B12
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY February 1 - 15, 2016
Wisdom from
the Word
Educated by God’s Word
Ben Berto
12
For the word of
God is living and powerful, and sharper than any
two-edged sword, piercing
even to the division of soul
and spirit, and of joints and
marrow, and is a discerner
of the thoughts and intents
of the heart. 13 And there is
no creature hidden from His
sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of
Him to whom we must give
- Hebrews
account.
4: 12 & 13 NKJV
Trust in the LORD with
all your heart, And lean not
on your own understanding;
6
In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall
direct[a] your paths.
- Proverbs 3: 5 & 6, NKJV
Swords are one of
the weapons of destruction. Swords are known
by their maker. They even
have names like the Damascus sword which could
cut a hair by just blowing
it against the blade, and
Glamdring was the name
of the sword of Gandalf.
The Japanese during the
samurai days made lots of
famous swords. No wonder that when Gideon with
Moments
his three hundred men attacked the Midianite camp
their cry was “The Sword
of the Lord and of Gideon.” The characteristics
of the sword are its sharpness and its strength. No
wonder that God called His
Word as sword because it is
sharper than any Japanese
or Damascus blade, it is living and powerful just the
text above says. The Bible
is the Sword of God, and
when we take His sword to
be our weapon and protector and guide, we will be
safe.
Again, I am going to
share with you thoughts
from the book Education ,
by Ellen G. White, because
I believe that we can gain
lots of knowledge from it.
In fact I am going to let it
speak to you as it were. So
without further ado let’s
go. “The Bible unfolds
truth with a simplicity and
adaptation to the needs
and longings of the human
heart that has astonished
and charmed the most
highly educated minds,
while to the humble and uncultured also it makes plain
the way of life. “The way-
faring men, though fools,
shall not err therein.” Isaiah
35: 8 No child need mistake
the pathNot one trembling
need fail of walking in pure
and holy light. Yet the most
simply stated truths lay hold
upon themes elevated, farreaching, infinitely beyond
the power of human comprehension—mysteries that
are the hiding of His glory,
mysteries that overpower
the mind in its research—
while they inspire the sincere seeker for truth with
reverence and faith. The
more we search the Bible,
the deeper is our conviction
that it is the word of the living God, and human reason
bows before the majesty of
divine revelation.
“God intends that to
the earnest seeker, the
truths of His word shall be
ever unfolding. While “the
secret things belong to the
Lord our God,those things
whioch are revealed belong
to us and our children.”
Deuteronomy 29: 29. The
idea that certain portions
of the Bible cannot be understood has led to neglect
of some of its most important truths. The fact needs
to be emphasized and often
repeated, that the mysteries of the Bible are not such
because has sought to conceal truth, but because our
own weakness or ignorance
makes us incapable of comprehending or appropriating truth. The limitation is
not in His purpose, but in
our capacity. Of those very
portions of Scripture often
passed by as impossible to
be understood. God desires
us to understand as much
as our minds are capable
of receiving. “All Scripture is
given by inspiration of God..
that we may be thoroughly
furnished unto all good
works. “ 12Timothy 3: 16,
17, NKJV.
“It is impossible for any
human mind to exhaust
even one truth or promise
of the Bible. One catches
the glory from one point of
view, another from another
point; yet we can discern
only gleamings. The full
radiance is beyond our vision.
“As we contemplate the
great things of God’s word,
we look into a fountain that
broadens and deepens beneath our gaze. Its breadth
and depth pass our knowledge. As we gaze, the vision
widens; stretched before us
, we behold a boundless,
shoreless sea.” Education
p. 170, 171.
The Word of God
changes lives. A tourist in
the South Pacific came
upon a native sitting behind
a coconut tree reading the
Bible. He says, “ You still
reading that book? I n our
country, we don’t believe it.”
Said the native, “See those
big pots over there? Were it
not for this Book, you’d be
boiling in it for our dinner.”
So whatever “wise “
people say about or against
the Bible, let’s keep reading it. It will make us wiser
and in tune with God. God
bless us all. Amen.
For questions or Bible
studies, call Ben at 604581-1278, or Junjun at
778-927- 8040.•
When you meet God
Fr, Jerry M. Orbos, SVD
I remember counseling, years ago when I was a
young priest, a very troubled
and very proud man. It was
difficult to make inroads
into his heart, which was
full of denial, rationalizations, and alibis. Finally, almost in frustration, I looked
straight into his eyes and
told him in all earnestness:
“God loves you, no matter
what…” He turned misty
eyed, then, as if to escape
the net, said: “He has good
taste!”
***
In today’s Gospel (Lk.
15, 1-11), we learn of Peter’s first encounter with
Jesus, and how that religious experience changed
his life forever. He was, so
to speak, caught by the net.
The fisherman who lowered
the net was caught by the
Fisher of men himself! The
lesson for all of us is that we
don’t capture God; it is God
who captures us! Let us not
escape from the net of His
love. Let us allow ourselves
to be captured by God.
A lot of us are like Peter; we control or try to control everything and everyone because of our pride.
Sooner or later, we must
accept the reality that we
need God. Sooner or later,
we will have a life-changing
encounter with God, whether through trials, sickness,
poverty, failures, persecutions, separation, or death
of a loved one. When that
happens, may we be given
the grace to be humble and
embrace Him, and not be
proud and elude Him.
***
Peter, in his abundance, with all the fish
he had caught, fell
on his knees and acknowledged Jesus.
There are so many
people filled with blessings and abundance
who do not acknowledge and kneel down
before God. Instead,
they kneel down before their wealth and
blessings, and become
slaves to them!
Let us ask ourselves today: Who or
what do we deify and
adore? Let us put God
back in the main altar
of our lives.
***
“Put out into deep
water and lower your
nets for a catch.” Let
us elect our future
leaders according to
deeper standards and
measures. The truth
of the matter is that we
have become so shallow, so pragmatic and
expedient, in doing politics,
Philippine style. We have
lowered, not our nets, but
our standards, and are willing to catch anyone who is
somehow “puwede na.”
“Depart from me,
Lord, for I am a sinful man.”
Righteous, especially selfrighteous, people can never
truly experience the love,
mercy and compassion of
God. Those who rely on
their merits and achieve-
ments can be so intoxicated
with their righteousness,
and end up relying more on
themselves, and not on the
grace of God. Let us take
the path of humility in our
journey to God’s heart, and
not be disheartened by our
failuresand falls.
***
We say goodbye to
Fr. Juanito “John” Banogbanog, SVD, who died last
Jan. 30 at the age of 52. He
was the first SVD to die
in our Cuban mission.
Father John, from
Moalboal, Cebu, spent
14 years in Cuba as
a missionary and was
well-loved by the people he served. What
made him a good
fisher of men was not
the personal or material resources he had,
but his simplicity, holiness, humility, and joyful and caring heart.
***
Last Saturday, we
said goodbye to Fr.
Hazer Cango, SVD,
who left for his first
foreign assignment—
Brazil, the Amazon
region. This 27-yearold missionary from
Banaue, Ifugao, left his
home, family, country
and culture, and ventured into the deep
to become a fisher of
men.
Saying goodbye
to our missionaries is always a sad moment, but it
is also an inspiring and renewing experience. Yes, our
God is alive and our mission
goes on.
***
WWW.PHILIPPINEASIANNEWSTODAY.COM
This Wednesday, Feb.
10, is Ash Wednesday, the
beginning of Lent. It is a day
of fasting and abstinence.
Those from ages 18 to 60
are required to fast (one full
meal a day only) and those
from age 14 up are required
to abstain (no meat in
meals). Ashes are blessed
and are administered to
remind us of our mortality.
All these practices we do in
gratitude to God, to ask for
forgiveness, and in reparation for our sins. Beyond
obligation is personal love
and devotion.
***
This Thursday, Feb. 11,
is the feast of Our Lady of
Lourdes. It is also the World
Day of the Sick. Let us ask
the Blessed Mother to heal
us of our physical, emotional and spiritual illnesses. Let
us also pray for the healing
of our families, our relationships, our country, the
whole world, and Mother
Nature. Mama Mary, heal us
and help us! Amen.
***
Think
about
this:
“When “I” is replaced by
“We,” even “illness” becomes “wellness” (Michael
Baisden).
***
A moment with the
Lord: “Lord, when we meet
You, help us not to run away
from You or ignore You.
Amen.”•
- Inquirer