Philippine Asian News Today Vol 20 No 21 | Page 24

RELIGIOUS 24 Wisdom from the Word Ben Berto Then he said [a]to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” 43 And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” Luke 23: 42, 43 NKJV Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’ ” John 20: 17 NKJV In Flanders fields, the brave dead Canadian soldiers of the World War l lie in rows underneath the flaming poppy flowers. They fought for a “war that will end all wars”, the leaders of nations said. “No more big war”, said they, but every one was mistaken for the one who delights to make wars has already plans for another which will take more millions of lives in actual combat plus millions more in what is said as “collateral damage”, and continuing. Satan is continuing to foment wars all over the world but one day God will put a stop to all his malevolent wickedness. So, in this Remembrance Day, let us remember our dead heroes, not only from World Wars I & II, but was well as other wars going on throughout the world where the Canadians are sent as peacekeepers. Many Christians sincerely believe that when the righteous people die, they go the heaven right away. They cite the above text that Jesus assured the thief that day, that the thief will go with Jesus to Paradise that day. This prevalent belief of course, coincides with the idea that the wicked will also go straight to hell to be tortured with everlasting punishing in the flames. This argument appears to be buttressed by the parable of Jesus about the rich man PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY November 1 - 15, 2018 WHERE DID THE THIEF GO? and Lazarus found in Luke 16: 19-31. Both men died, Lazarus was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom, and while in hell the rich man suffered in hell. This story appears to prove the above belief. This Scripture needs to be studied more in the light of the other texts to really understand the story. What really happened that Crucifixion day? When Jesus died, Joseph of Arimathea, went to Pilate to ask for his body. Pilate was surprised to learn that the Nazarene was already dead. He knew that people who got crucified takes a few days before they would die so he asked the centurion who supervised the event if it was true. He confirmed the death so Pilate gave permission to Joseph to take Jesus down and bury him. Previously, the Pharisees went to Pilate to ask that the legs of the prisoners on the crosses be broken to hasten their death so that they could be taken down from the crosses since it is going to be Sabbath the next day (see John 19: 31-37). But Jesus legs were not broken to fulfill a Passover symbol of a lamb with no broken bones, as his side was pierced to fulfill the prophecy, “they will look at him whom they pierced.” So, Jesus was buried in Joseph’s tomb, and spent the Sabbath resting, and resurrected on the first day of the week. When Mary Magdalene tried to embrace him , “Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’ ” John 20: 17 NKJV. So, it is plain that Jesus has not gone to paradise yet. What he said in his promise was, the thief will be with him in paradise. At the resurrection, when all the dead saints are awakened from their sleep, the thief will also be resurrected to be with Jesus in Paradise. When Lazarus, not the one in the Moments word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are [c]asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.” So, friends, let us pray for us the living because we still get a chance to be saved. “For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep [a]of His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice: Do not harden your hearts, as in the [b]rebellion, as in the day of [c]trial in the wilderness, When your fathers tested Me; They tried Me, though they saw My work. For forty years I was [d]grieved with that generation, and said, ‘It is a people who go astray in their hearts, And they do not know My ways.’ So I swore in My wrath, They shall not enter My rest.’ ” Psalms 95: 7-11 NKJV Today is the day of salvation. Not tomorrow because we do not know what will happen to us the next moment. Let us accept the Lord Jesus in our lives because He is our Salvation. Our parents, our friends, our priests or pastors, no matter how righteous they are cannot save us. The saints who are dead cannot save us. Only Christ Jesus CAN. Amen. For questions and Bible Studies, call, Ben at 604 581 1278, Junjun at 778-927- 8040, Stanley at 604-700- 3053 and Pastor Leomar Macaraig at 604 928 3579. The Abundant Life Seventh-day Adventist Church meets at the City Center Church on 13062 104th Avenue, Surrey on Saturdays. All are welcome to attend. Heart-sighted Fr. Jerry M. Orbos, SVD The story is told about a husband who introduced his family to their guest, thus: “This is Mary, my sister- in-law; and Tom, my brother-in-law; and Butch, my son-in-law; and Jane, my daughter-in-law; and of course, this is Francine, my wife—she is the law.” What is the law of your life? What dominates and controls you and your lifestyle? In today’s Gospel (Mk. 12:38- 44), Jesus teaches us that what matters most is not what we are or do externally, but who we are internally. God sees beyond the visible. He sees the heart of each one of us. He is heart-sighted. Jesus reminds us again today that the heart of religion is not money, but the heart. Religion devoid of the heart can easily become a cult, or a business enterprise, all done in the name of God. “If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, parable, but a friend of Jesus, died, he told the disciples that Lazarus was sleeping but he was going to wake him up. The disciples said, if he was sleeping he will eventually wake up. He will be okay. So, he told them, Lazarus has died but he was going to resurrect him. In Ecclesiastes 9, we read that the living will know that they will die, but the dead know nothing. So do everything you or I need or want to do, love somebody, help the poor, volunteer for God’s work, marry, be a politician or whatever, because once your or I croak, we are kaput. Let us put our trust in what Jesus said that He is the Resurrection and the Life and he also said “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting John 3: 16, NKJV life.” We get comfort in what St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians and Thessalonians about the dead. He said, “Behold, I tell you a [a]mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 1 Corinthians 15: 51-54 NKJV. He told the Thessalonians, 13 “But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen [a]asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who [b]sleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the for always there will be lesser and greater persons than yourself.” (Words of wisdom from the “Desiderata.”) Stop worrying about what others think about you. For all you know, they don’t even think about you. Focus on what God thinks of you, and that God cares for you, and not on other people who, for all you know, don’t care about you anyway. I have seen so many people waste their health, values, relationships, and even their very souls in their pursuit of worldly treasures and pleasures. Let us go back to Psalm 46:10: “Be still, and know that I am God.” Money is not god. Our fear of poverty, deprivation, and rejection is not god. How life can change in only a moment. When misfortunes happen — sickness, defeat, heartbreak, disappointments, death — a change of perspective, a paradigm-shift takes place. When we go from the fast to the slow lane, or we find ourselves at the roadside of life, a broadening of horizons occur, and true peace and freedom really begins. At such moments, let us listen to God speaking and humbly pray “Speak Lord, Your servant is listening.” Let the world go by. People are always on the go, where to, they even do not know. Remember, the journey is not about going far and fast. The journey is going to the heart — to God’s heart, and other people’s hearts, and to your very own heart. As we grow on, may we become more heart-sighted, and less mind- sighted, money-sighted, power- sighted. Remember, the heart sees more than what meets the eye, and does not lose sight of matters of the heart, which in the end are the ones that really matter. On my 65th birthday last Oct. 1, I bought myself a new pair of rubber slippers. I don’t know why but I wrote “10. 2018” on the sole, perhaps, to remember the date of purchase, or maybe to find out in the future how WWW.PHILIPPINEASIANNEWSTODAY.COM long they will last, along with the hope that I will get to wear them for a long, long time. Yes, we all want to live long, or longer, but again, we ask: What for? Why? Let’s go more for quality time and payback time precisely because life is short. Think about this: “It is not the shoes you wear, but the steps you take, and where you bring them that matter.” On a lighter note, I told my driver, Bong, that I am undergoing chemotherapy and immunotherapy to fight cancer. He thought for a while and said: “Combination pala, Father, ng chemo at immuno, so ang tawag doon ay chemo-notherapy?!” If we are heart-sighted, we become more light-hearted! A moment with the Lord: Lord, like You, may I become more and more heart-sighted. Amen. [email protected]