Monday, March 29, 2010

Adultery!

South Korean courts sentenced actress Ok So-ri to 8 months in jail for cheating on her husband. During court proceedings, So-ri fought to stay out of prison, claiming the 1953 law against adultery was an invasion of privacy. The courts upheld the law, but suspended her sentence for 2 years.

Even though most countries don’t recognize adultery as a criminal offense, God is offended by this sin (Exodus 20:14). Unfaithfulness carries a maximum sentence that none of us can escape.

This penalty includes public disgrace. Even if an affair never hits the front pages, believe me—word gets around. The Bible claims that cheaters will “be wounded and disgraced. [Their] shame will never be erased” (Proverbs 6:33). This shame not only permanently trashes a person’s reputation, but it scars children and extended families as well—not to mention the other individual involved in the affair.

The Bible warns, “Sexual immorality is a sin against your own body” (1 Corinthians 6:18), and “the [one] who commits adultery is an utter fool, for he destroys himself” (Proverbs 6:32). Adultery can destroy us through disease, emotional entanglement with another person, and a messed-up marriage.

Once a relationship is polluted by unfaithfulness, the jealous spouse “will be furious and . . . will show no mercy when he [or she] takes revenge” (v.34). Divorce, neglect, reciprocal affairs, and even murder are all forms of revenge that stem from the business of betrayal.

God asks us to “remain faithful to one another in marriage” (Hebrews 13:4). As both our advocate and judge, He wants us to avoid the maximum sentence that adultery carries.

Source: http://www.ourdailyjourney.org/2010/03/28/maximum-sentence/

Saturday, January 02, 2010

Your Purpose Can Work for You this 2010




If your dream became your life, would the world be a better place?” Answering this question, ie. clearly defining your purpose, will have a powerful impact on your life, leadership, ministry and/or business. I want to identify 6 ways purpose can work for you.

  1. Purpose focuses - a clear purpose gives you the ability to focus all your efforts and activities towards achieving it. In this way, purpose enables you to determine what is essential and what is superfluous. It makes decision making much easier because you have a fixed value for evaluating the options before you.
  2. Purpose points to better execution - purpose is not determined in a vacuum. It is birthed not only out of your strengths and passions but also the needs of the world you live in. Aristotle once said, “Where your talents and the needs of the world cross, their lies your calling.” Roy Spence Jr. writes, “A purpose is informed by the needs of the world. Ergo, if you build your organization with a concrete purpose in mind—a purpose that fills a real need in the marketplace—it stands to reason that performance will follow.” We’ll be looking at how you can discover your purpose in future posts.
  3. Purpose opens up meaningful creativity - when Pampers —yes, the diaper company— discovered their purpose, it unleashed a flood of creative ideas. They realized that they were not a brand about keeping babies dry. They were a company that cared about helping mother’s around the world with their baby’ physical, social, and emotional development. As a result, according to Jim Stengel, who was Procter & Gambels’ Global Marketing Officer: "The agenda for innovation started to change. The way we approached consumers began to change…We began thinking about our product experience differently. We identified “sound sleep” as a key to healthy baby development. We began asking questions like what can Pampers’ role be in helping babies have deep, healthy sleep so they can wake up with energy, with rejuvenation and better brain development?" With your purpose clearly defined, you’ll discover new and innovative ways to make a difference in the world.
  4. Purpose inspires - the world is desperately in need of imagination and inspiration. A clearly defined purpose can provide the inspiration that helps ordinary people accomplish extraordinary things. Purpose can ignite a contagious passion to rally others to your cause.
  5. Purpose fuels perseverance - no one is exempt from obstacles and setbacks in both personal and professional life. Even the most successful people fall flat on their faces and fail. What keeps them going? Purpose. A belief that even attempting to make a difference in the world in their unique way is worth it. Why? Because purpose is always much bigger than simply making money or surviving. When you know your purpose, the stakes are higher and you living for something greater than your self and even greater than your survival. Purpose gives you both something to die for and something to live for. George Bernard Shaw once wrote: "This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; being a force of nature instead of a feverish selfish clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you heppy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can."
  6. Purpose creates meaning for the mundane - every day, in every job sector, you can hear it. Complaints and criticisms. People hemming and hawing about how boring and meaningless their jobs are. Guaranteed, they have no clue as to what their purpose is. They feel that they are just cogs in the machinery soon to be replaced by automation or downsizing. But what purpose provides is meaning for the mundane. It gives context and definition to the day to day activities of work and life. John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods talks about purpose motivation rather than profit motivation this way: "It is difficult to impossible to truly inspire the creators of customer happiness—the employees—with the ethic of profit maximization. Maximizing profits may excite investors, but I assure you most employees don’t get very excited about it even if they accept its validity as one of the legitimate goals of business. It is my experience that employees can get very excited and inspired by a business that has an important business purpose…

Deep down, each person has a human need for imagination—to be captivated by something greater than ourselves, greater than a paycheck. Deep down, we want more than a job. We want a cause. We want to make a difference. And we want the small and routine things we do to be a part of something great.

I want to conclude this post with a quote from retired president of Southwest Airlines, Colleen Barrett:

Don’t ever take a job—join a crusade! Find a cause that you can believe in and give yourself to it completely.


This article is lifted from...
Discovering Your Purpose: 6 Ways Purpose Can Work for You
by MARKJUANE on AUGUST 22, 2009
www.markjuane.com

Monday, December 21, 2009

KULAY NG PASKO, Ang Nais Ko Ay... by Ate Lotts Fabellore



Green, yellow, red, orange, gold at blue, ilan lamang sa mga kulay na nagbibigay buhay at sigla sa iba’t ibang bagay at aspeto ng kapaskuhan… kadalasan pangit ang husga sa walang masyadong kulay at matindi pa diyan tingin dito’y patay. Sa kabila ng ganitong impresyon sa totoo lang hangad parin ng marami ang Puting Pasko. Kakatuwa talaga ang tao. Pero kung iisipin, kung kulay nga ang Pasko, ano nga kaya ‘to?


Meron kayang ayaw ng White Christmas? Sabi nila’y, Paskong masaya, malaking bonus, may Christmas tree, maraming regalo at pagkain, kantahan, may snow, malamig at pamilyang nagdiriwang na may mainit na samahan. Idagdag mo pa ang mga batang ayaw magmimintis sa kanilang aginaldo. At sino’ng nag-iisa ang di naiinggit sa mga nagmamahalan?


Ngunit minsan, kahit na gaanong paghahangad at pagsisikap, bakit kinababagsakan parin ay ang Blue Christmas? Kung kailan naman magpapasko nu’n pa nawalan ng trabaho, nu’n pa nagkahiwalay, meron ngang mapagsasaluhan wala naman yo’ng gusto mong makasalo. Sa pamilyang may kanya-kanya nang lakad kahit wala ka mang pupuntahan iiwan mo rin ang tahanan, sino’ng gustong mag-solo’? Ito marahil ang malalim na hinagpis ng maraming magulang, ng maraming lolo at lola. Meron namang kumpleto ang pamilya, ang totoo, sobra pa nga! kaya lang mas ramdam ang kalam ng sikmura kaysa sa saya na sila ay magkakasama… nauuwi rin sa wala.


Party! Party! Parties! Sa sobrang enjoyment dito, maaaring Yellow Christmas na nga ito! At sa mga bumubuhos ang peso, dolyar at marami pang “suwerte” , sila marahil ang may Berde o Gintong Pasko. Bakit sila lang? – Ang umaalingawngaw na ungot! Minsan, maririnig mo rin ang inggit sa mga katagang,“ Sila lang ba ang anak ng diyos? ” Pusong may labis-labis na paghahangad ay kahungkagang napakahirap mapunan.


Sa bagay kung tutuusin, ang Pasko naman talaga ay bunga ng masidhing paghahangad ng isang Ama. Tama! Ang masidhing pagnanais na maipadama sa mga tao ang di masukat Niyang pagmamahal. Pambihirang Pag-ibig! Di nga ba’t ibinigay ng Ama ang nag-iisa niyang anak para sa ating kaligtasan. Habang ang mundo’y nagdiriwang sa pagsilang ng Tagapagligtas, ano kaya ang nararamdaman ng Ama na nakakaalam ng pasakit na tatanggapin ng kanyang Anak? At ng Anak na Siyang mag-aalay ng buhay para mabayaran ang ating kasalanan?


Emmanuel, ‘yan ang Kanyang Pangalan, gustong gusto ng Diyos na makapiling ang tao kahit sa mga pagkakataong lumalayo tayo. Pambihirang Pagmamahal! Lahat ay para sa’yo, para sa akin, para sa atin. Ito ang Pasko, Pula ang Pasko…, ang Kanyang paghihirap para sa ating kaginhawaan…., ang Kanyang pagsilang at kamatayan para tayo ay mabuhay ng masaya at kaigaigaya.


Salamat! Salamat! Salamat Ama! Walang humpay na pagpapasalamat at pagsamba ang dapat nating tugon sa Kanya at hindi ang makasariling mga hiling sa kaarawan Niya. Pula ang Pasko, hindi ipinagkait na pinadama ng Ama sa’yo ang kulay na ito upang maipadama mo rin sa mga taong naghahanap at nangangailangan ng Kulay Pasko. TARA MAGKULAY TAYO!

Monday, November 23, 2009

GATEWAY to Blessedness







PSALM 1
Gate 1: Source of Values
Gate 2: Outward Appearance
Gate 3: Ultimate Destiny


Sunday, November 15, 2009

Emotional Pacquiaos



Fighting as Emotional Pacquiaos...
  1. ROUND 1: Go to God First
  2. ROUND 2: Feel the Pain but Fearlessly Hit On It
  3. ROUND 3: Praise through Pain
  4. ROUND 4: Live for Today and Let the Past Teach but Never Torment
  5. ROUND 5: Serve Your Purpose

Cease or Persist?


Why Commit to Pray & Persist?
  1. God is Not an UNJUST JUDGE
  2. There is a Continuous Need to PRACTICE PERSISTENCE
  3. God Grants Justice Against Our Enemy

Heart Work


God's Heart Work
  1. He Deprives Us
  2. He Distances from Us
  3. He Delivers Us
Our Heart Work
  1. We must Call
  2. We must Believe
  3. We must Know Him Better

Four for One



IF YOUR ONE OF THE FOUR...
If you’re not paralyzed what can you do?
  1. Bring them to Jesus (at all costs)
  2. Carry them
  3. Prepare them
IF YOU'RE THE ONE...
If you’re the paralyzed what can you do?
  1. Receive your friends help
  2. Receive God's love and forgiveness
  3. Fight your own fight

Saturday, October 24, 2009

MENSAHE NG PAG-ASA by Lotts Fabellore



Sa dami ng mga trahedyang patuloy na nararanasan ng ating bansa- bagyo, kahirapan, kagutuman, sakit, krimen, at lamatayan, ang madalas bigkasin ng marami, “kailan ba tayo giginhawa?”

Sa mga banta ng muling paghyagupit ng kalikasan na paulit-ulit na ibinabalitang ito’y paparating na naman, ang tugon ng bayan, “wala nab a itong katapusan?”

At isipin na lang na ang lahat ng ito ay siyang bunga n gating mga maling aksyon sa ating kalikasan, sa ating kapwa, sa ating sarili at sa Maykapal higit pang nagugulumihanan an gating kalooban, “may magandang bukas pa kayang naghihintay?”

Nasaan ba si God sa mahirap na panahong ito? Tumingin kang mabuti sa paligid. Hindi mo ba nakikita ang pagsasakripisyo ng mga institusyon at mga indibidwal na halos ibigay ang buhay mailigtas lang ang mga nalagay sa panganib? Hindi mo ba pansin ang masigasig na pagbibigay tulong n gating mga kababayan maging ng mga dayuhan? Lingid ba sa’yo ang pagsiskap ng mga simbahan upang ibangon ang moral ng mga nasalanta? Ang mga ito, mismo, ang mapagligtas, mapagmahal at mapagkalingang kamay ng Maykapal. At tayo, maaari pa anting dugtungan ang mapagpalang kamay na’to.

Hindi lang tayo ang dumaan sa ganito kadilim at kasukal na landas ng buhay maging ang mga banal na lingcod ng Diyos ay dumanas ng labis na hirap at hinagpis ngunit sa kabila ng lahat, ito ang binigkas ng propeta Jeremiah,

“Simpait ng apdo ang alalahanin sa aking paghihirap at kabiguan…

Gayunma’y nanunumbalik ang aking pag-asa kapag naaalala kong:

Pag-ibig mo, Diyos, ay hindi nagmamaliw; kahabagan mo’y walang

Kapantay. Ito ay laging bago bawat umaga; katapatan mo’y napakadakila.”

Magsisi sa ating mga kamalian at magtiwala sa pagmamahal n gating Amang nasalangit dahil gaya ng Dakilang Pastol na nakatagpo sa kanyang nawawalang tupa ay masaya tayong papasanin ni Jesus sa kanya ring bubuhatin ang ating mga kabigatan at pasakit. Nasa Kanya, ang siguradong kaginhawaan ng Ngayon at Bukas. Manalig at Magtiwala sa Kanya!