Day by Day info: February 2021

WORDS and CHOICE OF WORDS

Kahit sa prayer, be positive; pray in the positive.

Imbes: "Ilayo nyo po kami sa sakuna..."

Say: "Keep us safe."

Imbes: "Nawa po hindi kami mapahamak..."

Say: :Panatilihin nyo po kaming ligtas."

Imbes: "Huwag po sana akong mabigo..."

Say: "Magtagumpay po nawa ako..."

Imbes: "Wag po sana akong iwan ni Papa..."

Say: "Manatili po nawa si Papa sa piling ko."

Imbes: "Ilayo nyo po kami sa gutom..."

Say: "Lagi po nawa kaming mabusog."

Imbes: "Tanggalin nyo po ang aking takot..."

Say: "Punuuin nyo po ako ng lakas ng loob, pagtitiwala at kapayapaan." 

Sabi ng ilan, 

HEAVEN HEARS THE MAJOR WORDS and grants accordingly.

So let heaven hear 

- SAFE imbes SAKUNA.

- lLIGTAS imbes MAPAHAMAK

- MAGTAGUMPAY imbes MABIGO

- MANATILI SA PILING imbes IWAN

- BUSOG imbes GUTOM

- LAKAS NG LOOB imbes TAKOT.

ETC ETC ETC. 

Now, if you still insist on using nega words---humayo kang nega sa mundong ibabaw. 

Jesusness

O MAHABA-HABANG STUDY PARA SA SEEKERS. MAGSIKAP.

STUDY  EXPOUND  APPLY

Matthew 12.1-37 NIV
1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. 
• Jesus /Jesusness allows this.

2 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”
• Mosesness /Pharisee-ness 
       vs. Jesusness

3 He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. 5 Or haven’t you read in the Law that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are innocent? 
• In loving people, Jesus sets free from the Law.

6 I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. 7 If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
• Jesus is greater than the temple        
        and the Law.
       Jesusness is greater                              
       than Mosesness /Pharisee-ness.

9 Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, 10 and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”
11 He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
•Doing good to -
  Loving              - people is greater than the   
                                      - Sabbath.
 = the Law.
13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. 
14 But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.
•Pharisee-ness wants to kill 
 Jesus/Jesusness.

15 Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. A large crowd followed him, and he healed all who were ill. 16 He warned them not to tell others about him. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:
18 “Here is my servant whom I have chosen,
    the one I love, in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
    and he will proclaim justice to the nations.
19 He will not quarrel or cry out;
    no one will hear his voice in the streets.
20 A bruised reed he will not break,
    and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out,
till he has brought justice through to victory.
21     In his name the nations will put their hope.” 
22 Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. 
23 All the people were astonished and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”
24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons.”
•The Pharisees                                                
   - accuse Jesus of demonism.
   - label Jesusness as demonic.
   Modern-day Pharisees accuse Jesusness 
   of being 
   - ungodly.
   - unlawful. 
    Against the Law .
    “Unbiblical.” 

25 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. 26 If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? 27 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. 
28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
• Jesus says that his works, even ---especially ---those that go against the Law to practice love and grace, is 
- done by the Spirit of God.
- the work of the Spirit.

29 “Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house.           30 “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. 
• Jesus says: 
        Whoever is NOT  - with him             -
                                         - into Jesusness - 
                                         is against him.      

31 And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 
32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.
• Contextually, 
       whoever labels the works of             
       Jesus /Jesusness as evil /demonic         
       - sins against the Spirit who is behind  
          the work.
       - will not be forgiven.

33 “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. 35 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. 36 But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
• Contextually, those “words” are words  
        spoken against  the works of                    
        - Jesus /Jesusness.
        = the Holy Spirit.

conservative

Q - Is it desirable to be conservative?

A - The conservative lives in the formula of the past and in the imagined safety of that formula.
But a formula thrives only in context: in the immediate reality surrounding it.
The formula that worked before ---in the past and gone contexts ---could not be relied upon to be as effective in the present as in the past because the context surrounding it had changed.
The conservative exists in a bubble that seeks predictability, regularity, sameness.
That approach to life would cause so much stress and tension with the elements of the present.

- Ed Lapiz

Q - Nagli-lead po ako ng all-Filipino Bible Study dito sa Middle East. Para pong gusto kong mag-washing of feet ng mga attendees gaya ng ginawa ni Lord Jesus para magturo po ako ng humility at servanthood. What do you think?

A - 
Sa Israel noong unang panahon, ginagawa talaga ng host/maybahay ang maghugas ng paa ng guests as a symbol of hospitality. Pag mayaman ang may bahay, mga katulong nya ang gumagawa noon. O kung talagang gusto nyang ipadama ang love nya sa guest, sya mismo ang gagawa. 
Nang ginawa yun ni Jesus, alam at naiintindihan ng mga disciples ang ibig sabihin at gustong ipadama ni Jesus.
Sa ating mga Filipino, wala tayong ganung tradisyon. Asiwa kung kokopyahin natin yung symbol. Baka magmukha ka pang empleyado ng foot spa, although wala namang masama sa pagiging ganung empleyado.
Wag yung symbol/act ang kopyahin mo kundi yung symbolized o diwa na ipinararating (tulad ng love, humillity, consideration, kindness, hospitality, etc.) Humanap ka ng kaugalian natin na magpapahayag noon (tulad ng pagbibigay ng ulam/pagkain, pakikiramay/pag-aabuloy kung kailangan nila ng tulong, atbp.) at yun ang gawin mo. Siguradong maiiintindihan ang mensahe mo dahil swak sa ating mga kaugalian at ang diwa ay tulad din ng gustong ituro ni Jesus.
Ang tawag sa ganitong approach to Biblical interpretation and application ay CONTEXTUALIZATION. Understand the context of the verse and imitate the idea of the context, not the cultural actions that express that idea in the unique environment/context of the people in the Bible who lived in a distant time, place and cultural norms.
Halimabawa yung pagbebelo sa Corinth na nirequire Paul. Kasi ang walang belo at babaing maikli ang buhok sa lugar na yon ay prostitutes. So, para huwag mapagkamalang prostitutes ang Christian women, o kung formerly ay prostitutes sila pero hindi na, pinagbebelo sila ni Paul at pinagpapahaba ng buhok. 
Samantala sa Pilipinas, hindi naman como walang belo o maiksi ang buhok ng babae ay prostitute na sya. Hindi pagbebelo o mahabang buhok ang symbol ng pagiging makadiyos o pagiging HINDI prostitute kaya wala sa context na irequire ang Christian Filipino women in the Philippines na magbelo o magpahaba ng buhok.
Ganun ang contextualization.