Paris Hilton or Jesus?

This is the Quote of the Day from Christianity Today :)

"I believe in the culture war. And you know what? If I have to take a side in the culture war I'll take [the conservative Christian] side. Because if you give me the choice of Paris Hilton or Jesus, I'll take Jesus."

—Alexandra Pelosi, creator of the new HBO documentary "Friends of God" and daughter of the Speaker of the House of Representatives. She was quoted by The New York Times.

(i, teci, dream of creating and directing and writing my own stories and series someday :D you go girl!!!!)

(and political too. yeah!!! --- scientist teci)

the high calling and the dirty work

all that follows is from this site :) God bless!


More Than Words Can Say
By Todd Lake


When Jesus was eight years old, his parents took him to the Temple and gave two young pigeons as their offering, the sacrifice prescribed for the very poor. Thirty years later, Jesus entered the Temple again and saw retailers and bankers price-gouging the poor—folks needing to buy sacrificial animals for the Jewish ritual sacrifices. Bankers, meanwhile, charged exorbitant interest rates to exchange "unclean" Roman money for the special money needed for Temple use.

Jesus saw everything and said nothing. But in front of everyone, he began to bind a whip of cords, slowly twining one rope strand to another. And his onlookers grew aware that he was about to take sides. Without his saying a word, people saw clearly that business-as-usual would not pass the Son of God. This time, profit maximization at any cost was literally beaten back as Jesus chased out of the Temple those who valued money above people. As it happens, Jesus expects us to love people and use things, not the other way around. He did not fashion a whip to punish the woman caught in adultery; he flailed it at love of money—the sin most public and respectable, which St. Paul reminds us is the root of much evil.

On another occasion, compassion for a blind man moved Jesus to heal him. Many times before, our Lord had restored sight with a word. But this was the Sabbath, and he wished to make a point. So he did the one thing every Jew knew was prohibited: On the day of rest, he made something. He spit on some dirt, made mud, and placed it on the man's eyes. This silent act exposed the hearts of the super-pious who considered religion a matter of what one didn't do; and no good Jew worked on the Sabbath. But Jesus' physical healing and muddy hands showed that "faith without works is dead."

Something about a physical gesture makes for an undeniable statement. We may convince others that they misinterpreted our words, but it's almost impossible to erase the meaning of what we do. Knowing a gesture's power, Jesus used one to show his distaste for the twin false gods of money and religion. Without a word, he said that as long as we rely on these things, we can never learn to rely on Him.

Now those gestures speak to us: Will we roll up our sleeves and dirty our hands to live out our faith in service to those in need? Or is our greatest claim to Christian faith the list of things that we don't do? Jesus made a whip of cords and dirtied his hands on behalf of those in need; and He is ready to help us choose rightly today as we seek the high calling of our daily work.


By Todd Lake. © 2001 - 2006 H. E. Butt Foundation. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission from Laity Lodge and TheHighCalling.org.

john lennon's Christian phase

go HERE for the article in Christianity Today...[i would love to reprint the entire article here but we've got to respect copyright...:) ]


so sad it was just a phase...

although the complete story would only be known between God and him...

a sobering wake-up call for all of us. is this just a phase for me? for someone i know? or did we really sincerely accept Jesus in the first place?

and please don't underestimate the IMPORTANCE of spiritual follow-up. care for your everyone who's new in Christ! they are as vulnerable as babies, and we're dealing here with spiritual life and death...!

• Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation... (1 Peter 2:2)

• When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. (Matthew 13:19; click HERE for the complete Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13:1-23)

we cannot do anything about John Lennon anymore; his entire fate is literally in God's hands now. but we CAN do something about our friends, our family, even strangers.

God is all-powerful but He gave each of us the freedom to follow Him or not.

don't let the enemy and his agents snatch away any more souls from God.

life versus more life! i can't lose

But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.
--- Philippians 1:18 (New International Version)

For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
--- Philippians 1:21 (New International Version)

So how am I to respond? I've decided that I really don't care about their motives, whether mixed, bad, or indifferent. Every time one of them opens his mouth, Christ is proclaimed, so I just cheer them on!
And I'm going to keep that celebration going because I know how it's going to turn out. Through your faithful prayers and the generous response of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, everything He wants to do in and through me will be done. I can hardly wait to continue on my course. I don't expect to be embarrassed in the least. On the contrary, everything happening to me in this jail only serves to make Christ more accurately known, regardless of whether I live or die. They didn't shut me up; they gave me a pulpit! Alive, I'm Christ's messenger; dead, I'm his bounty. Life versus even more life! I can't lose.
--- Philippians 1:18-21 (The Message)

heart and mind

And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ.

--- Philippians 1:9-10

prayer is for all seasons

from James 5:13-16, NIV. i need to be reminded of this at all seasons as well :)

• Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray.

• Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.

• Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.

• Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.

• The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

it might not seem like love at the time...

it might not seem like love at the time...but real love does what is difficult and even hurtful if it's for the best in the long run.


My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins. (James 5:19-20, NIV)

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. (1 Peter 4:8, NIV)

for those who profess one God

Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you — who are you to judge your neighbor? (James 4:11-12, NIV)

Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. (Romans 14:4, NIV)

why don't i get what i want?

from James 4:2b-3, NIV:

• You do not have, because you do not ask God.

• When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

the more we know...

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. (James 3:13-14, NIV)

• the wiser you are, the humbler you become.
  

reminds me of my favorite philosopher Socrates, called the wisest man who ever lived, when all he did was ask questions and (knowingly or not) expose the lack of wisdom in who he was dialoguing with. if i remember correctly he also said that the only thing he knows is that he does not know. well, from a Biblical Christian's point of view, the more we know about God, the more we realize about how great He is. yeah, that makes us feel small, yet more empowered too, as we realize how much that great God values us. :) the humbler and yet the more thankful we become. :)

• whatever sin you know you have, don't boast about it.
  

it's wrong. admit so.

• whatever sin you know you have, don't deny the truth.
  

it exists. admit so.

mercy triumphs over judgment

several renditions of James 2:12-13...

• New Living Translation:

So whatever you say or whatever you do, remember that you will be judged by the law that sets you free. There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when He judges you.

• New International version:

Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!

• New King James version:

So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.


in (his half-brother) Jesus' own words:

• For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. (Matthew 7:2)

• Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. (Luke 6:37)

for '07: power, love, a sound mind, no fear

this verse kept on popping into my head:


For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
--- 2 Timothy 1:7, New King James version

i claim them all for this year, in the name of Jesus

:D

please pray for me as i pursue my true calling...

please pray for me as i pursue my true calling...

...while i make the most of where i am.

in plain English: please pray for me as i resolve to resign from my job as a college physics teacher to pursue my true calling as a Christian writer while i make the most of being a PhD student.

:)

(to those who are currently my students: yes, with God's grace i'll also make the most of being your teacher :) don't worry :) don't hesitate to tell me how to serve you better :) )

if i'm not a teacher anymore...

• i won't have the opportunity to be a walking testimony of God's love to my students as well as my co-teachers
  
• i won't have the opportunity to share God's Word on the blackboard every day
• i won't have the opportunity to show everyone that YES, IT CAN BE DONE! you can love and follow God even while teaching science in the most secular school in the country

but if i'm not a teacher anymore...

• i will have the opportunity to testify of God's love to a larger audience outside one classroom or laboratory (today Quezon City, tomorrow the world! hey teci as long as you remember that it's all about God and not you ok? ;p )
• i will have the opportunity to share and discuss God's Word in books, in newspapers, on TV, on radio, and face to face with my brothers and sisters (that's everyone else)
  
• actually, i will still have the opportunity to show everyone that YES, IT CAN BE DONE! you can love and follow God even while having a doctorate in physics and having taught science in the most secular school in the country

of course, many things can still happen from today until the end of my yearly-renewed contract on May 31, 2007. and it's still possible that this particular decision is not God's will for me.

which is why, please please pray for me :)

especially because, if this decision is God's will, then i will suddenly lose financial security and move out --- nay, plunge headlong --- out of my comfort zone.

how exciting! ;p


why is writing my true calling?

** more than ten years ago... **
unknown relative: would you like to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?
teci, age 15: (i nodded, and thought to myself, why not? it would sound bad if i said no...)

** months later **
teci, still age 15: i'm going to be a doctor in physics to look for aliens! yeah!

** October 2005 **
teci, age 23: why? why can't i get anything published? (for those who don't know: if your work gets published in a scientific journal, that means you have contributed new knowledge to the world of science. it's a big deal, though in some instances like this i was having a hard time over a supposedly easy publication.)
God, in that still small voice: write for Me.


i'll never forget that moment. the world suddenly changed and everything suddenly made sense. well, a lot of things still weren't perfect including my immediate future, but that Word --- three one-syllable words! and it's not i-love-you! though i know He loves me too! --- changed everything. suddenly it's as if the barely recognizable landscape had some plastic wrapper ripped off it and i saw everything more clearly.

it's funny how we think we know what we want.

it's funny how what God wants, is actually what we want too.

it's funny how when God says what He wants, i realized that's what i wanted too. then and only then.

funny. and i'm not ashamed of being called "slow" or "stupid" especially when it comes to my personal destiny. besides, as Rick Warren's "Purpose-Driven Life" posits, it's the Creator who knows best about the created...fortunately, we can all read the Manual.

so now i'm taking a more specific, more immediate, short-term-decision-with-long-term-consequences. there's actually nothing to be afraid of! think about it: if God has always blessed me to overflowing, what more now when i am purposefully following His plan for me?


what more indeed.

:)

haha, it seems i don't need your prayers after all! ;p (KIDDING!!!!)


(praise You, God of all, for even as i write this You're speaking comfort and reassurance to me...and i am excited. yeah!)

** January 7, 2007 **
teci, age 24: i'm going to be a doctor in physics while writing for God! yeah!

Psalm 118

(these verses have time and again been the summary of my life so far)

1 Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
His love endures forever.
2 Let Israel say:
"His love endures forever."
3 Let the house of Aaron say:
"His love endures forever."
4 Let those who fear the LORD say:
"His love endures forever."
5 In my anguish I cried to the LORD,
and He answered by setting me free.
6 The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
7 The LORD is with me; He is my helper.
I will look in triumph on my enemies.
8 It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in man.
9 It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in princes.
10 All the nations surrounded me,
but in the name of the LORD I cut them off.
11 They surrounded me on every side,
but in the name of the LORD I cut them off.
12 They swarmed around me like bees,
but they died out as quickly as burning thorns;
in the name of the LORD I cut them off.

13 I was pushed back and about to fall,
but the LORD helped me.

14 The LORD is my strength and my song;
He has become my salvation.
15 Shouts of joy and victory
resound in the tents of the righteous:
"The LORD's right hand has done mighty things!
16 The LORD's right hand is lifted high;
the LORD's right hand has done mighty things!"
17 I will not die but live,
and will proclaim what the LORD has done.
18 The LORD has chastened me severely,
but He has not given me over to death.
19 Open for me the gates of righteousness;
I will enter and give thanks to the LORD.
20 This is the gate of the LORD
through which the righteous may enter.
21 I will give you thanks, for You answered me;
You have become my salvation.
22 The stone the builders rejected
has become the capstone;
23 the LORD has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
25 O LORD, save us;
O LORD, grant us success.
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD.
From the house of the LORD we bless you.
27 The LORD is God,
and He has made His light shine upon us.
With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession
up to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will give You thanks;
You are my God, and I will exalt You.
29 Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
His love endures forever.