BE GOOD AND ANGRY

Growing up one of my favorite TV shows was the, "The Incredible Hulk." The main character was a scientist named Dr. David Banner. Most of the time he was a nice guy. But when he become angry he would repeat those famous words, “Don’t make me angry, you wouldn’t like me when I am angry.” And if the person ignored his warning right before your eyes he would transform into Lou Ferrigno, this big green monster.

The whole series was built around Dr. Banners search for a cure. Dr. Banner didn’t like what anger did to him and he did all he could to prevent it from happening.

The message many got from the series is that anger is always bad, anger can turn a normal person into a monster. Anger can turn you into someone you don’t want to be. As a result the best way of dealing with anger is to never express it, because anger can be so volatile the best way to manage anger is to repress it. And that is how many deal with anger today.

However in Ephesians 4, God gives us a different way of looking at anger. Instead of dismissing anger as evil, Paul tells us that anger can be a good and healthy emotion. Anger itself is not wrong, it is the reasons and motivations for our anger that cause us to lose control.

Let me share with you six ways to look at anger. The first three are positive descriptions of anger and the last three describe what happens when anger takes control.

1. Anger is a normal emotion. (26)

26 "In your anger do not sin": (NIV)

26 Be angry BUT do not sin; (RSV)

26 Be ye angry, AND sin not: (KJV)

The point is it is possible to be angry and not sin. Anger in and of itself is not bad, God created anger for a good purpose – with good intentions.

You might remember the story of Jesus entering the temple. When Jesus saw what the religious leaders had done to corrupt the temple, Jesus became angry. His anger was not directed at hurting people but at the wrong things they had done in God’s name. Jesus was angry because the people had violated God and His anger was an expression of God’s anger. Jesus demonstrates that it is possible to be angry and not sin. There is such a thing as good anger or Godly anger.

The question we need to ask is: What did Jesus do that allowed Him to express His anger in healthy ways?

The answer is found in His focus. Jesus never allowed His emotions or pain to take His focus off of God and onto himself. Jesus was able to keep God as His first priority even when He was angry.

Our problem is we seldom become angry for the right reasons or motives. Human anger tends to be self-motivated rather than God-motivated. We become angry when someone does something that hurts us or hurts someone we love. Human anger is generally an offensive weapon we use to defend our pride.

As a result, Anger is like a fire. If the fire is controlled, it can be helpful and productive but if the fire gets out of control it can be harmful and deadly. Anger is the same way! Though anger is a natural emotion, we must be careful how we use it because it can have devastating effects.

Aristotle said it this way, “Anybody can become angry… But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way - this is not within everybody’s power….”

In other words anger is a normal emotion, but we must be very careful how we express it.

2. Anger is a WARNING light built in by God. (26)

26 "In your anger…do not sin":

We can get into trouble when we ignore the signs of anger. When we ignore the warning lights that lead to anger we can find ourselves in a place we never intended to be.

When I was a new driver I developed a bad habit. Instead of filling up when the gas light came on, I would ignore the warning and see how far I could get. Now, most of the time I would fill-up right before the car stopped running; but what do you do when you run out of gas on the way to your wedding? Even though I had been reminded many times, I ignored the warning and I ignored the signs that indicated trouble is near. As a result I walked the last mile to the church in my tuxedo.

Now maybe you are better than I am when it comes to responding to warning lights, but how well do you respond to anger? How well do you anticipate the things that cause anger? How well do you keep your anger from getting out of control?

God designed anger to be a flashing light yellow light – to say to us - proceed with caution, be aware, know that trouble is near. So when the light comes on – don’t ignore it. Don’t think it will just go away.

3. Anger must be RESOLVED. (End, 26)

26 “Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry”

Anger can be a healthy emotion but it is not designed to be a permanent emotion.

When Jesus became angry in the temple and turned over the tables of the money changers, He did not remain angry. After the event He didn’t dwell on what happened, He didn’t allow His anger with the people to impact His love for people.

Look at how Matthew records the events in chapter 21,

“12 Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 13 "It is written," he said to them, "’My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it a ’den of robbers.’" 14 The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them.”

Circle the words, AT THE TEMPLE.

I don’t know about you but when I get angry I have a hard time letting go. When I get angry my anger generally gets the best of me, it can ruin an entire day. Anger can cause me to become a person I don’t want to be, it can cause me to say things I didn’t want to say.

I read the results of a study that demonstrates the effects of anger. The researchers found that anger causes the average female’s blood pressure to rise 6 points and the average male’s blood pressure to rise 14 points. It also indicated that unresolved anger is the number one cause for psychological depression. The point is, when we get angry, anger takes control.

But when Jesus became angry He remained the same person, He did not lose control. His anger did not have a negative impact on His character or cause Him to say the wrong things. He went from anger to mercy in the same day. His anger was motivated by His love for people and never became a vehicle for harboring resentment. Anger must be resolved.

4. Unresolved anger is an open INVITATION for evil. (27-28)

27 “and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. When anger gets a foothold in your life, you are more susceptible to doing things you would not normally do – even stealing. Paul is addressing a real problem that was happening in his churches. Because the people were angry at each other they stopped caring and started stealing. Anger caused them to lose their concern for the community and start focusing instead on themselves.

Unresolved anger causes us to ask: What is best for me? Anger makes us more aware of what we need and less concerned about what is right or best for others.

Proverbs 14:17 17 A quick-tempered man does foolish things..

Proverbs 29:22 22 A hot-tempered person starts fights and gets into all kinds of sin.

You might remember the story of Cain and Able. Cain became angry at Able because God valued Able’s offering above Cain’s. When God noticed the anger that was building in Cain’s heart God warned him in Genesis 4,

6 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."

Instead of listening to God Cain allowed his anger to get the best of Him and it resulted in the death of his brother. I imagine Cain’s first thought was not to kill his brother. It was only after anger took control that he did what he normally would not do. Unresolved anger turned a bitter Cain into a killer.

A very similar event happened in the life of Alexander the Great. Though Alexander literally conquered the world he was unable to control his anger. Alexander had a friend and a general in his army named Cletus. On one occasion Cletus became drunk and ridiculed the emperor in front of his men. Blinded by his anger Alexander snatched a spear and threw it at Cletus. Though he had intended to scare him the spear took the life of his childhood friend. As a result Alexander was overcome with guilt and attempted to take his own life. History records that Alexander feel into a deep depression and laid in bed for days calling for his friend.

One historian writing about this event said, “Alexander the Great conquered many countries, but he failed miserably to conquer his own self.” (Lutzer)

When anger gets a hold on your life you are prone to doing things you will later regret.

5. Unresolved anger is LETHAL when molded into words. (29)

29 “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”

Quick and careless words cause more damage to people than any other known force in the world. When we allow unresolved anger to build within us it will eventually explode into harmful words.

Every year many people are killed all over the world by unexploded bombs. I recently read that hundreds of pounds of explosives are recovered every year in France alone. Many of these bombs were dropped in WWI and II and are now turning up all across Europe. They fell harmlessly from the sky but over the years their contents have sat exposed to the elements. With time and corrosion they have become more and more dangerous, any slight movement could set them off.

There are many people who are like those aging land mines. When anger lingers in the human heart any small problem can set it off, resulting in lethal words. Words that destroy relationships and damage lives.

6. Unresolved anger DISTANCES us from God. (30)

30 “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”

If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior you are indwelt with the Holy Spirit, God’s Spirit lives in you. But when you allow anger to build up in your life it repels the influence of the Spirit. The Spirit still lives in you but your anger is keeping Him from working fully in your life.

Imagine it this way - Let’s say someone is teaching you to play the piano. You start off with a great deal of enthusiasm and energy and make some real progress in a short period of time. Then after a few months you get distracted, you stop practicing and you forget why you started playing in the first place. Your teacher begins to notice that your playing is suffering and he asks you, “Are you sure you want to play the piano?” You say, “Yes”, but over the next few weeks you continue to ignore what you have learned.

How long do you think your teacher is going to invest into you when you fail to practice what you have learned? The answer is not very long.

Well the Holy Spirit works in a similar way. When we fail to put into practice the things the Spirit is teaching us, the Spirit takes a step back in our lives. His voice becomes silent and His influence less evident. Though the Spirit never leaves us, His power does.

Unresolved anger blocks the impact of the Spirit in our lives. Anger limits how God can use us and keeps us from becoming the person God designed us to be.

Summary: Anger is a normal emotion. God designed anger for a good purpose – anger serves as a warning light. A warning light that must be resolved. When anger is not resolved it can result in doing things we normally would not do, saying things we normally would not say and broken fellowship with God.

Now that we have looked at anger more closely, I want to share with you three ways you can learn to avoid the negatives and experience the benefits of good anger.

Let me share with you three ways to be Good and Angry.

1. EXAMINE yourself.

The only way you will know if anger is a problem in your life is to stop and do a self exam. Doctors recommend that we examine ourselves physically to detect any abnormalities before they become a problem. Likewise God wants us to examine ourselves spiritually to detect any feelings of bitterness or unresolved anger before they become a habit.

1st ask: How do I express my anger?

Psychologists have identified four basic ways that we learn to express anger.

1. Maniac (exploder)

A famous golfer was out on the links instructing his son when some reporters came up to him. The reporters began to ask the young boy some questions about his father’s game. One reporter asks, “What has your father taught you when you hit your ball into the rough?” The boy was hesitant to answer the question so his father said to him, “Go ahead Son! Show them exactly what I do when I hit the ball into the trees?” The boy looked again at his father then suddenly took his club and threw it into the water.

You see his father was an exploder. When things didn’t go his way he would over reacts and takes his aggression out on whatever was in front of him. Some of us are exploders.

2. Mute (imploder),

This is the person who is determined never to get angry. Instead of expressing healthy anger he/she bottles it up inside and pretends as if nothing ever bothers him.

Someone once said, ”When I learned to swallow my anger, I later realized my stomach kept count.” Some of us are imploders.

3. Martyr (inflictor), Like Eyore.

This is a person who is excellent at throwing pity parties. They secretly enjoy being disappointed and feel uncomfortable when things are going well. Their anger is repressed and later manifests itself as depression.

4. Manipulator (exploiter), This is the passive aggressive personality.

Like Lee Iacocca when he was fired from Ford said, “I don’t get mad, I just get even.”

1st identify how you express your anger. Then…

2nd Ask: What kind of person do I want to be? Or what kind of person does God want me to be?

When you have a vision of the kind of person you want to become, you will be more motivated to make the necessary changes. You will have a better idea of what needs to change when you know where your character is headed.

Secondly once you identify how you express anger…

2. STOP and THINK.

When you find yourself in a situation that could cause you to lose your temper ask these three questions:

1st Ask: Why am I angry?

Sometime the reason is not obvious but lies deep below the surface. Anger is not always the root problem but a symptom of a bigger problem. When little issues cause you to over react you might be dealing with residual anger. The pain and frustration of past events could be causing you to become angry over petty issues. At this point it is important to seek the guidance of a trained counselor, someone who can help you get to the core issue and encourage you to go to Christ for healing.

2nd Ask: Is it worth getting angry about?

Not everything that bothers you is worth expressing. It is important that you learn to pick your battles carefully.

3rd Ask: What do I really want out of this encounter? - When you think through it logically where do you want the situation to go?

I love email. I think email is great. When I get frustrated with someone or a situation I sit down and write an email describing the problem and the solution. Then I save it in my, “To be sent folder.” I leave it there and read it the next day. 9 times out of 10 I never send the email. Sometimes just writing things down and coming back to them the next day is all the resolution you need. Sometimes anger won’t bring about the result we are hoping for.

So once you have identified how you express anger and once you have thought about why you are angry…

3. Replace your anger.

31 “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

When you are sick or have a virus the first thing you do is try to get rid of it. You might drink lots of fluids, get plenty of rest or take medications that will combat the effects. Paul is saying when you harbor anger inside do everything you can to get rid of it. Like a virus it wants to gain supremacy over your life but you need to do all you can to replace your anger with something more powerful.

What is the one thing that will help you get rid of your anger? FORGIVENESS

Learn to FORGIVE.

Forgiveness releases the person who has hurt you and gives the pain to God. Forgiving is not forgetting but it is letting go of the pain caused by another person or an event.

How can you learn to replace anger with forgiveness?

1. Believe that anger is a rational choice! People can provoke you to become angry but only you can stay angry. Anger in the end is a choice you have made.

2. Look to the Holy Spirit to empower you. Confess to God that you have not expressed you anger in healthy ways. List the different events where you allowed the situation to be out of control and ask God to forgive you. When you have agreed with God about where you need to change the Holy Spirit will become a strong force in your life for change.

3. Remember, Jesus forgave you!

by Jason Freeman

GAME OF GENERALS

I have long been wondering what is really behind Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's mind for 2010 election. it seems that this lady has a tack for playing game of generals.

The Game of the Generals, also called Salpakan in Tagalog and simply The Generals, is an educational wargame invented in the Philippines by Sofronio H. Pasola, Jr. in 1970. It can be played within twenty to thirty minutes. It is designed for two players and requires the use of logic. The games simulates armies at war trying to outflank and outmaneuver each other. As in actual warfare, the game allows only one side's plan to succeed. Certain strategies and tactics, however, allow both sides the chances of securing a better idea of the other's plans as the game progresses. Players can also speak with others during matches, hoping to make a false impression on where the flag is.

The objective of the game is to eliminate or capture the flag of one's opponent, or to maneuver one's flag to the other end of the board. winning the game sometime needs to create a decoy, something that would appear to be a flag so that the flag can go through enemy lines unnoticed.

In the case of Ms. Arroyo strategy come 2010 presidential election, everybody is aware that any endorsement made by her is a kiss of death. Gloria Arroyo is also aware of this that she is a lame endorser of candidates. That happened in the 2004 election where had they not cheated, only a handful of senators from the administration could make it to the senate.

We also know that she is really inclined to pursue the charter change, and change the form of government from presidential to parliamentary. Many are speculating that she is eyeing for the prime minister position after her presidency.

Looking in the past, Gloria and her cohorts in congress have attempted several times to pass a law that would allow them to change the charter but to no avail. They would create a scenario that would cause a need to change the charter but the supreme court stopped them. That was the failed Mindanao peace agreement. They would really turn heaven and earth to manipulate the law just to get to their objective and now she is left with few more cards, and one would be the election. We think that she wants to stay in power.

Now Gloria is running for congress. A very unusual humility from a politician who is already at the top of her career to move down the ranks to submit herself for reelection to be a congresswoman.

So, it is said that she wants to change the charter to become a prime minister. Changing the charter did not succeed so therefore she has to circumvent the law by running for congress with the goal of becoming the speaker of the house, change the charter then get appointed to be the prime minister. Very cunning if ever this is true.

As of late, the surveys showed that almost 80% of the people would not vote for Gloria's endorsees, and she endorsed Gilbert Teodoro for president, so therefore basing on the thought that her endorsements are a kiss of death and as what the survey showed, there is a slim chance that Teodoro is going to win the presidency.

If Teodoro, who is Gloria's supposed president, will not win the election and Gloria eventually becomes a congresswoman, then there has got to be somebody that Gloria have in mind to work with her for the charter change otherwise she will be left hanging in the chambers for nothing. I don't believe that she is banking on Teodoro - he must be a decoy.

If Teodoro is a decoy then who could be Gloria's president to hand her the prime minister position? The president of the land usually has a hand in the goings and outs of congress, he gains control of congress and influences it to do wherever he wants to lead them to, therefore it is unlikely that Gloria would be supporting a losing candidate if she intends to end up the prime minister in the final analysis.

The leading candidate in the presidential survey is Noynoy Aquino, Manny villar and Joseph Estrada. Noynoy Aquino is a staunch Gloria critique, Joseph Estrada might just get disqualified so we are left with Manny Villar...do you think Manny Villar is Gloria's man?

HOW TO FORGIVE

We all understand the general concept of forgiveness, but most of us are not especially proficient on the specifics on how to do it. So, this morning, we’re going to answer the questions: How do I forgive him? How do I forgive her? (As I said that you thought of who that ‘him’ or ‘her’ is in your life).

As we begin our study this morning, let me acknowledge my debt to the various writings of Lewis Smedes for many of the concepts that undergird this sermon.

How Do I Forgive Him? How Do I Forgive Her?

1. Acknowledge that you have been seriously hurt.

- The starting point for being pursuing forgiveness is to admit that you’ve really been hurt. We like to pretend like what he said didn’t really bother us or what she did didn’t even phase us, but until we are willing to admit that we were hurt by them, we’re not in a place where we can begin to pursue forgiveness.

- There are many incidents in life that are not candidates for forgiveness - things like minor disappointments or passing slights. Situations that require forgiveness are ones where the pain inflicted is personal, unfair, and deep. Things like betrayal and brutality (physical or emotional) come to mind.

- At this point, as we hurt, we are likely to find some hatred in our heart. Hatred, of course, is never a good thing, but we must be careful that we don’t try to get rid of it by covering it up. When we find that hate in our heart, that’s simply a sign we’re going to need to forgive.

2. Surrender your right to get even.

- The mother ran into the bedroom when she heard her seven-year-old son scream. She found his two-year-old sister pulling his hair. She gently released the little girl’s grip and said comfortingly to the boy, "There, there. She didn’t mean it. She doesn’t know that hurts." He nodded his acknowledgement, and she left the room.

As she started down the hall the little girl screamed. Rushing back in, she asked, "What happened?"

The little boy replied, "She knows now."

[source: www.preachingtoday.com]

- Few would dispute our right to get even. The rule of the world is ‘do unto others as they’ve done unto you.’

- When we choose to forgive, though, we choose to lay aside our right to extract our revenge. In the moment of making that decision, we are doing a couple of things: 1. We are leaving ultimate justice and vengeance to God, and 2. We are deliberately choosing for ourselves the path of forgiveness.

This is the first step down a different path.

Acknowledging that we have been hurt gets in the right place to begin, but surrendering our right to get even is the first step down the path.

- Some would argue that choosing such a path is inevitably going to make us a patsy - we’re yielding all our power and are going to end up as a doormat. I believe, though, that there is a power that is unleashed in this decision that cannot come from any other source. What does this power look like? Consider the following story:

- Albert Tomei is a justice of the New York State Supreme Court. A young defendant was convicted in Judge Tomei’s court of gunning down another person execution style. The murderer had a bad record, was no stranger to the system, and only stared in anger as the jury returned its guilty verdict.

The victim’s family had attended every day of the two-week trial. On the day of sentencing, the victim’s mother and grandmother addressed the court. When they spoke, neither addressed the jury. Both spoke directly to the murderer. They both forgave him.

"You broke the Golden Rule——loving God with all your heart, soul, and mind. You broke the law——loving your neighbor as yourself. I am your neighbor," the older of the two women told him, "so you have my address. If you want to write, I’ll write you back. I sat in this trial for two weeks, and for the last sixteen months I tried to hate you. But you know what? I could not hate you. I feel sorry for you because you made a wrong choice."

Judge Tomei writes: "For the first time since the trial began, the defendant’s eyes lost their laser force and appeared to surrender to a life force that only a mother can generate: nurturing, unconditional love. After the grandmother finished, I looked at the defendant. His head was hanging low. There was no more swagger, no more stare. The destructive and evil forces within him collapsed helplessly before this remarkable display of humaneness."

[source: www.preachingtoday.com]

In choosing the path of forgiveness, that grandmother unleashed a power that could not be tapped in any other way. And that power was what caused the defendant to hang his head for the first time.

3. Search for the real person beneath the evil mask.

- When we have been wronged, we like to caricature our wrongdoer. We emphasize all the bad things about them, we twist anything that looks remotely good, we are quick to impugn their every motive, we see them only and always in one way.

- The process of forgiveness requires that we begin to look for the real person behind the caricature we’ve created in our minds. We begin to see that they have not only hurt, they have been hurt. We begin to see that they are weak, needy, and fallible. We begin to find reasons for our hearts to turn toward mercy instead of malice.

- This doesn’t mean we grant them victim status and excuse all their wrong - we’re forgiving, not excusing. It does mean that we begin to try to treat them as another participant in this messy thing called life.

- What is our motivation for doing this? As our passage points out, we are doing for them what God did for us. God could have simply seen our sin and said, “I’ve seen enough, that’s all I need to know about them.” But God looked beyond our sin and saw something worth loving. And that’s what we’ve been called to do as well.

4. Desire that good things would happen to your wrongdoer.

- I know that sounds impossible when you first hear it, but stay with me for a minute.

- In the process of forgiveness, we move from dreaming of bad things befalling them toward hoping for good things in their life.

- At this point, it might be helpful to address a related question: does forgiving mean there’s no

punishment?

The answer to that is, No, forgiving does not necessarily mean there should not be punishment.

If they are unrepentant, punishment that leads to sorrow may be the loving thing to want for them because it will bring them toward where they need to be. The key in this is your motive. Whereas before you prayed for them to be punished because of your anger and hatred toward them, when you’re pursuing forgiveness you might pray for them to be punished because you want to see their heart changed and that is the most likely route for that to happen. Your motive has changed from wanting something bad to happen to praying for something good to happen.

- What are some examples of this?

a. A thief breaks into my house and steals most of my stuff. He is caught and put on trial, but is completely lacking remorse. If I go to the court and plead for his release, he will immediately return to stealing. In that situation, the good things I want for his life are a change of heart and a change of lifestyle. Because this is most likely to happen with punishment, forgiveness does not keep me from supporting punishment, although I might well want to write or visit him while he’s in there to try to share the love of God with him.

b. My spouse says some things in an argument that hurt me. Forgiving her and wanting good things for her life doesn’t mean I pray, “God, I hope you’ll bless her by giving her the ability to win all the arguments we have from now on.” Rather, wanting good things might mean praying that God would open her heart (and mine) to where each of us could be a better spouse.

- When Chris Carrier was ten, he was abducted, stabbed, shot through the head, and left for dead. Surprisingly, he survived, but the emotional and physical scars were very difficult to heal. Eventually, though, his commitment to Christ helped him to move on with his life. The perpetrator was never found.

Over twenty years later, on September 3, 1996, Chris received a phone call from a detective in the Coral Gables, FL police department. The detective said that an elderly man in a local nursing home had confessed to being his abductor. The man’s name was David McCallister.

Chris visited David the following day. Here are his words: “It was an awkward moment, walking into his room, but as soon as I saw him I was overwhelmed with compassion. The man I found was not an intimidating kidnapper, but a frail seventy-seven-year-old who had been blind for the last half-dozen years. David’s body was ruined by alcoholism and smoking - he weighed little more than sixty pounds. He had no family, or if he did, they wanted nothing to do with him, and no friends. A friend who had accompanied me wisely asked him a few simple questions that led to him admitting that he had abducted me. He then asked, ‘Did you ever wish you could tell that young boy that you were sorry for what you did?’ David answered emphatically, ‘I wish I could.’ That was when I introduced myself to him.

Unable to see, David clasped my hand and told me he was sorry for what he had done to me. As he did, I looked down at him, and it came over me like a wave: Why should anyone have to face death without family, friends, the joy of life - without hope? I couldn’t do anything but offer him my forgiveness and friendship.”

In the days that followed, Chris was able to share the love of Christ with David.

[Source: J. Arnold, ‘Why Forgive?’]

- What is our motivation for doing such a difficult thing? Again, as our text points out, we are doing for them what God did for us.

5. If possible, enjoy the healed relationship.

- Sometimes the other person can’t join you in moving toward reconciliation (for example, in forgiving a parent now passed on) and sometimes the other person won’t join you (for example, someone who won’t acknowledge that they’ve hurt you).

- For reconciliation to happen, they must understand the pain that they’ve caused you and must be sorrowful over it.

- But when they are, make sure you enjoy the healing and the renewed relationship that can only come through forgiveness.

by Jim Butcher

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.