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Wisdom from the Word
B12 FAITH AND RELIGION PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY August 1 - 15 , 2016
Wisdom from the Word
Ben Berto
“ If you love Me , keep [ a ] My commandments . 16 And I will pray the Father , and He will give you another Helper , that He may abide with you forever — John 14 : 15-16 John 14 : 15-16 , NKJV
“ But when the Father sends the Comforter instead of Me — and by the Comforter , I mean the Holy Spirit — He will teach you much , as well as remind you of everything I myself have told you ”. John 14 : 26 , The Living Bible
The Vancouver Police once had a member who introduced a method by which the police could identify a criminal by his modus operandi . He called it “ profiling ”. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines profiling as “ the act or process of extrapolating information about a person based on known traits or tendencies < consumer profiling >; specifically : the act of suspecting or targeting a person on the basis of observed characteristics or behavior < racial profiling >”. The profiles of the Godhead is presented in this series to present a God as revealed in the Bible as 5-6 “ Then the Lord descended in the form of a pillar of cloud and stood there with him , and passed in front of him and announced the meaning of his name .[ a ] “ I am Jehovah , the merciful and gracious God ,” he said , “ slow to anger and rich in steadfast love and truth . 7 I , Jehovah , show this steadfast love to many thousands by forgiving their sins ;[ b ] or else * I refuse to clear the guilty , and require that a father ’ s sins be punished in the sons and grandsons , and even later generations .” Exodus 34 : 5- 6 The Living Bible . We continue our presentation of God .
“ Many people , tire of the culture of self , are looking for something better , something more satisfying . They want to know God . Fortunately , God wants us to know Him . For that reason , He has revealed Himself in many ways , the most important of which is the Bible . The Bible writers made no direct effort to prove the existence of God . They took that much for granted . The Bible ’ s first words , “ In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth ” ( Genesis 1:1 ) speak volumes about Him . Before the world came into existence , God existed . He ’ s the Creator , the Source of life and every material blessing .
“ WHAT WE CAN ’ T KNOW . Nevertheless , there ’ s

PROFILES OF THE GODHEAD — GOD THE FATHER

much about God ’ s basic nature that we don ’ t understand because He hasn ’ t revealed it to us . Among these unknowns are God ’ s eternal nature and His capacity to be everywhere at once . We can never understand the essence of God ’ s nature . But we understand what He has revealed to us , at least to a point , and this revelation centers around His unfailing love . The New Testament presents God to us as a loving heavenly Father .( Matthew 5 : 45 , 1 John 4:8 ). Because Jesus has adopted us , we have become God ’ s sons and daughters . John 1 : 12 , 13 ). God our heavenly Father , is not a mere impersonal force .
“ Jesus told the woman at the well in Sychar that “ God is Spirit ” ( John 4 : 24 ) to suggest that He has a form , a shape . This statement has to do with more profound aspects of God ’ s divine nature . He ’ s above nature and beyond the capacity of our minds to imagine Him . He lives on a plane far superior to ours .
“ GOD IS A PERSON . The Hebrew concept of spirit was more concrete than abstract . God dwells in that realm . We cannot see Him , but we were made in His image ( Genesis 1 : 27 ), which suggests that He also has a specific form . Throughout its pages , the Bible presents God as a Person .
“ The words the bible uses to describe God were chosen to make it as easy as possible for us to understand God as a Person . He “ talks ”, “ hears ”, “ sees ”, and “ writes ”. He suffers and feels sadness , and He also expresses both anger and joy . He has free will ( see Psalm40 : 8 ;, 2 Corinthians 1 : 1 ). God judges ( psalm 7 : 11 ;, Romans 2 : 16 ) and pardons ( Isaiah 55:7 ). Nevertheless , He is above all . He created and sustains everything ( Hebrews 1 : 1-3 ). God is omnipotent ( Revelation 19 : 6 ), sublime ( Isaiah 57 : 15 ), omniscient ( Ephesians 1 : 8 ), eternal and immortal ( 1 Timothy 1 : 17 ) and omnipresent ( Psalm 139 : 7 , Jeremiah 23 : 24 ) He is free of time and space limitations in all His actions .
“ Everything that happens on our planet is under God ’ s control . He understands our plans , but He acts in ways that ensure the ultimate fulfillment and consummation of His will .
“ The qualities and powers that we see in God the Son and God the Holy Spirit also reveal to us what the Father is like .”
God the Father is comfortable when we call Him Ama , Papa , Padre , Tatay , Opa , Abuelo , and Tatang . After all He loves everyone because He is love .
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 .
We will be welcoming our new Filipino Pastor in October this year . He is Pastor Leomar Macaraig . He will also shepherd the Vancouver Filipino and Burnaby FilCan SDA churches . Pastor Levi Estores will be the district Pastor for the Filipino districts comprising six churches .

Moments

Fr , Jerry M . Orbos , SVD
The story is told about a CNN reporter who hurriedly boarded a twin-engine plane which was then warming up , presuming that it was the flight he had chartered . Once in the air , he told the pilot to fly low over the valley . When the pilot asked him why , he said : “ So that I can take photos of the forest fire .” After some moments of silence , the pilot hesitantly said : “ So … you ’ re telling me that you are not my flight instructor ?” * * * In today ’ s Gospel ( Lk . 12 , 49- 53 ), Jesus tells His disciples that He has come to establish , not peace , but division in the world . This may come as a surprise , or even a shock , to us who presume that Christ and His message are all about peace , comfort and unity . The peace that our Lord is talking about is a peace that can be disturbed and disturbing .
People often tell me : “ Father , now that I am closer to the Lord , how come I encounter more trials and temptations ? I thought I would have a more peaceful life now !” Our presumption is that
the presence of Christ means the absence of conflicts , tensions and divisions in our lives . The presence of Christ in our lives gives us peace , but He will disturb our peace to challenge us to grow , and become better persons . * * * Someone beautifully said that God is a God who comforts the disturbed , and disturbs those who are comfortable . Our journey to God ’ s heart is not only about being peaceful and complacent . It is also about being disturbed and challenged . God ’ s love is both tender and tough love . * * * The main focus in our journey to God ’ s heart is God Himself , and not the sunshine or the storm we encounter along the way . In other words , the presence of God is what should give us peace , whether we go through peaceful or raging waters in our journey . God is with us , so we should have peace no matter what conditions we go through . If we have God , then we have that true peace which the world can neither give nor take away .
* * *

Disturbing

It is very disturbing to see , hear , and experience what is happening around us . Our faith in God is not a pair of sunglasses to protect us from the glare of harsh realities , but a pair of eyeglasses to make us see better and deeper into the realities around us . With faith , we can see God , and feel His presence in the most ugly , dirty , sad , stupid , disappointing situations and conditions we encounter in our world , here and now , and our faith should further lead us to involvement and commitment . * * * We have opinions on present-day issues . The internet has provided the venue for our netizens ’ views and opinions , from the sacred to the profane . Sure , we are free to spread our points of view , but let us not forget to respect one another . And let us make sure that our views and opinions are born out of prayer , not just out of an emotional outburst , or out of a personal agenda . Respect and dialogue have become such lonely words . * * * Tomorrow is the Feast of
Our Lady ’ s Assumption to heaven
. Many of us have forgotten the “ uplook ” in our lives as we are so engrossed in our personal agenda ( inlook ), as well as our worldly agenda ( outlook ). The alphabet reminds us that life starts with A ( God , the Alpha ), begins with B ( Birth ), continues with C ( Choice ), ends with D ( Death ), and goes on to E ( Eternity ). May our Blessed Mother who has gone ahead to Heaven show us the way to get there , in that Kingdom where there are no more tears , no more problems , no more intrigues , no more traffic , no more politics , and also no more disturbances , no more conflicts , and no more goodbyes . * * * Someone noted that even a clock that has stopped will at least tell the correct time two times in a day . The two fixed moments in our lives are the day we are born and the day we die . What happens in between is something we ourselves have to fix . How we journey from point B ( Birth ) to point D ( Death ) is pretty much our C ( Choice ). Let us choose goodness over evil , joy over sorrow , humility over pride , love over selfishness . Yes , let us
choose Christ . * * * During our seminary days , many times the sign “ Do Not Disturb ” would be seen outside the door of our rooms , especially during examinations . But I remember one seminarian who once put a sign saying “ Please Disturb ”— and that disturbed us all , making us realize how selfish and how self-centered we can become . * * * Think about this : “ God has a purpose for your pain , a reason for your struggles , and a gift for your faithfulness . Don ’ t give up . A breakthrough is coming .” * * * Bantay Matanda invites you to a lay forum on “ Frailty ” at the Tuklong ni San Jose , Christ the King Seminary , E . Rodriguez Sr . Ave ., Quezon City , 9 a . m . to 12 noon . For inquiries , please call 9982548 or 09174167849 . * * * A moment with the Lord : Lord , comfort us when we are disturbed , and disturb us when we have become comfortable . Amen .
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