Being Equal

Come on... Stretch out your wretched, broken, and withered hand and I will heal you!

Sounds weird coming from me, huh? Yeah, for sure. But coming from Jesus, it was perfectly normal--if you knew that He was EQUAL to the Father God.

Just yesterday, my wife asked me if I knew about some new religion claiming that when a person accepts Jesus, then that person becomes a god themselves. In fact, if we are literally then sons or daughters of God, then there must be no other rationale but to claim deity for ourselves, right? I think we all have heard what happened to the Angel of Light, Lucifer, when he tried to claim this very thing for himself and was evicted from heaven along with the other angels that believed the same stuff. Even the angels have a free-will, for they too can decide to follow God's plan willingly, or not. Maybe they were just being revolutionary in their thinking. God's ways were so "old-school" and they decided they could improve on the agenda. Yes, yes, yes! They had a better idea for the way things should be -- more so than God!

Well, God decided otherwise. Instead of tolerating their new agenda, God kicked them out of Heaven. So God's obviously a "hater" now for not accepting their "better" way of thinking, acting, and behaving, which is basically contrary to His purpose and design for them. God is so wrong fordoing this! How could He do such a thing, does'nt he know who Lucifer is? Dude, Lucifer is a god too, so you better give him some "r-e-s-p-e-c-t" now. Yeah, right! Like the book of Revelations doesn't tell you how things are gonna end.

So, what about us? Are we really reading the Bible as the Word of God as His Truth and adapting our minds, wills, behaviors to what He says, or do we honestly believe that we can be little, "mini-me" gods and change things that we don't agree with? We go to church, sing hallelujah and praise God and each other, yet somehow we discredit ourselves and prove our religion to be worthless by the motivations of our hearts and our actions. After all, can't we see that what God said in His Word so long ago was for somebody else, and couldn't possibly apply to my life today. Maybe God is a"HATER" as much today -- as He was in the beginning. Maybe it's just that you don't agree with God's Word, since it causes your flesh to burn at the thought of Him requesting that you conform to His definition of a "CHRISTIAN" and not your own. Go ahead, re-write the Bible to make yourself feel better; Disagree with God so you can live your life anyway you wish; You can live for you, for your "dreams", to build your own "tower of Babel" if you think that God will tolerate this. How are we ever to reach our schools, cities, or communities for Jesus if we not even willing to conform ourselves to the standards that God has revealed to us?

So many Christians hang onto things that should also be filtered through the Word of God and through the renewing of our minds in light of the new creations we should be after becoming Christians. Even key aspects of our different cultures that we prize and value must be held up to the Light of God's Word and be filtered accordingly. What! You're telling me that I have to stop being latin, filipino, indian, german, etc... NO! But the life that God desires from you should transcend even your own culture.

Within your own culture, Jesus desires to renew your whole life so that you could most effectively glorify Him, right where you are! But are you like Lucifer? Do you think that you have a better way, or a better plan than God's? Are you being deceived? If you are, and don't know it then you would say "no". That's deception; Your perception has been altered to make you think everything is alright. Is everything alright, is the flesh and the spirit in agreement in your life? Do they ultimately line-up with the Word of God, for this is the litmus test. Of course, if you've decided to EDIT how, when, where and to what areas of your life the Lord has access to, then maybe your'e not the person you think you are.

We attempt to make ourselves EQUAL with each other irregardless of position, authority, or design. We simply don't like even the appearance of someone or something higher than us on the foodchain. People preach EQUALITY at the expense of purpose. As humans, we are created equal in our essence. By God, we were created male and female --for a purpose. As Christians, we also have a different purpose, but that does make any of us gods, nor does that mean that we should assume we can claim authority to nullify the Bible whenever we claim a new purpose for our lives that, by our own declaration, supercedes the divinely inspired Word of God! In other words, if you don't believe it, then admit it. If you can't ask God for wisdom in these matters, then don't expect revelation. If you think that your opinion is worth more than God's, then go and live like the rest of the world, if that's really what you want to do. So, who is really "HATING" now, us or God?

All things KWAN...

So, here in the Philippines... People are speaking in their native tongue (of course), which is mainly Cebuano or Visaya, and I find myself with a mystery. THE WORD, "KWAN" or at least I think that's how it's spelled? I started hearing that word after arriving here, so I asked my wife what that word meant. She vaguely stated that "KWAN" was the english equivalent to "like" or "kind of". Jescel also stated that it was a "filler-word used here in the Philippines". Ok, got it. At least I thought I did until Mr. "KWAN" began popping-up all over the place, in almost every other sentence.

Now, I have reached critical-mass and consider all things to be "KWAN". I even am beginning to make my own KWAN-like sentences. For example, I could ask my wife, "What did you do to yourself today? You look so KWAN-derful!" or "Hey, would you like to buy some fruit? Today, they are having a sale on KWAN-telope", or perhaps even "Don't try to live life too fast, just live KWAN-day-at-a-time". I don't know what the real meaning of the word is, but I know that I am gramatically challenged at this point and may require help from my filipino friends to shed some light on the meaning(s) of KWAN. Anyone???

For now, God Bless.

Strike 2! Another Disparaging Comment

Lifted from my wife's blog...

Even before the outrage over the Desperate Housewives' racial slur on Philippine medical schools could even subside, another American TV show made a very objectionable comment about the Philippines. In my opinion, this is even worse than what was said in Desperate Housewives in that, the disrespect was towards one of the Philippines' former lady Presidents.

As you can see in the video clip above from the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, a segment which was supposed to answer the question, "Is America ready for a woman President?" was featured. In it is our former President Corazon (Cory) Aquino's photo (along with 3 other women leaders from other countries) was shown with a word "SLUT" written across it, and the voice over saying "Corazon Aquino faced down dictators"....

What is wrong with American TV shows? And most especially, why is the Philippines suddenly becoming the topic of these very lowly and unpalatable jokes? True, Jon Stewart's show is based on political satire, and while that word "slut" could have referred to our former President's political choices (I don't know, I can only assume), it is still my opinion that the word choice was foul, done in extremely poor taste and terribly insensitive.

One can only think -- what if it was the other way around? What if some Philippine TV show made fun of any of the former or current American President? I am sure the Americans will not take it sitting down. I cannot even begin to imagine the very bad repercussions it would bring about our economy as a result of some derogatory remarks about an american leader....

Freedom of speech is a right that we enjoy. But like anything else, it comes with responsibility. Just because we have this freedom may mean that we are free to say what we want to anytime, anywhere, to anybody, but that does not make it right, or the right thing to do. The media should be especially aware of this being that they're supposed to be the vehicle for factual, accurate, and respectful information dissemanated to the people. When speaking of other people, we cannot even limit ourselves to the same behaviors or criteria that we use when we hire or fire employees. But just wait until we get off of work, and then we can say and do whatever we want, at least until enough people make a fuss about it, then suddenly were apologetic. Maybe we should all go to rehab?

Freedom of speech should be used responsibly, as I am certain that the founders of the United States had written it into the Constitution, and likewise many Armed Forces Personnel have put their lives at risk, so that the 1st Amendment (as well as the rest) could be used for higher and more noble purposes than we see today. What a shame.

Furthermore, I myself am not "into" politics. I may not like everything that Cory Aquino does or has done, nor do I agree with everything that Pres. George Bush is doing, but there is one thing that I will always remember -- that they are the HIGHEST LEADERS of the land and were ELECTED by their very own people. For this reason, I will have to pay respect to the OFFICE that they represent, even if I have to agree to disagree with something that they support.

We all have a voice, but we also have a responsibility to use that voice responsibly. We are accountable for our our actions and our words.

Opinions are like belly buttons - everybody's got one. Some people have really big one's that stick out, some have rings, and some even retract like they don't really have one at all. To make things so bad, there are some of us that have ugly, nasty, belly buttons that are infected and full of pus and we don't even cover them up, instead we wear it out for all to see no matter who gets offended.

Now my question is -- Which belly button are you?

Just today...

Just today, my wife and I shared a few minutes alone. I looked at her and while I knew she was a little upset at me for having one of my "moments" earlier, I thought of how I could break through and get a smile from her. I remembered that several weeks ago, I heard Glenn Beck on the radio asking simple & routine questions that a (are you smarter than a) 5th grader could easily answer. So, I figured since I was one step closer to the doghouse I would try the "intellectual" approach. I asked my wife the following question:

What are the names of 5 oceans in the world?

She replied:

1) The Atlantic Ocean,

2) The Pacific Ocean.... and are you ready???

3) Oceans 11, Oceans 12, and Oceans 13 (as in, the Brad Pitt, George Clooney series of movies)

We looked at each other in utter silence for a moment, then we broke out in laughter. I knew that this was really her filipino-brand of humor. My wife is very intelligent, but I knew that when she began searching her mind for the names of the other oceans, which most people could not guess by the way, and she hit a road-block it was great to see her ability to laugh at herself. This has been a great ability of the Filipino people to be able to take whatever circumstances life has given them and yet many are still able to find joy and hope in the small details of life.

I think that day-by-day I am becoming more like this myself, with the help of my loving wife, Jescel.

PS: Typically, I believe that we recognize 4 oceans: the Atlantic, the Pacific, the Indian, and the Arctic oceans, with the 5th one being debated,which is the Antarctic (or Southern) Ocean,FYI.

So Long, Mama

This is from a recent post from my wife's blog:

The dreaded time came so very fast - my mother's funeral. September 30, 2007 was the hardest day of my life. I sobbed as men carried my mother's coffin out of our house. This would be the last time that she would enter or exit the house, ever.

The funeral march began at 1:30PM. Joseph and I, along with our family and friends, marched behind the hearse carrying my mother's coffin on the way to the (Catholic) church. We were walking at the center of the roadway, proceeding at a snail's pace. Along the way, people passing us tossed peso coins (by the hearse) from their vehicles. This is a Filipino practice that has folkloric origins to it. People here believe that it is bad luck to pass by a funeral march while driving, and that tossing coins would break the curse and prevent the vehicle from having any accidents on the road.

At the church, we found out that we were the 3rd in line. There was another funeral mass going on inside, and another one waiting before us. Somehow, somebody was late. My mother's funeral was scheduled at 2:30PM but it finally started at 3:00PM. I was seated in between my father and my husband in the church, right at the pew where my mother used to love sitting when coming to the church. My father was teary-eyed as he shared this memory with me.

The mass was all in my dialect (Cebuano), so I was busy trying to translate everything to Joseph. The 30-minute ceremony was over before I knew it. The priest then asked the family members to gather around the coffin while he was blessing it with holy water and incense. I was staring at my mother, fighting the sob that was rising up my throat. One of my mother's sister started to weep, and when I felt my father wept as well, that did it - -- I couldn't hold my tears any longer and I broke down along with my family. My husband, who is usually reserved also cried along with us. He, too, is missing my mother.

When the mass was over, the funeral march resumed. This time we were headed to the cemetery. The walk was just maybe about 10-15mins. My steps were heavy. I realized that we were nearing the end of my mother's earthly journey. After what seemed like an eternity, we were finally standing in front of my family's burial lot. We waited until the men brought the coffin in front of my mother's tomb, her final resting place on earth. We were again given a few more last-viewing minutes.... This would be the last time that I would ever get the chance to stare at the face of the woman who loved me and cared for me for most of my entire life. That's when deep sadness overcame my soul and I wept so very much, wishing I could just have my mother back, but I know this is not possible. Inside of me, I was whispering "Mama, I hope you know how much I love you. I'm sorry that I wasn't here with you during your last moments." As I've said before in my previous blogs, this is my greatest regret and to be honest, I still am having difficulty coming to terms with this.

All of my family were weeping (again) with me. Joseph, too, "lost it" when he saw my mother's name inscribed in the headstone. Then I felt my father's hand go up my back and said to me, "that's enough, let her go". And so I said my final goodbye. "Buh-bye, Mama, so long. I will see you in heaven someday".

A minister from my (Christian) church did the committal prayer before they finally closed the coffin and pushed it inside the tomb. Indeed from dust we came and from dust we return. As Christians, our beginning and our end doesn't matter so much. What really matters is the in between -- how we lived our life and what legacy we leave behind. Both my father and I agree that my mother lived her life as best as she could. She gave her best to us as a wife and mother and we both are thankful to the Lord for her life. We will greatly miss you, Mama.

To all my family and friends, thank you so very much for all your sympathy, support and prayers. May God bless you all.