Wisdom from the Word
24 RELIGIOUS PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY February 16 - 28 , 2017
Wisdom from the Word
Ben Berto
18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ .
To Him be the glory both now and forever . Amen . 2 Peter 3 : 18 NKJV
For the earth yields crops by itself : first the blade , then the head , after that the full grain in the head . Mark 4 : 28 NKJV
“ To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without praying .” Martin Luther King , jr
“ Praying is not overcoming God ’ s resistance , but laying hold of His willingness .” Martin Luther Growth differs in nature . A six-pound baby may grow up to a seven – foot basketball player or may only grow as a twofoot dwarf . In plants , there are fast growing and slow growing like a bonsai plant or a hundred meter sequoia tree . According to science , the plant called Kudzu is one of the fastest growing plants there is . ” This is an incredibly fast-growing plant which can add a whole foot a day , and under prime conditions , may add a whole 60 feet in a single growing season ! This form of Japanese arrowroot
is considered quite a pest . It climbs over everything and is very hard to kill . Along its way , it tends to kill other plants . It is considered extremely aggressive and invasive , and while it is native to Japan , it has spread to other locations throughout the word , including the US .”
In the spiritual world , a Christian is like a plant that it must grow . It is to be nourished by the Word of God and by prayer . A Christian must be connected to Christ in order to survive in this world where there is an ongoing controversy between the powers of Light and Darkness , between God and Satan . The Son of God has come to earth as a Saviour , has paid the penalty for our sins on the Cross , He promised “ He ’ ll Be Back ”. No longer as a suffering Servant but the Redeemer , KING of kings , and LORD of lords . That is why every Christian is an evangelist to tell the world the GOOD NEWS of CHRIST ’ s return . So as a Seventh-day Adventist Christian we join the others in proclaiming the good news along with the other Christians — Jesus is coming soon . Here is our statement of our absolute belief in the Second Advent of Christ .
“ The first thing
THIS WE BELIEVE ABSOLUTELY ; GROWING IN CHRIST
a paediatrician does in examining a month-old infant is to check the baby ’ s weight and length . That way he or she can know whether the baby is growing properly . Growth is the great principle of life . Anything that does not grow ends up dying . The principle is vital not only for our physical life but for our spiritual life , as well . The new birth is produced in us when we give ourselves to Christ and come up from the baptismal waters ( John 3 : 3 ). This new birth assumes a death to death to the old self ( Romans 4:4 ). Thus Paul could declare , “ I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live , but Christ lives in me .” ( Galatians 2 : 20 .) God calls the Christian to a new life that has Jesus as the center of its focus .
GROWTH MUST BE CONTINUAL
“ It is imperative that the person who has been born again continues to mature spiritually till he attains to “ the full measure of the fullness of Christ ” Ephesians 4 : 13 ) . However , this growth is not spontaneous . We must continually struggle , not only against our old self ( Ephesians 4 : 22 ), but also “ against the rulers , against the authorities against the powers of this dark world , and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms ”” Ephesians 6 : 12 ) How can we gain the victory in this struggle in which no holds are barred ?
“ The good news is that the victory has already been won . During Hi earthly ministry , Jesus demonstrated that it is possible to break the power of demonic forces . And by His death on the cross Jesus conquered these evil forces for all . Thus , we do not struggle in our own strength . Our objective should be tro grow in Christ and appropriate His divine merit . AIDS TO GROWTH “ Bible study . One of the great principles of growth is nourishment . There is no growth without an adequate diet . Bible study is nourishment for our spiritual growth . Jesus spoke clearly about this when He said , “ Man does not live on bread alone , but on every word that comes from the mouth of God ” ( Matthew 4:4 ). And the psalmist , demonstrating clearly the power that is in God ’ s Word for resisting sin , wrote , “ I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you “ ( Psalm 119 : 11 ).
Prayer . Just as God speaks to us through His Word — and knowing His will is an essential part of spiritual growth — so our communion with Him is not complete without prayer . Prayer is the bond that keeps us united with heaven . It is the nourishment of the soul . Paul considered prayer to be such an important part of the Christian life that he gave five basic principles for prayer . ” Pray in the Spirit ,’ pray “ on all occasions ”, “ be alert ” in prayer with “ all kinds of prayers and requests ”, and “ always keep on praying for all the saints ( Ephesians 6 : 18 ) Prayer was the key to Christ ’ s victory over sin when He was on earth . In His two greatest temptations – in the desert and in Gethsemane — He gained the victory through prayer . ( To be continued )
For prayer , questions and Bible study , call Ben at 604-581-1278 , Junjun at 778-927-8040 , and Stanley at 604-700-3053 . You are invited to worship with us every Sabbath ( Saturday ) at the Abundant Life Community Seventh-day Adventist Church at 13062-104 Avenue , Surrey . Welcome .
Our new shepherd , Pastor Leomar Macaraig also takes care of the Vancouver Filipino and Burnaby FilCan SDA churches . His phone number is ; 604-928-3579 .
Moments
Fr , Jerry M . Orbos , SVD
I have heard many definitions of bravery , but this one really made me laugh : “ Bravery is about a man who has diarrhea and taking a chance to fart .”
In today ’ s Gospel ( Mt . 5 , 38-48 ), Jesus shows us a different kind of bravery . He was not afraid to speak His truth to crowds . He did not tone down or water down His message just to please the crowds or get their approval . That ’ s what bravery is all about : proclaiming what is good and doing what is good , no matter what .
To offer no resistance to one who is evil , to turn the other cheek , to hand over one ’ s tunic and cloak as well , to go the extra mile , to give to those who ask , and not to turn one ’ s back on one who wants to borrow — all these are foolish , if not downright stupid , for a man of this
world ! And yet this was Jesus ’ brave challenge then , and , more so , his brave challenge now .
Jesus goes on to encourage us to love our enemies , to pray for those who persecute us , to love not only those who love us , to greet even those who are not our brothers and sisters … Wow ! Masyadong too much . Sobrang over ! But the challenge remains . It is difficult to be a real Christian . It is difficult to love according to Christ ’ s standards and terms . As someone aptly put it : “ No wonder why Christ had very few friends .”
Who is brave ? The world tells us this : Brave are those who are tough and rough , those who kill and who are not afraid to be killed . Jesus tells us that brave are those who are willing to give in , to “ lose ,” and to sacrifice .
We lost a brave confrere in the person of Fr . Martin Mandin , SVD , last Feb . 14 , the Day of Hearts . He faced cancer and death with a brave heart . In life , he was not afraid to operate from the heart , and he did not belittle matters of the heart . He was a formator and a professor with a licentiate in moral theology , but he remained humble and human . He was intelligent , with a heart .
Father Martin was not afraid to laugh , to be jolly , to be warm , and to be funny . One got the feeling that he just wanted to make people happy , especially the sick and the lonely , to whom he ministered generously . He was not afraid to be disturbed in his comfort zone .
Father Martin was not afraid to be simple . He was very casual and free . To some , he was a man who was not driven , who had no agenda . They are correct . He was not driven to be successful or
Who is brave ?
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popular . He had no agenda other than to be faithful and true to his calling .
At one time Father Martin shared with me how intrigued he was about a sign outside a shop in Tacloban City that read : “ We repair saints .” He entered the shop , and found out that it was in the business of repairing broken statues of saints . He said it made him reflect that we all , especially the holier-thanthou or the better-than-thou among us , need repairing .
Feb . 14 , Valentine ’ s Day , was a very cold day . Literally . The morning temperature in Metro Manila was in the low 20s . It was also a cold and lonely day for some because of solitude , loneliness , separation , death , fear , guilt , and sinfulness . This is where precisely the power of Jesus ’ “ foolish ” message about forgiveness and true love can bring light and warmth to many cold and lonely hearts . Humility is the key , forgiveness is the door , and love is the bounty . Let ’ s be courageous , let ’ s be brave , let ’ s do it His way .
Think about this : “ Be tender with the young ; compassionate with the aged ; sympathetic with the striving ; tolerant with the weak and wrong . Sometime in our life we will have been all of these .”
Bantay Matanda invites you to a lay forum on “ Disaster preparedness for the elderly ” at the Tuklong ni San Jose , Christ the King Seminary , E . Rodriguez Sr . Avenue , Quezon City . For inquiries , please call 3732262 , 9982548 , or 0917- 4167849 .
A moment with the
Lord :
Lord , remind us that true courage is not about being tough and rough , but being open to humility and sacrifice . Amen . ( inq )