Reformed Blogging

I remembered a couple of secular movies that talked about the consequences of having Christmas every day. As much as these movies would rather focus on the non-existent Santa Claus than Jesus Christ who is the reason for all seasons - I really do have a comfort that it's not Christmas everyday. While I don't condemn Christians who celebrate Christmas without the pagan nonsense - after all it wasn't for the Incarnation there wouldn't be Good Friday and Easter Sunday! There would be no reason to commemorate the death of Christ if He wasn't born in human flesh to become the perfect sin sacrifice.  However the rest of the world is so filled with so much debauchery and materialism during Christmas. How horrible would it be if everyday where Christmas. I could imagine if every night were Christmas Eve and every morning were Christmas day. It's already bad enough to see debauchery and materialism all year long - it even gets worse during Christmas! Can you imagine

Christmas is really full of bad memories for me but there's one reason to actually not think negatively about it. Sure I may hate all the traffic, hypocrisy and hectic schedules but there's a reason for living daily - Jesus is the joy of living! There are Christmas songs that go against the world's songs about Santa Claus and Frosty the Snowman. They talk about the reason for living and talk about the incarnation of Christ that would lead to His death, burial and resurrection. What Christmas songs do I like to listen to? Here are some: Hark the Herald O Come All Ye Faithful We Are the Reason Joy to the World O Little Town of Bethlehem Away in a Manger These songs are precious because they show the importance of Christ's birth. Although Jesus was definitely not born on December 25 yet one can still honor His incarnation on said date. The sun god Mithra is no match for the sun of righteousness - the Lord Jesus Christ! Those songs don't talk about Sa

This is really disgusting how Miss Spain 2018 is actually a man and not a woman! What in the world have people gotten into? I really can't help but feel disgust at how a beauty pageant for women now includes a MAN who has become a "woman". It's disgusting! So why is he even referred to as Angela? Shouldn't he be named ANGELO instead of Angela? Also, isn't it Miss Universe NOT Mr. Universe? I may not support these beauty pageants because of how often they feed on the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes but I'd like to express my disgust over this stupidity! I know I'd sound really repulsive and bigoted to the LGBT crowd but this isn't right. Who says homosexuality has "positive effects" and won't cause confusion to society is a fool. It doesn't matter how many physical changes and hormonal therapies a transgender undergoes - a man is ALWAYS a man and a woman is ALWAYS a woman. No amount of biotechnology will turn Angel

Nothing has been more stressful for me than the Christmas season. I really get mad so much whenever I hear Andy Williams' famous song "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" when I think about the horrible things about the Christmas seasons.  I can evaluate some of the reasons why I tend to hate the Christmas season so much: It's the most hypocritical time of the year. There's the call for temporary reconciliation because it's Christmas then for the rest of the year (except the Lenten season) - all conflicts go back to normal. You can also have the wicked showing off how "generous" they are during Christmas but they are just doing it for show. The heavy traffic is just so annoyingly excruciating. Going to work and going home from work becomes a burden instead of a delight.  There's a lot of carolers asking for money. It's the time of the year to ask for impunity for one's wrongdoing.  People would rather be lazy than work during

Well it's December once again and I know I don't feel too good about December for many reasons. One of them is because Christmas is indeed the most hypocritical time of the year. Suddenly, I'm reminded of the fact that I'm called "old fashioned" or "old fashioned Baptist". Christmas being the worldliest time of the year is always in competition with the old fashioned truth that Jesus Christ is the only Way to the Father and that His incarnation was necessary because man isn't basically good! The reason is summarized in the song "The Old Fashioned Way". They call me old-fashioned because I believe That the Bible is God’s holy Word, That Jesus, who lived among men long ago, Is divine, and the Christ of God.   Chorus: My sin was old-fashioned, My guilt was old-fashioned, God’s love was old-fashioned, I know; And the way I was saved was the old-fashioned way, Thro' the blood that makes whiter than snow.   Old-fashione

I decided to give myself another self-evaluation whether or not I'm being too thin-skinned in more than one level. I thought about the reality about it when people say, "You listen to your pastor but why aren't you listening to your unbelieving parents and elders when they rebuke you for your own good?" Then it really starts me to think about how thin-skinned I've become towards certain people especially when I'm reminded of my mistakes for my own good. I think about it why is there the problem of being thin-skinned? Being thin-skinned doesn't go away so easily. In fact, it's a lifelong struggle such as every psychological disorder that people may have. Being thin-skinned may come from one's lifelong psychological learning disabilities such as Asperger's Syndrome or Attention Deficit Disorder - all these psychological disorders are results of the fall of mankind! Worse, they prove that man isn't basically good and that sin nature is i

Here's Habakkuk's last three verses: Habakkuk 3:17-19  Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: 18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. 19 The LORD God is my strength, and He will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments. I remembered how I used to think that it's dumb and mentally retarded to praise God even in times of difficulty. I even felt that I had a hard time trying to do (while wanting to do so) when I was newly saved if I don't call for God's grace to help me do so. I was thinking about all the times of crisis that hit my life for some time yet why did I still thank God for it while I was still complaining when things got so out of co

Today is All Soul's Day and the final day of All Hallow's Tide. It's really no coincidence that the great Martin Luther hammered his 95 Theses on October 31st - a day before All Saint's Day and two days before All Soul's Day. Halloween doesn't only involve people asking for candy dressed up in various costumes. It also involves Roman Catholic parishioners also asking for donations for the souls in Purgatory. While they don't teach that Purgatory is a second chance for those who died without Christ - they teach that Christ's death is insufficient so people must pay for their sins in said place! This is the problem of the Roman Catholic system's concept of salvation. Infant baptism so your child can be supposedly "free from original sin"? You pay! First confession when you can directly confess your sins to God? You pay! First communion because you just can't receive communion without it? You pay because they need pomp and revelry - n

I remembered my experience (as a child) in trying out two exercises used by spiritism namely Spirit of the Glass and Spirit of the Coin. Lately, I thought about the findings of ideomotor effect where you sometimes move objects or even yourself without knowing it. Chances are I was only experiencing an ideomotor effect when me and some friends tried to communicate with spirits. Did spirits move the glass and the coin? I couldn't really tell but one this is certain - what I was doing was not right with God! But there's certainly one thing - that event where I tried contacting spirits to murder someone for me was a gateway to deception. If a person is making decisions or trying to discern the truth via ideomotor effects then the more Ouija boards and fortune-telling methods can't be trusted for accuracy. If there's any satanic activity going on when Satan and his demons play with one's mind to do so. The chances are even if demons aren't directly moving the c

One of the biggest areas where I believe I need to control is my mouth. Sadly, this is the fallen state of humanity that nothing in the human body isn't tainted with sin. It's possible you are complaining or that I'm complaining about someone backbiting about me while I backbite them. That's the plain double standard of sinful humanity, isn't it? I thought about it that how many times have I sinned with my mouth? Truth is I don't know and only God knows. How many times must God punish me for it? I would say as many times as needed until I get my mouth cleaned. If there's anything that should be very true about the mouth - it's filthy! It reminds me of the scene in Isaiah 6:4-6 where Isaiah saw himself as nothing but unclean. Before God, I can only see my filthy mouth that needs to be cleaned. I can only see myself as a dishonest person outside the grace of God. Every time I read the Bible - I can only myself reminded that my old self is still fond o

The Reformation has gone beyond its 500th year and now it's celebrating its 501st year. I was reading through Ligonier Ministries and here's an excerpt about the Reformation: Martin Luther, a scholar, took quill in hand, dipped it in his inkwell and penned his 95 Theses on October 31, 1517. These were intended to spark a debate, to stir some soul-searching among his fellow brothers in the church. The 95 Theses sparked far more than a debate. The 95 Theses also revealed the church was far beyond rehabilitation. It needed a reformation. The church, and the world, would never be the same.  One of Luther’s 95 Theses simply declares, “The Church’s true treasure is the gospel of Jesus Christ.” That alone is the meaning of Reformation Day. The church had lost sight of the gospel because it had long ago papered over the pages of God’s Word with layer upon layer of tradition. Tradition always brings about systems of works, of earning your way back to God. It was true of the Pharis

I remembered I was told that I could tell people I belong to the catholic or universal church founded by Jesus Christ but not to the Roman Catholic institution. There's a difference. Catholic is derived from the Greek words "kath" and "oles" from "all throughout" in Acts 9:31. So how is the Church universal and local at the same time? While there is no visible central organization but guess who is the Head of the Church? Colossians 1:17-18 and Ephesians 5:22-25 says that Jesus is the Head of the Church. Therefore, if Christ be the Head of the Church then therefore the Church is spiritually universal or catholic - even if there's no visible central organization on Earth! An early edition of the Apostle's Creed talks about the holy catholic church and communion of saints. Roman Catholics tend to use it to justify their heresy when it doesn't. What does it mean to believe in a holy catholic church? When the great Christian theologian Ig

The more you persecute Christianity - the more it grows! That's the truth that the Bible had declared this wonderful truth of the Scriptures concerning persecution: 1 Corinthians 4:9-11  Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; 10 Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. 11 For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. This is the truth about Christianity. Jesus never promised an easy life yet He also promised that He would provide the grace to survive it. The Holy Spirit Himself doesn't only convict sin but also empowers the Christian. The truth of the matter is that Christianity itself has been persecuted many times. If unsaved Jews couldn't stop it, if the Roman Catholic institution couldn't stop it, if Islam couldn't stop it then what makes China's ath

I was thinking about Ephesians 5:16 which says that one must redeem the time because the days are evil. How evil are the days? We live in a fallen world and that's why the world is filled with problems and life ain't smooth sailing. Many times, I still feel the urge to blame Adam and Eve that only if they didn't eat the fruit then the world wouldn't be like it is today. Sin brought death and destruction into the world and the days became evil as a result. I thought of a number of times I am caught guilty of procrastinating. The worst thing I could do with procrastination is to really rely on my flesh to fight it. I couldn't deal with my sinful habits on my own because all my mind could think is "I will do it later." Unfortunately, such a mindset is what my sinful mind is capable of doing. I even think what's the use of receiving Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior if I still rely on my sinful self to fight off my old bad habits such as dilly dally

I don't deny that the doctrine of eternal security is true yet it can be misrepresented by false converts as a license to sin. I remembered how often I struggled with the idea of eternal security. No, I didn't believe that you can lose your salvation every time you sin. Instead, I believed that you can lose your salvation by choosing to reject Jesus after you got saved. I used to think it was possible yet part of me believed that if you're a follower of Jesus then you are going to remain. Can you truly get out of the hand of God after you are saved? Part of me started to struggle with these ideas. Some people I knew who came from Protestant or Baptist families ended up becoming Roman Catholics, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Ang Dating Daan members, and even Muslims? It had me thinking, "What a foolish decision to get saved and then throw it away later! How could they reject Jesus after He saved them from Hell?" Then I felt what could be the Holy Spirit'

As a former Roman Catholic - I was thinking about the call of God in Revelation 18:4. I remembered the first time I read the verse from the Good News Translation. Two words that always rang into my head that could link to the doctrine of Unconditional Election is, "My people." Matthew 1:21 says that Jesus will save His people from His sins. Then I started thinking after many years having left the Great Whore of Revelation - could it be possible that I couldn't get out of her if God didn't call me first? Why do I suddenly start getting myself believing more of Calvinism or Reformed Theology? Aside from the obvious fact that the King James Bible (KJV) was translated by Calvinist scholars known as the Puritans - it's because of the many times "chosen" is mentioned in the KJV. John 15:16 says that Jesus didn't choose the eleven disciples but rather He chose them first. The very idea of chosen for salvation can render the mind numb especially, "

I remembered having gone from a journey from Roman Catholicism to becoming near agnostic after a crisis of faith. Back when I was a Roman Catholic - the Bible just didn't matter to me because: I had a priest who would guide me in spiritual matters and only he was "qualified" to interpret it. There was the "infallible" council who was supposedly granted immunity from doctrinal error by the Holy Spirit. Of course, the Pope himself couldn't be wrong about doctrine, right? Studying Roman Catholic doctrine was of course more interesting to my carnal mind than the Bible back then. So why did I hate the Bible? Why did I hate having Bible classes when I got into a Baptist academy a a Roman Catholic? If I could summarize it, it's because "I hated the Bible because it knew all about my sins." The Bible is very offensive towards the lost sinner. After all, who wants their sins named one by one and evaluated before them? One always wants to have a

I always had a struggle with the doctrine of unconditional election. I tried to resist it for years but as I read my Bible - I always saw that Jesus chose the apostles and not the other way around. I can't even see Saul choosing Jesus - it was Jesus who chose Saul. It has me thinking of this lyrics of the song that really teach the doctrine of election. [Verse:] You did not wait for me to draw nigh to You,  but You clothed Yourself in frail humanity.  You did not wait for me to cry out to You,  but You let me hear Your voice calling me.  [Chorus:]  And I'm forever grateful, Lord, to You.  And I'm forever grateful for the cross.  And I'm forever grateful to You,  that You came to seek and save the lost.  [Ending:]  That You came to seek and save the lost.  [repeat as desired] It's those words that make me think of this one. Is it that Jesus didn't wait for me and He instead called for me instead? I have done nothing to merit

I read atheist blogs where some of them dare to condemn ritualistic human sacrifice of infants to Moloch while supporting abortion. Their reason? I remembered one atheist said that the fetus is just a glob of flesh. But if it's just a glob of flesh and it's not living then we better talk about some scientific facts such as: An unborn child has a heartbeat which is an indicator of life. Miscarriage is the loss of life of a fetus within the womb of the mother. The pregnant mother's health is utmost priority because it doesn't only lead to birth defects but it can also kill a child. If a pregnant woman is killed then why is it double homicide? Why do I dare say that abortion isn't any less sinful? Sure, we don't see abortion clinics erect a huge image of Moloch any pagan idol. We don't see abortion doctors beat the drums and pray to Moloch or any pagan god before the abortion is done. What can't be denied is that both child sacrifice to paga

It really saddens me to think how many people have been shared the Gospel more than once. One relative got saved and two presumably went to Hell without Christ. Others have been warned for many years but are still stubborn in their unbelief. This has me thinking that should I really believe in the doctrine of Unconditional Election? I believe in the truth of the Perseverance of the Saints which differentiates false converts from true converts. Yet, I still have a hard time believing in Unconditional Election. I could easily agree with the doctrine of Perseverance of the Saints because it makes a distinction between true and false converts. There are many shallow professors. It's been easy for me for many years to dismiss anyone who claims that he or she is a Christian when the fruit suggests otherwise (Matthew 7:14-20). I have no problem singling out false converts and confronting them, telling them that just because they "prayed a prayer" or signed a dotted line th

There is the question, "What's the difference between a pastor and a teacher?" Ephesians 4:11 spells out that there are pastors and teachers. A teacher is not necessarily a pastor while a pastor is a teacher. How is that possible? A teacher is not necessarily leading a pulpit. A Bible teacher is not necessarily a pastor. I can teach Sunday school to a bunch of children all the while God hasn't given me the authority of a pastor. A pastor is someone who works as the shepherd of his flock. The office of teacher is inseparable from the pastor's list of duties. Attending a worship service involves praise and worship. There is the singing of songs, there was the Sunday school an hour ago then what does the pastor do? He preaches and teaches the Word of God at the same time. He proclaims the Word of God at the same time he teaches the congregation how to apply the Word of God into their lives. He preaches and teaches the Bible to the entire flock as both pastor and

I remembered one of the biggest struggles I had was with "Should Christians have the right or permission to get into martial arts?" Some said yes and other said no. Those who said no as far as I'm concerned have been arguing based on illogical arguments such as the genetic fallacy. They are saying that we shouldn't engage martial arts because of its origin from the Far East. Then again, we do realize that many of stuff today that Christians use are also invented from the Far East such as umbrellas, slippers, paper, origami, calligraphy and high quality electronics. So to dismiss martial arts simply because of its origin is a genetic fallacy. So how is martial arts defined? Here's some definitions from the dictionary and how it's defined. I don't see any religion involved in these definitions: Merriam Webster-Dictionary defines it as, "any of several arts of combat and self-defense (such as karate and judo) that are widely practiced as spor

There's no secret to it that life is really that stressful. It's not always caused by a lack of money but by people who tend to cause trouble in one's life. Such was the case of Moses. It really drives me nuts just thinking of how many times in numbers do we hear the people murmur, murmur and more murmurings. Some murmured after the surveying of the land, others murmured because they wanted to go back to being slaves in Egypt and I can't imagine the stress that old Moses suffered through for decades - especially that a 40 year wandering was there!  Now it's time to consider the very incident that caused Moses to really go crazy and finally break it. It was worse than breaking the tablets of stone. Now it really showed how much he felt that enough is enough.  Numbers 20:7-12  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, [8] Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall gi

I decided to think about the Rebellion of Korah, Dathan and Abiram in Numbers 16. I remembered hearing this lesson from a pastor while I was starting to question God's sovereignty. It was that time I was really mad with God and I just didn't want to believe in Him anymore because of all the problems that kept piling up. I was thinking about the very high price of rebellion and the nightmarish reality that Korah's rebellion fell into Hell while they were alive. The beginning of the rebellion starts when Korah (a cousin of Moses since he was born of the Tribe of Levi) and two members of the Tribe of Reuben (namely the brothers Dathan and Abiram) decided to rebel against Moses. The record says that there was an assembly of 250 princes (or better translated in modern English as captains or leaders) who were well-known. This was an affront to God's authority when they started to rebel against Moses. Korah would be a type of Antichrist if Moses was a a type of Chri

Life can be so hard and not promising for the faithful when it's in this sin-laden world, right? Such was the case of Joshua and Caleb. I was reading through my Bible today and decided that I may give temporary pause to reflect on Joshua's and Caleb's dilemma which can be found in Numbers 13-14. It should be a very stressful entry especially if you realize just how God allows delays in your life for a reason. It was probably the most exciting day of Joshua's and Caleb's life during the leadership of Moses. Can you imagine how these men longed to seized the Promised Land? It was a long walk from the desert. Israel was enslaved for 400 years after 30 years of peaceful settlement. Now it was time to settle in the Promised Land. It was finally time to survey it. Numbers 13:16-20  These are the names of the men which Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Oshea the son of Nun Jehoshua. [17] And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said