Philippine Asian News Today Vol 20 No 22 | Page 24

RELIGIOUS 24 Wisdom from the Word Ben Berto 6 It is just as God says in the Scriptures, “Look! I am placing in Zion a choice and precious cornerstone. No one who has faith in that one will be disappointed. 1 Peter 2: 6 CEV 5 They called to you for help and were rescued. They trusted you and were not disappointed. Psalm 22:5 New Century Version (NCV) Faith and trust are synonymous words which can be used interchangeably. In the Bible, the emphasis is trusting in God, not man. You cannot even trust in horses or chariots, or a large army. When King Jehoshaphat, king of Judah heard that his country Israel was being invaded by the combined armed forces of Moab, Ammon, and Edom, he declared a fast to the Lord of all the people in his kingdom. He prayed to the Lord saying,… “But now here PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY November 16 - 30, 2018 THOSE WHO TRUST THE LORD WON’T BE DISAPPOINTED are men from Ammon, Moab, and Edom. You wouldn’t let the Israelites enter their lands when the Israelites came from Egypt. So the Israelites turned away and did not destroy them. 11 But see how they repay us for not destroying them! They have come to force us out of your land, which you gave us as our own. 12 Our God, punish those people. We have no power against this large army that is attacking us. We don’t know what to do, so we look to you for help.”2 Chronicles 20: 10-12. The Lord answered his prayer through Jahaziel, a Levite who said, “The Lord says this to you: ‘Don’t be afraid or discouraged because of this large army. The battle is not your battle, it is God’s. 16 Tomorrow go down there and fight those people. They will come up through the Pass of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the ravine that leads to the Desert of Jeruel. 17 You won’t need to fight in this battle. Just stand strong in your places, and you will see the Lord save you. Judah and Jerusalem, don’t be afraid or discouraged, because the Lord is with you. So go out against those people tomorrow.’” Verses 15-7 The next morning, King Jehoshaphat addressed the army of Judah thus, “Listen to me, people of Judah and Jerusalem. Have faith in the Lord your God, and you will stand strong. Have faith in his prophets, and you will succeed.” Verse 20 Have you heard of Moments Today is the Solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the universe. In today’s Gospel (John 18:33-37), Jesus talks about His kingdom that does not belong to this world, and a power that is greater than all worldly power, the power of truth. Truth may be belittled, stifled, manipulated, or muffled, but it will come out, and triumph in the end. In this world so full of power play, let us not forget that truth is powerful. Truth power! It is disheartening to see how lies and half-truths seem to be prevalent BE DISAPPOINTED, from which I adapted the title of this article. In it, she chronicled all the family experiences in trusting the Lord for all their ventures in life. In a letter to the readers of this book, Captain Thomas H. “Hank” Bond, Jr, US Navy, says this. “The book was primarily about how the Lord is faithful to His Word; and it related testimony after testimony of how she and he family took the Lord seriously about His ability to meet their needs as they trusted Him in specific ways.” King David wrote in Psalms 34: 6-8, NKJV; “This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles.7 The [a]angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them. 8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who TRUSTS in Him!” MAY GOD BLESS ALL OF US WHO PUT OUR FAITH AND TRUST IN THE LORD. AMEN For questions and Bible Studies, call, Ben at 604 581 1278, Junjun at 778-927- 8040, and Pastor Leomar Macaraig at 604 928 3579. The Abundant Life Fil-Can Seventh- day Adventist Church meets at the City Center Church on 13062 104th Avenue, Surrey on Saturdays. All are welcome to attend. Truth power Fr. Jerry M. Orbos, SVD The story is told about a husband who came home one day, to reclaim his power as the man of the house. He banged the table and told the wife: “From now on, you will not order me around! You will prepare my food, then wash the dishes, and clean the car. And guess what? Who will dress me up and comb my hair tonight?” The wife gave him a sharp look and said: “The funeral director!” End of the attempted coup d’état. an army going to battle with a choir singing a battle song full of praise to God? Yet that was what happened. “Jehoshaphat listened to the people’s advice. Then he chose men to be singers to the Lord, to praise him because he is holy and wonderful. As they marched in front of the army, they said, “Thank the Lord, because his love continues forever.”22 As they began to sing and praise God, the Lord set ambushes for the people of Ammon, Moab, and Edom who had come to attack Judah. And they were defeated. 23 The Ammonites and Moabites attacked the Edomites, destroying them completely. After they had killed the Edomites, they killed each other.24 When the men from Judah came to a place where they could see the desert, they looked at the enemy’s large army. But they only saw dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped.” 2 Chronicles 20: 21-24 King Jehoshaphat and his people put their trust in the God of Israel and He did not disappoint them. He honoured their trust because He is always faithful to His promises. If we sin against God, and confess our sins 1 John 1:9 says, “9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Not just a part but all our unrighteousness. Peggy Joyce Ruth wrote an inspiring book entitled, THOSE WHO TRUST THE LORD SHALL NOT these days, to see how liars, thieves, cheaters, and sweet talkers seem to be favored, and go unpunished, and simply get away with it. We must believe and keep on believing in truth power, and not lose heart, and continue to be on the side of Christ, our Lord and King, the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Drugs, violence, corruption, fraud, which belong to the kingdom of darkness, go against the kingdom of Christ which is a kingdom of peace, justice, goodness, and righteousness. Which side are you on? Do you belong to the darkness or to the light? More than ever, we need good, honest, and able Filipinos who will bring light into the dark world of politics, “to testify to the truth,” and be at the service of Christ, our King and Lord, who is greater than any drug lord, gambling lord, smuggling lord. Impossible? No. All we need is a few good men and women who will tenaciously embrace the truth, and not be swayed nor be corrupted by the forces of evil and darkness. “Mabuti pa ang tanghali… tapat.” “Mabuti pa ang Edsa, may forever!” (traffic), “Mabuti pa ang Boracay, may closure.” These hugot lines somehow remind us how honesty has become such a lonely word these days. These also speak of the inner desire in each one of us to be honest and true. It is time we make a decision to be on the side of the truth, and to let truth power take over, and get the upper hand. We must be in touch constantly with Christ our King, to listen to His instructions and our marching orders. It is through prayer that we connect with our King, and it is through good deeds that we serve and please Him. We must pray more, pray much, pray often, and never tire of doing good. We all will meet our King someday. When we stand before Him face to face, heart to heart, what will He tell us then? Will we hear Him say “Welcome to my heavenly kingdom, for when I was hungry, you gave me to eat…” or, will we hear Him say “Depart from me, your unworthy servant, for WWW.PHILIPPINEASIANNEWSTODAY.COM you blew it, and you missed your chance to be good and to be loving.” The answer is, so to speak, in your hands. Think about this: “Service to others is the rent we pay for our stay on earth. We have not really lived if we have not done something good for others, and have not served our God and King.” May we all strive to spend a life of thanksgiving, a life that is full of thanks, and full of giving. A moment with the Lord: Lord, help us not to be involved in truth decay in any way. Amen. 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