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Written by Administrator
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Monday, 31 May 2010 23:43 |
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 “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope...” –Romans 15:4
The daily exercise and discipline of abiding in the Word of God is easily dismissed by those who need it most. “Sa pagwawalang-bahala na ‘alam ko na iyan eh, yung Salita ng Diyos,’ ay hindi namamalayan na nalilihis na pala...” reminded our elder Raul de Asis Hipe, during the Q&A Bible Study on the Sabbath of May 29, 2010. “Sa pagkakagulo sa paligid, kawalan ng pag-asa, pagkagutom, the more we need to dig into the Word of God.”
Bible study interaction usually starts with timid, but minutes into the study find children, youth, grownups, and elders engaged in studying Scripture, discussing available commentaries and exchanging commonly-held explanations. But at the end, still find Scripture giving the answer in its own context.
When the Bible is open before our eyes, and we attend to it, not just assume its contents, we come to be “like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus.”1 know what it’s like to “with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”2
CLICK ON ANY OF THE LINKS BELOW to listen to or download excerpts from the Interactive Q&A Bible Study on the Sabbath of May 29, 2010...
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The sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ that truly covers...
(All Scripture quotes taken from The Holy Bible, NKVJ ©1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc.)
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 02 June 2010 21:58 |
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Written by Administrator
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Thursday, 27 May 2010 11:59 |
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 When the eyewitnesses of the Lord Jesus Christ gathered on Pentecost, they were already one in mind and purpose “one accord in prayer and supplication...”1 “one accord in one place”2.
So why did they need the Holy Spirit then? Why do Christ’s disciples need it now? Was it for strength to resist temptations? A fix when we get depressed? To fortify our weak points? Personal security gear?
As traced from Scripture by Raul de Asis-Hipe during the message on Pentecost (Shavuot), May 19, the mandate which the LORD God set forth with Israel during the first Shavuot after being freed from bondage...
“Surely I have taught you statutes and judgments, just as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should act according to them in the land which you go to possess.
“Therefore be careful to observe them; for this is your wisdom and understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes, and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.” –Deuteronomy 4:5-6 (NKJV, ©1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc.)
...was reconnected by the Lord Jesus Christ to His followers before He returned to the Father:
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”–Acts 1:8
CLICK ON THE LINKS BELOW to listen to the podcast or download the mp3 file, to realize what should propel the compassion and tolerance being embraced by society to deal with increasing diseases, violence and disaster, and awaken to the dedicated involvement and certain purpose of being a WITNESS for GOD...
1Acts1:14a
2Acts 2:1
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Last Updated on Friday, 28 May 2010 19:33 |
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Written by Administrator
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Wednesday, 26 May 2010 23:24 |
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 What can possibly strangle the life out of someone who is working to “bear much fruit” after he comes to know the Word of God and strives to “walk in the Spirit”?
During the Sabbath message of May 15, on the count-up to Pentecost, Raul de Asis-Hipe stripped the bark off the wildly prolific species of THORNS, which the Eternal God constantly warned about. As old as the land and thriving in the lives of all of us who are looking the other way.
Far from being an occasional prick, thorns were a constant pain in the neck of landkeepers in Israel, who had to uproot and burn the lot. Only a lazy man would dare relax for long before his fields were overrun by these unproductive invaders.
Even the tirelessly working apostle Paul who brought the good news of the kingdom of God to the known world* found rebellious, corrupt, oppositors of God to be more of a thorn in the flesh than the headaches and eye trouble he hinted at in his letters to the churches...
“Do not be afraid of their words, or be dismayed by their looks, for they are a rebellious house...” –Ezekiel 2:6
What threat do thorns have on our spiritual journey? CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW to listen to the podcast or download the mp3 file to find out how we can identify creeping signs of its presence... When are we in danger of becoming one? What possibilities open up when we untangle ourselves from the clutches of thorns?
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 26 May 2010 23:36 |
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Written by Administrator
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Sunday, 09 May 2010 23:49 |
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 One of several perceptive hints in our picturesque Tagalog is that we use the word ugat for both ‘vein’ and ‘root,’ as observed by Raul de Asis-Hipe during the Sabbath message of May 1, 2010. In the quest for continuity, geneticists are now excited by the possibilities that come from isolating building blocks of human life such as embryonic or even amniotic stem cells, anticipating that its ability to self-renew will enable them to regenerate new cells, mend tissue damage, restore healthy blood and bone marrow, open the ears of the deaf and the eyes of the blind, make the body good as new...
Yet the very same roots our Almighty Creator commanded us to honor so we could have the kind of long life worth having, are slipping from our grasp. The more we race for youth and longevity, the more the younger workforce is forced to toil 24/7, relegates our parents to functionaries, valued only for their economic utility, slaves to their children, set aside as “non-performing assets” at a certain age, each generation a vile antithesis of the fifth commandment, wrinklier and sicker...
“Honor your father and your mother...” –Exodus 20:12a, NKJV
Could there be any particular reason why the LORD God turns our attention to parents immediately after the first four commandments? How does honoring our parents affect our being, the relationships we have and our view of life? What exactly about parents is most essential that we honor? How scathing is the condemnation of our Elder Brother Jesus Christ for those who help others or even give to the church at the expense of neglecting their parents? In what way does honoring our parents help years before a cuddly baby turns into a sulky teenager? Who is responsible for teaching sons and daughters how to honor parents? Is there any letup for parents’ effort to ensure their sons and daughters learn what often seems impossible to teach?
Does honoring our parents carry significant consequences for our destiny?
CLICK ON THE PODCAST EPISODE below to listen to or DOWNLOAD the MP3 LINK to take a second look at how deep and how far honoring our roots will take us...
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 11 May 2010 21:23 |
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Written by Administrator
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Thursday, 06 May 2010 12:07 |
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 In Scripture, covenant between people involved measuring each other up, agreeing to conditions of mutual benefit, obtaining critical support of forces necessary for a sovereign to establish rule and order; words of honor exchanged with trustworthy persons especially when one can’t find them in his own family...
Taking off from the 32nd day of the count-up to Pentecost, the Sabbath of May 1, 2010, Juan Gabriel Cardona explored the beauty of COVENANT as prepared by the LORD God from the beginning and throughout the ages:
From the time the Almighty Creator introduced Himself “I AM THE LORD your GOD” to Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, making covenant (Heb. beyrith) with both conditions and promises extending to their descendants... to GOD’s REMEMBRANCE of His covenant whenever those same willful, headstrong descendants cried out to Him... to the time GOD Himself made a covenant with the people of Israel, the most basic manifestation of which was the commandments...
One feature stands out: That even when people have been consistently unfaithful, the LORD GOD has always been faithful “from eternity to eternity...”
Making it all the more astonishing that the Almighty Father went ahead to lay everything on the line to give His only Son for a “new covenant which the LORD GOD will make with the house of Israel..”
“Brethren, I speak in the manner of men: Though it is only a man’s covenant, yet if it is confirmed, no one annuls or adds to it. Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ. And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect.” – Galatians 3:15-17 NKJV ©1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Thus, far from being adjustable and subject to human predilection for “discarding the old in favor of the new, or magnifying just one aspect of the faith (obedience, grace, salvation, etc), covenant (Gr. diatheke) in all its completeness, now carries final, exacting weight, more in the sense of ‘will’ and ‘testament,’ “huling kagustuhan ng mamamatay... walang bisa hanggang mamatay muna ang gumawa” The shedding of the precious blood of the Lamb put this covenant into effect...
“For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?... –Hebrews 10:26-29, NKJV ©1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc.
CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW to listen to the podcast episode or DOWNLOAD the mp3 file to explore the beauty of GOD’s covenant, one of the themes central to His relationship with human beings; and the thoughtful, eternally hopeful extension of covenant to us, born in “the times of the end...”
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Last Updated on Sunday, 09 May 2010 10:02 |
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