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/

WATCH: PCSO 9 PM Lotto Draw, September 27, 2021

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


https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/regions/804809/senate-ratifies-bill-postponing-barmm-elections/story/

WATCH: PCSO 5 PM Lotto Draw, September 27, 2021

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


https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/regions/804781/senate-approves-on-3rd-reading-bill-paving-way-for-sustainable-baguio-development/story/?just_in

WATCH: PCSO 2 PM Lotto Draw, September 27, 2021

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