RELIGIOUS
24
Wisdom from
the Word
Ben Berto
For all have sinned and fall short
of the glory of God, 24 being justified
[g]freely by His grace through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
Romans 3: 23, 24, NKJV
16 Do you not know that to whom
you present yourselves slaves to
obey, you are that one’s slaves whom
you obey, whether of sin leading to
death, or of obedience leading to
righteousness?... For the wages of
sin is death, but the [h]gift of God is
eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6: 16, 23 NKJV
Therefore the law is holy, and
the commandment holy and just and
good. Romans 7:12 NKJV
A few centuries after Adam and
Eve disobeyed God’s law about eating
the forbidden fruit, it is recorded in
Genesis 6: 5 & 6 these words, “Then
[a]the LORD saw that the wickedness
of man was great in the earth, and
that every intent[b] of the thoughts of
his heart was only evil [c]continually.
And the LORD was sorry that He had
made man on the earth, and He was
grieved in His heart.”
Yes, men became “pasaway”, their
thoughts were always evil according to
the Bible. They were always breaking
God’s law which was holy, and just
and good. So from the beginning,
there is already a law. It was the same
law that God proclaimed at Mount
Sinai to the hearing of the children
of Israel. God even wrote it with His
finger on two tables of stone so that
Moments
Fr. Jerry M. Orbos, SVD
Why do men snore at night?
Someone once said in jest that nature
has a way of restoring justice to a man
who has to listen to his wife the whole
day!
In today’s Gospel (Luke 1, 1-4;14-
21), Jesus proclaimed His message
of justice and freedom when He read
from Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is
upon me, because he has anointed
me to bring glad tidings to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to
captives and recovery of sight to the
blind, to let the oppressed go free and
to proclaim a year acceptable to the
Lord.” The same message of justice
and freedom needs to be proclaimed
again and again, more so, in this, our
present day and time.
Persecution and martyrdom have
always been, and will always be a part
of discipleship. If we never go through
persecution, maybe it is because we
are not proclaiming the true Gospel of
our Lord Jesus Christ. And remember,
persecution purifies us, clears our
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY January 16 - 31, 2019
IT PAYS TO OBEY GOD’S LAW
can always remember. He told them
through Moses, “And these words
which I command you today shall
be in your heart. 7 You shall teach
them diligently to your children, and
shall talk of them when you sit in your
house, when you walk by the way,
when you lie down, and when you
rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a
sign on your hand, and they shall be
as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You
shall write them on the doorposts of
your house and on your gates.”
What is law and why do we need
it? From the Swirk Online Education
we read, “Law is the system by which
a society is regulated. It consists of
rules with regard to behaviour, both at
the time of action and the steps taken
to rectify (correct) an unlawful action.
Penalties range from compensation
to punishment, aspects that will be
addressed later this chapter.
“There are many reasons
why we need law: to regulate society;
to protect people; to enforce rights
and to solve conflicts. Laws prevent
or deter people from behaving in a
manner that negatively affects the
quality of life of other people; therefore
the consequences of breaking the law
often fit the crime. In some cases,
such as action resulting in minor
injury, compensation (the payment
of money to rectify a situation) may
suffice. Other cases result in long or
short-term imprisonment where the
length of the term reflects the severity
of the crime to deter other potential
criminals from committing the same
crime.”
According to God’s law and
the law of the land, we should obey
them because they are for our own
good. Thus we must obey all God’s
Ten Commandments because by
doing so we show our love to God
who is our Creator and Redeemer and
obey our country’s laws because we
love our country.
Being law- breakers however
will face consequences that could
mean penalties that could results
ranging from fines to firing to jail time,
and some extreme ones like death
penalty. Other countries can impose
penalties that are no longer imposed in
Canada. The USA has death penalties
and not a few people have been
executed for their crimes. In the USA,
they also have consecutive sentencing
in which a criminal is sentence to five
consecutive life terms totalling 275
years or more. In Canada, a person
may serve 25 years even if he has
committed many murders, which is
unfair. God is a forgiving God, but if
we do not confess our sins to Him and
ask for forgiveness, in the judgment,
we will receive the sentence of eternal
death. Which is better then? Obey
they laws or not obey them?` Get
rewards or get punished. We have a
choice. Let us choose wisely.
I came across the new ICBC rules
and regulations, a few of which I will
share here. The rest you can see in
your computers.
in/out
of
1. Speeding
municipality--$138-196, 2. Speeding
in School Zone or playground--$196-
532, 3. Excessive speed-- $368-
483, Demerit points each 3, 4.Using
electronic device, texting or emailing
while driving—$368, points 4
2. 5. No Drivers Licence or
wrong class--$276, Do DL $598, 6.
No seatbelt--$167
St. Paul wrote, “Let every soul be
subject to the governing authorities.
For there is no authority except from
God, and the authorities that exist
are appointed by God. Therefore
whoever resists the authority resist
the ordinance of God, and those
who resist will bring judgment on
themselves. Romans 13: 1,2. NKJV”
So following God’s law or the laws of
Canada is good, however when the
country’s laws contravene the law of
God like the apostles of Jesus, let us
say, “We must obey God rather than
man.” 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 Seventh-day Adventist
Church meets at the City Center
Church on 13062 104th Avenue,
Surrey on Saturdays. All are welcome
to attend.
Set us free, Lord
vision and strengthens our mission.
Please don’t forget our prophetic
role to be like Jesus, who comforted
those who are disturbed, and who
disturbed those who are comfortable.
If we are not doing this, maybe it is
because we have focused more on
our “profitic” role and concerns.
Why is it that there are so many
prayerful persons who remain
greedy and mean, unconcerned
and uninvolved with those who are
deprived and suffering? Whoever
bends his/her knees in prayer, must
also open his/her heart and stretch
his/her hands to others, otherwise,
religion and spirituality is all about I,
me, and myself.
Are you living an unhappy life? Are
you a captive and a prisoner inside
and out? Are you in darkness? Are
you going through oppressions of
any kind? Are you living a life that is
not acceptable to God? If your answer
is YES to all of the questions above,
read again the passage from Isaiah
in today’s Gospel, and know that it is
the Spirit of the Lord that will change
you and the life you are living. May the
Spirit of the Lord be with you!
Traveling to my home province,
Pangasinan, is tiresome, but it is so
refreshing and recharging. Going
back down memory lane, seeing
the old town and familiar faces, and
walking in places where, as kids, we
used to run—all these remind me of
who I was, and make me ask myself
who/what I have become. Prayer is
precisely that—it makes us know
again who we were, who we are, and
what we can yet become with the
help of our almighty and loving God.
Prayer locates us. If we don’t pray, we
get lost. As simple as that.
Last Jan. 13, I celebrated a Mass
for the 80th birthday of Basilisa
Arzadon Ramos, who bears such a
striking resemblance to my Mama
with the way she smiled in her simple,
humble and joyful ways. I stayed on
for dinner and savored, not only a
delicious meal, but also a delightful
experience of being with Mama
somehow and encountering again
the presence of a loving family. God
really knows the deepest longings and
WWW.PHILIPPINEASIANNEWSTODAY.COM
desires of our hearts.
Mama did it again! A few days
before Jan. 25, her fifth death
anniversary, she manifested her love
and presence, as she always did,
through a white feather which I found
in our Mission Home chapel. Those
who love us are never gone. They are
just around and are with us more than
ever.
Sharing with you a Tibetan
proverb I received via text message
from Galoy Marfil: “For a longer and
happy life, eat half, walk double, laugh
triple, love without measure.” Well
said! Maybe you can add a point or
two to the proverb based on your own
life experience? Me, I would like to
add: Pray more!
A moment with the Lord:
Lord, set us free, and help us to
set others free by the power of Your
Spirit. Amen.
( Fr. Jerry M. Orbos SVD - @
inquirerdotnet)