It’s a lot of fun to know a set of sign language. I just learned how to demonstrate the letters of the Alphabet through different finger formations.I wonder how it feels when I can actually use them in “conversing” with deaf people ?  I’m excited about the possibility.

How would I communicate  “God Love’s You”  through signs that they may  know Jesus. Should I point to heaven upward, then to my heart and then  “draw” a cross on the air and then point at them?  My hand movements may probably  puzzled or  confused them !  For  those who have the knowledge, this problem is nothing.

Sign Language users easily read every facial expressions accompanied by hand movements.They stand for letters, words,phrases that form sentences, thus, sending and receiving messages. What a wonderful way of communicating one’s thoughts and feelings!

It occurred to me that in the world of faith, we do have  signs or gestures conveying messages . If I see a CROSS,   I know the message it conveys. If  I see an EMPTY CROSS, I know it’s powerful meaning too. We exactly know the gestures of those who are  in prayer, worship and  meditations . We have signs of our own that  connect us with one another. What a wonderful language!

Getting closer still, the miracles of Jesus Christ were called “signs’ in the Gospel of John … a kind of read (meaning) that affirms His Messiaship,  the Son of God, the Lamb of God,  who will take away the sins of the world. Those people around Him, especialy those who are in the know , can read signs but for some reasons, wrongly interpret the crucial ones, those of Christ’s works! Jesus Christ  said “When it is evening  you say, ‘It will be foul weather,for the sky is read’; “and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today,for the sky is red and threatening ‘. Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of  times. (Matt 16:2-3) We wonder, how could  those healings and feeding by the thousands, and preaching about the kingdom could be read otherwise? Despite its  implications, about Jesus ,the promised Messiah, they were not   good signs readers.The obvious, wasn’t obvious at all .

What about the scarlet cord?  That’s a good read.It’s one fascinating a story  of conquest and  preservation. Rahab,a harlot who lived in  Jericho, hid the spies whom Joshua sent to spy out the land of Jericho. The spies made a promise of sparing the lives of Rahab and those who will stay with her at her home. The sparing of their lives will rest upon the sign she will put up during the siege..the scarlet cord (rope)  knotted in the window through which the spies slid down. If Rahab would remove it, they have no way of  identifying and preserving her and so the promise made, non binding.  When finally Joshua and Israelites came, Rahab was spared and those who were with her , the scarlet cord providing the  identify  of where and who they were.The scarlet cord became the “sign”, Joshua and Israelites  has to see, to spare Rahab and those with her.  

Unusual ? I have another read. Rahab was a harlot ! A picture of worst of sinners. Yet she said “…for the Lord  your God,He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. Now therefore, I beg you, swear to me by the Lord…spare my father,my mother,my brothers,my sisters, and all that they have,and deliver our lives from death” (Josh 2:11-13). She believes the Lord and her faith was honored. That’s an eye-opener, the worst of us can come to God by faith and God will be gracious to us. What a great God we have!

Whoever you may be today,  be it good or bad, or wicked, no matter how you look at yourself, be sure to read the sign properly. God loves you so much that He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus , who shed HIs BLOOD on the cross for you. The moment you see the cross today,stop and think through. That’s a SCARLET letter  for you. The language of God ,saying I LOVE YOU…COME TO ME THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE HEAVILY LADIN, AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST…REST FOR YOUR SOULS…

Now,  if I can only communicate those thoughts through my hands…

We certainly welcome the kind of temperature we have in the middle of Winter. Instead of snowy days, we have bright and sunny days. A welcome respite indeed.

On the other hand,we cannot afford to hold back on our drive to proclaim the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world. Proclaiming the Gospel of salvation has no prescribed  seasons.

Is it polotically incorrect?  Even if it is, according to endorsers of polotical agenda, ours is to proclaim the true message of the Lord of lords and king of kings despite opositions or resistance.In this season of political correctness the temptation to keep silence is great. Pleasing men rather than the true Master of men.But no other name is greater that JESUS, even POLITICS or POLITICIANS.

Religious tolerance. Yet by the looks, its Christianity that is deprived of its right to promote,parade and post  its faith and belief. It is sad but true that what this country is willing to give to other persuasions , is unwilling to grant to Christians.Season of shutting down Christianity? Then, it has been a long season now ! We will persevere.

Have no problems with Christ  but have with christians! No disputes with Christ but with the church ! Alarming ?  Just a reality check. Its easy to find faults with us believers and we’re not surprised,. Christ Himself has warned us “If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because  you are not of the world,but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (John 15:19). We don’t hit back , instead , for all seasons , we do good to those who hate us. (Matt 5:44b)

Radio Talks, Late Night Shows,movies , films and print media, lambast and make fun of Christ and His teachings . Nothing new about these! The World will always act and react the way it used to for it is a fallen world.! What’s dishearthening is if we start to mellow   and turn yelow. That’s the kind of season Christ never intended for.

That leads us to this, it may not be comfortable, nor trendy, but our posture will always be, to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ inspite of circumstances.Its the message for ALL seasons. It’s that simple after all!

It reminds me of the movie I recently watched, “the Nativity Story.”

I really recommend this movie. Having seen a lot of stories surrounding Jesus’ birth, this one dealt solely on Matt.1-2 and Luke 1-2, with a quietness and simplicity to it. The movie also gave a new perspective of the expectation and faith that befell Mary and Joseph, and how Jesus’ birth, how seemingly quiet and humble, was the greatest promise for all mankind, mathematically written through prophecy, all events culminated by God’s providence.

And God sent witnesses from afar and witnesses from the nearby fields.
And God sent wise men and unscholared shepherds.
And historical kings knew of the prophecy, sent historical creeds and laws to seek after the messiah.
And God sent men of faith and men of reason.
And Herod, a powerful merciless king, was thwarted by expecting the messiah to be a strong obvious leader instead of a helpless baby. And despite his resources, power, influence, and army, a humble couple and a baby, with meager transportation, escaped him.

Christmas continues to do that…bring those who are far from him, to him, and those who are close, closer. Christmas is for the young and old, for the wise scholars who reasons and for the ones who see with faith. It’s really a celebration for everyone, for the awed child to the cynic. Even now, God still calls us ALL to him.

“I have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared for all people.
He is a light to reveal God to the nations,
and he is the glory of your people Israel!” (Luke 2:30-32)

ps. go see The Nativity Story…

Dito, english and batian, “Merrry Christmas” o kaya “Happy Holiday”, sa atin, medyo paloko “mah-li-gha-yang Pas-kow” tagalog ,pero stateside ang dating. Pero ang wala sila, dito, magkikita ang magkatipan ng ubod ng aga sa sambahan,hindi para sumamba, kundi pala para magtanan!!!

Yan ang Pasko sa atin, masaya,maraming katuwaan at minsan, may katabilan.. ngunit higit sa lahat puno ng pag-galang.

Ating kinikilala ang pag-sapit ng Anak ng Dios sa sang kataohan upang sagipin tayo sa ating abang kasalanan. Wika ng ating awit…”Tayo’y mangagsiawit dahil sa sanggol na dulot ng langit…” Ang sanggol na yan na isinilang sa sabsaban ay lumaki at nangaral ng pagsisisi at pagaamuki nang pagbabalik ng sansinukob sa kalooban ng DIOS. “magsipagsisi kayo sapagkat malapit na ang kaharian ng Dios (Mat 4:17) “Magsiparito kayo sa akin, kayo na kayong lahat na nangangapagal at nangabibigatang lubha at kayo’y aking papaghingahin…at masusumpungan ninyo ang kapahingahan ng inyong mga kaluluwa…”(MAtt 11:28-29).

Hindi nanatiling munting bata ang sanggol na yan. Siya ang Jesukristo na ating Panginoon at mananakop na nabayubay sa Krus ng kalbaryo, nalibing, at, nabuhay na muli upang pagkalooban tayo ng buhay nang kaligtasan at buhay na walang hanggan. Buhay, na sa piling niya ay walang katapusan.

Minsan lang siyang ipinanganak sa sanlubutan at hindi paulit-ulit na nagiging bata sa bawat taon! Minsan nang sumapit ang kapaskuhan at ang sa atin ngayo’y pagdiriwang ng naunang kapaskuhan.Ang Panginoon ay sumilang na, tayo ngayon ang isisilang na muli (Born Again) sa kanya kung tayo’y tutugon sa kanya sa pananampalataya. Na ang Panginoong Jesus, ay Anak ng Dios ,namatay sa Krus ng kalbaryo , nabuhay na muli mula sa mga patay,nakaupo sa kanang kamay ng Ama at muling babalik para kuhanin ang kanyang mga banal at pumasakanyang piling maypakaylan man.

Ang Pasko ay tunay na sumapit. Kung gano’n, ang Panginoong Jesus ay masusumpungan sa inyong puso. Kung wala pa, ikaw ay lkailangan na ipanganak sa kanya. Papaano? Kilalanin mong ikaw ay makasalanan. Kilalanin mong ang kamatayan ni Jesus sa krus ay para sa iyong kasalanan at iyong anyayahan ang Panginoong Jesus sa iyong puso bilang Panginoon at tagapagligtas ng iyong buhay. Idalangin mo ang mga bagay na ito na taimtim sa iyong puso…

“Panginoong Dios, akin pong kinikilala na akoy makasalanan. Aking pinagsisihan ang aking mga kasalanan. Akin pong kinikilala ang iyong pag-ibig sa tulad kong makasalanan, na ang inyong Anak na si Jesus ay namatay para sa aking mga sala. Akin po ngayong binubuksan ang aking buhay, ang aking puso at inaanyayahan ko ang iyong Anak na si Jesus bilang aking Panginoon at mananakop, Amen”

Sa oras na gawin mo yan, ang Cristo Jesus ay mananahan sa iyong buhay.Tunay na sumapit na sa iyo ang ganap na kapaskuhan. Ganyan ang pasko, ALL ABOUT HIM not about you. Hindi ang yelo,hindi ang mamang pula ang terno, hindi rin ang biko,hindi rin ang aleng nakaabaniko,lalong hindi ang magsing-irog na gabing tumakbo,ang paskoy, pagparito ng Cristo upng bigyan tayo ng kaligtasan sa impeyerno. Kaya…..hala …., kanta ” Tayo ay magsiawit………at kahit hindi pasko ay mag-awitan………

Could I have misread God then? Could I have misunderstood Him ? If I did, then I misled a lot of people…His church!

You see, about six years ago, God through His Word deeply impressed in my heart  to pray and long for REVIVAL.  “Will you not revive us again,That your people may rejoice in you ?”(Ps 85:6). I embraced the strangeness of this verse  and never let it go. God burdened me to PRAY for revival in our times. Alas, it was not meant for me alone. His church, in this case, SJBCI, has to be on it too.

Since then, my understanding about revival grew. I thought I know much about it. I was mistaken! I never thought , I was that ignorant  and so presumptuous.  I can see how little  my undertsanding was.  

One blessed way the Lord has tought me to understand His ways among men is to train my eyes to SEASONS of REVIVALs  that took place in   distant  fast in His Church..one of which is the.the 1904 Revival in Wales that  touched the four corners of the world. How God  can use a very ordinary man to drumbeat the mighty coming of the Holy Spirit in the Church of Christ. How prayers and fastings prepared the hearts of people and and how God can be so real in the midst of His people. These and much, much more has  opened my eyes to mystery of His ways .

In the secret place of the Most High, I can only meditate ,”Remember the word to Your servant,upon which You have caused me to hope” (Ps 119:49) “I will remember the works of the Lord;Surely I will remember Your wonders of old” (Ps 77:11) In my prayers I can only utter ,my soul clings to the dust; revive me according to Your word.”..Turn away my eyes from looking at worhtless things, and revive me in Your way”…” behold I long for Your precepts; revive me in Your righteousness” (Ps 119:25,37,40)  

I might not have the full understanding of His `ways among men, but I can remember when He touched me to pray and long for Time of Refreshing in our times .

My heart and spirit has been captured by the thoughts of REVIVAL over the years. God in His mysterious` ways, stirred my heart early part of 2001 and has not let me go ever since. I don’t know how long it would go on but I pray that the hand of God stays.

Who am I to receive such a burden? Nobody! A dirty worm who happens to laid his sight on.

Over the years, my prayers for revival caused me to seek the face of God Almighty more and more. The Book of Psalms says “He who dwells in the secret place of the most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty”. My desire is to be in constant communion with Him . There’s no greater joy nor better place for a worm like me.

I was reminded of the humble cry of the people of Wales, “Bend us, bend the church, and save the world”, hundred years ago. There hearts were broken in repentance and their spirit in deep agony. This made me tremble ! For the sorry condition of the church and the eternal destiny of the unsaved weigh heavily on the hearts of the stirred. Am I willing to endure?

For sure, I’m not the only one touched by the Lord about this. Certainly God has His anointed ones ,over the years, cry for revival. I’m only one among many voices. A faltering voice at that! One dirty worm ardently longs for revival in our times.

I do have my walking from time to time. It should have been more had  it no been for my excuses lately. To my shame!

The other day I walk. What a refreshing delight. On my right  ,as I pass, the lawn of my neighbor  Joe. He had his mini-pool put up for his kid. That’s why from time to time I hear shrieking,the kid must be enjoying his swim. The lawn is not freshly cut but ,hey, did I see a Robin?

Come next the Pfieffer’s. One of the Pfieffer’s boys was a class mate of my daughter. Eric once attended our church and has never visited the church hence.

Few houses away  come the  house of the former Pastor who used to own our present house of worship. I have only seen him once and that’s it. The last seven years of being neighbors never made us closer as friends. Was it disinterest? Culture barriers? Or simply a case of neither one of  us, is willing to put up a bridge to connect?

Reaching the corner of the block is no sweat. There in silence an old house seats. Well, every house in this block is old…built in early 1940’s.From the corner, easily you spot the Assembly of God Church.Just recently renovated. The chapel now looks alive.

Oops, a vehicle pass by. Top down. A young man drives with a headphone on. Speaking of multi tasking generation! A noise in the sky tell me, a plane is passing by. I wonder, how many had their gadgets on and if ever ,notice creatures down low? From their perspectives, I’m not even a dot. From mine, they’re only a noise. Fair !

I pass the next yard. A Lady with a dog cross my path. She wave. Her dog give me a look.I smile. Earlier, I notice she pick up the “garbage’ her dog unload on the grass. That identify the curious smell I inhale. What a poisonous gas! But which one is worst,picking up the “garbage” or smelling it ?

Then, the corner before mine lies Bro. Bruce’s house. Always, well maintain backyard. Recently , Bro Bruce tell me a humorous story.He’s a good story teller . Several times, he give my wife plants. This time of the day, he is nowhere in sight. He must be at work. His dog must be drooling for his coming, to take that regular walk again.

Now back from where I started earlier. Exactly12 minutes of walk. Suddenly it dawn on me, how that brief walking made a difference in my day?

Twelve minutes of walk and God unfold before me, life in the neighborhood, those I know, barely know, and ,in totally unknown to me. A piece of land share by about 20 families the last seven years yet many, remaining  stranger and alien with one another. There are so many to connect to. To notice and pay  attention to. Grass growing. Birds migrating. Lawn maintaining. kids dipping on their pools.

I started with health issue on my mind. I ended witnessing life. Walking merge both worlds to  enjoy. No wonder there’s so much with this “Arise ,and take up thy bed, and walk…” (Mk 2:9)

I’m not sure if a lot of people heard about this movement, but once I heard about it, I was very hesitant.  I’m always very hesitant though with large popular “spiritual” movements that promote something other than the grace of Christ, and instead focuses on the efforts of self rather be on the mercy of God.  I am not trying to hate on people’s beliefs, but there’s no getting around how there are so many aspects of ‘the Secret’ that I personally disagree with. 

To read an article on it, click on this: The Secret Exposed

Last week, the I had an online case study discussion with the YB, relevant to recent popular culture that tests what they’ve learned in Galatians and Romans.  Basically, we took a very popular, a much widely listened to iconic figure who was saying that there is more than one way to heaven than through Jesus Christ.  One way, she discussed, was to live a good life. 

But that’s the problem isn’t it?  Goodness becomes relative.  What is good?

The Bible explains that no one is righteous, but because of Jesus, we have been made righteous in God’s sight, therefore eliminating our merit, because we cannot work for salvation nor earn holiness.  Heaven was paved a way through Jesus alone, and that’s what makes grace so amazing! And that’s what elevates Christ.  More of Him and less of us.

Goodness is through Jesus alone.

And we need to accept that whatever happens in our lives- the good and the bad, that we live by grace…believing that no matter what, God is good.  We do not control all the forces through attraction.  We cannot make the world revolve around us and bring us all goodness by believing and channeling positivity.  It reduces our need for God, saying that we control the goodness and blessings in our lives because we attracted those things to us.  But then what about the bad stuff that happens to us?  Did we ask for that too? Disease? Poverty? Heartache? Death?

Do suffering countries not get “the Secret” right?  Mothers who lose their children? Parents that lose their sons and daughters to war and terrorism?

For me, the secret’s already been out, and it’s not so much a secret. It happened at Calvary…when God sent His son Jesus.

And it doesn’t cost a lot of money so you can order the video…they have it at motels for you to read; they give it out at streets, missionaries give them out to poor countries…and we all probably own one in our shelves at home- the Bible…

But beware ; we should not take this freedom for granted. There are some people who want to prevent us from reciting our glorious Pledge of Allegiance as those beautiful colors lap against our houses and to remove the words “under God” from that pledge. Only a few years ago such a notion would have been unthinkable. Not today. Now it is the subject of serious and heated debate. How have we come to this misguided moment in our nation’s history?

Thankfully, not tool ong ago the U.S. Supreme Court overruled a liberal lower court’s decree that would have given one Michael Newdow, an atheist and noncustodial parent of a nine-year-old daughter, a legal right to stop her school (and all school kids everywhere) from reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Mr. Newdow had claimed that citing ‘under God” in the Pledge violated the Constitution’s ban upon the establishment of a national religion.

Mind you, the girl’s mother- who does have a custodial rights and who regularly attends church- has no issues with her little girl reciting the Pledge,including “under God”. For that matter, nearly 90% of all Americans, according to an AP poll, want “under God” to remain just as it is in our Pledge. So it’s clear: With the vacuous compliance of the Ninth Circuit Court, one selfish atheist is offended by two words in our Pledge of Allegiance, so he wants the rest of America to shut up! This just isn’t the way democracy works.

Mr. Newdow (and some of the the Ninth Circuit Court) keeps quoting the First Amendment as it Congress had somehow mandated the saying of the pledge and thereby “established religion,” ignoring the fact that it is the school board and the kids themselves who voluntarily choose to say it the way Americans have said the Pledge since 1954. As Alan Keyes brilliantly points out, there is no law respecting the establishment of religion, because the First Amendment itself expressly forbids it! Congress can’t make any laws about religion.

Atheism itself is a religion, a faith system built on the premise that there is no Gos- and one that can’t be proven. Theism,of any description, is based on the premise that there is a creator God- and the evidence abounds everywhere. All our founding fathers,including Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Adams, Monroe and Lincoln, acknowledged this. And every single one of the 50 states in America acknowledges God within the framework of their own state constitutions. Here are few:

ALASKA (1956): ” We, the people of Alaska, grateful to God…”

IDAHO (1899): “We, the people of the State of Idaho, grateful to Almighty God…”

MASSACHUSETTS (1780) : “We…the people of Masschusetts,acknowledging…the goodness of the Great Legislator of the Universe…”

MISSOURI (1845): “We, the people of Missouri, with profound reverence for the Supreme Ruler of the Universe…”

SOUTH CAROLINA (1778): “We, the people of the State of South Carolina,grateful to God…”

Get the picture? Our founding fathers, the ones who wrote our Constitution and maintained our liberties, were never ashamed to acknowledge our dependance on God. In FACT THEY FOUGHT FOR THE RIGHT! So what are we doing? if embittered atheists like the late Madelyn Murray O’Hare and Michael Newdow have their way, we’ll not only lose “under God” in our Pledge of allegiance but school kids will also be forced to stop memorizing Lincoln’s Gettysberg Address, which ends with the famous “this nation, under God, shall not perish from the earth.” And that’s not all; we’ll have to remove “endowed by the creator” from Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence.

Will we stand for this , fellow Americans? Or shall we just meekly lie down and let a few impose their will on us? Nobody makes Mr. Newdow,or even his nine year old daughter, say anything they don’t want to say. Shall we let him prohibit us?

Ref: The Culture- Wise family . pp63-65

It’s amazing and confounding at the same time that The National Archives, the repository of this nation’s most important documents, upon walking into the building, you’ll see an image of the TEN COMMANDMENTS that God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai. A silent but undenying influence to formation of our system of laws today.A muted presence borne by history , its meaning, frozen by times !

But let us go to some of its valuable documents stored. Example, the Declaration of Independence. the Founding Fathers believed that our rights as human beings come from God,not from the king or the state. It contains four references to God: as LAWMAKER ( “the laws of nature and nature’s God”) ;as CREATOR (”endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights”) ; as SUPREME JUDGE (”the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions”); and as PROTECTOR (”the protection of Divine Providence”)

Certainly, of course, the Constitution of the United States starts with these words: “We the people” expressing the consistent belief that each person’s fundamental rights come from God and barring the idea that states or government were sources of freedom and liberty.

The Bill of Rights or the first Ten Amendments to the Constitution states on the first amendment that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,or prohibiting the exercise thereof.” Again, an acknowledgment of Creator- God. The fact that Thomas Jefferson and James Madison,two of the principal authors of the First Amendment (also our third and fourth presidents) both attended church services in the Capitol building signify the coverage of this amendment…the observance of religion in both private and public spaces. During Jefferson’s presidency, church services were also held in the Treasury building and the Supreme Court

The National Archives may not be a battlefield like the courts and schools today, but I strongly felt that the documents it contains,primarily,The Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights are indestructible proofs of the conviction of the Founding Fathers to forge a nation “under God”. Benjamin Franklin says it all “God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice,is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid ?”

Where is God in America? Hey, He is “in” but not “of” the National Archives documents.