Mabuhay!

Mabuhay! And welcome to my blog. And no, awa ng Diyos hindi pa po ako patay. Hehehe. Naging busy lang talaga and so naging inactive ako online. It has been a long while since my last post dito sa blog. Andaming nangyayari sa buhay ko ngayon na hindi ko na din alam kung paano ko pagsasabay-sabayin lahat ng responsibilidad ko. But the Lord is good. At least sa wakas, nakapagsulat na naman ako dito. Shout out nga pala sa asawa kong sa sobrang supportive sa pagba-blog ko eh lagi akong kinukulit na magsulat! Hehehe.

I guess I am writing not because I think I am great at what I do nor because napilit ako ng asawa ko, but because I love speaking about the Word of God. I aim to help people understand that our faith is not without reason... na hindi sya blind faith like others perceive it to be... na as Christians, yung maturity natin sa pananampalataya is not ushered and measured in lengths of time na member tayo sa Church kung saan tayo naga-attend, nor sa kung gaano ka ka-close kay Pastor, nor sa dami ng mga kakilala mo sa Church–but by the fruit of the Spirit: kung gaano ito ka-evident sa lives natin.

And I would argue na it would be impossible to realize the fruit of the Spirit without having faith and without being deeply rooted in the Word of God that strengthens faith (Romans 10:17). As R.J. Rushdoony said, "a man will act on his faith."

If yung faith natin is blind, we'll live our lives according to it. People who think the Christian faith requires absolutely no reason—na all that is required for believers is just to you know... believe (without understanding why we believe the God we believe), are normally the ones who tend to question and probe God when they are faced with problems. Sila din yung nauuwi sa mysticism madalas sa pamamagitan ng panghuhula ng will ni Lord, asking him for 'signs' like as if the Lord has not given us His Word as our guide (Proverbs 3:5-8; Psalm 119:105). Madalas din na sila yung nauuwi sa syncretic practices and sa pagkakaroon ng false concepts kay God. Sila din yung laging tahimik when someone attempts to invalidate and destroy the Christian faith kasi they do not know how to defend it.

Sadly, this is the current condition of the post-modern Church. We have blind disciplemakers discipling the blind. Though we have evangelized greatly, the quality of evangelism that we have done so far has been poor: producing a lot of false converts and ignorant, shallow, flimsy, sensitive, passive 'Christians' who do not know nor follow Jesus and value the Word of God.

Ben-'igno' Aquino

We all know na the Philippines is known to be 'the top Christian nation' here in Asia. Ang gandang title niyan! Unfortunately, title 'yan na I think we cannot really back up. Based lang kasi 'yan sa quantity, hindi sa quality. When you ask a typical Christian to explain what the gospel is about, you'll be amazed by how ignorant and confused our nation is about it. You'll find a variety of answers and explanations—with some na mukhang fairytale ata 'yung reference, hindi yung Bible.

And we keep turning a blind eye concering this issue like as if the problem does not exist. Instead, we keep focusing in building up our numbers rather than producing quality disciples of Christ. So yes, we're making disciples all right... disciples who love themselves more than they love God, disciples who value their feelings and opinions more than they value God's truth, disciples who seek the approval of the world, disciples who think/speak/act like the word, and disciples who are ignorant of God's Word and of who God is.

Do we even know how faithful saints of God fought for the Bible to be accessed by laymen like us so we can exactly see and know for ourselves what the Word of God says/contains? Have we learned to value the Word of God more than we value our material possessions? When circumstance demands for us to defend or contend for the faith, can we do it? If someone would seek us for advise, would we be able to provide godly instruction to that person?

And when shall we see that the Christian faith's credibility is suffering because of this? I personally think na yung poor quality of discipleship has greatly contributed in the rise of atheism and agnosticism in the country in the past two decades. When do we plan to study the Word of God and take it seriously, my friends? Hanggang kailan ka aasa kay Pastor para i-defend/i-present yung faith sa mga kaibigan at kakilala mo? Kailan mo mare-realize na you're not winning an argument by saying "basta ako nainiwala ako kay Lord, period"?

Eddie E. Kawnaugh

How come we are so ignorant of God's Word? Ito marahil yung tanong na dapat masagot. Well, one reason that greatly contributes to it is our generation's anti-intellectualism. William Lane Craig was right for saying, "Our churches are filled with Christians who are idling in intellectual neutral. As Christians, their minds are going to waste. One result of this is an immature, superficial faith. People who simply ride the roller coaster of emotional experience are cheating themselves out of a deeper and richer Christian faith by neglecting the intellectual side of that faith."

Dito sa atin sa Pinas, when you are seeking to grow deep in the Word of God by enaging into Biblical discussions and being so passionate about it, i-expect mo nang makakarinig ka ng comment na gaya ng "talaga naman si Pastor!" O 'di kaya kapag nagi-impart ka ng godly advice, sasabihin sayo, "eh di ikaw na!" o 'di naman kaya "eh di wow!" O kaya naman 'pag nagwo-walk ka according sa righteousness ng Panginoon, bibiruin kang "ambait mo naman, baka kunin ka ni Lord!" Or kapag madasalin ka naman, sasabihin ng ilan na, "o, baka lumagpas ka ng langit nyan, ha?" These, my friends, are examples of anti-intellectualism. It's anti-God, it's anti-Christian, it's anti-Word and it's anti-intellectual.

And this is prominent sa culture natin today. And sadly, parang naging normal na lang na part ito sa casual conversations. Mas interesado pa tayo sa mga chismis at intriga sa TV at sa kwentong related sa tae (pardon the language) kesa pag-usapan yung mga things of God. Mas masaya tayo sa comedy kesa sa pagde-desire na maging reality yung Word ni God sa mga buhay natin. Mas seryoso pa tayo minsan sa casual conversations like "anong magandang aso?", "anong bang-for-the-buck na phone today?", or "saan masarap kumain?" kesa sa pag-usapan ang Word ni God.

Marahil ang excuse ng ilan is kuntento na sila sa konting knowledge about the Bible, or na may Pastor na pwedeng magturo. And yes, the Bible teaches us to be content. But it would be out of context and wrong to use this as an excuse to not seek the deep things about the Christian faith personally nang dahil lang sa kontento na tayo sa simple knowledge natin about Christ, the love of God, tithing and offering, discipleship, etc. Besides, sabi nga nila, "little knowledge is dangerous." Mahirap yung nabubuhay ka akala mo nasa side ka ni God, 'yun pala wala... yung akala mo tama ka, 'yun pala hindi.

How can you expect to have great faith with little knowledge? How can you follow God with so little faith?

"Amen! Amen!"

As Christians, we are commanded to seek the Kingdom of God first, to be imitators of God, to love righteousness and justice, to love God and love neighbor, to honor our parents, to not be anxious and to trust His provision, to obey God's will, to rejoice in times of suffering, to repent, to be perfect as the Father is perfect, to pray, to forgive our debtors, to contend for the faith, to put our faith in Jesus Christ alone for our salvation, to judge righteously, to deny ourselves, to make disciples, for husbands to love their wives, for wives to submit to their husbands, to meditate upon the Word of God always, and many others.

And the typical Christian would say, "Amen! Amen!" Pero kapag tinanong mo na yung 'how' sa kanya, 'di na din nya alam; or worse, magreresort na sya sa ala-chamba. But we're not supposed to defend the faith by saying, "in my opinion" ng gaya ng ginagawa natin sa essays natin para walang pwedeng kumontra since we're entitled sa sarili nating opinions so to speak, nor to have that "ala-chamba theology™" kung saan susuntok ka na lang sa hangin hoping na may matamaan ka, nor to be in a "pakiramdam ko religion™" where we put our feelings superior over God's Word for these things are obviously not the way we must conduct ourselves as Christians.

And this proves my point exactly, my friends. All these things require knowledge of God's Word. Hindi mo pwedeng i-escape yung demand for us to learn the godly things and to seek godly wisdom and knowledge. Talagang kailangan mong i-seek yung Word ng Panginoon to know Him as part of your Christianity: His will, His commands, His plans, His salvation, His grace, His love, His mercy, His wrath, His character, His gift of repentance and faith, and so much more. We will not know how great God is without personally wanting and seeking His Word. We cannot know about God's love without understanding God's wrath for sinners. We cannot know how to pray without learning from Christ sa kung paano mag-pray.

Hindi lang si Pastor or si Elder yung required mag-aral ng Word—lahat tayong mga anak ng Diyos. Hence, hindi dapat tayong mga Kristyano yung nangunguna sa pagiging anti-intellectual. Talagang tayo dapat yung nagse-set ng example, yung nag-lilead sa mundo to the knowledge of God, calling them to repent and obey Christ. We can't do this task kung tayo mismo yung mga mangmang sa Salita ng Diyos.

Certainly, we do not want history to repeat itself again. God said these against Israel during the time of Prophet Hosea for their willful ignorance and rejection of God's Law-Word:

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.
Hosea 4:6

Though I wrote for him ten thousand precepts of My law, they are regarded as a strange thing.
Hosea 8:12 (NASB)

The Bible also tells us:

The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge, but the mouths of fools feed on folly.
Proverbs 15:14

An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.
Proverbs 18:15

For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
Hosea 6:6

 

Hidden in Christ

So how are we to seek the knowledge and wisdom of God? Do we just utter a prayer and all of a sudden we'll have those? Will it come down from heaven like a feather slowly falling from the sky (*insert heavenly music here*)? Certainly... NOT! And lalong-lalo nang not through pang-huhula or pagmamagaling or pag-iimbento. What we do is we consult the Word of God.

And this is what the Bible says:

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs 1:7

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Matthew 6:33

that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Colossians 2:2-3

You want wisdom? You want knowledge? Fear God! Seek His Kingdom! Have faith in Christ and follow Him, the Wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:30–31) in obeying God's Word (Philippians 2:8)! And the wonderful thing that God promises in His Word is this: those who seek His wisdom would find it (Proverbs 8:17) and those who finds it finds life and receive favor from the Lord (Proverbs 8:35)–that those whom the Father sends to Christ, Christ will not reject (John 6:37).

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
James 1:5

We will only be able to appreciate life, find meaning in life, know our purpose, know how to live to bring glory to God, and know the Father and His will through Christ and when we are in Him. Those who reject the Fountain of Life (John 7:37-39; John 14:6; John 10:10), passes a death sentence upon themselves: it is but suicide for any Christian to think that they need not seek God's instruction for themselves (Proverbs 8:36). Let's all learn from Christ.

Take this wise advice from Proverbs:

For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them; but whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.”
Proverbs 1:32-33

How much better to get wisdom than gold! To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.
Proverbs 16:16

Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.
Proverbs 28:26

Let's continue to encourage one another to grow in the faith (1 Thessalonians 5:11)! God bless you, muh friends!