Politics!!!

Many people on the internet are going crazy about the recent election and the results. Every since the campaigns started, many Christians have been posting statuses which have been pro-one side or the other, and have even been very ugly and disrespectful to one or both parties. Now that the election is over, people have been going so far as to say that this isn't God's will, or that God ISN'T in control of what has happened. I don't want to ruffle any feathers here, but I figured I would share a few things that I've been thinking about since all the posts popped up on my feed.

When the Christians in the first century were having difficulties with the government, what did the Apostles tell them they should do? While you think about that question, remember that this government was the very one that was arresting Christians and killing them for their faith. Look at what Peter says about this.

1 Peter 2:13 You submit to every human creation on account of the Lord, whether to king as supreme,
14 whether to governors as being sent through him into vengeance of the ones doing evil and praise of the ones doing good;
15 because thus is the will of the God while doing good to put to silence the ignorance of the unthinking men,
16 as free men and not having the freedom as a cover of the evil but as slaves of God.

Another thing to consider is Jesus. Remember who decided to have him killed? Peter has something to say about this as well...

1 Peter 2:21 For into this you were called, because also Christ suffered in behalf of you while leaving behind an example for you so that you might follow his steps,
22 who did not sin neither was guile found in the mouth of him,
23 who being reviled did not revile in return, suffering he did not threaten, but he handed it over to the one judging justly; 
24 who brought our sins in his body upon the tree, so that after dying to the sins we might living to the justice, you were healed by the wounds of him.

Considering all of this, does it really matter who we vote for? Does it really matter if we are living under a monarchy, communist dictatorship, or a theocracy? Jesus told Pilate that he came into this world to establish a HEAVENLY kingdom, not one upon this earth (John 18:36). A friend of mine put it very well:

"Me: I wonder who Jesus would have voted for...
Other me: Silly goose, you don't vote when you're king. You've already won."

Let's not forget that the victory has already been won and all we are doing is waiting for our king to return and take us into his kingdom. This is quite comforting, at least for me :)

What happened to your sunglasses?!?

I know you are wondering what on earth a blog with this title could have to tell anyone. Just be patient. All will be revealed... :)

Today was my day off! I spent most of my morning and afternoon reading about New Testament history, which is really interesting!!! If you are ever interested in reading about NT history, grab a New Testament Survey book. I have been reading the one written by Merril C. Tenney, which has been very informative. I also have The New Testament: It's Origin, Development, and Background by Bruce Metzger, which I also recommend. READ THEM! :)

I decided to go to the mall this afternoon to pay some bills and window shop. I rode a Jeepney there, which is a form of public transportation. I paid 10 pesos (about 25 cents) to get from my house to the mall. On the way there we passed through the center of town and I was reminded of something which I (fortunately) don't get to see very often.

Because of the sun today, I wore my sunglasses which I bought in the US last time we were on furlough. I was looking around from inside the jeep and suddenly, from out of nowhere, one of the hundreds of children in Cebu who live on the street jumped from the outside of the jeep and grabbed my sunglasses in an attempt to steal them! His plan backfired a little as the cheap plastic broke and all he was able to run off with was one of the temples (the part which holds the glasses to your head and rests on your ears). The rest of the pair fell onto the floor of the jeepney. I was a little disgusted. He didn't know that they only cost $5, but still, stealing someone's glasses? I guess I was more disappointed than anything else, after all, it's only a pair of sunglasses, but this boy made the effort to jump in and grab them off my face!

Thinking back on that, I was reminded of something Jesus said which I'd like to share with you.


Luke 12:13 But a certain one out of the crowd said to him; "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me."
14 But he said to him; "Man, who set me as judge or divider to you?"
15 And he said to them; "You watch and you keep from every greed, because life is not in what abundance a person has out of his possessions."
16 But he said a parable to them while saying; "The country of a certain rich man was fruitful.
17 And he considered in himself while saying; 'What will I do, because I have no place where I will gather together my fruits?'
18 And he said; 'This is what I will do, I will take down my storehouses and I will build up greater storehouses and I will gather together every wheat and my good things there
19 And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many good things being laid into many years; you refresh, you eat, you drink, you rejoice'
20 But the God said to him; 'Unthinking one, they demand from you in this the night the soul of you; the  things you prepared, to whom will they be?'
21 Thus will be the one treasuring for himself and not becoming rich into God."

I made this translation and tried to be as close to the original as possible. Please read another translation if you need clarification :)

Greed is messy, isn't it? That's my bit :) Have a great rest of your week!

Have a problem with a mouse in your house?

If you've ever had trouble with mice, this blog post is for you! This evening, Amy and I had to deal with a little mouse (and I mean little!) in our apartment. From our observations and lessons learned, I present to you Sara (and Amy)'s simple seven step how-to for removing pesky rodents from your domicile (including an ACTUAL EXAMPLE!)

Step 1 - Have a trusty feline present to take care of the little one.

Romeo first noticed that a mouse had come in and was climbing up our screen window. Amy then noticed that Romeo was on our kitchen counter staring intently upon the window above. Before shooing him off, she realized that the tiny mouse had reached our valence. EEEEK! Well, Romeo has always been fond of chasing cockroaches, lizards, my cat Princess, people, etc... surely he would literally jump at the opportunity, right? It turns out that our would-be mouser stared at the mouse for a good five minutes until he realized he couldn't reach it, then turned around and ignored it's presence. Hmph. Some use he was...

Step 2 - Discuss how to best capture your "friend."

Once the mouse moves to higher ground, you might consider putting your cat on the shelf the mouse has reached. I would not recommend this. Amy tried this, and the cat was terrified to be so high off the ground and immediately made his way to the floor. Instead, you and your companion should discuss in what way you would like to remove your "friend" and whether you would like him to survive the process. When you have decided this, proceed to step 3.

Step 3 - Buy/Purchase/Make a container to house your intruder.

We decided to catch our visitor and free him a distance from our house. We didn't have the ability to go and buy a live trap, and we didn't really want to wait for it to just waltz into our trap, so Amy put something together. We had a box from microwave popcorn and some neat flexible cutting boards, so Amy cut off the tabs of the box and we were "ready". The mouse was cornered behind our styrofoam cooler, so Amy positioned the box on one end and prepared the cutting board for closing the box once the mouse entered. My job was to "encourage" it to enter the box. I had a cutting board as well, and I was using the end of a serving spoon to "encourage." Well, to make a ridiculously embarrassing story short, the mouse ran away from the box and towards me, then I flipped out and it "jumped" down to the floor and behind our dishes cabinet. Yikes...

Step 4 - Calm your ridiculous older sister and form a new plan. 

This step is short. All you must do is formulate a plan and your ridiculous sister (who is an acknowledged pansy) will listen to your wisdom and force herself to participate. After all, she doesn't want to go to sleep until the mouse (which probably weighs less than her little finger) is OUT of your apartment. Grab a couple flashlights, because it is dark behind cabinets. The mouse will then proceed to climb UP the back of the shelf and stand on the edge, then hop down to the cabinet top. Don't worry, this is a "good" thing. Once it positions itself behind your microwave, switch roles with your companion. You take the box and two cutting boards (one to close behind the mouse, the other to make certain that it does not run out and jump on you) and get ready on one end of the microwave, while your sister watches the mouse and uses the end of a serving spoon to scare the critter into the box. Amazingly, this plan can work! After some jumping and squealing (?), you can close the box with the mouse inside (you are left to determine who did the jumping and squealing). Once you are sure the mouse is secure, prepare for step 5.

Step 5 - Conduct the mouse to its new home.

We recommend you choose a location FAR AWAY from your house. What good is it to catch the mouse and let it go right outside your house? It may come back! We walked all the way down the road. I held the light while Amy held the mouse in it's box (Yes, we had traded; she is much braver than I am). Once you arrive at your destination (we chose the entry of our road by a drainage canal), free your prisoner!

Step 6 - Look frantically around and at the box and realize that you DID NOT CATCH THE MOUSE!!!

This is followed by the sub-step "return to your house and find that the mouse is still under the microwave where you left it." You may facepalm if you like.

The rest is easy. Follow your earlier plan. Inwardly laugh as your older sister flips out while the mouse, instead of scooting submissively into the box, shoots off the counter and heads for the back door. After containing your mirth and calming your sister (again!), ascertain where exactly the mouse is now. If your mouse did as ours did, you will find it in the corner of your back door. Specifically in our case, the mouse was wedged in the gap between our door and the edge of our floor. As I hesitantly peered down, I saw its little tail and two back feet suspended in the air. It was stuck. You may laugh at the mouse, just be sure that you don't startle the mouse. Now slowly open the door, just enough to free it, and then shut it back once the mouse has escaped. After this you are done!

Step 7 - Crazy-clean every utensil you used, throw away any disposable item used, and laugh at your lack of courage. 

This is self-explanatory. One very important thing you must remember to do is seal off the hole through which the mouse exited (and probably entered). Use as much duct tape as you feel is necessary. The same goes for the amount of soap you use when you wash the dishes.

So there you have it. Seven simple steps. I hope this has helped you, and perhaps made you laugh :). God bless you!

Ones who have been called out...

What is the life of a Christian supposed to be like? A vacation? Too often people hurry, study, and prepare themselves for becoming a Christian, then when the water dries off they sit back and relax. Christianity is not about relaxation! We have been called to do something. What? See for yourself...

1 Corinthians 5:11-21 (SAM)
11 Therefore having known the fear of the Lord we persuade men, but we have been revealed to God; and I hope also to be revealed in your conscience.

12 We are not again commending ourselves to you but giving to you opportinity of boasting in behalf of us, so that you might have something to say to the ones boasting in face and not in heart.
13 For if we are out of our senses, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you.
14 For the love of the Christ holds us fast, after judging this, that one died in behalf of all, therefore (the) all died;
15 and he died in behalf of all, so that the ones living might not live for themselves but for the one who died and was raised in behalf of them.

16 Therefore from now on WE know no one according to the flesh; if we even knew Christ according to flesh, yet now we know him no longer in this way.
17 Therefore if a certain one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things have passed away, behold new things have become;
18 But (the) all things are out of the God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave to us the service of reconciliation,
19 in that God was in Christ reconciling world to himself, not counting (the) their trespasses to them and putting the word of (the) reconciliation in us .
20 Therefore we are ambassadors in behalf of Christ as (the) God urging through us; we beg in behalf of Christ, you be reconciled to (the) God.
21 The one who did not know sin was made sin in behalf of us, so that WE might become justice of God in him.

Ephesians 2:10 (SAM)
10 For we are work of him, being created in Christ Jesus on the basis of good works which the God prepared beforehand, so that in them we might walk.

What is it we have been called to do? You see it, now let's do it :)

Abraham's Family Tree

Have you ever read the story of Abraham and wondered about how everyone was related? I made a chart a few years ago and figured I would share it with you all.

We know that Abraham and Sarah were half-brother and sister. They were married and had Isaac, who married the daughter of his cousin. They then had two sons, Jacob and Esau. Jacob married two sisters, Rachel and Leah, who were his cousins, both first and second degree. There's also the strange story of Lot and his two daughters who bore children through him.  

AND YET, God decided that this man and his family would receive the promise which made his descendants God's special people! Isn't it interesting how the Lord works?

The C-H-R-I-S-T-I-A-N Song

As a prelude to what follows, I would like to establish the fact and inform you all that I LOVE Greek. Koine Greek, the Greek which the New Testament was written in, is one of my passions. After going through a study course under my parents I have loved working with the language and reading and translating. Considering that, continue reading. 

I was laying in bed last night and thought this up. The following are the words for the song in Greek instead of English. This is what happens to an aspiring Greek scholar at 3 AM. Enjoy :)

I am a χ

I am a χ-ρ

I am a χ-ρ-ι-σ-τ-ι-α-ν-ο-ς (Christian)

And I have χ-ρ-ι-σ-τ-ο-ν (Christ)

In my κ-α-ρ-δ-ι-ᾳ (Heart)

And I will α-γ-α-π-η-σ-ω ([I will] love)

All the κ-α-ι-ρ-ο-υ-ς (Time[s])

I have heard two English versions of this song:

I am a C

I am a C-H

I am a C-H-R-I-S-T-I-A-N

And I have C-H-R-I-S-T

In my H-E-A-R-T

and I will L-O-V-E, love him 

all the T-I-M-E, time!

And with an alternate ending:

I am a C

I am a C-H

I am a C-H-R-I-S-T-I-A-N

And I have C-H-R-I-S-T

In my H-E-A-R-T

And I will L-I-V-E  E-T-E-R-N-A-L-L-Y!

Such lovely memories :) Have a great day!

Did Jesus really live here on earth?

Has anyone ever criticized you for your belief in Jesus? Have they ridiculed you for your belief that Jesus Christ really came to the earth? I had a class this last Monday and we discussed the fact that Jesus is a HISTORICAL person. The following evidence is what we looked through and discussed.

There was a famous Jewish scholar who lived from 37-100 AD, named Josephus. He wrote a history book called the Antiquities of the Jews. In this book, he mentions Jesus Christ. There are two quotations from the Josephus’ book in which Jesus is mentioned. The first is located in chapter 18, section 3:

“Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews, and many of the Gentiles. He was the Christ, and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men among us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold theses and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him And the tribe of Christians so named for him are not extinct to this day.”

This reference is doubted by many scholars for several reasons. One is that Josephus changes his topic from what is being discussed in the previous and following paragraph and shifts to discuss this so-called man Jesus. Another reason is that in his reference to Jesus, Josephus calls him “the Christ”. Josephus, being a good Jewish/Roman, should have known what the title of “anointed one” would mean. There are more reasons, but because of only the above two, many scholars do not consider the paragraph as one written originally by Josephus. They speculate that it was written, most likely, by Christian scribes and inserted at a later date.

The second reference to Jesus occurs in chapter 20, section 9:

“And now Caesar, upon hearing the death of Festus, sent Albinus into Judea, as procurator. But the king deprived Joseph of the high priesthood, and bestowed the succession to that dignity on the son of Ananus, who was also himself called Ananus... Festus was now dead, and Albinus was but upon the road; so he assembled the sanhedrin of judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James, and some others; and when he had formed an accusation against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them to be stoned.”

Most scholars, if not all, do not question this reference. It is a short but clear reference showing the existence of Jesus during the first century. It mentions the death of James,  the brother of Jesus who was the so called Christ. This execution is mentioned briefly and only in regard to the high priest Ananus.

Even without the testimony of Josephus, there are several witnesses to the existence of Jesus Christ during the first century. All of the references I am referring to are references written by non-Christian historians and authors. Consider what the references say.

Cornelius Tacitus, a very Roman historian who lived in 56-117AD, mentioned Christ when discussing Nero’s burning of the city of Rome and how he transferred the blame from himself to the Christians alive at that time:

"Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judæa, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular. Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind".

Pliny the Younger, Governor of Bithynia who lived from around 62-113AD, also mentioned Christians in a letter to the emperor Trajan:

They affirmed, however, that the whole of their guilt, or their error, was, that they were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verse a hymn to Christ as to a god, and bound themselves to a solemn oath, not to any wicked deeds, but never to commit any fraud, theft, adultery, never to falsify their word, not to deny a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up.

Because of these records, Christians can have great confidence! If there was only evidence in the Bible to tell us about Jesus Christ, that would be fine, as long as you believed in the Bible. Because there is evidence outside of the Bible, we have SECULAR proof that Jesus was a living, breathing human being who lived during the first century and brought upon a revolution that shook the world and changed it forever!

Sources: Sources: http://www.tektonics.org/jesusexist/pliny.html, http://www.theistic-evolution.com/josephus.html, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tacitus, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tacitus_on_Christ, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josephus_on_Jesus, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josephus

Suffering?

This post was written July 31, but I am only posting it today. I hope you can glean something from it.

SUFFER

(verb) to undergo of feel pain or distress; to endure pain, disability, death, etc...

I can't tell you the number of times I get into what my wonderful mother calls the PLOMs. Have you ever heard of them? PLOM is an acronym for Poor Little Ol' Me. The idea is basically that you have a pity party for yourself. Why should I have a pity party? Some common reasons might be:

• My day goes badly

• I don't get "enough sleep"

• People being selfish/rude

• I'm bored and have nothing to do

To most people, these reasons sound petty and silly. They are, really, but at the time, I feel justified in ranking myself with the martyrs. I try to encourage myself and feel jilted when others don't. It usually takes a while for me to get out of a gloomy state of mind. Yes, I do realize how ridiculous this is, but that is when I look back at my so-called "suffering".

I want to share an experience I had this afternoon that was a bit of a wake-up call for me. I went to visit a brother who is about 65 years old named Ben Tejedor who lives south of Cebu in a place called Tabunok. I took a jeep ride for about 30 minutes and walked for 10 minutes down a road to the turnoff where I had to walk down a dirt path for about 5 minutes. When I arrived at his one-room apartment that he shares with his wife, I knocked on the door and he called out that the door was open. I opened the door and saw him sitting behind his big desk, where he sits for most of the day. He didn't get up to greet me, but remained seated as he asked me how I was. Ben Tejedor has Parkinson's disease. I pulled up a chair by his desk and sat down and we began to talk. He asked me how everyone was and I began to tell him of all that had been going on, when suddenly he began to cry.

Ben Tejedor's Parkinson's disease is so bad that he shakes almost continuously. He can walk, but had a bad fall not too long ago and is afraid to go anywhere without someone's help. Because of this, he is pretty much confined to a room that is probably not 15 square feet in area. He doesn't go anywhere and depends on the visits of his friends for social interaction. He takes vitamin supplements, but as far as I know, Parkinson's disease still has no cure. He is getting progressively worse and is in constant pain. His wife is not a Christian and considers him a burden. I don't know about you, but if I was in his situation, I would probably cry too. A lot.

I held his hand and tried to encourage him. He told me that I shouldn't waste my time visiting him and talking with him, because he could give me nothing in return. Can you imagine the thought? I tried to convince him that this was a silly thought because he IS important to me, he IS my brother, and that I wasn't WASTING MY TIME!

Needless to say, he was pretty down and I'm not sure he heard anything I said. I tried to tell him that everyone at church asks about him, and how we understand his situation. I also tried to convince him to come to church this Sunday. I told him that I would come and pick him up, and I would take him. He said he would consider this, so I am hoping that he will in fact agree.

I share this because of the idea of suffering. I looked into the eyes of this man, so beat down by his hardship and pain, and wondered how I could have ever thought that I had any idea what suffering is. Looking back on my visit with him, another person's suffering comes to mind.

And we see Jesus, who having been made lower than angels for a short time has been crowned with glory and honor on account of the suffering of death, in order that by grace of God he might taste death in behalf of all.  Hebrews 2:9

I have learned a lesson, I hope, about my selfishness. Perhaps this will help you too. Too many times people complain and are saddened when they should rejoice at the FREEDOM we have in Christ. We can have joy, even in the hard times. The next time you feel down, think about THAT. Christ was willing to give up his happiness and comfort for YOU! :) For me, that is a comforting thought...

Here we are!

Well, I figured that it was about time that I start a blog and actually USE it. This blog is where I will post the random interesting, depressing, encouraging, and sometimes weird things that happen during my everyday life. I hope that it will let people see the work of the Lord in my life and the amazing opportunities he gives us in our work here in the Philippines. To start it off, I want to tell you about a man named Al Jay.

Al Jay is a deaf-mute man who dropped by the BSC last Wednesday (July 25) in between my classes that evening. He is a student at a Presbyterian Seminary about 20 minutes away from our office, but he is originally from another island, Negros Occidental. He came to Cebu to take classes at this seminary with the idea of beginning a deaf ministry. Since his first visit he has visited one more time and we have "talked" a lot. I say talk, but because I cannot yet sign, we were writing things on the paper with some signing in the middle from him. When you are having a conversation entirely through written correspondence (like letters, text messaging, or even email and chatting) you really have to make sure you know what you want to say and how to say it. It was pretty neat, though.

I do know a little sign language; the alphabet and some random words. I taught myself the alphabet using a really neat plastic coated place mat my grandparents gave me, but we had some visitors here years ago who taught us some of the actual signs. Rachael and Jon learned more than me, but I have recently become inspired! Sign language is really interesting! I have really enjoyed learning some simple signs and plan on mastering it! Dad gave me a book on Philippine Sign Language and I have looked through it a little, trying to memorize the signs as I go. I also found a really great website: http://www.lifeprint.com/, which has been really helpful. If you're interesting I suggest you check it out!

Al Jay decided to take some of our correspondence courses and told me that he really enjoys them! I gave him a copy of our course Jesus: Man of the Bible and our course Archaeology and the Bible, which he has already been working through. He brought back the completed answer sheets for the first books of both yesterday, and I gave him the next book in the series. God has seen fit to give me the opportunity to visit with Al Jay and perhaps be an influence on him. Please keep this situation, along with all the opportunities we have, in your prayers. God can do great things if we only let him :)

I'm off for today. Thanks for reading!

"I am able to do all things in the one who strengthens me" Philippians 4:13 (SAM)