regular elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Voting 21-2, senators approved the bicameral report on the disagreeing provisions of Senate Bill No. 2214 and House Bill No. 10121, which seeks to move the date of the BARMM parliamentary and regional elections from May 2022 to May 2025 and synchronize it with the next midterm elections.
Under the reconciled version, the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) shall continue as the interim government in the Bangsamoro Region. The President may appoint the 80 new interim members of the BTA who shall serve up to June 30, 2025 or until their successors shall have been elected and qualified.
SB 2214 and HB 10121 will amend Section 13, Article XVI of Republic Act 11054 or the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) of 2018.
Senator Francis Tolentino, chair of the Senate panel in the bicameral conference committee, said the reconciled version of the Senate and House versions recognized two important considerations—the constitutionally granted power of the President to appoint and the right of the people of the Bangsamoro region to have competent and reliable leaders.
Tolentino stressed that in reconciling the disagreeing provisions of SB 2214 and HB 10121, the conferees of the bicameral panel ensured that the passage of this legislative measure “will not unduly curtail” the power of the President to appoint under the 1987 Constitution.
He underscored the need to extend the BARMM transition period to implement the political and normalization efforts embodied in the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) since the COVID-19 pandemic posed significant challenges to the execution of the priority programs and projects of the Bangsamoro government.—LDF, GMA News
Senate approves on 3rd reading bill paving way for sustainable Baguio development
The Senate on Monday passed on third and final reading the bill paving the way for Baguio City's sustainable development.
With 23 affirmative and zero negative votes, the upper house gave its final nod to House Bill 8882 or the Revised Charter of the City of Baguio.
Bill sponsor Senator Francis Tolentino said that with the measure, the city would continue its legacy "as a symbol of enduring progress and rich history in the country."
“As one of the most loved cities by Filipinos and foreign tourists, Baguio City, through its revised charter, will surely secure sustainable progress that will redound not just to the benefit of Baguio residents but the entire country as well, most especially its indigenous people’s community,” Tolentino said.
The bill, which revises the 112-year-old city charter, seeks to create new offices within the structure of the city government, including the addition of a city environment and parks management officer, city planning and sustainable development officer, and the city traffic and transportation management officer.
Tolentino said this version is “probably the best one yet crafted,” adding that the current version of the measure with amendments ensures the sustainable development of Baguio City while preserving the rights of the indigenous people enshrined under the Republic Act No. 8371 or the Indigenous People’s Rights Act of 1997.
The bill also seeks to institutionalize the generation of renewable energy from waste through waste-to-energy and other technologies consistent with RA No. 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act and RA No. 9513 or the Renewable Energy Act of 2008.
The city government, in coordination with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the National Water Resources Board, and the Baguio City Water District, was also mandated to protect, conserve, develop, and substantially manage its forest lands and watersheds.
Once enacted into law, councils such as the City Creative Council, Smart City Council, E-Governance Council, and other bodies will be created in pursuit of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The original charter of the city was crafted in 1909 by the late Justice George Malcolm as a rest and relaxation area for the Americans.
The bill was passed on third reading in the House of Representatives last March 22. — DVM, GMA News
Sunday, September 26, 2021
Saturday, September 25, 2021
Friday, September 24, 2021
This Is The Story Of The Rabbis
…the Scripture cannot be broken– Jesus in John 10:35.
Toward the end of the first century, the last New Testament book as we know it today was written by the Apostle John as he was living in exile on the island of Patmos. But that didn’t mean that the 27 books were ready to go to the printer. Not exactly. First, there was no printer at that time, and secondly, it took another two hundred years for the New Testament church to decide what was the New Testament. You think that it’s tough for folks to agree on things today? It was even worse then! An interesting fact is that no church council ever met and rendered an authoritative decree saying, “These books are in, and those are not!” Universal acceptance of these 27 books was a gradual thing as the Holy Spirit began to bear witness in the lives of godly men and women (mostly men, however, because the women weren’t invited to church councils) that certain books bore biblical authority.
By the Council of Nicea, however, in the year 325 AD, the issue was settled. By the end of the fifth century, the New Testament was widely read and distributed throughout the Middle East and Europe—something that caused Jewish rabbis to have great consternation.
With the growing popularity of the New Testament, they feared that the Scriptures known as the law, the prophets and the writings—we call those books the Old Testament—were going to fall by the wayside and be replaced with this new collection of writings that Christians revered. “We have to do something,” they agreed, and I hasten to say that agreement among the ancient rabbis was about as unusual as agreement among Christians today. What they did, however, fearing that the Old Testament scriptures might disappear in time, was to establish two schools: one in Tiberias on beautiful Galilee, and the other in Babylon—both of which were dedicated to preserving the Old Testament text.
Little did Christians realize what a great contribution these Jewish schools were about to make to the church, which was born in the framework of Old Testament doctrine and teaching. Remember, if you would, that what you probably call the Old Testament was the Bible, the Word of God, to Jesus. It was from the prophets that He read when He went into the synagogue at Nazareth.
Friend, the next time you pick up your Bible and read from the book of Psalms, or marvel at how God raised up Moses and used him to deliver God’s people from Egypt, or read about Elijah or the prophets, thank these men we call Massoretes, for they were the ones whose dedicated efforts preserved these Old Testament scriptures.
Just who were they and what did they do? Obviously, they were rabbis who began to collect Old Testament texts and then classified and codified them. They standardized the spelling of words, eventually adding vowels. So concerned were they that the manuscripts be copied accurately, they counted the words in the various Old Testament books, and the exact number of letters in each word. This information was recorded in the margins of their manuscripts, and the work was done with dedication, and intensity.
Simply put, they standardized the Old Testament, giving us one that for more than 1000 years has been the basis of study for both Jews and Christians. Known as the Masoretic text, it is the common, unchallenged, authoritative text used by serious students of the Word all over the world to this day.
They would have heartily endorsed what Isaiah wrote in the seventh century BC: “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:8). And, be sure, forever is a long, long time.
Resource reading: John 10:11-18
https://www.guidelines.org/devotional/this-is-the-story-of-the-rabbis/
Sakto | TeleRadyo (24 September 2021)
Froilan Domingo
Thursday, September 23, 2021
Discover The Evidence Behind The Bible
Is not my word like fire,” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?” Jeremiah 23:29
Ignorance can be a wonderful thing. It saves you from having to think. Therefore, you avoid the consequences of facing what you don’t know, right? Dead wrong! That lump that you thought was nothing was cancer, but you didn’t really want to know and it didn’t go away. When you could avoid the issue no longer, you faced serious consequences—all of which could have been avoided had you faced the issue head-on.
There’s also a strange, willful ignorance today when it comes to the authority of the Bible. Some folks just don’t want to know, thinking that this lets them off the hook when it comes to what Jesus Christ said and did.
Let me back up for a minute. There’s been a misconception that’s been with us for a long time that says the biblical manuscripts have been passed down from generation to generation, and like a whisper that goes around the room at a party, it’s not the same at the end as at the beginning. Thus, if the source is discredited, the whole structure comes down.
Today there are more than 5,800 ancient manuscripts of the Bible of prime importance. Of these, 4400 are over 1000 years old. Additionally there are more than 13,000 fragments of biblical writings including orders of service (called lectionaries) and sermons of the early church fathers, mostly written in Latin, quoting Scripture, which gives us the biblical text at that given period of history. To that massive body of history, add 1400 manuscripts of the Gospels alone more than 1,000 years old, with portions of them going back to the year 125 AD, shortly after the last New Testament book was written.
Now compare this vast body of documents—all of which are biblical texts—with one copy of the Roman historian Tacitus, 23 manuscripts of Plato more than 1000 years old, and 10 copies of Caesar’s Gaellic Wars. But nobody bothers to assail either the historicity of Tiberius Caesar, Tacitus, or any of the other historical figures of the first century.
The science of studying these various manuscripts, striving to determine what is the pure text as it was given when the author first wrote it, is called textual criticism, and rather than being destructive, it has given us tremendous confidence that the Greek and Hebrew texts which are the source of our modern translations are accurate, completely accurate for all rights and purposes.
The materials upon which the biblical manuscripts were written also tell a story, along with the penmanship—whether it was flowing handwriting or block letters, and understanding all of this has been aided by scientific analyses such as carbon dating and even DNA which identifies the protein structure of the materials upon which Scripture was written.
At times, God raised up schools or groups of men who dedicated their lives to preserving the Word of God. Fearing that the New Testament was about to displace the thirty-nine books we call the Old Testament, Jewish rabbis in both Tiberias and Babylon dedicated themselves to preserving the Jewish Scriptures which make up the Old Testament in your Bible. Massoretes, they were called; and between the fifth and tenth centuries these dedicated scholars preserved and codified the Old Testament Scriptures.
So what’s the bottom line? The evidence demolishes the argument of ignorance that we can’t be sure the Bible has authority and credibility. Find out for yourself.
Resource reading: Jeremiah 23:29-49
https://www.guidelines.org/devotional/discover-the-evidence-behind-the-bible/
Sakto | TeleRadyo (23 September 2021)
Wednesday, September 22, 2021
What You Can Learn From The Bible
Your word, O LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens. Psalm 119:89
There are two kinds of people who are ignorant—those who have never had an opportunity to learn, and those who are willfully ignorant because they refuse to get the facts. There are millions of people in the world trapped by poverty and economic stagnation, who are ignorant because they have no choice, but the latter category includes some who have Ph.D.s and advanced degrees by the handful. Those who refuse the truth purposefully, are not only ignorant, they are to be pitied.
I couldn’t help thinking of that when I had a conversation with a brilliant scientist, a man who has been honored by several countries for outstanding achievements in his chosen discipline. In our conversation I quoted the words of John 11 when Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live” (John 11:25, NJKV). “How do we know Jesus ever said that?” was his response.
Answering that question is important. Have you ever wondered how certain we are that some of the statements found in the Bible are authentic, say, as opposed to someone adding them or putting words in someone’s mouth that suits their purpose?
“What do you know about manuscripts or textual criticism?” I asked. The answer was: nothing. “If I read anything that makes a case for the credibility of the Bible,” he argued, “to be fair, I would have to read those who opposed biblical authority.” But the point is that he had read nothing. Willful ignorance is to be pitied.
Focusing on the one statement of Jesus which is found in John’s Gospel, I pointed out that John wrote this Gospel in the last decade of the first century, yet we have a portion of that same Gospel, known as Ryland’s Papyri P52, now in the library of the University of Manchester in Britain which dates to 125 AD—only 30 years after it was written.
The science of studying and collating biblical manuscripts is known as textual criticism, and it’s a fascinating study. Today literally thousands of biblical manuscripts have been found, coming from all over the Middle East. We now know that as the early Christians scattered under persecution, four major centers were established where the emerging New Testament was preserved and collected: Alexandria in Egypt, Caesarea in Palestine, Rome in Europe, and Constantinople in Turkey.
The rules by which biblical scholars have determined what is authentic are interesting. For example, if they had three manuscripts which came from, say, Alexandria and two of the three had longer renderings of a passage, they would generally choose the shortest of the three as valid. Why? We have a tendency to add what we think would clarify the text, thus, helping God out.
By comparing the various manuscripts and translations, biblical scholars have resolved the issue of integrity when it comes to transmitting the Bible from generation to generation.
Dr. Kenneth Kantzer, one of the foremost biblical scholars of the past century, has said that in his opinion we have recovered 99.9% of the words in the original manuscripts.
Where does this leave the scholar who refuses to consider the authority for this book? Pretty much taking refuge in ignorance that is a pretty thin veneer of comfort.
Don’t take my word on the issue. Find out for yourself how this unique book has been preserved through the centuries.
Resource reading: 2 Peter 1:2-21
https://www.guidelines.org/devotional/what-you-can-learn-from-the-bible/
Sakto | TeleRadyo (22 September 2021)
House ratifies bill postponing Bangsamoro polls
The House of Representatives on Tuesday ratified the bicameral conference committee report on the proposed measure seeking to reset the first regular elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
The lower chamber approved the bicameral report on the disagreeing provisions of House Bill No. 10121 and Senate Bill No. 2214, which seeks to postpone the first BARMM polls from 2022 to 2025.
The reconciled bill provides that the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) will continue as the interim government in the region until elections are held in 2025.
The president may also appoint 80 new interim members of the BTA. They will hold office until the end of June 2025 or until their successors have been elected.
What is left now is for the Senate to ratify the substitute bill to incorporate both versions before it is transmitted to President Rodrigo Duterte to be signed into law.
CNN Philippines correspondent Xianne Arcangel contributed to this report.
https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2021/9/22/House-ratifies-BARMM-polls-bicam-report.html
Tuesday, September 21, 2021
House ratifies report on postponement of first regular elections in BARMM
The House of Representatives ratified Tuesday the bicameral conference report on the bills postponing the first regular elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) to 2025.
During its session, the lower chamber ratified the bicameral conference committee report on the disagreeing provisions of House Bill 10121 and Senate Bill 2214, which pushed for the postponement of the polls.
Once ratified by the Senate, the substitute bill, which combines the Senate and the House versions of the measure, will be transmitted to the office of President Rodrigo Duterte.
Under the measure, the first regular election for the Bangsamoro Government shall be held synchronized with the 2025 national elections. The Bangsamoro elections were originally scheduled for 2022.
According to the House version of the bill, the postponement seeks to give BARMM time to “strengthen its foundations for a stronger regional government and economy.”
The postponement, the bill states, will also allow the national government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to “lay better and sturdier foundations and successfully translate the efforts on the gains from the peace agreement into lasting and sustainable peace not only in Mindanao but for the whole Philippines.”
How To Stand Firm In Your Beliefs
For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. Psalm 1:6
When the other person does it, you call it “lying,” but when you tell the cop, “I know I wasn’t speeding,” you’re just bending the truth a bit—good business, you know. When you falsified your resume when you applied for a job, inflating your salary for previous jobs and expanding your educational background (who is going to call the school and check on the years you were there?), you cloaked it in a term which has become widely used—misinformation. Besides, stretching the truth serves your purpose and you get away with it, so what?
Bill Gates is filthy rich, right? He’s got more money than he could ever count in a lifetime, and you don’t, that’s for sure; so, if you can duplicate the software your buddy has and save some money and get away with it, wouldn’t it be smart to do that?
Today we are confronted with far more than software piracy, or bending the truth a bit here or there. We are in the midst of a culture war, and the deception of pragmatism—that means, if it works, do it; if you can get away with it, why not? —has engulfed our generation much as the fog that gradually drifts in, obscuring our vision, and blighting our lives.
Years ago, I sold a house before we moved to the Philippines, and the first person to look at our home offered the full asking price. Then a second person took me aside and said, “Hey, if you take my offer, I’ll give you a $1,000 more than this guy!” “There’s no way my integrity could be bought for $1,000,” I told him, adding, “I gave him my word.” My brother, hearing the story said, “Hey, he should have tried $5,000.”
Fascinating was a research project when an interviewer asked women if they would ever betray their husband’s trust. Then when they said, “No,” the question followed, “Would you do it for $1,000,000?” And suddenly the whole equation of fidelity changed. “Yes,” replied more than a few, “that’s different.”
Our culture today is one based on pragmatism, a philosophy founded by psychologist William James who, in the year 1907, posed this situation: “Granting an idea or belief to be true,” it says, “what concrete difference will its being true make in anyone’s actual life? How will the truth be realized? What experiences will be different from those which would obtain if the belief were false? What, in short, is the truth’s cash-value in experiential terms?” (Pragmatism, 1907, www.pragmatism.org/ Aug. 3, 2005).
Pragmatism means truth is not absolute but is subject to changing situations and circumstances, and the real test of something is your feelings about yourself and the issue. What’s good for you? And how does this make you feel?” No wonder the Russian writer Igor Dostoevsky in The Brothers Karamazov wrote, “If there is no God, then anything is permissible.”
What’s the bottom line? You’ve got to decide whether you will allow yourself to be swept away by a moral relativism today, a pragmatism that allows you to do anything that feels good, anything that you can get away with (outside of prison or getting shot by an offended husband), or whether you will choose the path that is narrow, where many choose not to walk, but which is blessed by God. Remember, Jesus said, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it” (Matthew 7:13).
With every choice there are consequences, and when you are carried on the tide of pragmatism, you have no anchor for your soul. Instead of walking towards the light, you become engulfed in a darkness that destroys you. Remember, it’s your choice.
Resource reading: Acts 5:1-11
https://www.guidelines.org/devotional/how-to-stand-firm-in-your-beliefs/
Sakto | TeleRadyo (21 September 2021)
Does Raffy Tulfo support ABS-CBN Network’s return after the Duterte Administration?
Tulfo observed that his recent guesting on the Kapamilya Network was a bit sad compared to his previous guesting before the media and entertainment company lost its franchise.
Raffy Tulfo announced his support to airing again of the giant broadcasting network, ABS-CBN on TV.
On Wanted sa Radyo, on Monday, September 20, he has shared that he noticed signs of gloominess on the ABS-CBN building when he attended as a surprise guest for the ASAP Natin ‘To episode on September 19.
He performed a song number with Zsazsa Padilla and Nina.
“Syempre, walang nagsasalita sa kanila dun. Tahimik lang. nakikita ko ang lungkot. Dati-rati, nag-ge-guest na ko sa ABS-CBN noon–maraming taong masaya, pero dun, malungkot sila,”
Tulfo observed that his recent guesting on the Kapamilya Network was a bit sad compared to his previous guesting before the media company lost its franchise.
“Huwag kayong malungkot dahil… 9-10 months,” Tulfo somewhat counted the remaining days before the rise of a new administration.
“Ten thousand kasi ang nawalan ng trabaho. Kung pwedeng baka sabihin ni Lord, sige ten months, okay na ulit. ‘Di ba? Kumbaga, magbabanggaan yong 16 million versus 42 million subscribers,” he seemed to have challenged the 16 million people who voted for President Duterte last 2016 national elections.
“Forty-two million yata ‘yong subscribers. Kung i-combine mo pa baka 50 million, so 60 million, so alin mas marami dun?” he stated, not clarifying to what the numbers he mentioned pertain to.
As of writing, the Raffy Tulfo in Action YouTube channel only has 22 million subscribers, far from the 42 million subscribers Tulfo indicated.
According to speculations, Tulfo will run for the Vice Presidential post with Sen. Manny Pacquiao as his running mate-President.
Monday, September 20, 2021
How Lies And Deceit Impact Our Culture
These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts. Zechariah 8:16
Check the dictionary and you will find this listing: “mis*in*for*ma*tion , n. Untrue or incorrect information” (Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1996, 1998 MICRA Inc.). Formerly the practice was known as lying. But today the term misinformation is politically correct and less offensive than the cutting term which has been used for centuries. There are some who contend that there is no more lying today than ever before; however, it is just more sophisticated, more acceptable, and less offensive. I disagree.
It’s true! Lies, deceit, and fraud have been part of the fabric of human history from the day Satan lied to Adam and Eve in the Garden about the forbidden fruit, to the present. But we appear to be doing a pretty good job of handing the habit down to our kids: A recent ethics study among teenagers found that 48% of boys and 35% of girls lied to save money and 80% lied to a parent about something significant. Of course, it was difficult to get completely accurate numbers because 25% admitted they’d lied on at least one or two of the survey questions — they lied about lying. There was a silver lining — 92% of them felt satisfied about their personal ethics and character.[1]
While most people tokenly acknowledge that dishonesty is like a 21st century smog that has blighted the landscape of humanity, few know what to do about it in either their personal lives or society.
What’s the motive for honesty? And how do you redirect your mind and conduct? Much of the answer to both involves not ethics but your relationship with God as your father. It’s spiritual in nature. How does God view dishonesty? Take time to look up the word with a Bible study tool and it will take very few minutes to learn that dishonesty is an abomination in His sight. He has strong words for those who are liars. In Old Testament days, God said, “No one who practices deceit will dwell in my house; no one who speaks falsely will stand in my presence” (Psalm 101:7). The New Testament doesn’t soften His view, either. John, writing the last book of the New Testament, says simply that liars have their part in the lake of fire—which means simply put, that at heaven’s door God doesn’t say, “Well, I guess you’re OK; after all, everybody is human.” (See Revelation 21:8).
At some point you have to say, the culture of misinformation, or the culture of fraud, lies, and deceit, is at war with what God wants, and I choose to take my stand on the other side of the issue. I will speak the truth. Then you practice what you profess and refuse to be part of a lying and deceptive culture.
Paul wrote to the Ephesians urging them to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15) so that they grow up in spiritual maturity. I don’t think I would want a surgeon to operate on me who had cheated his way through med school, nor would I want my life in the hands of a pilot who had lied about having had three alcoholic drinks in the airport before the plane took off, and neither can I accommodate in my personal life what I dislike in others and what God hates.
The commitment to refuse to partake of the culture of lies and deceit is one which turns its back on the world and its face towards God. It’s a commitment with consequences attached, ones which make your marriage and family better and your world safer.
Resource reading: Ephesians 4:17-25
[1] Jantz, G., Ph.D. (2011, August 11). A Nation of Liars: Caught Up in a Tangled Web. Retrieved July 27, 2017, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-gregory-jantz-phd/a-nation-of-liars-caught-_b_916324.html
https://www.guidelines.org/devotional/how-lies-and-deceit-impact-our-culture/
Sakto | TeleRadyo (20 September 2021)
Sunday, September 19, 2021
Saturday, September 18, 2021
Friday, September 17, 2021
Start Creating Healthy Habits
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
When an engine blew on the Airbus that United Airlines captain Ed Palacio was flying, the instrument panel lit up like a Christmas tree. “Ed,” I later asked as we were talking about the incident, “What did you think about when this happened?’ His reply: “I didn’t have time to think. I instinctively did what I had been trained to do.” His passengers were glad that Ed hadn’t been sleeping in class when they covered those procedures. He was so well trained and disciplined; his reactions were instinctive and habitual.
Do an experiment for a moment. Fold your hands together. If you’re driving right now, you are exempted from this one, but if you can, yes, fold your hands together. Now, look at them. Now unfold them and do it again. I’ll tell you one thing for sure. Should you do this 100 times, you will do the same thing 100 times. It’s a habit and a long-standing one, too. Habit is the flywheel of society. It keeps the fisherman at sea in the winter and keeps the miner going down the shaft into darkness day after day. It sends the farmer to his field no matter what the weather, and keeps the prostitute on the street and the alcoholic and addict looking for a bottle or a fix.
Habits, of course, work both ways—good ones and not-so-good ones.
Years ago, a Harvard University psychology professor, William James, wrote, “If we realized the extent to which we are mere walking bundles of habits, we would give more heed to their formation. We are spinning our own fates,” he wrote, “good or evil–and never to be undone.”
Walk into an auditorium you’ve never been in before, and sit down. Come back a week later and where do you sit? Exactly where you were the week before. After three times, you’re hooked. You park in the same spot, sit in the same seat, eat at the same restaurants, and do the same thing time after time, month after month, year after year.
Question: Are you a victim of your habits? Or can you change your habits and lifestyle? Is the potato chip addict stuck for life as is the person who can’t live without TV soaps and vodka? No, habits can be broken. But if they are, it has to be because of strong motivation, something stronger than the force of habit, which created motivation to change.
2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come!” Being a new person, a new creation means new habits. The following guidelines can make a difference in your life.
Guideline #1: Break with old habits decisively. Don’t cut a dog’s tail off an inch at a time. The Ephesians burned their magic books in one great fire. Draw a line and by the grace of God cross it, never to return.
Guideline #2: Establish a new habit immediately. “In the main,” wrote Henry James, “all experts agree that abrupt acquisition of the new habit is the best way.” You’ll also find God’s help and strength which takes you beyond where you are in the natural. There is God’s help to overcome man’s failure—your failure.
Guideline #3: Go public with your commitment. Run up the flag. Tell your friends. Sign a pledge. Paint a sign, or fly a banner, but don’t go back. Make a clean break with past habits and friends which drag you down. Nobody but you can do this, but you can.
Guideline #4: Reach out and find God’s strength. The Bible is full of promises of help. “The power that works in you,” using the biblical phrase, is the Holy Spirit. His hand within gives you strength to be the person without. He makes the difference.
Resource reading: Colossians 3:1-17.
https://www.guidelines.org/devotional/start-creating-healthy-habits/
House lauds BARMM poll resetting
A House leader on Thursday hailed the House of Representatives’ passage of the bill resetting the first regular elections of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) as “a victory for the Bangsamoro people.”
Voting 187-0-0, the legislative chamber on Wednesday approved on third and final reading House Bill (HB) 10121 postponing the BARMM polls from 2022 to 2025.
The approval came on the same day House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco received correspondence from Malacañang informing Congress that President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has certified the measure as urgent.
Deputy Speaker Bernadette Herrera, who presided over Wednesday’s session and co-author of HB 10121, said the postponement would “allow the peace and development thrusts of BARMM to fully take off for the benefit of the region and its people.”
“We cannot agree more with the President that the postponement of the BARMM elections will give the Bangsamoro transitional government ample time to fulfill its mandate, establish a strong bureaucracy, and enact foundational codes essential to the achievement of the aspirations of unity, genuine autonomy, and development in the BARMM,” Herrera said.
By postponing the BARMM polls to 2025, Herrera said the 80-member Bangsamoro Transition Authority, or BTA, also known as the interim BARMM parliament, will be given an additional three years to put up service facets essential to good governance. Maricel V Cruz
According to Herrera, this includes the creation of the electoral code and the accomplishment of other deliverables, which have been hampered by the challenges brought about by the ongoing pandemic.
Earlier, Speaker Lord Allan Velasco expressed jubilation over the measure’s imminent enactment.
“We are one with the government in providing the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) its first electoral participation in the national elections in 2022,” Velasco said in a statement
“It is unfortunate, however, that the pandemic has exacerbated an already delayed transition period of the BARMM—a process that is exceedingly nuanced, and one that requires no less than the full and undivided attention of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority to strengthen BARMM’s foundations for a stronger regional government and economy,” Velasco. added.
https://manilastandard.net/news/national/365124/house-lauds-barmm-poll-resetting.html
Thursday, September 16, 2021
What Does It Mean That God Is A Father?
As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. Psalm 103:13
“It is a sad fact but it is true,” writes John Nagle, “when people today hear of God being referred to as ‘father’ it often creates more mental barriers than open hearts. Unfortunately for more and more in our culture, the term ‘Father’ causes individuals to think of someone who was absent, abusive, addicted, or all of the above.”
He’s right. More than a few times I have had people, usually young women, tell me how thinking of God in terms of being a father to them, in spite of the fact that He is God, is difficult if not outwardly painful because of the distrust and anger they have towards a dad who wasn’t there, who didn’t care, who abused them, ignored them, and let them down.
“So can I expect the same thing of God?” asked one person. How sad that in a culture of brokenness the picture of a loving Father who is there for his children has become so maligned, so abused and out of focus. But there is one powerful truth that you need to confront: God is not a man, weakened by the failures, scarred by the passions of the flesh. Moses put it like this: “God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?” (Numbers 23:19). What does it mean when we address God as Father? Among many things, focus on several truths.
Calling God “Father” means there is a relationship with Him. He’s not your “uncle” nor is God “the Man Upstairs,” or a “weak-kneed, bearded Old Man. Jesus taught us to pray saying, “Our Father….” The relationship of a father to a child can come through natural generation or adoption. From the days of Roman law to the present, courts recognize both as having equal force, but adoption brings with it beautiful pictures. It means that you were chosen. Adopting parents made decisions and when they adopt, it is because they want the child. Does that tell you something? Writing to the Ephesians, Paul said, “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world…” (Ephesians 1:4). God had a plan which included you even before He spoke the Word and brought our world into existence.
Calling God “Father” brings an intimacy with Him, a connection whose links are chains of love and compassion. In Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught that we are to look to our heavenly Father for “our daily bread”—the most basic of our needs. He taught not only that Father knows best, but He knows what you need even before you ask. The New Testament also promises that your Father will provide for your needs.
Calling God “Father” also means He will be there for you! He sent His Son as His personal representative to show you the way back home. Like the prodigal, though, we have wandered far away from home, and the loving Father sent the gentle shepherd to pick us up, give us robes of righteousness, and provide the means of finding a new relationship with God, the Father. Jesus said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
Don’t base your relationship with the Father on your feelings but on what the Word tells you about God. A final thought. In the Old Testament book of Jeremiah, there is a rather sad lament. God says of Israel, “How gladly would I treat you like sons…I thought you would call me ‘Father’ and not turn away from following me” (Jeremiah 3:19-20). Find out about what it means to know God as Father, and then call Him “Father” with joy and gladness.
Resource reading: Jeremiah 3:19-25.
https://www.guidelines.org/devotional/what-does-it-mean-that-god-is-a-father/
JOHNNY’S GREETINGS FOR SEPTEMBER 2021 CELEBRATORS (SECOND HALF)
September 16 - Tommy Abuel, Yayo Aguila, Nar Cabico, Janno Gibbs, Zara Lopez, Therese Malvar, Kitchie Nadal, Albert Silos and Julian Trono
September 17 - Prinz Skie Bautista, Aurora E. Cerilles, Will Ashley de Leon, Russianne Ilao, RJ Padilla, Francine Prieto, Jennifer Rosales, Ice Seguerra and Alex Tinsay
September 18 - Bal Falcone, Chun Sa Jung, Kayana Klaws, Nina Lu, Allein Maliksi, James Marsden, Dang Ramos, Jeremy Sabido and Jason Sudeikis
September 19 - Joan Almedilla, Peping Cojuangco, Maoui David, Shirley Escalante, Jimmy Fallon, Carlos M. Padilla, Kobe Paras, Allison Sweeney and Victor Williams
September 20 - Asia Agcaoili, Rita Avila, Erich Gonzales, Shine Kuk, Shaira Luna, Renee Pionso, Jay Sonza, Gab Umali and Roi Vinzon
September 21 - Benjamin Abalos, Mara Alberto, Ivan Dorschner, Jef Gaitan, Sunshine Garcia, Joel Lamangan, Beth Tamayo, Miguel Tanfelix and Aaron Yanga
September 22 - Dolly Anne Carvajal, John Vic de Guzman, Wowie de Guzman, Michael Marcos-Keon, Kiko Matos, Avery Paraiso, Marcelito Pomoy, Maris Racal and Jericho Rosales
September 23 - Tony Boy Bautista, Jennie Desiderio, Kitkat, Maureen Larazabal, Ricky Martinez, Zia Quizon, Abdul Raman, Richard Sarmiento and Eisel Serrano
September 24 - Julia Clarete, Vince Crisostomo, Coleen Garcia, Alex Graham, Sean Guyamin, Robert Irvine, Jessica Lucas, Brit Morgan and Pia Wurtzbach
September 25 - Pinky Fernando-Ramos, Donald Glover, Dino Guevarra, Bong Revilla, Jean Claude Saclag, Bill Simmons, Will Smith, Daniela Stranner and Ty Tang
September 26 - Gelo Alagban, Carlo Catu, Rovilson Fernandez, Maricris Garcia, Lorna Gonzales, Leo Lastimosa, Roger Lucero, Mark Salazar and Sarkie Sarangay
September 27 - Ynna Asistio, Bryan Benedict, Alex Castro, Robi Domingo, Chai Fonacier, Karen Gallman, Rosell Mendros, Charee Pineda and Nene Tamayo
September 28 - Hyubs Azarcon, Cholo Barretto, Jayden de Borja, MJ Felipe, Amanda Griffin, Andy Jao, Vance Larena, Cessa Moncera and Dino Reyes-Chua
September 29 - Eugenia Apostol, Ali Atienza, Mike Enriquez, Gerphil Flores, Rojan Franco, Jensen Kyra, Teejay Marquez, Muriel Orais
September 30 - Ruth Abao, Gemma Cruz-Araneta, Kim Fajardo, Denise Laurel, Raquel Monteza, Jeric Raval, Jamie Salenga, Blaster Silonga and Vic Ziga
Wednesday, September 15, 2021
Here Are Signs That You Are A Christian
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,” says Paul, “he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” 2 Corinthians 5:17
Should Christians identify themselves by wearing gold crosses, or putting a fish on the bumper of their car? Are there some identifying marks by which you can be quite sure who is and who isn’t? There are four marks of an authentic true Christian, which indicate quite clearly that you have become a follower of Jesus Christ. Those marks are commitment, conversion, confession, and change.
The third mark of a true Christian is CONFESSION, which means that you have run up your flag, that you have identified with His cause. It means you are no longer a secret believer; you openly acknowledge Jesus Christ as your Savior. Here’s what Jesus said. “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whosoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven” (Matthew 10:32,33).
Can I be a Christian without confessing Jesus Christ as my Savior? Or can I confess Jesus along with Mohammed, or Buddha, or along with Mary Baker Eddy, or with some other religious leader? Do I have to put all my money on Him alone? Jesus answered that question in such a manner that there is no room for doubt. He said, “I am the way, and the truth and the life: no one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
Luke said, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Paul said that a true Christian is one who confesses Jesus Christ alone. He wrote, “If you confess with your mouth ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).
The uncommitted person who hesitates to really be identified is usually miserable, torn by uncertainty and doubt. He doesn’t know where he stands and is confused. Friend, cross over the line and confess Jesus as your Lord and your Savior if you are like that. Go public with your commitment.
The fourth mark of a true Christian is CHANGE. When you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and are born again–all of which takes place instantly as you confess Him and trust Him–Jesus Christ comes to indwell your heart and life. He said, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will go in and eat with him and he with me” (Revelation 3:20). This means that Jesus Christ becomes part of your life, your thinking, your goals, and your future. He becomes your Lord, and when that happens, new life begins to affect your old life. You begin to change as God’s Holy Spirit begins to work in your heart. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,” says Paul, “he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Based on these four marks, would you say that you are a true Christian? Or would you say that you have doubts about whether you understand what this is all about? Don’t go on wondering. If there is any doubt in your mind, pray a simple prayer right now, saying, “Lord Jesus, I want to follow You. I believe that You are the one who lived, died, and rose again. I forsake my sinful self and bow at Your feet. Erase any doubt from this point on that I have trusted You. I believe in You and freely confess to You. In Jesus’ name, amen!”
If you just prayed that prayer in your heart, friend – welcome to the family!
Resource reading: John 3:22-36.
https://www.guidelines.org/devotional/here-are-signs-that-you-are-a-christian/
Sunday, September 12, 2021
Saturday, September 11, 2021
Friday, September 10, 2021
Why It Is Important To Listen To God Speak
And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. Therefore, Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.'” So, Samuel went and lay down in his place. 1 Samuel 3:8-9
After his conversion Paul spent almost ten years of his life in obscurity–an absolute waste of time, so thought some. Think of what an exciting story Paul could have told. After all, how many people could top Paul’s roadside encounter with Jesus Christ? Paul was blinded by a brilliant light. He literally heard the voice of Jesus Christ. It was for real, not something conjured up by indigestion in the night. Then, after he was led to Damascus his sight was restored supernaturally. An old disciple, Ananias, prayed for Paul, gently placing his hands on this man who had been the #1 enemy of the church.
Something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored. Talk about a remarkable conversion! Wow! This was the kind of stuff that would draw crowds. Forget those dusty, dry orations in the synagogue. Get this guy booked for the main event. He can draw a crowd that would make a soccer match look like a Sunday school picnic.
No, God didn’t have this in mind. After three years in the desert, probably Saudi Arabia, Paul spent the next seven years of his life making tents back in his home town, Tarsus. No, he didn’t write books. He didn’t teach or lecture, and he certainly didn’t make promotional appearances. He sewed canvas and made tents. Occupational therapy? Better than that. God was remaking the man into something He could use.
When Paul cried out, “Lord, what will you have me to do?” he wasn’t asking for options. He was signing on the bottom line. He was committed. The issue was settled. “Ah,” you sigh, “I thought if we really commit ourselves to Jesus Christ, we can start looking for the spotlight and God’s going to do something great with us!” Strange ideas we get about commitment!
Everett Howard grew up as a PK (that’s a preacher’s kid). After he finished school, he was still struggling with his life goals, and finally he decided that, once and for all, he would commit his life to Jesus Christ. Going to the little church his dad pastored, he entered and locked the doors so no one could embarrass him or interrupt this great transaction which was about to take place.
Kneeling at the altar, he took a piece of paper and listed all the wonderful things he intended to do for God which included even his willingness to be a missionary if God so directed. He also gave God some second options like giving to the church, reading his Bible and being a pretty good guy. In his own words, “Then when I had finished that well-written page, I signed my name at the bottom and laid it on the altar. There alone in the church I looked up and waited for ‘thunder and lightning’ or some act of approval from the Lord. I thought I might experience what Saint Paul did on the road to Damascus or something equally dramatic.” But nothing happened. Absolutely nothing. He heard no voices. He felt nothing. He was disappointed. He prayed again, going all over the deal he wanted to make with God, and then he said it happened. “I felt the voice of God speaking in my heart,” he later recounted, adding, “I just felt in my own soul a voice speaks so clearly. It said, ‘Son, you’re going about it wrong. I don’t want a consecration like this. Just tear up the paper you’ve written.’ I said, ‘All right, Lord,’ And I took the paper I had written so carefully and wadded it up. Then the voice of God seemed to whisper again, ‘Son, I want you to take a blank piece of paper and sign your name on the bottom of it, and let Me fill it in.” And that was exactly what Everett Howard did, and for the next 36 years, God filled in that page, one day at a time. Friend, that’s what it’s all about. Sign your name, and let God fill in the blanks.
Resource reading: Jeremiah 18: 1-12.
https://www.guidelines.org/devotional/why-it-is-important-to-listen-to-god-speak/
Sakto | TeleRadyo (10 September 2021)
Thursday, September 9, 2021
6 Guidelines To Develop True Friendships
Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity. 1 Timothy 5:1,2
“Dear Dr. Sala,” writes a friend of Guidelines, “Every time I try to befriend someone of the opposite sex, they interpret my friendship as a romantic gesture. This really bothers me, and it is not my intention. Can’t we just be friends?”
If you were answering that question, what would you say? It’s easy to say, the problem is that men and women don’t read the signals the same way. What you as a young man intend as an expression of Christian friendship, others interpret as a “come on.” Then you end up losing a friend when you have to ask, “Whoa! Can’t we just be friends?”
In the first century there was a marked separation between the world of the sexes. A woman generally didn’t appear in public apart from the company of a husband, and there wasn’t a lot of social interaction between men and women as friends. That, of course, was part of the culture. Yet as you read the New Testament you understand that Jesus was friends with many women–Mary, Martha, Mary Magdalene, the woman at the well of Sychar and many others. Women ministered to His needs wherever He traveled, yet there is not the faintest hint that His friendship was interpreted as anything but a gesture of sincere love.
Writing to a young man who was a pastor of a church, Paul gave us some guidelines as to how to develop non-sexual friendships. He said, “…treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity” (1Timothy 5:1-2). Here’s how this translates into life today.
Guideline #1: Be genuine and sincere with members of the opposite sex. Get the message across, “I care about you as a person, but my interest in you is as a fellow human being, not as a sexual object or a possible mate.”
Guideline #2: Be careful not to send conflicting signals. Sometimes any gesture of friendship is misinterpreted. When that happens, you’ve got to let your friend know that your interest is simply that of a friend, and nothing more. I’m thinking of a young woman who was befriended by an upper classman who helped her work out a class schedule and introduced her as a new student to some of his friends. She “knew” that he was in love with her! Not so. She misinterpreted friendship. It was “like,” not “love.”
Guideline #3: Realize that a friend compliments someone without smothering that person. Sometimes people are so desperate for a friend that when someone does reach out in genuine friendship, the other person latches on to them the way a drowning person clings to a lifeguard. The other can’t take it. Respect the space of the other person without suffocating that person. Simply put: Don’t expect to be the only friend the other has. Give them room to keep other friendships as well.
Guideline #4: Take a sincere interest in others. Frankly, everybody loves to talk about himself or herself. A few lead questions like, “tell me about yourself. We’ve worked together for several months but I really don’t know much about you” may well open the door for better understanding. You can appreciate someone’s problems much better if you know where the person is coming from.
Guideline #5: Focus on group interaction as opposed to one-on-one encounters. Lunch as a threesome doesn’t send the same signal as spending time as a twosome.
Guideline #6: Follow through on your commitments as a friend.
Resource reading: John 4:2-29
https://www.guidelines.org/devotional/6-guidelines-to-develop-true-friendships/
Sakto | TeleRadyo (9 September 2021)
Wednesday, September 8, 2021
Discover The Ingredient To Real Friendship
Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me. Psalm 27:10
Truth is always stranger than fiction. Take, for example, the strange friendship of two young men who should have been bitter enemies. Instead, they became the closest of friends. One was raised in the palace of a king and knew the luxuries which are associated with that social status. The other was an uneducated youth who rose from obscurity and threatened to usurp the throne. Their names: David and Jonathan.
You can read about them in the Old Testament book of First Samuel. Of David, Gary Ingrig writes, “David was ignored by his father and disliked by his brothers. He was the runt of the litter, who lived with the bitterness of rejection and neglect.”[i] In spite of this, David had a relationship with the Lord which sustained him in his darkest hours. He is the one who wrote, “The Lord is my shepherd….” He also said, “Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me” (Psalm 27:10).
These two men met following David’s great victory over Goliath. After David had been presented to Jonathan’s father, the king, the young prince stayed behind to talk with David. Here’s the record: “After King Saul had finished his conversation with David, David met Jonathan, the king’s son, and there was an immediate bond of love between them. Jonathan swore to be his blood brother, and sealed the pact by giving him his robe, sword, bow, and belt.” (1 Samuel 18:1-4, TLB).
Another translation puts it, “The soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as himself.”[ii] What friendship and bonding! They had every reason to be enemies but became friends.
Today we have many acquaintances, but few real friends, and quite often we question how deep a friendship really goes. In these two men, there emerged a pattern which gives us insights as to what real friendship is.
In this friendship I see a number of elements. First, there was absolute loyalty. Jonathan could have betrayed his friend and eliminated him as a contender for the throne. Instead, in the words of Scripture, “he loved him as himself.” Instead of betraying him, he protected him, endangering his own life in the process.
Then each accepted the other “as is.” They were non-judgmental, something which is absolutely necessary for friends to remain friends. Jonathan never tried to improve David’s manners or dress. When the women danced in the streets and sang, “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands,” out of jealousy, Saul became angry, but Jonathan defended his friend.
Another ingredient of real friendship is that there was absolute trust. When things got very uncomfortable as Saul tried to kill David, the two made a pact, a covenant, and David pledged his honor to protect and honor Jonathan’s descendants forever–something which he later did. Jonathan, in turn, found out what were the intentions of the king and passed that information on to David, who fled for his life.
Another element often lacking in friendships today was the commitment of these two men to listen to each other, to encourage each other, and to help each other no matter what the personal cost.
In our “what’s in it for me” world today, have we lost sight of what true friendship is about? Think about it friend. Take the time to make a biblical study of friendship. It will enrich your life!
Resource reading: 1 Samuel 18:1-3, 20:1-16.
[i] Gary Ingrig, Quality Friendships, (Chicago: Moody Press, 1981), p. 48.
[ii] 1 Samuel 18:1, New American Standard Bible.
https://www.guidelines.org/devotional/discover-the-ingredient-to-real-friendship/
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