Religious Jerks

We struggle a lot with the concept of being Liberal or Conservative. An idea that religion is like a coin having two sides, known to many as the "extremes." Terms like middle ground, too extreme, close-minded, radical or even rebellious creep into our Christian vocabulary. It is so easy to begin debating certain topics: music, coffee, sports, dress and accessories, simplistic lifestyle, quoting famous authors or even Bible texts.

In the end we are either at one end  of the spectrum or the other; arguing who has the right to stand in the middle. Some would like to  use definitions such as pharisees or hypocrites, but i would sum it all up as -- Religious Jerk. Please don't get me wrong, but we tend to forget how our views are expressed.  We need to be very sensitive to what our words express give a care how the light is presented, being insensitive, selfish, ignorant, and inconsiderate to others who may not be same side of the coin.

The Hypocritical Worship Scheme

Worship seems to be the topic of the moment, inside are issues on music, program styles, dress codes, and even the worshipers themselves.

Who are we? PHD, high school grad or whatever, we need define worship to what it should be.  The Bible states, that God’s ways are not our ways and that we can never fathom His thinking or creativity, yet we love to put ourselves in God's shoes. One of the theological pundits of my generation, Rick Warren, shared an idea I can never forget. Helabels the present generation surfers, as surfers we ride waves.  The greatest surfers are always looking for the perfect wave and they put all their skill and energy into maximizing the experience.  Rick points out that we sometimes think we can create our own wave, which isn't possible, as if we could do God's job.

I enjoy worship, and in my ministry, we do worship. Its not a pride thing, its a life thing. Its not a church thing, or a group thing, its a personal thing. Being and doing youth ministry since i was kid, the one thing that i can say out of experience is we can not make a wave, and expect to to enjoy it let alone sustain it enough for others to ride it. Programs are programs unless you've got the timing and direction right.

Planks, we all got planks!

A week ago I came across a bit of information that shocked me. Many may have heard this, but I am not re-posting this as a way to scoff or point fingers. I believe that there is something more to this story than just typical church chizmiz. I was never a fan of Dr. Pipim's mindset and perspectives, but that did not stop me from attend a series of meetings which he spoke for.

During the last few days I have been thinking about Dr. Pipim's boldness and humility. Presumably a man at the top of the spiritual ladder, in front of everybody, willingly to step down. I can, at some level understand such a move, and in seeing his counter-cultural move in light of his actions makes me proud to be Christian. It sets an example to many, Christian or not, of what it takes to be a honest, truthful, and humble leader. 

How to seek God's guidance?

Different people have different opinions of what God's will be or how to find God's will. More often than not, many enjoy taking a verse our two to mean something definite but forget the Gospel as a whole. I thought it be good to connect the dots on how upside down God's Kingdom is, and how to the contrary God's guidance works.

Jesus says that cursed is the one who asks for signs, but blessed are you when you believe and do not see. Yes it is good to want signs to help BUILD your faith, however, the Bible says we should NOT seek signs, but seek God and His Kingdom FIRST, then the signs will be added. We are to seek God, NOT signs.

John 20

29 Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”

Matthew 16

1-4 Some Pharisees and Sadducees were on him again, pressing him to prove himself to them. He told them, "You have a saying that goes, 'Red sky at night, sailor's delight; red sky at morning, sailors take warning.' You find it easy enough to forecast the weather—why can't you read the signs of the times? An evil and wanton generation is always wanting signs and wonders. The only sign you'll get is the Jonah sign." Then he turned on his heel and walked away.

Matthew 6

31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God[d] above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

34 “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

Jesus the weirdo!

Jesus was weird. Really! Think about it. All of a sudden this dude comes along, spitting in blind man's eyes (Mark 8:23), talks to a tax collectors in Sycamore tree (Luke 19:4-5), and overturning tables in the Temple (Matthew 21:12). Then Jesus takes it a step further and gets really crazy. He starts telling everyone to love their enemies, and pissing the Pharisees off by hanging out with prostitutes and tax collectors, and calling them out for all their religiosity nonsense.

And He asks His followers to be just as weird. Think of Simon Peter. He was just a fisherman, but then this Jesus guy comes along. And He says, "Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." And here's the really crazy part...Simon Peter does it! Mark 1:18 says "At once they (Peter, James and John) left their nets and followed Him." Levi was just sitting at his tax collector's booth, and Jesus comes by and says "Follow me," and "Levi got up, left everything and followed him. (Luke 5:28)."


For sure Peter and his partners didn't start their day thinking, “I'm gonna give up my career and life style to follow some guy named Jesus.”  And I'm sure Levi wasn't thinking, “today's a great day to get rid of all my wealth” . Their friends and family probably had some words to say as well. But weirdo Jesus came a-calling, and they responded.


And weirdo Jesus is still calling His followers. That calling is what made one of my friends leave the comfort of her home in the America to be a medical missionary in the Philippines. It's what made a college friend pick up prostitutes and helped them find Jesus Christ and then showed options for a new livelihood. It's what made dozens of people walk down the aisle and give their lives to Christ at Week of Prayer services.  The other day I meet someone who left their job and securities to turn their family (even their kids) into a full time missionary team that builds small churches in the Philippines.  And it's what's calling me to leave alone my blue passport and live in a house that sometimes is over crowed with just enough food, no air-conditioned, no iPad, slow internet, do mission work that I pay for and not paid for, satisfied with a 4yr old laptop, and everything I own can practically fit in a backpack and suitcase!

Too Comfortable

We know that God wants to bless us. Better home. Better life. Higher salaries. Make us happy. Give us comforts in life we never had before. He is such a wonderful God. Right?


I don't want to blow this out of proportions, but I think we may have missed the point about blessings and the comfort we expect from God. Maybe God’s definition of blessed and ours is not congruent?


Remember Abraham? God asked him to leave his family, friends, home, to go to a place he didn’t even know the name of and then, to top that off, God demands the sacrifice of his only son? If we were there, we would be yelling at Abraham and trying to convince him that he wasn't doing the will of God!


For Moses and Joseph, they went down from their familiar and comfort zone. Can the will of God be for anyone to take a lower position in life? Many leaders look at those who do so today and declare, “I think that God is going to elevate you in his will, you may need to wait for the next opportunity where your benefits aren’t taken away…”


All the heroes of Hebrews “Hall of Faith” were incredible! They had a God who was totally in control of their lives! They must have had SSS benefits, comfortable living, increased blessing, and bliss! Let’s take a look….


Abraham was in the perfect will of God, promised lands, nations, and blessings. The only ground he ever owned after he went through all he did was the small parcel of ground on which he and his wife were buried.


Noah… but he ended up building a boat in the middle of the desert and was misunderstood by his generation and ended up with a church of 8 members.


Jacob… and ended up being tricked and deceived by an ungodly relative who stole years of his life.


Joseph… having dreams from God, yet abandoned by his family, tossed in a pit, sold into slavery, accused of rape, imprisoned.


No one was ever in the will of God like Jesus Christ. He was born in a stable, almost murdered by a king, the most misunderstood man of his day, didn't have a bank account or business, forsaken, beaten, abused, crucified and laid in a borrowed tomb. He never married. He never built a new home, never saved money, never built a real kingdom… he lived a life that was obviously NOT blessed!


God is more interested in our walking by faith than in our comfort! The life of faith will not always give you palaces and pleasantries, raises and royalties.


• Have you ever been changed by a comfortable message?
• Have you ever been healed by a comfortable prayer?
• Has anyone ever been transformed by a comfortable altar call?
• Has there ever been a soul born again and discipled via comfortable means?
• Has there ever been a financial miracle not preceded by uncomfortable and sacrificial giving?
• Has comfortable worship ever launched you into his presence for long term transformation?


We need to rid ourselves of this “the will of God is comfortable, pleasing, smooth sailing” mentality!
We are crying out for comfort. We like our salaries, our vehicles, our clothes, our styles, our ideas, our fashions – AND GOD SAYS WE ARE POOR, NAKED, AND LUKEWARM!


He said we are to receive a “New Comforter”… A Comforter granted by heaven that gives us the only comforts we should be thriving on!


Maybe when we think we are under an “attack of Satan” we are really under an “attack of God”. I need more of those. So Lord, move me from my comfortable place. Maybe I should understand that if I am not walking with some sort of limp, Jacob, I have probably not experienced the blessing that God really wants me to have.


I NEED AN ATTACK OF GOD!


Are you to comfortable for God?

Unlucky Me

A few weeks ago, while doing errands for a friend’s wedding I encountered what seemed like a bad predicament.   In my hast that morning to do the assignments given me, I failed to put my wallet in my pocket or get the lose change from the pants I had worn the day before. I did though have the money needed to purchase the items I was assigned to get for the wedding.  As I was paying for the items, it suddenly dawned on me that I didn’t have my wallet.  There I was 6 or 7 train stations from my point of origin and to get there would cost 15 pesos. I dug into my backpack and was joyously relieved to find 18 pesos. Feeling very lucky,  I walked to the train station, my precious 18 pesos in hand.  As I was crossing the street to enter the station’s terminal my arm was bumped and a 5 peso coin flew out of my hand, and began rolling away.  In disbelief I scampered after the rolling coin. As I was about to grab it, it rolled into the sewer.  What luck, now I was 2 pesos shy of getting on the train.  I had to walk two train stations over to grab a train worth 12 pesos.

Learning To Receive

It was on Christmas eve, and I was traveling on a bus to my apartment in Cavite--quite sleepy. As the bus was departing a man boarded  and starting singing a Christmas song, it was actually done quite well under the circumstances. He sang solo accompanied by an a egg shaker. After his rendition he passed out some envelops soliciting passengers a donation for the “less fortunate”. After giving a short talk about sharing the blessings with “less fortunate”  saying that those who are fortunate should share with those who have so little, he then walked back down the isle collecting the envelops.  As he was about to step off the bus, he turned around and gave a Thank You, and ended by saying, “It's better to give than to receive” and because of the giving “you will receive blessings.” 

Next Level

Whenever I get a chance, I would play some challenging & mind-teasing games on my ipod . Many of them give me hints about making my next move, guiding me to more advanced levels of play. Often, however, I allow my independent spirit to take over, and I ignore these hints, trying to master the game with my own moves. As a consequence, my progress is much slower — or I fail completely and have to start over. But when I take advantage of the built-in help features, I improve my skills and move on to more difficult challenges.

Point a finger

Did you know that as a leader, God will hold you accountable for the spiritual condition of the people you lead? You are a steward of the leadership responsibilities and the people He has entrusted to you (1 Peter 5:2, 3) and you and I will someday give an account to Him (Matthew 25:19; see vv. 14-30 for the entire parable).

In Hosea 4, God held the spiritual leaders accountable for the spiritual condition of the people. 

"Don't point your finger at someone else and try to pass the blame! Look, you priests, my complaint is with you!" (Hosea 4:4, NLT). 

If you're a leader, don't point fingers at the people you're leading. Look in the mirror first. God's complaint may be with you!

Whenever I Forget Google Exists!

If I ever have a problem with my computer I can usually find a solution through Google. I just have to type my problem into the search engine and there is bound to be a website that explains what I need to do. The only problem I have is that I always forget to go to Google when the problem first arises. I seem to do everything else possible before searching the internet. To begin with I'll try to fix the problem myself by searching through the menus for guidance; I might ask a friend if they've had the same problem and see if they know what to do; or I'll restart the computer in the hope that it will just correct itself in the process. It's not until I told my friend Toni(a gadget geek) that I have a problem that he will say to me, 'Just Google it.' It's then that I remember that that's where I've found answers before and so I quickly start searching the internet. When I find the solution I need I kick myself for not going to the search engine at the very beginning.

Acquainted with God

It's always interesting going to someone's house for the very first time. You ring the door bell and wait for someone to invite you in, you offer to take your shoes off at the door, you use your best manners and you are often seated in the nice lounge room with a comfortable sofa. Even though your new friend might say, "Make yourself at home", you still stay on your best behaviour. On the other hand, when you go to a long-time friend's house it is a totally different situation. You'll enter via the back door, just walk straight in after knocking on the door, help yourself to a glass of juice and sit around in the family room. While it's great to make new friends it's always nice to be totally comfortable in someone else's home.

Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat Has Been Released

Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat final has just been released. I'm taking this opportunity to review the major changes (mostly on the UI) in both Ubuntu 10.10 Desktop and Netbook editions. If you're a regular WebUpd8 reader, you should already know all these changes but even so, read on for a new Unity video (recorded today) as well as a recap of the changes to Ubuntu Software Center, Unity and so on. 

Batch image resize

Its been a hectic few days for me and I couldn't find any time to post anything relevant to Jolicloud's fan experience. But today is the day I get a few moments to myself.

Uploading 4MB photos directly from your camera via Jolicloud to Facebook isn't the fun when your on a 3G modem with bad reception. Don't you fear, Joli's big brother Ubuntu has simple remedy that can be installed. Nautilus-image-converter resizes and rotates images within nautilus... makes since right?

To Install:

Open your Terminal (alt+f1) and paste (ctrl+shift+v): sudo aptitude install nautilus-image-converter 

Restart or logout.

To Use:

Select the image/s that which you would like to manipulate andright click. You will now notice the added options near the bottom of the list. 

Enjoy Joliclouding :-)

Firewall and network stats monitor

Firestarter doesn't sound like a safe program, but it is. Firestarter is a Firewall app for Linux, that can help you monitor your browsing and those who are connecting to you. Not only does it give basic statistics of your connection speed, receiving and set data, but can help you share an internet connection. Great for those who use a USB HSDPA or 3G modem and want to share it via your WIFI card or Ethernet.

So far I'm totally unaware if Jolicloud is thinking of making an application which can tie in with your USB modem so that you can monitor your connection status or even send out SMS. Its on the wish list for me. But Firestarter seems to be the next best thing for monitoring connections.

Installing
Open your Terminal and paste: sudo apt-get install firestarter

Once it is finished installing, you can access it from your classic menu. If you would like to read up more you can read the basic tutorial on Ubuntu Help page. Enjoy!

Simple FTP client for Jolicloud

Need a FTP client? don't look any further. Lunix has a sweet and simple FTP client called gFTP. You can easily install it via Terminal, they keying in-  sudo apt-get install gftp. Tada! Now you upload, download, manage or whatever you do with your vurtural properties.

 Now if your a Filezilla fan? No problem, paste this into your Terminal: sudo apt-get install filezilla. ;-D

My unofficial Jolicloud shirt!

Well what can I say? I wanted a Tshirt! So I made one, and walked all around MOA, Makati and rode the LRT. Had 3 people ask me what Jolicloud was, it was funny though.

Linux: More power control

Jolicloud hasn't yet released a app that can help manage you notebook's hardware. Since JC is based on Ubuntu there is a default CPU Manager that can be added to the top panel. But... it ain't cool as Jupiter!. Jupiter is a great application which does- well everything it's suppose to do. It sits on your top panel and by clicking the thunderbolt icon, an awesome menu will pop with options to tweak or adjust your hardware settings. Jupiter can easily be downloaded here.

God's will - A lesson from Paul's life

Paul had intentioned to visit Rome on his way to Spain where he hoped to preach the Gospel and establish a church there. We read about this Romans 15:20-27 (King James Version)



20Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man's foundation:

21But as it is written, To whom he was not spoken of, they shall see: and they that have not heard shall understand.

22For which cause also I have been much hindered from coming to you.

23But now having no more place in these parts, and having a great desire these many years to come unto you;

24Whensoever I take my journey into Spain, I will come to you: for I trust to see you in my journey, and to be brought on my way thitherward by you, if first I be somewhat filled with your company.

25But now I go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the saints.

26For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem.

27It hath pleased them verily; and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things.

Ellen G. White - Sports and Materialism (Contextualism)

I woke this Sabbath morning, gearing up for church, i quickly checked my Facebook to see if a friend replied to a certain message. I was thrown back into my seat when i saw my fellow SDA members quickly proving to the world their cultic characteristics that brands the SDA church. We are saved (right or correct religion), everyone else who isn't with us, sorry. THIS INCLUDES ANY ONE WHO PLAYS A BASS GUITAR, DRUM, AND WHO BOXES!

Being a logical person, to condemn anyone, item, or activity, legalistically I would generally condemn everything else associated with that person, thing, or event. Ex. Gas, don't buy gas for your car, you may commit sin! I can not allow my "neighbor" to work on the Sabbath. The oil rigs collecting gas work 24/7 all year round. So if you buy gas your actually making someone sin! 

I may sound a little over exaggerating but I am currently unhappy with what I see happening in the degrading of the SDA religion in my local community which does have an impact on the world view of the SDA Church. And to make myself clear, I stand for the Seventh-day Adventist as for religion in my life, but i Live for Jesus Christ. Religion is a mission ( A cause, principle, or activity pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion) and according to the bible true religion is helping the poor (Jame 1:27). EGW doesn't make SDA a religion, what makes the SDA a religion can be found here:
http://www.adventist.org/world_church/name_mission/index.html.en