MINDANAO KILLING FIELDS

The Philippines made it to the limelight again worldwide. We had the Manny Pacquiao's victory just several weeks ago, and this time another worldwide saga is unfolded. This is not the typical heroic act that you would normally expect but rather a barbaric activity propagating the Southern part of the land - Mindanao. The world just witnessed the massacre of 52 (and still counting probably as of this writing) unarmed men and women from the Maguindanao, Mindanao provoked merely by the simple act of filing the Certificate of Candidacy by one of the victims.

Mindanao, the southern most part of the Philippines is noted to be restless since time immemorial. They have longed to secede from the mainland because of ancestral claims. They claim that the land should belong to the native Muslims ( a minority in the Philippines) based on ancestral heritage. We therefore expect that lawlessness engulfs the land because of these facts, many among them would not recognize the authority of the central government and of course some factions would ride on to the issue.

There are countless groups that claim authority over this part of the country, there was the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), which eventually joined the government after a peace negotiation and then comes the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) a used to be faction of the MNLF, and so on and so forth. Countless groups have existed aside from these 2 major groups, there are still sub groups, tribal groups, disgruntled groups and private groups or armies that conntributes to the instability of the entire area. All these groups claim to be heir of Mindanao and would always stand by the way of peace to get hold of their share.

There is no stopping this cycle of atrocities and it is even worsened by the propagation of private armies created by wealthy family clans of Mindanao. These clans mostly have political hold and they grow one after the other. The recent massacre was allegedly perpetrated by the private armies of the Ampatuans, a very strong clan in Maguindanao with very strong ties to the President of the Philippines.

3 days have passed since the massacre happened, there were no arrests made yet. A crime committed with this intensity needs to be acted upon swiftly, and yet despite the vulnerability of the suspects, the authorities remained unperturbed about the issue and claims lack of evidence. It was learned that the governemnt has managed to asked the younger Ampatuan to surrender to threshout the truth; but this appears to be more of a negotiated surrender to save face rather than imposition of authority.

The Ampatuans have been noted to have helped the Arroyo administration to swiftly win the election in 2007 which brought zero to all administration's opponents. This similar accusation has also brought Gloria Arroyo to humbly say "I'm sorry" publicly at the height of the hello garci scandal. If we can remember the 2004 election was rigged with massive cheating specially in the Mindanao area exactly from where this massacre happened. This cheating issue have been sidelined and seemingly forgotten and left for dead unresolved.

"Hello Garci" refers to the alleged wiretapped conversations where vote rigging in the 2004 elections was discussed by, among others, a woman presumed to be President Arroyo and man presumed to be Comelec Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano

Secretary Raul Gonzalez, chief presidential legal counsel, cautioned the government against hastily arresting the Ampatuans in the absence of solid evidence. This is definitely the kind of government designed to protect the people and yet getting cowed by the ferocity of this suspect's private army. Or are they just simply exercising their impunity by the Arroyo administration because they might just be willing enough to open pandoras box to expose the rotting truth behind the hello garci scandal.

I just hope that this is not an orchestrated scenario to thwart the 2010 election so that Gloria Arroyo can perpetuate herself in power beyond 2010 by scalating the Mindanao state of emergency to something evern stronger. If they are thinking toward that end, with the automated election giving them slimmer opportunity to cheat, they must at least start somewhere - massacre to martial rule? far flung but possible...

LORD OF THE SABBATH

Do you remember the old blue laws? When I was a child, most stores were closed on Sunday. If a store did happen to be open, like the old Lawson stores in our neighborhood were, many sections of that store would be covered over with sheets of cloth or paper to restrict or limit purchases to only necessities. Sundays were special. Sunday was viewed as equivalent to the Old Testament Jewish Sabbath Day. It was to be a day of rest and worship. In many homes, Sunday was observed with almost the same rigidity as the Pharisees forced upon the Jews. Today the pendulum has swung almost to the opposite extreme where not only in our society but also in many Christian homes there is almost no importance placed on the Lord's Day. There are some questions we should ask ourselves. (1) What was the purpose of the Sabbath? (2) Is the Christian commanded to observe the Sabbath? (3) Is the Lord's Day the Sabbath? (4) What should our attitude be toward the Lord's Day? To help us answer these questions let's look at Mark 2:23-28.

Jesus and His disciples were walking through a field of grain on the Sabbath in route to worship at the synagogue. The disciples were hungry and decided to pluck some of the grain. While the Old Testament law regarding the keeping of the Sabbath in no way prohibited picking a handful of grain to satisfy one's immediate hunger, the traditional law added many rules and regulations that were nothing more than man-made traditions. These traditions were rigid concerning Sabbath observance. The Talmud, the book of Jewish traditions has 24 chapters listing various Sabbath laws. On the Sabbath, you could not travel more than 3,000 feet from your house. You were not allowed to carry anything that weighed more than a dried fig. You couldn't carry a needle for fear you might sew something. Taking a bath was forbidden. Water might splash on the floor and wash it. Women were not to look in a mirror; they might pull a gray hair. Having been observed by the Pharisees, the disciples were charged by the Pharisees with violating two of man's traditional Sabbath laws - plucking the grain and rubbing them in their hands. Christ addresses the charges levied by the Pharisees by stating that...

I. The Sabbath was not meant to restrict necessities (verse 25-26)

A. David in fleeing from Saul (I Samuel 21:1-6) took five loaves of the showbread that was to be eaten only by the priests and gave them to his men.

B. The man of God, David was justified in breaking the ceremonial law because his need for sustenance was greater than keeping the ceremonial law. (He broke the ceremonial law not to indulge a lust but to meet a genuine need)

C. Meeting true human need and compassion takes precedence over custom, ritual, ceremony and tradition.

D. Hosea 6:6 "For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings."

II. The Sabbath was made to serve man not man serve the day. (verse 27)

A. The extreme warping of the original intent of the Sabbath by tradition is seen in history when Antiochus Epiphanes massacred a group of Jews under the command of Judas Maccabaeus as the Jews refused to defend themselves on the Sabbath.

B. Sabbath - transliteration of Shabath - to cease or desist - hence rest or cessation from labor.

C. Exodus 20:9-11 "Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day. Wherefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it."

D. In Deuteronomy 5:12-15) the Lord reminds His people that they had been slaves in Egypt and that He had brought them out from there. In commanding them to observe the Sabbath, the weekly rest would remind them of a time when as slaves they were unable to rest. The association between Israel's slavery in Egypt and the Sabbath is restated in Ezekiel 20:5-12.

E. Two of the greatest needs of man are for rest and worship - neither, of which Israel was free to do in Egypt.

F. Leonardo Da Vinci - Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work your judgment will be surer, since to remain constantly at work will cause you to lose power of judgment

G. Psalms 37:7 "Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him..."

H. God's original intent was for the Sabbath to be a blessing not a burden.

I. Matthew 23:4 "For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers."

J. The Sabbath was to benefit man to help him gain rest and to have a revived sense of God's presence.

III. The Sabbath is not the Lord's Day.

A. No where in Scripture is the Christian commanded to observe the Sabbath.

B. The Sabbath was essentially Jewish, which explains, its absence in New Testament instructions to Christians.

C. The Sabbath was the sixth day - began at sunset Friday and ran through sunset Saturday. The Lord's Day is the first day of the week corresponding to our Sunday.

D. J. Vernon McGee tells this story about a man who wanted to argue about the Sabbath. The man said, "I'll give you $100 if you will show me where the Sabbath day has been changed." McGee answered, "I don't think it has been changed. Saturday is Saturday, it is the seventh say of the week, and it is the Sabbath day. I realize our calendar has been adjusted, and can be off a few days, but we won't even consider that point. The seventh day is still Saturday, and it is still the Sabbath day." He got a gleam in his eye and said, "Then why don't you keep the Sabbath day if it hasn't been changed?" McGee answered, "the DAY hasn't changed, but I have been changed. I've been given a new nature now, I am joined to Christ; I am a part of the new creation. We celebrate the first day because that is the day He rose from the grave." That is what it means that the ordinances have been nailed to the cross in Colossians 2:14

E. The early church set aside the Lord's Day as a day of rest, worship, and celebration of Christ's resurrection.

F. Acts 20:7 "And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight."

G. 1 Corinthians 16:2 "Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come."

H. Revelation 1:10 "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,"

IV. Christ is the Lord of the Sabbath and every other day!

A. Jesus is the great Creator of the universe. All things were made by Him and without Him was not anything made that was made. He created the heaven and earth and all things in six days. He sanctified the seventh day and made it the day of rest. He is the Lord of the Sabbath.

B. In affirming His Deity, Christ declares He is Lord and is greater than the Sabbath. He therefore has the right to overrule man-made rules and tradition.

C. Colossians 2:16-17 "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days: [17] Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ."

D. Romans 14:5-6 "One man esteems one day above another: another esteems every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. [6] He that regards the day, regards it unto the Lord; and he that regards not the day, to the Lord he does not regard it. He that eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he that eats not, to the Lord he eats not, and gives God thanks."

E. Colossians 3:17 "And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him."

V. The Principle of setting aside a portion of the week to rest and worship is biblically sound.

A. The important thing is that we set aside time for rest and worship. These are two things we desperately need. As human beings, our Creator did not design us to work seven days a week. Our bodies and souls both need rest, and taking off one day out every seven is good for us. Those of us with workaholic tendencies may find it difficult to get into the habit of a regularly scheduled day off, but we need it. It should always be something to which we look forward.

B. Every day as believers we should take time to read the Bible, pray, and express our praise to God. But, it is important to have at least one day in seven, which we set aside so that we can have an extended time to worship and focus upon the Lord both corporately and individually.

C. Hebrews 10:25 "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching."

D. Mark 6:31 "And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat."

E. Warren Wiersbe - The ability to calm your soul and wait before God is one of the most difficult things in the Christian life. Our old nature is restless...the world around us is frantically in a hurry. But a restless heart usually leads to a reckless life.

VI. Christ as Lord of the Sabbath offers true rest to whoever comes to Him.

A. Matthew 11:28-30 "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. [29] Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. [30] For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

B. As the Sabbath gave Israel the opportunity to celebrate the freedom and rest from slavery in Egypt; so the Lord's day provides an opportunity to celebrate the freedom and rest from the slavery of sin that comes through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

POLITICAL INVESTMENT

Everybody knows that when election time comes, money will overflow. Evidently, political parties will be spending a lot to fund their campaign. Printing presses will be busy printing advertising materials, posters, tshirts and tarpaulines. Restaurants will be filled, catering services will be busy. Money will definitely overflow from all corners in the Philippines. Economy will be primed when election campaigning starts.

It is normal that campaigning is really expensive. It requires money to make people move in a political organization. The only question that arises from this practice is when the campaign fund is solely shouldered by an individual or corporation or a group.
Ideally, campaign funds are the result of aggregate contribution of different individuals. Campaign is not similar to business endeavor where you spend money for capital and expect something in return in the future.

In the Philippines however, election has different set up. It is a common notion that an individual with no money has no right to run for an elected office. It might be true because you can rarely see a politician who drives an ordinary car, lives in an ordinary house and lives in an ordinary lifestyle. They are usually lavish in many things they do. They must all be moneyed.

A political office salary is not that lucrative. A congressman is earning only P35,000 a month. There are probably some more reasons behind that drives these people to ran for elected office and spend millions. Is this the reason why the Philippines is ranking in corruption issue worldwide?
What I am driving at on this particular blog is that if we can discourage people from investing so much on political campaign, then I believe we can lessen the issue of corruption. Political contributions should be limited to a certain amount to avoid control of a political party by rich individuals and encourage contributions from several individuals making the political party a true voice of many individuals.

Those who have invested so much from their campaign will definitely expect to have paybacks as soon as they are elected. Those , usually businessmen, who have contributed a lot to any single politician or a party is also expecting something in return which would also lead to business concessions disadvantageous to the government. These people are making the election as a political investment and the elected official there extended employee obeying every order or request they make.

In the US, under campaign finance laws, an individual can donate $2,300 to a candidate for federal office in both the primary and general election, for a total of $4,600. If a donor has topped the limit in the primary, the campaign can “redesignate” the contribution to the general election on its books.

Federal law does not require the campaigns to identify donors who give less than $200 during the election cycle. However, it does require that campaigns calculate running totals for each donor and report them once they go beyond the $200 mark.

I remember Mr Mark Jimenez who had legal issues in the US with regard to campaign contribution, also admitted to a conspiracy to defraud the Federal Election Commission (FEC) by making approximately $41,500 in illegal campaign contributions to various candidates for federal office, a result of which caused false information to be submitted to the Federal Election commission (FEC).

PACQUIAO VS MAYWEATHER : MONEY WILL NOT SURVIVE PACQUIAO

Mayweather is a highly respected boxer. with 5 titles and an undefeated record ever is something to reckon with. Manny Pacquiao will really have to give him his best shot before he can gauge Mayweather. Like what he did to Cotto, before he devastated the guy, he tested the ferocity of Cotto's punches and shot him quick that brought Cotto down to his knees.

The Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto fight has already been marked in history as Manny's all time record seventh belt unprecedented. That is already an achievement that nobody can take away even if he doesn't have to fight anybody in the near future, not even Mayweather would ever change that one win or lose.

As the saying goes, ships are not designed to stay in the harbor, they are they to sail and so with boxers, they are there to fight in the ring. It is not yet time for Manny to hang his gloves and retire. He will still have to fight, and hopefully this time it will be against Mayweather.

There are a lot of speculations arising on how this fight would come out. Mayweather has a lot of following being the former pound for pound king and Manny has a lot of followers too. I would say then that we can look at the 2 great fighters with equal importance. This is perhaps the reason why up to this writing both camps still haven't come up with a decision who would get the bigger share of the purse should the fight come to pass sometime on 2010. I have also learned that the acceptance fee for this bout is a whopping $50 Million for each fighter.

Recalling from Manny's previous fights, he knocked them all one way or another during each fight itself. Ricky was knocked down on the second round. Miguel Cotto was knocked on the 3rd and 4th rounds, Oscar de la Hoya was knocked and Marquez was knocked. All these fighters were at the prime of their careers when they fought Manny pacquiao except of course for dela Hoya who just came back to fill in the gap for fighters against Manny.

Mayweather was absent from the boxing scene for 21 months and after that short retirement stint he fought Marquez and he won. Marquez, when he fought Mayweather was already on his career sunset and was a little old but despite that Mayweather did not even get the chance to knock him down.

There must be something in Manny's punches that no other boxer can emulate. His speedy knockout punch is what keeps him winning. A combination of speed and knockout punch is too dangerous for any boxing contender to contain. Unless Manny deviates from that standpoint, then he will be unbeatable.

A lot of people forget that speed is power. You can’t take it away from Mayweather, who is a fast fighter. But when you take speed, with amount of punches you throw – Manny throws a lot of punches with speed, whereas Mayweather is more a single-shot fighter. He’s still quick, but I don’t think single shots will keep Manny Pacquiao away from Mayweather, whereas I know combinations will push Mayweather back - said amir Khan, Manny's formidable sparring partner while training to fight Cotto.

Amir Khan became the WBA World light-welterweight champion after defeating Andreas Kotelnik on 18 July 2009, making him Britain's third-youngest world champion after Naseem Hamed and Herbie Hide. He is also the former Commonwealth lightweight champion, WBO Inter-Continental lightweight champion, and WBA International lightweight champion.

Let us cross our fingers and see who will win between Pacquiao and Mayweather. If Mayweather wins, nothing will change, he still remain the unbeatable boxer and Manny remains the seven belt title holder. If he loses, then he will have to look for a worthy opponent, perhaps Chris Tucker can be a mighty contender for Mayweather, he is the fastest mouth Holliwood has ever had anyway

JEEPNEY ALTERNATIVE

Philippine Jeepney must have reached its point of no return already. It has already maximized its potential as a Philippine icon. Indeed it is a truly Filipino ingenuity which brought about the creation of the jeepney and it has done its fair share in the country's transport system. But like any thing good, it usually doesn't last forever.

Unfortunately under all standards, these jeepneys fail in many aspects. It cant pass safety standards whether it be environmental or human safety. when these jeeps rev its engine it emits the most deadly carbon monoxide which contributes to more than 50% of Metro Manila's air pollution according to the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC). And probably because it is originally designed as a backyard project, its design remains to be at its backyard state. Its safety features did not really have correct engineering design which reason why a lot of accidents happen when these jeeps make steep turns or over speeds. It is either they are oversized or undersized, which ever that is, it will cause trouble to the riding public.

The time has finally come that the Philippine government and some manufacturers have come to realize that they need to come up with something innovative and yet safe for the public to ride on. We already have the Light Rail Transport System which helped ease the public from the agony going through the main thoroughfare traffic during rush hour. We have the public boat that ply through the Pasig river which is also very convenient to those who are near the river if they can bear the stinking smell.

We are expecting that more than half of the public utility jeepney will no longer be allowed to ply their routes beginning next year following a stricter registration standards. This news may affect a lot of our drivers who rely solely from the earnings of their jeepney but considering the alternative public transport they are coming up in replacement, this may at all override the drivers dismay with public joy and comfort.

Already in the coming is the new BEEP (jeepney for JEEP while BEEP for small bus). Beep is your typical mini bus which has the original configuration of the jeepney specially in the seat arrangement, it is still the bench type on its side with ample room for some people to stand up during rush hours. It can accommodate 26 passengers, 18 passengers including the driver and 8 people standing at the back probably along the aisle.

The beep is patterned from the gruau microbus of Europe. The innovation engine for development has positioned Microbus, in addition to the supply of major manufacturers. This friendly mini-bus style Play Mobil is in use in some thirty cities. So far, 150 vehicles in thermal diesel version. With its wide door (opening 1.40 m) and its low-floor flat (18 cm), Gruau Microbus is easily accessible. Modular, a modern design it is "a true bus on a reduced template"

Its main characteristics:
-- Capacity of 21 to 23 seats (depending on the version) including the driver, until 10 seats of which 1 UFR (Wheelchair Unit).
-- Gauge mini, maxi handling: length = 5.60 m, 2.08 m = width, height = 2.95 m.
-- Turning radius between sidewalks: 6.70 m, between walls: 7.00 m
-- Design and a welcoming interior design, an original bus light.

The Beep is all brand new compared to its predecessor the jeep which are all surplus. The chassis is fuso canter by Mitsubishi motors so therefore we can be assured that this is not a running coffin. The new project is also air conditioned which I believe makes everyday travel a lot more convenient for everyone using the public transport system.

The only setback we have for beep is that this costs Php 1.6 million to purchase as compared to the jeepney which is usually valued at 600,000-750,000. However, since this is a brand new unit, the banks and insurance companies would probably accommodate its operators for insurance coverage and certainly bank financin

My recommendation however uncalled for, I would say that if these beeps come to pass, they should put a device that would limit its speed to 60 kph so that like the gruau microbus which is run by battery, passengers will remain to be comfortable even if the driver is driven to step on the gas.

ANTIDOTE TO WORRY

How many people here this morning would like to learn how to worry more? How many of you feel that your life would be improved if only you could spend more time worrying? None.

· Whether you know worry as an occasional visitor or a constant companion,

· whether you find it to be mildly uncomfortable or intensely painful,

· or whether you experience worry as a slight distraction or as a force that completely immobilizes you,

· we all would like to worry less (except for those only seem happy when they’re miserable).

The good news is that you can worry less. God has given us an antidote. It may surprise you to learn that God has something to say about worry. In His book, filled with cosmic events like the creation of the universe, heaven and hell, the rise and fall of kingdoms, and the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, He also considers it important to give us some help with this very ordinary human emotion. Why is that? Because He’s not just a God out there somewhere. He’s a God here, with us.

Why do we worry?

1. Life is hard. Bad things happen to good people, to bad people, and everyone in between.

Even the wealthy and powerful aren’t exempt. All you have to do is glance at the National Enquirer to see that they have their share of tragedy. [Example: Cleveland Browns linebacker Chris Spielman retiring due to a neck injury]

Now, so far this seems pretty depressing. But before we get to the really good news, we have to face the bad news. I live in a real world, and I want a religion that deals with reality. Don’t you? I don’t want a religion that plays, "let’s pretend." I want a faith that can stand up to whatever the world has to give, and still come out on top.

You may be saying, "Of course, life is hard. I already know that." But isn’t it amazing how often people try to avoid worry by pretending, by putting on blinders, by avoiding the issue, by refusing to acknowledge the possibility of anything going wrong. It’s like the song, "Don’t worry, be happy."

· We men are especially good at this. Our wives try to talk with us about something that’s obviously bothering us, and we say, "I don’t want to talk about it." Somehow, we think that if we don’t think about it, it won’t happen. Men don’t go to doctors. What we don’t know can’t hurt us.

· How many of you, when you are dealing with some serious problem, have had someone say, "don’t worry, I’m sure everything will work out."

· Or we become fatalistic. "What will happen, will happen. Why worry about it?"

Of course, it doesn’t work, does it? All this does is transfer the worry from your mind to your gut. And if the worst does come to pass, then you’re completely unprepared. What we need is something that will allow us to face reality, but without becoming consumed by anxiety and worry.

2. Second, the future is uncertain. Another obvious statement, but we worry because we don’t know what the future holds. Not only are there dangers we know about and can make some preparation for, but there are dangers which are completely unexpected. [Example: The most common sign of heart disease is sudden death.]

We can prepare as best we know how. We can watch our diets and exercise to prevent heart attack. We can stockpile food and water to prepare for Y2K. But the bottom line is that the future is unknowable. Oh we try. But as your doctor will tell you, and in spite of what the Psychic hotlines tell you, no one can predict the future. People try to avoid worry by gaining so much knowledge that they can predict the future, but ultimately the future is unknowable.

And that’s very unsettling. How often have you heard someone say, "It’s the waiting that’s the worst part. If I only knew, I could deal with it." What we need is something that will allow us to have peace in the midst of uncertainty.

3. Third, We’re not in control. What I mean by that is that the amount of control we have is not sufficient to absolutely protect us from harm. At best, we have only the illusion of control. If we were in control, then no one would every suffer. We can improve our odds, but even experts can’t guarantee the outcome. Doctors get sick. Financial experts lose money in the stock market. Policemen get robbed. Lawyers get sued. Good, loving, responsible parents are rejected by their teenage and adult children.

We work and work to gain money and knowledge, so that we can ward off danger. We eat right, we exercise, we move to a good suburb, we send our kids to a good school, we do everything we can --- but it’s still not enough. If president Reagan could be shot by some deluded kid with a gun, then no one is powerful to make themselves absolutely safe. We need something that will allow us to have peace even in the midst of events and forces we can’t control.

What’s the solution?

[Matthew 6:25-34 (NIV)]

25. "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?

26. Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

27. Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

28. "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.

29. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.

30. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

31. So do not worry, saying, `What shall we eat?’ or `What shall we drink?’ or `What shall we wear?’

32. For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

33. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

34. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

1. Recognize that worry accomplishes nothing. [v. 27, "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?"].

Not only does worry not help, it often has the opposite effect.

· Worried about losing your hair?. Worry will only accelerate the process. It won’t add a single hair to your head.

· Worried about getting sick? Again, worry probably suppresses your immune system and makes it more likely that you will get sick. It won’t make you healthier.

· Worried about losing your job? Worry may actually cause behavior that lowers your performance.

· Worried about gaining weight? You’ll probably eat more.

Proverbs 12:25 - "An anxious heart weighs a man down."

That’s all worry accomplishes. It’s like sitting in a rocking chair. Lot’s of energy expended and no forward progress.

2. Understand that God cares about you. [vv. 26, 28-30] You matter to God.

· God is with us and for us. God is did not just create the world and then sit back to watch the show; we are not actors or toys. He is intimately concerned with his creations and actively involved in providing for their needs.

· God values us even more than the rest of his creation. Birds, who don’t labor at all to provide for themselves, have adequate food to eat. Even flowers, which only live for a short time, have beautiful "clothing." If God provides for them, doesn’t it stand to reason that He will care for us, since we are "much more" valuable?

3. Put first things first. We worry too much because we care too much about the wrong things.

Example: I remember when I was a teenager being worried about a zit, using Oxy-5. My parents knew that there were more important things to be concerned about. They had the perspective to see that in the grand scheme of things, a zit is not a big deal.

We have our priorities reversed.

· We worry about what we eat, but don’t care enough about what we are going to do with the life that the food makes possible.

· We worry about what we wear, but aren’t concerned enough about what we are doing with the bodies we put those clothes on. We concern ourselves with how to preserve our lives as long as possible, but we give very little thought to what comes afterwards.

No one would claim that having enough food to eat, and clothing to wear, are trivial matters. For the people to whom Jesus was speaking, these were life and death issues. But they aren’t the most important things.

The things we should be most concerned about are the things which matter most. Putting first things first gives us a right perspective and give us strength to face life without worry. What are they?

" . . . his kingdom and his righteousness . . . " Our primary concern in this life should not be pleasing and serving ourselves. It should be knowing and serving God. His "kingdom" is His rule over the earth, His authority over us as His creation. We shouldn’t live as if we were independent entities, having no responsibility to God, having no concern about what He may desire of us. Our first concern should be understanding who God is and how we can be right with him.

How can we do this? By seeking first His righteousness. What is that? It’s not the righteousness that comes from our own works, because those are insufficient. None of us is holy enough to meet God’s standard of absolute perfection. The righteousness that God desires, the righteousness He will accept, is a perfect righteousness; one that is credited to us on account of faith. It is the righteousness of Jesus Christ which God accepts on our behalf and credits to us in spite of our inability to earn or merit it.

[Romans 4:4-8 (NIV)]

4. Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation.

5. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.

6. David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

7. "Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.8. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him."

4. Transfer Trust

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. - Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)

Rather than trusting in our own power, wisdom, and strength, we need to place our trust in God for everything. As a result, he will give us a peace which defies logical explanation. It’s not a trick of the mind; it’s a spiritual reality.

· We exercise this trust by actively committing our concerns to God in prayer.

· We aren’t in control, but we can place our trust in Someone who is. We don’t know the future. But we can place our trust in Someone who does.

· Worry represents a failure to trust in God as our Father. It is "practical atheism."

· Children don’t worry about where their food or clothing or shelter is going to come from. They just trust us. We need to trust God in the same way.

by Alan Perkins

GLORIA MAGIC

The Senate blue ribbon Committee has finally found reason to file impeachment raps against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA) with regard to her dealing with the ZTE NBN scandal. It was heard that she had a hand on the $329 Million kickback that facilitated the deal between a Chinese company and the Philippine government.

Many indicators would lead to the involvement of the President of the Philippines or if not her husband who was all to involved in many government dealings. The prosecution of the couples nefarious dealings were on hampered because of technicalities. These were the technicalities that they were anticipating all along as they were going along with their money making deals with different government transactions.

There is no doubt that government scandals have there basis. It would not come out in the open if there were no truths to it, or at least some sources, the only burden that everyone would have is to pinpoint who the culprits are. There is no doubt that PGMA is answerable for all these booty, but the question of impeaching her is something that needs an extra mile of researching.

It is everybody's knowledge that PGMA was catapulted to the Presidency because of the popular revolt known as the People Power II. The People Power I was in 1986 when the People revolted against President Marcos' tyranny which resulted to the installation of Corazon Aquino as the President of the Philippines. Both people power revolts were simple synergistic act by the political elites of the country to represent the voice of the masses; but people power II is undoubtedly a manipulation of the elitist to oust the abusive presidential puppet who amassed himself in corruption just to be replaced with PGMA who is even worse than him.

We recall that PGMA was a product of people power and the transition of power was by virtue of her being the Vice President of the land. she took the oath in public, was witnessed by no less than the chief Justice, even without the clear resignation of then President Josepch Ejercito Estrada. There were those who questions PGMA's legitimacy as the 14th president of the land, and they really make some sense because there was no death and no resignation of the the president then, therefore putting the vice president on was not yet necessary. We had the election in 2004 which was allegedly marred by widespread cheating which again has not been resolved at all as of yet thereby making again this government's President a questionable one.

Now here we are again facing the same gargantuan corruption issue again of the president. the corruption this time is far greater than the previous presidents having the same offense.

Do we impeach her? Yes, that is if we can. We can impeach her if they can prove her guilty beyond reasonable doubt and that we will not be caught by the up coming election on May 2010. I doubt if this impeachment if ever will push through can be accomplished in less than 6 months. And if ever they can speed up this trial, wouldn't they shift to the legitimacy issue. It may sound stupid but they would do whatever they can just to play around with the gullibility of the people when it comes to government matters.

I told my children once not to trust a friend 100%, they should leave behind 20-30% for them, if in case their friend fails, the pain will not be that much if it wasn't 100%. With regard to my president, I guess I leave 98% for me.

PASSING THE TEST

We're back now from Israel and I wanted to say thanks again so much for your thoughts and prayers about our trip. I plan to share more with you in the coming weeks about the trip, highlights that I believe will bless you and speak to you as if you were right there with us. But today, I’d like to tell you just one story.

While I usually try to shorten stories to make them as concise as possible, I think this one is best told with all the details intact. I believe God has several things He might want to speak to you through this story, so I pray that you’ll be blessed as you read it.

Earlier in the year, a woman from Malawi named Esther had written to me, saying that she wondered if I thought God would ever make a way for her to visit Israel someday. She said she simply began crying every time she read the word "Israel" in some of the devotionals I had written and shared over the Internet. Knowing that she lived in Malawi, and knowing the situation for many who live there, I wasn't sure what to say. I began to pray about how to respond to her email, thinking that I'd say, "I believe that God can make a way, but I'm sorry I can't help you myself." As soon as I said those words in my mind, however, I felt God say, “Yes you can.” I said, “No, I can’t.” He said, “Yes you can.” I said, “No, I can’t!”

I had been planning this trip to Israel for the past 3 years, and our whole family had been working and saving money so that my wife and I and 4 of our older kids could go with us. We barely had enough money at that time for 2 of us to go, let alone all six that we had planned to take. So when God said I could help Esther get there, too, I really didn’t know what to do. So I wrote back to her and simply said I believed God could make a way, and I’d be praying along with her.

As the summer went on, I kept reading the words of Jesus to His disciples when the 5,000 were waiting there on the hillside at dinnertime, from Matthew 14:13-21. When Jesus told His disciples “You give them something to eat,” I could feel what the disciples must have felt. The disciples said that not even 8 months wages would give everyone even one bite, so how could they feed them? All they had was a little boy’s five loaves of bread and two fish.

Yet I was puzzled by why Jesus would ask them to do something they didn’t think they could possibly do. Unless, of course, they could do it, and they just didn’t know how. So I studied that passage over and over, trying to see how Jesus did what He did next. He gave thanks to God, broke the bread and had the disciples start passing it out. And somehow there was enough for all 5,000 to eat till they were satisfied and still have 12 baskets full left over. I kept asking, “How God? How did Jesus do it? And how can we do it when You ask us to do something that seems impossible to us?”

As I shared this story one week with a youth group, some of them came up to me afterward and said they’d like to help with Esther’s ticket. I tried to decline their money, because I didn’t want them to think I was telling them the story in order for them to give money. I was simply sharing with them the puzzle of what we’re to do when God asks us to do what we think is impossible. They insisted, however, saying that they felt God really wanted them to give the money to help with Esther’s trip. By the end of that week, I had received just over $300 to make the deposit on the trip for Esther to come with us. But I still needed more than 10 times that amount to pay for her whole trip, plus I still had to pay for my own family to go. I didn’t tell Esther about the money or the deposit yet. I just told her that I was still praying for her, and asked to get her passport information to me in case God were to make a way for her to come with us.

As the trip got closer, I just couldn’t let go of the idea that God wanted me to help Esther get to Israel, but I still didn’t know how. So I sent out a note to some others who also read my weekly devotionals on the Internet, letting them know about the situation. We received about 1/3 of the total needed from that appeal. Another man donated about 1/3 to cover the cost of her airfare from Malawi, and Lana and I put in about 1/3. I told Esther the good news, that God had made a way for her to join us. God was also working at the same time to help all six of us in our family to pay for our own trips, too. By the time we left, everyone’s ticket was completely paid for. This in itself was astounding!

But when we got to Israel, we were supposed to meet Esther at the airport, as she was to arrive on a flight about 12 hours earlier. But we couldn’t find her at the airport. We paged her several times over the airport Intercom, we checked for phone messages, email messages, looked in all the waiting areas, but couldn’t find anything about where she might be, or if she even made it on her flights. We finally had to leave the airport, knowing that at least she knew the name of the hotels where we’d be staying, and hoping she’d catch up with us.

But she didn’t. She called us the next day from an airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Although she had made it all the way to the airport in Israel, they had sent her back home, saying that it was too questionable about how she came to know us through our Internet ministry, and why the rest of the group wasn’t there to meet her in Israel when she arrived. Although she tried to explain it to them several times, and she was even still in the airport when our flight landed 12 hours later, she wasn’t allowed to call or email or make any contact with us. (To the credit of the security people in Israel, they run a very tight ship and for very good reasons. We appreciate that they take their job so seriously as otherwise it wouldn’t make travel possible for anyone in Israel at all.) But since Esther did not travel together with us into the country with the group, she was questioned more strictly and finally denied entry.

I couldn’t believe it when she told me the story over the phone, and I began trying to think of anything else I could do. We had come too far in trying to get her there that I didn’t want to give up on it, even though she was already headed back home, just waiting to change planes in Ethiopia to Malawi. I called immigration at the Addis Ababa airport to ask if she could be put back on the plane to Israel, that we would meet her at the airport when she arrived and try to provide whatever documents they needed to verify that she was on our tour, but they said there was nothing they could do for her. She had been officially deported, and they were to put her on a flight back to Malawi the next morning. After several calls and talking to several different people at the immigration office, I couldn’t get any farther. I went to bed puzzled as to why God had brought her this far, only to have her turned back at the end. It was 4 in the morning by this time, and I couldn't think of anything else to do, so I finally went to sleep.

When I woke up a few hours later, I updated my wife Lana about the situation, and asked if she could think of anything else we could do. She remembered that a friend of ours had a daughter who had just been serving in Ethiopia this past year, and maybe she would have a contact who could help us out. I didn’t know what they could even do, but I felt I had to pursue any possibility that was still open to us, as it was the Lord calling me to try to get her there in the first place.

So we texted our friend’s daughter, who texted us back with the phone number of a pastor she knew in Addis Ababa. I was astounded that we knew someone who knew someone in Addis Ababa at all!

I couldn’t believe it when we called him and he said immediately that he would do whatever we needed him to do, just to tell him what to do. It was such a surprise that it made my wife and I both cry that even though he had just gotten out of church that night, he would take a call from complete strangers and was willing to drop everything and go to the airport right away. It was beyond what we could have imagined someone doing for us in this situation. It still makes me cry to think of it...a brother in Christ willing to help another brother, simply because we have the same Father. So he went to the airport that night, along with a pilot friend from his congregation. But unfortunately they weren’t able to find her. While we were disappointed, we felt we had done all we could.

In the mean time, I had also talked to the tour company again and they said they could try to fax a letter to immigration in Addis Ababa, saying that Esther was indeed part of our tour, and that she was an invited guest as part of our tour to Israel. I called the immigration office again, saying that we’d try to get a letter to them if they could just let Esther stay at the airport another 5-6 hours, as the offices in the States wouldn’t be open for another several hours. They granted our request and didn’t make her get on the scheduled flight.

So we got a fax number and the tour company tried several times to fax the letter, but the fax wouldn’t go through. As the day went on, the rest of us in Israel continued on with our tour, now sitting in a garden in the city of Capernaum, a site where Jesus had done some of his miracles. I updated the group on Esther’s situation, and we all prayed that someone we’d be able to get that letter through to the immigration office. I didn’t have the heart to call the pastor in Addis Ababa again, but Lana did, so she tried to call him none of her calls would go through. We sat down again and prayed. Our time was running out.

At the moment we sat down to pray, the pastor from Addis Ababa called. He said he had just been to the airport again with some others from his church, one of which worked at the airport. He was calling us to see if there was any way we could send a letter to him from the tour company that she could take with her to the immigration office! It was just what we were trying to do! I called the tour company who emailed it to the pastor, who printed it out and took it back to the airport for us. I also instructed the tour company that if they needed to buy another ticket for Esther to get back to Israel, to go ahead and buy it and charge it to my account if the ticket was under $1,000. I didn’t want them to have to call me and get my permissions, I just wanted it waiting for her at the airport if she needed it. I didn’t have $1,000 to spend on her ticket, but that’s the number that came into my mind while I was on the phone, and what I felt I should do.

The pastor was able to get the documents to Esther, and the immigration said she could get on a plane back to Israel. The new ticket turned out to be $992, just $8 under the limit I had given them, so the tour company had already bought it and had it waiting for her at the airline counter.

As I went to bed that night, exhausted not only from the recent days’ activities, but also from the months leading up to this moment. As I lay down, I felt like God said, “You passed the test. Enjoy the rest of the trip.” I wasn’t sure exactly what test I had passed, but I was thankful that it was all working out. Even though Esther wasn’t yet back in Israel, I felt like I had done the fullest of what I could possibly do to get her to Israel, as God had called me to do.

The next morning, guess where our first stop on our tour “happened” to be? The site where Jesus multiplied the loaves and the fish to feed the 5,000. It was the exact place where Jesus had told the disciples to give the people something to eat. As I was looked up the passage in the Bible to read to our group that morning, I saw that it was told in several of the gospels, so I looked at each version to see which one to read. When I read John’s version, I couldn’t believe it! In John’s version, when Jesus asked Philip where they could get food for all these people to eat, John adds: "He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do." (John 6:6).

It was a test! Just as Jesus had tested the disciples to give the people something to eat, when it was seemingly impossible, God had tested me to help someone in need, when it was seemingly impossible. And God had told me the night before that I had passed the test. Hallelujah! And here I was now, standing on the very mountainside where Jesus had given the disciples their test! God couldn’t have spoken more clearly to me if He had appeared in front of my eyes!

Later that afternoon, Esther arrived at the airport in Israel, and was allowed to enter the country and meet us at the hotel for dinner (They asked her at the airport, “Why have you come back again when those who are deported aren’t allowed to try to come back into the country again for five years, and now you’re back only three days later!” Only God could have opened the door for her to return!) Over dinner, Esther and I shared with each other all that God been doing to make this all possible. And that’s when the real clincher came.

Esther told me that from the very first day that I responded to her email, saying that I felt God could make a way for her to visit Israel someday, she said God spoke to her and told her she’d be coming this year, with us. Even when she was being turned away at the airport, she said she was praising God, that she had had the best few days of her life. Her mother said that they were just going to thank God in all things in order to shame the devil. She said that even at the very beginning, when she first started thinking about the trip, she wanted to pray that God would make a way, but that God stopped her from prayer. He told her not to pray, but to simply give thanks. She was puzzled, but did what God says. In fact, she said that as time went on she was tempted to ask others to start praying for her to be able to go on the trip, too, but that God again stopped her from telling even one person about the trip or to pray for her, but simply to give thanks for it. She said she didn’t feel she was supposed to tell anyone about the trip until it was set. When she got my email asking for her passport information, and before I had even told her that people had begun to give me money for her to come, she said she knew on that day that the trip was set, and she was finally able to tell someone about it.

I couldn't believe what I had just heard. Having meditated on that passage about how Jesus multiplied the loaves and the fish, I knew that this is exactly what Jesus did! The only thing it says He did was to give thanks, break the bread, and have the disciples begin to pass it out! He didn’t even pray about it! He just looked to heaven and gave thanks for it! I looked at Esther and thanked her for being obedient to what God had told her to do. It had spoken volumes to me, answering a question that had been on my heart for months. And I told her that by her obedience, she had passed her test too! We both knew that while God would still use the rest of the trip to speak to us in various ways, that God had already done His greatest work in us already.

As if to confirm all that had just happened, when I got back to my room after sharing all of this with Esther, even the part about authorizing the purchase of her 2nd ticket for anything up to $1,000 even when I didn’t know where it would come from, I checked my email. In my inbox was a note saying that someone back in the States had unexpectedly just donated $1,000 online to our ministry while we were at dinner that night! As if it were icing on the cake, God even covered the final detail of her trip.

I still don’t know how to interpret it all. On the one hand, it seems it wouldn’t have happened if we hadn’t prayed fervently and worked feverishly day and night. But on the other hand, God wanted Esther to simply give thanks, rather than to pray, or even enlist anyone else to pray! Or as my wife said during the whole ordeal, she felt like we were like the workers who helped to dig Hezekiah’s tunnel to bring water into the City of David. One team started digging from one side, and the other team started digging from the other side, and miraculously both teams were able to meet in the middle and complete the tunnel!

In any case, I hope that God will speak to you through at least some portion of this story. Thanks for helping to make it possible! I’d also like to add that I don’t think this is the end of the story. It could very well be the beginning of some new ones!

Sincerely,

Eric Elder