In Blues

when the doors to the street are closed and the sound of grinding fades; when men rise up at the sound of birds, but all their songs grow faint; ~ ecclesiastes  12:4

Love is not all about a happy song; the writer of the ecclesiastes ended the chapters In Blues, majority of Psalms was devoted to laments and complaints, on the 42 chapters of the book of Job, at least more than 30 chapters of it are Job’s frustrations, disappointments and questions to God and finally even God Himself sings His blues to His chosen ones in Hosea 11, "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. But the more I called Israel, the further they went from me. They sacrificed to the Baals and they burned incense to images. It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; but they did not realize it was I who healed them. I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love; I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent down to feed them. ~ hosea 11:1-4.

On the mount of my current depression, at least to some Christian friends who knows me I became such a disappointment and as a leader an embarrassment. After 2 victory weekends I still sound hopeful instead of victorious. I guess I was comforted that other than God, I think C.S. Lewis understands how I feel (but I was not forcing others to understand me as I know it is not from God). The Problem of Pain was written by Lewis and it is very positive and full of convictions on how to deal with pain, however after he himself experienced a lost, which was depicted in his book A Grief Observed, where he uses the pseudonym N.W. Clerk, Lewis's writing was very shattering and emotionally weak compared to the Lewis that wrote The Problem of Pain. I guess Lewis himself knows what I'm talking about.

When you are happy, so happy you have no sense of needing Him, so happy that you are tempted to feel His claims upon you as an interruption, if you remember yourself and turn to Him with gratitude and praise, you will be — or so it feels— welcomed with open arms. But go to Him when your need is desperate, when all other help is vain, and what do you find? A door slammed in your face, and a sound of bolting and double bolting on the inside. After that, silence” ~ C.S. Lewis A Grief Observed

From a Job 29 man, I instantly became the Job 30 man who sings the blues to God, being disappointed and having a lot of questions. From the lost of childhood resulting to a wounded manhood, a loss of birthdays to loss of sanity, from losing a friendship to kicking myself out in the ministry to losing my right hand for at least weeks and for that night losing both my brothers and for the nth time losing my family and now I’m facing a loss of a career.

The winter was on its peak, for years I lost my passion on writing and for one night, as I try to rediscover my life force, an accident resulted to lose that force once again at least for weeks… “There’s nothing that we can do on the swelling and on the pain, it is the natural response of the body” the doctor said. At least for that night, I proved myself that a pain is somewhat a gift, but as Philip Yancey stated, it is a pain that no one wants. Without pain I will never know that there is a wound in me that needs healing. Without pain, I will never know that I needed forgiveness and I needed to forgive my offenders. Without pain I will never acknowledge the wounds in me that I have denied for all my life while some I already embraced. Without pain I will never know how empty my life is because of the wounds I have... John Eldredge says it best on his book Wild at Heart. The wound that is not felt is an un-healed wound. A wound that is not grieved is an un-healed wound. Without pain I will never have the opportunity to grieve on my wounds and welcome the forgiveness of the LORD...

But as I grieve on my pain that night, more than the physical pain I grieved on my disappointment of being neglected once again by both families and friends, and oh yeah the nurses that did not even care to give me some proper attentions that for more than five hours, I could have died with dehydration, I tried to be cautious on my feelings. At least for that night I came to understand Philip Yancey’s question that instead of asking where is God when it hurts? It is more fitting to ask where is church when it hurts? We are God’s representative to hurting people as stated in the bible: Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. ~ Galatians 6:10.

I learned that there are 3 ways I have dealt with my pains. More than once I tried to deny my pains. Denying pains can result to a greater damage. After I was hit by the motorcycle I tried to deny my pain for 2 hours, if I had continue to deny it, I will never know that my bone was fractured and have needed a medical reconstruction. All my life I have denied so many pains that resulted to a damaged man as I am today. Another approach that I do not want for me on dealing with pain was to embrace it which could result to self pity and having a victim effect wherein I could grow both bitter and manipulative. The third approach is to just acknowledge the pain, give proper attention to it through healing and grieve as grieving the wound is necessary for recovery. Pain is God’s invitation to healing. Try to bring all of it to the LORD for He can take it. Asking God does not mean a weakness in faith but I guess it is still a faith accompanied with boldness and hope to still ask those stupid things even though you know that there is no answer to satisfy your thoughts but you still believe that God is in control anyway (doubt is different on asking)... Remember child ask questions to his parents and is still confuse with the reply of his mom or dad but still take it anyway... The moment a child stopped from asking (as that is supposed to be his nature at some point) is a declaration of tragedy for a child, as walls will start to developed, until those walls started to envelope him, any love even God's love become uninvited... Ask God everything you want to know, uncertainty is an invitation to a greater faith....

Job actually dared on asking God. He throws all his frustrations and dissapointment to the LORD and God honored it more than the defense of Job’s three friends for God. However God did not give Job the knowledge of the Epilogue on this book.

For the 4 chapters (Job 38-41) God expresses Himself in questions to Job all the wonders and greatness in the world that only He Himself could fathom which probably left Job and his friends speechless when God asked him Tell me, if you understand (v.5) and he repeated it again Tell me, if you know all this. (v.18) and gave Job sarcasm on v. 21 You know, for you were born then, and the number of your days is great!

God started His questions on verse 4:

"Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand.  Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? ~ Job 38:4-5

For the last 5 Chapters in Job, God never explains nor answer Job the question that probably is lingering him, Why me? Why? Because we can and we will never fathom His ways. The only thing that probably God's message to Job was to "TRUST ME... With all these wonders you can't recount why can't you TRUST ME?"

At times we can never really tell what God's will is or if this really is God's will for you. Is this God's will to happen? Why did He allow this to happen? And the list will go on and on... The only response that we could do is to TRUST HIM... We could always TRUST the ONE who is GOD Himself experienced suffering and all UNFAIRNESS in the world, Jesus...

bittered soul

"Here we are. We will go up to the place that the LORD has promised, for we have sinned." But Moses said, "Why now are you transgressing the command of the LORD, when that will not succeed? Do not go up, for the Lord is not among you, lest you be struck down before your enemies. For there the Amalekites and the Canaanites are facing you, and you shall fall by the sword. Because you have turned back from following the LORD, the LORD will not be with you." But they presumed to go up to the heights of the hill country, although neither the ark of the covenant of the LORD nor Moses departed out of the camp. Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and defeated them and pursued them, even to Hormah.

~ Numbers 14:40-45

There are times that we feel like God has already left us because we have sinned greatly to Him. We somethimes thought that the consequences of our bad choices or decisions are His ways of punishing us without realizing that we are the ones who made the bad choices and we are only reaping what we sows...

In Numbers 13, twelve men from each tribe of Israel were sent to the land of Canaan to spy it out. Out of the twelve spies, only Caleb and Joshua delivered the good news while the other ten reported threats about the land and stirred fears among the Israelites which caused them to commit sin by rebelling against the LORD. The people told Moses  "Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness!Why is the LORD bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?" And they said to one another, "Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt." (Numbers 14:2-4). Eventually GOD was displeased with His people and the men who brought up a bad report of the land--died by plague before the LORD and the Israelites wandered for 40 years in the desert according to the number of the days in which they spied out the land, forty days.

When Moses told the words to all the people of Israel, the people mourned greatly (in NIV it says they mourned bitterly). Although they accepted that they were wrong, their bitterness caused them to act in foolishness by going up against the Amalekites and the Canaanites and so they end up defeated on the battle because the LORD was not with them. There are times that we are like this to GOD, we would do stupid things out of our bittered soul and was like "see GOD, this is what you want right? I'm doing it now, so are you pleased?" without realizing that true repentance and brokenness should lead us into worshipping the LORD and by HIS grace He will enable us to move on and do HIS will. We should remember that anything apart from Christ is sin, even "good things" apart from JESUS would cause us sin... In any difficult situation or even when you are in the season of reaping the bad choices you made, continue to worship GOD and surrender to HIM your heart and let HIM heal it so that even when we are hurting, He will enable us to do amazing things through HIM and with HIM...

War Horse (Film Review)

Finally, after months of waiting I am now writing this film review for War Horse. So tonight I decided to watch it and I realized, I am so boring, I watched it alone because I love watching war films on my own. I was the only one on the balcony and there were two foreigners with me on the main theater (I LOVE MYSELF). So back on my review. War Horse basically is another war film epic from one of my favorite directors, Spielberg. This is his depiction of World War I, Saving Private Ryan was his depiction of World War II but the two films are unique on it's own. War Horse opened it's film on a very calm spring type manner with a shot from the air of the hills and dales of Devon, England that zooms down into a field compare to a very dark and heavy fighting scene of Saving Private Ryan... From the way film started you will certainly expect the beauty of Cinematography and well thought location... You can feel the old England vibe which makes you want to sing their national anthem.

The year is 1914. Young Albert Narracott (Jeremy Irvine) is watching the scene through a fence where three men are around a horse on her side. It becomes apparent that horse is about to give birth, and the next shot is of the newly born foal, which then stands up. Albert's father, Ted Narracott (Peter Mullan), is immediately taken by the horse and in an act of foolishness bids on and wins the animal, using his rent money to pay. He brings the horse home where Albert starts to bond with and train the horse who he names Joey. The landlord comes for the rent and agrees to wait until the harvest if Joey can plow a rocky field which will then be planted. Albert attempts to put the collar on Joey, but he refuses, so Albert puts the collar over his own neck to show how easy it is, and Joey then takes the collar without any problem. The entire village comes out to watch as Albert tries to get Joey to plow the field and at first it is a complete failure. Then it starts to rain and as the water softens the ground Albert tries once more and this time the plow bits into the ground, creating a furrow as Joey pulls in a straight line. Soon the field is completely plowed, and Ted goes out to plant it.

War is declared, and a terrible storm destroys the crop that was planted and with the rent coming due Ted takes Joey down to the village to sell him to the army. Captain Nicholls (Tom Hiddleston) buys Joey for his use in the cavalry. Albert arrives in the village too late to stop the sale, but Captain Nicholls says he will return Joey after the war and that is where they're separate adventures began (well more on Joey). The Horse apparently was passed on to several people due to  several and unexpected circumstances and touched many lives of it's care takers. Finally the friends Joey (the horse) and Albert (the owner/trainer) met on a very dramatic and touching your heart moment, bounded by friendship and their loyalty and commitment, they found each other again...

The film has so many heavy scenes. The actors were great and I immediately fell in love with Jeremy Irvine's character because I can so relate to him... Actually the horse and other animals and horses are great actors too!! I applaud their trainer and I must say, the animals are even great actors than me (I'm so lame). The production is great as well as the screenplay and cinematography as expected. The sound scoring is mediocre. The fighting scenes are not as heavy as Saving Private Ryan but it still has that touch from Spielberg signature... As expected too, there are plenty of dialogues which prolonged the film into almost three hours. The story however is too unrealistic, imagine a horse surviving the war and lots of soldiers were left dead, well at least a horse survived @_@...

I was deeply moved by so many scenes. The scene at night where Joey tries to jump across the German trench, but finally tumbles into it where he gallops through the trenches until he is able to get back to the top. Joey is now in no mans land, and he gallops straight towards the British lines, pulling up barbed wire fencing until he is totally entangled in it. The seen is so powerful reminding me of us being on our own battle, being brave comes in different forms, maybe it was too difficult for you to jump off the fences and barb wires on your way so what you do is you will just try your hardest best to pass on them using your strength and determination, then you will find yourself wounded, but GOD will see you through and restore you. He is committed to us and so should we to Him. We are bound by His promise and love so we are to fight our battle with Him in the forefront. 

Another powerful scene which broke me into so much tears is when Albert, hearing the horse starts calling him with the call he trained Joey to respond to before the war. Everyone stands still and then as Albert moves towards Joey everyone pulls back and this time when Albert calls Joey goes to him. Once it is confirmed that Joey is Alberts horse it is obvious that the doctor will treat Joey. It reminds me of us knowing the voice of our keeper. GOD is our keeper and we should always stick into His voice even in the hardest point of our lives. Also God knows His sheep, He will surely find us even in the midst of us being lost

A must watch film, again I suggest you bring a hankie or a towel and tissues with you -^_^-

Can you imagine flying over a war and you know you can never look down? You have to look forward, or you'll never get home. What could be braver than that?

The Talking Donkey and Baalam (Numbers 22)

Jesus answered, "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. ~ John 9:3

Finally after 22 years of my life I am on the "ACCEPTANCE" part... Sorry that the thought is vague but soon I will come to disclose it once I finished the whole process... Certain things happens for a PURPOSE and so that GOD's works might be displayed in me...

So I always look at myself insignificant, yes I am dominant and have tendency to have power over others but that is just a defense mechanism over my insecurities. I really hope I would start to see myself on how Jesus sees me, VALUABLE...

God can use anyone, even on your weakest and darkest moment, GOD can still use you no matter what so stop looking at yourself useless.. Try to remember the Talking Donkey and Baalam on Numbers 22? Just to give you a brief background Balaam was a prophet of Israel who practiced divination and other magic arts, led Israel into apostasy, and was identified as a false prophet by Peter and Jude (2 Peter 2:15-16; Jude 1:11). Fearing the encroaching Israelites, King Balak of Moab sent for Balaam and enlisted his aid in repelling the Israelites by cursing them. The Lord spoke to Balaam and told him to refuse to go to Balak, although the Lord relented under the condition that Balaam would speak only His words. So Balaam saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab back to Balak.

God know's Balaam's heart so He sent an angel with a drawn sword to bar his way. Although Balaam couldn’t see the angel, his donkey could, and she tried to discontinue the journey by going off the path, crushing Balaam’s foot against the wall and lying down on the path. Angered by her behavior, Balaam used his staff to beat the donkey three times. Then in verse 28, we learn that “the LORD opened the donkey's mouth, and she said to Balaam, ‘What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?’” Then Balaam and the donkey proceeded to have a conversation about the situation, with Balaam angrily berating the donkey, after which the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes to see the angel and understand why his journey was stopped.

The angel that barred his way is identified as the angel of the Lord, likely a manifestation of the presence of God Himself (Genesis 16:9-16; Exodus 3:1-6). After the donkey “spoke” to Balaam, and Balaam’s eyes were opened, the Angel proceeded to ask the identical questions that came from the mouth of the donkey, further evidence that God, not the donkey, was actually speaking both times. This is reiterated by Peter who identifies the donkey as “a beast without speech” and who “spoke with a man’s voice” (2 Peter 2:16). Whatever the method, the donkey was able to speak by a miraculous working of God’s power.

Baalam was in rebellion against the Lord, going to Balak for his own purposes and not those of the Lord. The donkey’s refusal to continue down the path enraged him so that he beat her out of anger because she had mocked him and made a fool of him. Anger has a way of curtailing rational thought, and perhaps he was so intent on exerting his dominance over the animal. It wasn’t until the angel opened Balaam’s eyes to see reality that he relented in his anger against the donkey, listened to the Angel, and repented. Verse 38 tells us that Balaam went to Balak and told the king “I must speak only what God puts in my mouth," which just goes to show that God can use anyone, even a donkey and a rebellious prophet, to do His will and speak His truth.

Monergism vs Synergism

So, basically, it looks like that I am bored again (hahaha)!!! This entry is somewhat like a sequel to my previous entry "Calvinism vs Arminianism". So when we talk about monergism vs synergism, theologically speaking, we’re talking about who brings about our salvation. Monergism, which comes from a compound word in Greek that means “to work alone,” is the view that God alone effects our salvation. This view is held primarily by Calvinistic and Reformed Traditions and is closely tied to what is known as the “doctrines of grace.”  Synergism, which also comes from a compound Greek word meaning “to work together,” is the view that God works together with us in effecting salvation. Calvin and Arminius aren’t the creators of these views, but are the best-known proponents of Calvinism and Arminianism. If one believes election is unconditional, then one will tend toward a monergistic view of salvation. Same thing as  if one holds to a view that election is condional based on God’s foreknowledge of who would believe in Him, then one tends toward the synergistic view.

The essence of Calvinism, and the monergistic argument, is that God is in the business of actually saving people and not merely making them savable. Because all people are born in sin and because of their fallen nature (total depravity), they will always reject God; therefore, God must act in saving the elect without any pre-condition on their part such as faith. In order to bestow the blessings of salvation and eternal life to the elect, God must first atone for their sins (limited atonement). This grace and salvation must then be applied to the elect, and thus the Holy Spirit applies the effects of salvation to the elect by regenerating their spirits and drawing them into salvation (irresistible grace). Finally, those whom God has saved He will preserve to the end (perseverance of the saints). From beginning to end, salvation (in all its aspects) is a work of God and God alone—monergism! The point is that actual people are being saved—the elect. Consider Romans 8:28-30. In that passage we see that there is a group of people whom God “calls according to his purpose.” These people are identified as “those who love God.” These people are also those who in vv. 29-30 are foreknown, predestined, called, justified and glorified. God is the one who is moving this group of people (those who love God, the elect) from foreknowledge to glorification and none are lost along the way.

So, while monergism claims that God is both a necessary and sufficient condition for our salvation, synergism will agree that God is a necessary condition, but will deny His sufficiency. Our free will plus God’s activity is what makes it sufficient. Logically speaking, we should be able to see the flaw in the synergistic argument—that God doesn’t actually save anyone. This places the responsibility for salvation on us, for it is we who have to make salvation real by placing our faith in Christ. If God doesn’t actually save anyone, then it is possible that no one will be saved. If God doesn’t actually save anyone, how do we explain such strong passages as Romans 8:28-30? All of the Greek verbs in that passage are aorist/indicative, meaning that the action described therein is complete; there is no potentiality implied in that passage. From God’s perspective, salvation has been effected. This view contradicts the clear teaching of Scripture in regard to the eternal security of the believer.

In conclusion, not only the weight of the logical evidence, but also the weight of the biblical evidence supports the monergistic view of salvation —God is the author and perfecter of our salvation (Hebrews 12:2). He who began a good work in us will perfect it on the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6). Monergism not only has a profound impact on how one views salvation, but on evangelism as well. If salvation is solely based on God’s saving grace, then there is no room for us to boast and all the glory goes to Him (Ephesians 2:8-9). In addition, if God actually saves people, then our evangelistic efforts must bear fruit because God has promised to save the elect. Monergism equals greater glory to God!

SOURCES:

Chosen But Free, revised edition: A Balanced View of God's Sovereignty and Free Will by Norm Geisler and The Potter's Freedom by James White.

Dating the Church

I wrote this blog for single men and women and this is just my opinion on dating/courtship so you can make your own blog if you will refute this ^_^ (hahahaha)...

So, this blog is about considering the body of Christ in your relationship or if you are planning to pursue a relationship. So for those who are already in a relationship, this one goes to you as well.

Considering my track record, I maybe the wrong person to write this blog that is why I'm gonna try to support my view with a word from God.

so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. ~ 1 Corinthians 12:25

As Christians, when we date or when in a relationship with someone, we're not basically dating a man or a woman, we are dating a member of Christ's body (given if that someone is a Christian), if you are dating a non-Christian then, that's another story, try to dig some few more page below on this blog and you will see my stand on that...

As a responsible member of Christ's body, you should not be in an ISOLATED relationships. You’re part of a church family. Men it’s not just you and your princess against the world. Women it’s not just you and your "prince charming" on a fairy tale love story where you go far far away and live happily ever after (shining, shimmering splendid, shashing, shashing) and you are not Taylor Swift the heck... As what Paul stated on 1 Corinthians 12:25, there is a purpose for each of you in the body. There should be no division in the body of Christ and as Christians, you are part of that body... I was simply saying that you can be in a relationship and still be and commune with your friends, family, and your church family.

So you might want to consider the following questions:

Will you and that someone coming into a relationship cause bitterness in your church? Will it bring drama?

Will your relationship bring divisions on both of your part? Is it going to tear more people apart?

Will it in general going to do more harm than good?

If YES, then going into that relationship is selfish and stupid...

Consider this, as Christians, relationship is meant to edify the body. Not break it down

Calvinism vs. Arminianism

I have to make ways not to get bored. So most of the time if I am not reading my bible I would be reading blogs and doing researches in regards to theology. Calvinism  and Arminianism got my interest, though I'm not really up for any friendly debates for the two, I would rather consider myself as a follower of Christ. And there are still many things that I do not know. So here are some of the fruits of my boredom (hahaha)

Calvinism and Arminianism are two systems of theology that attempt to explain the relationship between God's sovereignty and man's responsibility in the matter of salvation which both can be summarize in five points. Calvinism is named for John Calvin, a French theologian who lived from 1509-1564 while Arminianism is named for Jacobus Arminius, a Dutch theologian who lived from 1560-1609.


for CALVINISTS:

Believes that election is unconditional. Unconditional election is the view that God elects individuals to salvation based entirely on His will, not on anything inherently worthy in the individual.  (Romans 8:29-30; 9:11; Ephesians 1:4-6,11-12).

Sees the atonement as limited. Limited atonement is the belief that Jesus only died for the elect.  (Matthew 1:21; John 10:11; 17:9; Acts 20:28; Romans 8:32; Ephesians 5:25).

Irresistible Grace. It argues that when God calls a person to salvation, that person will inevitably come to salvation. (John 6:37,44; 10:16).

Perseverance of the saints. This refers to the concept that a person who is elected by God will persevere in faith and will not permanently deny Christ or turn away from Him. (John 10:27-29; Romans 8:29-30; Ephesians 1:3-14).

Total Depravity. As a result of Adam’s fall, the entire human race is affected; all humanity is dead in trespasses and sins. Man is unable to save himself (Genesis 6:5; Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 3:10-18).

for ARMINIANS:

Believes in conditional election. Conditional election states that God elects individuals to salvation based on His foreknowledge of who will believe in Christ unto salvation, thereby on the condition that the individual chooses God.

Sees the atonement as unlimited. Unlimited atonement is the belief that Jesus died for all, but that His death is not effectual until a person receives Him by faith.

Resistible grace. It states that God calls all to salvation, but that many people resist and reject this call, this merely states that an individual can resist the grace of God.

Conditional salvation. This is the view that a believer in Christ can, of his/her own free will, turn away from Christ and thereby lose salvation. Note - many Arminians deny "conditional salvation" and instead hold to "eternal security."

Partial Depravity. Humanity is tainted by sin, but not to the extent that we cannot chose to come to God on our own. We are capable of choosing to accept salvation or reject it without any influence from God. Note - classical Arminianism rejects "partial depravity" and holds a view very close to Calvinistic "total depravity."

Conclusion:

Calvinism is far more biblically based than Arminianism. However, both systems fail to adequately explain the relationship between God’s sovereignty and mankind’s free will – due to the fact that it is impossible for a finite human mind to discern a concept only God can fully understand. I love that we cannot fathom GOD which makes HIM sovereign and has unlimited wisdom that I can always trust rather than any forms of theology. I always say this if people are trying to argue with me regarding my view, "let's just follow Jesus and agree to disagree on your arguments" :) I just dont' know if that make sense or relevant, after all we are all brothers and sisters in Christ...

*P.S. I'm not against theology.. I love them and respect it :)


Sources:

Chosen But Free, revised edition: A Balanced View of God's Sovereignty and Free Will by Norm Geisler and The Potter's Freedom by James White.