R.I.P. Steve Jobs (1955-2011)

Steve Jobs, from his 2005 commencement speech
at Stanford University:

“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve  ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost  everything—all external expectations, all pride, all fear of  embarrassment or  failure—these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is  truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to  avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked.  There is no reason not to follow your heart.

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t
be trapped by dogma—which is living with the results of other people’s
thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner
voice.”

Everything Happens on Ypao Beach Park

My son and I came back from another party at Ypao Beach Park last Saturday afternoon; my wife had to work that day so she couldn’t join us.  The occasion we attended was a birthday party for one of my friend’s grandson who just turned two.   Although the water was at low tide and the tip of the corals rode above the waterline, it didn’t spoil the fun for the swimmers who preferred deeper water for swimming.  There was enough water inside the reef to create a pool-like stillness that was safe for children to swim in, without having to worry about dragged out to the ocean by undertows.  The weather also cooperated even if there were distant downpours at two or three locations out in the ocean.  Guam is infamous for brief, unexpected showers on a daily basis, but we didn’t get any rain that would’ve caused us to run for shelter under that day.   It was, by personal account, a perfect day for hanging out at the beach.

Ypao Beach Park is located on the southwest end of Tumon Bay, well-known for its high-rise hotels that accommodate both locals and tourists.  It’s a public access beach, so no one has to go through the hotel lobbies, or their adjacent properties, and feel like trespassers just to get to the beaches.  Ypao Beach is great place for hosting parties and special events, and where everyone will always run into someone they already know.   The beach has a lifeguard station that’s manned from morning to dusk, and attracts Japanese tourists from nearby hotels, even with their own plot of beach.   There is also a fresh-water shower stall to rinse off after a day’s swim, a large covered pavilion for, as well as about a dozen covered picnic tables for smaller gatherings dotting the park ground.  However, a reservation is required to use these covered picnic areas, especially during busy holiday occasions.  The best part about Ypao Beach Park is there is plenty of room for everyone to enjoy themselves all year long.

My Schedule for the Next Few Months

All public schools on Guam are suppose to start on August 8. But due to the finishing touches on the new John F. Kennedy high school campus on Tumon,  the school superitendent had decided to delay the opening day for all schools until August 20 so that everyone will be on the same schedule.  This makes for a longer summer break for school personnel, parents, and students.  This delay doesn’t mean students will have shorter school days.  The department of education is going to compensate for those lost days by eliminating some holidays or shortening the winter and summer break this coming school year.

I might as well enjoy what’s left of this summer because it’ll be one hectic school year.  Not only will I teach full-time during the day, I’m also going to teach GED (high school completion) at night and work full time on my masters degree at the University of Guam.  Ouch!  I’m in for a long, gruelling work schedule for the next nine months.  The plan is to finish my masters degree in Special Education by the end of May; that is, if everything goes according to plan and I don’t get sick nor die before then.   Plans and situations are always changing. I just have to prepare for those changes.   I’ve learned not to grow too attached to one way of thinking or get too complacent about my situation.  Changes are always taking place.  Sometimes the change is favorable; sometimes it’s not. I have to be ready for both.

Realizing My Filipino Heritage

 

It opened my eyes. 

I was 19 years old. College days were comparatively gloomy. Dropped two classes out of four classes I was currently taking at the time… and I was just stressed out.

Burnt out. My face looked as though the sky had fallen. I just felt absolutely lost in life.

Did I see myself as a Filipino at the time?

No.

I was just a typical American kid.

Yep. That’s what I thought.

So it was April 2009. The parental units tell me that the three of us are going to the Philippines for the month of May.

Mom.

Dad.

Me.

Yep, that’s three people.

Pretty much, my Spring semester ended by the time May came into effect.

I didn’t want to go, at first…

… but after having been fed up with living in America, I figured, “Why not?”

May was here and I was ready to go.

Originally, I didn’t wanna come back to the USA, I just wanted to stay in P’nas..

.. and my dad said that if I seemed like I enjoyed being in the Philippines, I could stay…….. but he wouldn’t let me stay, after the vacation was done.

It meant that vacation was going to be terrible, right?

Nope, it wasn’t that bad.. it was actually better than I imagined.

It’s just too bad that I couldn’t stay.

Why?

It opened my eyes. That’s why.

We were riding home in my uncle’s van.
He was driving my family home to Olongapo City from the airport in Manila.
The entire time in the van, I stared out the window and gazed at the streets.

It was sort of vague, at first..

I mean – were people here poor? Were they rich? Were they middle class?

By the time we arrived home, I had more and more Tagalog shoved in my face.

Not in a rude way, but it was either one of two things:

1) They were too shy to speak English to me
2) May medyo naka-nosebleed.

Ordinarily, my cousins would have ran out of English words and return to Tagalog. They would laugh, I would laugh, and I would sort of get the humor.

For someone who was rather tolerant of this, I figured I had to learn Tagalog.

By ‘learn Tagalog’ I mean learning more Tagalog,
a lot more than just my basic “Busog na ako,” or “Inaantok na ako.”

I didn’t think it was necessary to expect them to get better at speaking English and wait for them. I had to actually give Tagalog a shot.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do… so it made sense to me, at the time.

Were people here poor? Rich? Middle class?

These same questions were constantly echoing in my head like a mantra.

My cousin Jayar was probably the one I talked to most… and he’d be the one who’d tease me in Tagalog a lot…

When I thought about the word “Liloloko,” Jayar came to mind.

He taught me some idea of what the word meant.. and in the context of having a guy-girl courtship, there could be some negative connotations of liloloko… like cheating on a girlfriend/boyfriend… or messing with a girl/boy’s feelings.

Talking with him in Tagalog– it wasn’t even about me learning Tagalog; it was about me learning to communicate and really pay attention and listen to what someone is saying.

It really changed the way I took English fluency for granted.

Living in America for over 10 years, it’s easy to be fluent… but fluency doesn’t necessarily mean good communication skills or listening skills; and by communicating in Tagalog, I was forced to use what little Tagalog I knew and try to communicate my needs or what I needed to express.

I loved the way things were expressed differently in Tagalog.

It was a beautiful language for me.

Learning Tagalog was one of many major factors in me gaining insight as a Filipino.

However, the thing that really affected me the most is this idea that:

There is more to being Filipino than being able to speak Tagalog… or Ilocano.

I was always used to hearing about Tagalog speakers, or Ilocano speakers, or Visayan speakers.

Eventually, I found out that I am half Pangasinan, half Sambal.

Now, I don’t know a lot of half Pangsinan, half Sambal people where I live in the US.

I don’t know any at all. However, this was shocking for me.

All this time, I thought Tagalog represented ALL FILIPINOS.

Pretty generic way of thinking, yeah.. but it’s probably a common mistake that a lot of Filipinos in the USA make.

Or was that merely an uneducated assumption of mine?

Maybe it would be safe to say that I am one of the few Filipino idiots to actually think that Tagalog was the ONLY spoken language in the Philippines– like that was ‘all there is to it’.

A wake-up call? Definitely.

There is more to being Filipino than just TAGALOG.

In the Philippines, you could be representing Cebu, or maybe you’re Bikolano, or something else.

I think that in the USA, a fraction of Filipinos don’t even know that there are other spoken dialects in the Philippines other than Tagalog. Some don’t know what part of the Philippines they represent.

Do I cringe if people only think about Tagalog when they think of Filipinos?

Maybe… much more if people have never heard of dialects like Pangasinan.

That just means that some people have a general idea of what being a Filipino means… and well, there’s nothing wrong with not knowing what stuff like Pangasinan is — it just means you don’t know as much as you would’ve liked to know about being Filipino.

Some new generation Filipinos probably don’t have any interest in seeing what the many different kinds of spoken dialects are in the Philippines.

I think in the Philippines, there are various kinds of Filipino that I still don’t know about. I don’t blame Tagalog too much, especially when it’s the national language.

Then again, English is just as national, nowadays.

I think that — for Filipinos living in America, primarily the ones who are limiting their constructs of being Filipino to people who ONLY speak Tagalog — perhaps they haven’t really looked deep into their heritage enough to be open to what’s really out there in the Philippines.

Even for those who already know they are ILOCANO, but don’t know how to react to dialects they never heard of…

For instance, in Pangasinan, the word WALA means THERE IS, kind of like MAYROON/MERON in Tagalog.

In Tagalog, WALA means NOTHING or THERE IS NOT.

So for any Pangasinan kid in the US that hears the word WALA in Tagalog, it can get a little confusing, if not annoying.

WALA: Same word, yet can have a different meaning depending on the dialect…

.. and with that, more dimensions to the idea of being Filipino.

It can be enlightening to just ask mom and dad,

“Mom/Dad, what was your first language/dialect? Was it Tagalog?
Or did you speak something different at home?”

It opened my eyes.

By the time the vacation was over, it wasn’t about having fancy pictures to take home and show people I’ve been to Jollibee or Chow King or whatever.

Instead, it was about seeing things I wouldn’t be able to realize without going to the Philippines.

I would’ve liked to pick up the Pangasinan dialect or the Tina Sambal dialect.

I loved those dialects just as much as I liked Tagalog.

Switching back to the idea of being rich or poor . . .

Perhaps, it isn’t about who was rich or poor; it’s more about who was happy with their lives, in spite of what their social status was . . .

… and coming back from vacation, it felt like — it’s not about who went to all the cool vacation spots.

For me, it was all about reevaluating what it meant to be Filipino…

.. and it was a lot more than what I had limited myself into believing.

It’s easy to say you’re Filipino… but.. if anything, it’s deeper than that.

You might call yourself a Filipino simply because you’re not in the Philippines and it eliminates the confusion that people get when they want to know if you are Filipino and not affiliated with the cultures of Malay, Hawaiian, or Chinese.

Your heritage derives from your homeland… so that label, well.. it’s there to tap you on the shoulder now and then, to tell you, “Hey you’re Filipino…”

Yet, if you gave it some thought, it’s sort of deeper than that.

Maybe it’s deeper than just being called a ‘Filipino’.

At the end of my one month vacation in the Philippines, my cousin Jayar was saddened to watch me leave Olongapo in my Uncle’s van as we traced the early morning streets.

Again, I sat there in the van, letting incoming thoughts enter and leave intermittently. Almost like rain was beginning… then stopping… then raining again. A raining of thoughts until we’ve reached the airport in Manila.

I figured that — in the Philippines — I wasn’t Filipino.

I was more of an American citizen on a one-month vacation…

.. but then.. by the time we got to the airport to fly back to Florida…

.. well.. maybe it was more than that.

For one month… I wasn’t a tourist… and I wasn’t a person on a vacation.

If I was standing around, I was one of them.

I was treated like I was one of them, even if I wanted them to acknowledge me as someone whose Tagalog needed tons of improvement!
 It wasn’t like we looked at each other and had to guess, “Oh.. yeah that guy is probably Filipino,” – I mean, I was just a person.

To be seen as a person, instead of some “Oh, he’s Filipino, can’t you tell..?”

For once, it felt good. I was a person.

I no longer felt it was necessary to call myself Filipino; it opened my eyes…

.. and I see that it’s more than that.

There are many dimensions to being Filipino than just knowing Tagalog.

Sure, I keep bringing up Tagalog… but it’s true; some people really overlook the other dialects that are just as Filipino as Tagalog.

I didn’t leave as a Filipino… I left as a person who came home, who saw home, and well, .. I didn’t mind being in the province or countryside where nearly nothing seemed to be going on!

Meaning, no air conditioning… and probably no electricity.. or not a lot of that…. but when you got relatives and people to talk to, it’s almost like saying, “Who needs a TV for entertainment? I got family to talk to…”

In the USA, it’s almost like, it’s no longer family-oriented. It’s just a buffet of being busy and more busy. My parents and I talk, yeah. We bond about things like watching the latest teleseryes on TFC.

Yet, when it gets outside of just keeping in touch with the things of the Philippines, it’s all about what’s going on in the US.

Here in the US, it’s all about keeping up with the latest popular songs, TV shows, films/movies, celebrity gossip, Apple products, cell phones, devices, online social networking platforms, internet innovations, etc.

Or maybe that’s just an exaggeration of all things social media and such.

These things are as tiring as they are intriguing… for me, at least. Either that or I just grew out of it, in a way.

In the Philippines, I had the feeling that everything was so simplified that you don’t really have an influx of trends that you had to keep up with.

Wala yung mga “hindi ka IN kapag wala kang pakialam sa mga trends” stuff.

There is probably an American mentality that Filipinos have in the USA that the more money you have, the more things you could buy; the more things you could buy, the more things you could have; the more things you could have, the more happiness you could have…

… but really — the more money you have, the more chances to feed yourself with temporary happiness.

The key word is ‘temporary’. Is that inherently a bad thing? Maybe. Maybe not.

It’s just something to think about.

Granted, everyone needs enough money for food and shelter… but at some point, the extra money Filipinos in America make — where does that money go? Does that money go to things like:

A new house to represent how rich you are?
Or maybe a new car to portray your high status…
Or maybe having all sorts of the branded clothing…
… popular shoes.. the latest CDs..
.. new iWhatever products that Apple comes up with…
.. 6 digits? 7 digits?

Mortifying as it might sound, I buy most of my clothes at Wal-Mart…

… and branded or not, as long as I feel comfy in my clothes, I don’t mind at all.

Some Filipinos might feel that Filipinos in the USA dress a little of character. Expensive clothing that look a little silly on them… am I saying this, though? Nah.

Filipinos who have this view of fellow Filipinos in the USA… they might be saying this.

Any Filipino that feels that they need to buy certain things to be accepted by other Filipinos in America — they’re probably trying to be more Americanized…

… not more Filipino… or is that just weird to say it that way?

Does being American mean being a trendy person?
Or is it just kind of ridiculous to follow labels to begin with?
Can’t we all just be people instead of all these labels?
What about being Filipino-American?

It’s these questions that can mess with anyone’s mind… and since the focus is on Filipinos in America, Filipinos in America can be confused about their identity, either their Filipino identity or American identity.

Since living in America is sort of like being a part of a melting pot… the diversity sort of gives a never-ending ambiguity to being American.

The enormity of it all is that — I know where I came from… probably not as much as I would like to know, but now I know.

It opened my eyes, just going on a simple one-month vacation in the Philippines.

I am not really a Filipino — it’s a lot deeper than that…

Sure, I haven’t lived an impoverished lifestyle of struggle…
… and sure, some people may want to tell me I’m crazy for wanting to come back to the Philippines when so many want to come here in the USA…
… but I’d rather be crazy than be homesick.

For me, the places I went to in the Philippines…

… being there felt like home.

In one way, being Filipino meant that your parents were from the Philippines…

… while being in the Philippines meant that — your heritage of being Filipino is being nurtured, simply by being immersed in the areas of the country where your mother and father grew up in.

Your understanding of your heritage is simply carved out for you by your direct immersion of just being in that environment… and ACTUALLY being open to the spoken dialects of the area you’re in.

In essence, I’d have to say this:

If you’re a Filipino in America, what do you think it means to be Filipino?

Is the label ‘Filipino’ truly important?

Is it better to just stay with what your other Filipino friends tell you about being Filipino?

Maybe it is better to go to where your parents grew up and experience it all yourself… even for a month.

Perhaps by un-stifling oneself of the ego that you are Filipino or that you are American.

You would find out that your heritage becomes a lot more clearer by seeing what you are able to discover when going home to the Philippines, seeing the hometowns of your parents.

There is nothing wrong with calling yourself Filipino.

I just think that… if we stick to that sort of label, we may prevent ourselves from fully embracing the purity of our heritage — the heritage of our parents.

A singular label like ‘Filipino’ doesn’t speak very persuasively on its own…

That one word may never be suffice.

If you haven’t already, go to the Philippines.

Or if you already have, but you don’t already understand what it means to have your eyes truly open to the realization of your heritage, go to the Philippines… again.

Get your senses ready.

Have awareness.

See everybody for what they are… without comparing them to people back in the USA.

See the country for what it is…

See what people are happy to have…

See what people are able to live without…

See how your parents grew up…

See how simple the lifestyle is…

See how complicated the lifestyle is…

This article isn’t really something about how Filipinos ought to stop being so materialistic and dependent on materialistic things for happiness. That is something that most people have to think about on their own.

First and foremost, this is an article about discovering ones own heritage firsthand… with a little bit of my own experience with this to share my views.

Go to the Philippines. Observe the people. Come back. Look at Filipinos in your local society. What do you see? What’s different?

With this, I leave one question for Filipinos in America.

How well do you know your ‘Filipino’ heritage and what are some of your personal experiences which shape the way you perceive your heritage?

~ Written by Fluxay Flur ( Fluxay Flur is my literary pen name or pseudonym)

A Tribute to Deo Quiogue (March 14, 1950 – July 1, 2009)

Words can’t fully describe the man I’m referring to.  To go back and try to capture his life within the scope of this article will only sound pretentious, like pretending to know someone whom you’ve only known for a short time. 

 To pick up in the middle of our friendship will not paint the whole picture, for it lacked a beginning and an end.  To capture the closing chapter of his life will only bring bittersweet memories, for no one is really prepared to accept the inevitable. 

This crossroad is what I was faced with when I tried to write a tribute to my friend and co-writer Deo Quiogeue, who passed  away quietly last July after a brief illness.

If I am going to write about Deo I will say something along the line on how he saw himself and others in this big stage we call life.  He and I shared something in common: a unique passion for writing and an endless hope for a better future for Filipinos in the Philippines. 

 I will say something about his life and the way he lived it, by the way he saw others lived their own lives, and his hope for a peaceful life for all of humanity.  This is not only the trademark of a good writer, but also of a great humanitarian.  

But instead of talking about Deo and the way I saw him, I am going to let the people who have had the privilege of knowing him remember him in their own ways.  This is the best tribute we can all give him.  Thank you, Deo Quiogue, for being a friend.—Julius

The Third U.S. Industrial Revolution

The industrial revolution has come to a full circle the first one was led by the discovery, use and development of oil as the prime source of motive power.  But let us not forget that prior to oil, coal was the motive power and oil was the developing alternative.  The open burning system was too sooty and grimy so much so that an alternative was needed, then came oil and Standard Oil and the Rockefellers and the Fords.

That Ford Model T really made the internal combustion engine an acceptable mode of getting around in a car.  The Stanley steamers that were produced did not stand a chance.  And so America was so in love with the oil industry and thus the Seven Sisters was born, owned by only one family, the Rockefellers.

Forging alliance with the US Government, the Oil Cartel’s interests were forcibly made the foreign policy interest of the Government. It would seem at this time that the Government officials were recruited from the ranks of Oil Cartel executive pool.  And Government independence and broader mandate was put aside.  Almost all were recruited from the Oil Companies themselves.

The US Government fought for the Oil Cartel’s interests and its military might was used to subdue uncooperative Government such as what happened in Iran where a rightfully elected Government was toppled by the Oil Cartel and to be replaces by an offensive, oppressive and cruel Government of Shah Reza Pahlavi.

It supported alliances with a view for convenience, supporting dictators and discarding them when they were no longer useful.  Look what happened to Saddam Hussein, he was the U.S. Government’s son of a bitch when it was trying to dislodge the reign of an equally repressive government of the Ayatollah Khomeini that the people of Iran accepted and has up to now supported.

So in conclusion, oil is not a neutral factor in production of wealth, it is accompanied by misery and death especially when the Rich Oil Cartel tries to take it over for themselves and has to use Government Military to support its continued dominance and perpetuate the nearly confiscatory economic relation with vassal states owning the oil resources.  Why do you think Iraq was invaded?  What political Party went all out in supporting the invasion prolongation of the war in Iraq?  What are the economic interests of this party? Oil? Construction? Military Hardware? Charity? Religious Propagation? Or pure Altruism? CAN THE CONSERVATIVES HONESTLY ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS? PLEASE? PLEASE PLEASE?

THE GREEN ENERGY OPTION – THE NEW REVOLUTION.

The Oil Cartel and the Conservatives does not like the phrase “Green Energy”, they dislike the idea of Global Warming, Carbon Emission and the lessening of the carbon dioxide being spewed out into the atmosphere.  Why, because they will cost more in production if oil is replaced.

Excuse me but isn’t it you have sent out America’s jobs to Third World countries to take advantage of the lack of pollution regulations as in China and India and exploit the low survival wages they receive per your pricing instructions?

The benefits of going green are innumerable especially in the health aspect of the American citizens suffering from emphysema and other COPD and pollution of the waterways.

Politically, it will lessen the hold of the Oil Cartel on politicians and Government Administrations then and now.

It will lessen the fuel bill so that America can start to save and invest in more healthier and pro-people endeavor and not on wars of subjugation on oil producing states.

It will deprive terrorists and terrorists states of their income to threaten America and it may perhaps, deprive these malefactors of their cause or causes that has effectively rallied people to them.

It will develop new ideas for conservation and pollution reduction that can be made the world standard to which American imports must be measured (Remember the no child labor standards on sneakers imports?).

New ways of heating homes and cooling homes will start new investments in efficiency pursuit that will spawn new inventions and provide for healthier quality of life.

The bulk oil carriers that are the main cause of ocean oil-spill pollution will be a thing of the past.

New investments on roads, trains, trucks, communications and production will spur the new paradigm on prosperity, not the war and reconstruction pattern that has been the norm for the pro-war party and entities since World War 2.

This is why I consider Dwight Eisenhower a Great Man, he cautioned us against the Military-Industrial Complex that would have put the United States in a perpetual flux of war and reconstruction as a means of economic and political policy to support the war capabilities of the country and send more young people to an early death.  Instead, President Eisenower built roads and other alternative economic activities to wean us off wars.  The Korean war was supposed to be the last war but some “domino theorist” created a new reason for America to get into its one of its disastrous war, the Vietnam  War.

New education and skills will remove the veil of monopoly from the selfish trickle-down economist and their party. The new energy paradigm must produce simple and cheaper ways to self-generate energy by-passing the too many regulations when using oil as energy source in the homes and businesses.

There should be more do-it-yourself kits on energy self-generation to spur new home businesses. States and the Federal Government must back off and even reverse some of their rules that has hampered small and medium scale industrialist in expanding to employ more people.  One way of increasing employment is to increase employability. The best way is to shoulder the health-care (not of the addicts, alcoholics, and cigarette smokers) and education expenses of the people to make them more productive.  Productive people are less prone to be addicts and trouble-makers.  By giving preference to education, it will lessen the emotional appeals to go to war because education enlarges peoples’ options and they won’t be herded into supporting another Iraq style political and economic suicide.

I remember the adage “In war the first casualty is truth” and it happened in the Iraq war misadventures, the reason for the war were the lies, the killers haven’t been brought to justice………………yet.

Deo

The phrase “Once saved, Always saved” is a BIG LIE; SALVATION CAN BE LOST……….THE BIBLE SAYS HOW

We have heard that ridiculous teaching from the United States called “once saved, always saved” peddled by religious leaders who have enticed people in believing that this belief is Biblical.  To validate their argument, they rely on the Scriptures for support. Their favorite phrase comes from the Book of Ephesians 2:8-9, to wit:

“For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

Citing the verses these pastors concluded, you need not  work for your “salvation” boldly proclaiming they are saved no matter what they do.  It was a blanket absolution in their mind, but a recipe for spiritual disaster in reality for those who deign to believe it.  In order to lay clarity to these assertions, we pose the rebuttal and use the Bible to arrive at the truth.

The first question is, Where in the Bible can you see that phrase “Once saved, always saved”? We have searched the Bible using advanced Bible “phrase/passages/word” search aid and haven’t found an iota of proof that such assertion exists.

As said, we will use the Bible in ferreting out the truth.  Perhaps it is best to say that there are two types of salvation in the Bible one of which is by “Gift” found in Ephesians 2: 8-9.  That is the first type of salvation given only once and there are Biblical reason why God has gifted sinners with salvation and the “Process of Salvation”.

We begin by reading what God’s aim was in offering such generous and saving concession to sinners.  Let us look at the verses in 1 Timothy 2:4-5, to wit:

“Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.  For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”

That verse answers the reason why God sent His own Begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ to be crucified and take the punishment for our sins.  But of course let us not leave any stone unturned, what is the reason why God the Father has to send His own Beloved Son to die for us when there were a lot of prophets and messengers foremost of was Moses, due to the covenant or the Ten Commandments given to him at Mount Horeb.

We let the Bible explain why he sent His Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  In the Book of  Hebrews 7:11-12, we see the following verses, to wit:

“If perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law.) what further need, was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron?  For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.”

          So God the Father is after perfection that can be attained in the Christian era only through the Lord Jesus Christ.  Sad to say, there are pastors who have prated that no one can become perfect. Another question now comes to fore, why was there a need to change the priesthood and the law?  Wasn’t Moses’ priesthood good enough for all mankind?  Again we seek answers from the Bible.  In Malachi 4:4 we read that;

 “Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.”

 There is the answer, the Law of Moses that God commanded him to enforce was only for all of Israel and there was a flaw in it since it did not “bring many sons unto glory”.  Only Christ can bring the “many sons unto glory” or salvation.  We again advert to the Bible.  In Hebrews 2:10 and 8:7-10 we read:

 “For it became him for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

           Hebrews 8:7-10 says:

                    “For if the first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second .

                    “For finding fault with them, he saith, BEHOLD, THE DAYS COME, SAITH THE LORD, WHEN I WILL MAKE A NEW COVENANT WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL, AND WITH THE HOUSE OF JUDAH;

                    “NOT ACCORDING TO THE COVENANT THAT I MADE WITH THEIR FATHERS IN THE DAY THAT I TOOK THEM BY THE HAND TO LEAD THEM OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT; BECAUSE THEY CONTINUED NOT IN MY COVENANT, AND I REGARDED THEM NOT, SAITH THE LORD. ”

           Thus, the Israelites also lost their salvation thru disregard of the laws of Moses. Also, the law of Moses were carnal ordinances tending to bridle the flesh and not able to “bring many sons unto glory” as it was not a source of endless life thru knowledge of the truth in Christ Jesus.  We again refer to the Bible, in Hebrews 7:16, to wit:

                     “Who is made not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of endless life”.

 Christ offers, up to this, day eternal life, not possible with Moses nor his laws.  In fact the Apostle Paul gives us an insight on its ineffectuality years after Moses died in the Book of Romans 2:23-24, and we read:

                    “Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking of the law dishonourest thou God?  FOR THE NAME OF GOD IS BLASPHEMED AMONG THE GENTILES THROUGH YOU, as it is written.”

 Another proof of Lord Jesus Christ’s power to offer eternal life was ordained by the Father are found in several parts of the Bible, it also shows the process and let us embark on a tour through several Biblical books

 Matthew 3:17 – And lo, a voice from heaven, saying.  This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

 Matthew 17:5 – While yet he spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold a voice out of the cloud which said, ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him’.

 Mark 9:7 – And there was a cloud that overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is my beloved Son: hear him.”

 John 14:6 – “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no one cometh to the Father, but by me”.

 Indubitably our Lord Jesus Christ has the power to offer salvation.  The first salvation given as a gift by God the Father was a gift because  we have to be separated from the power of sins.  And why was it given?  We find the answer in Collossians 1:12-13,  to wit:

 “Giving thanks unto the Father which has made us meet (fit) to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light; Who has delivered us from the power of darkness, and which hath translated us unto the kingdom of his dear Son”.

           So it becomes clear and reasonable that God the Father wants us to be transferred (or translated) to the Kingdom of His Son our Lord Jesus Christ and learn from Him the truth to attain eternal life. In a gist the Father wants mankind to inherit salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ and not thru the laws of Moses. In so doing He prepared us for such transfer through the process of baptism or immersion in the water together with prayer as the Lord Jesus underwent by John the Baptist as found in the book of Matthews among others.

           Also the Lord Jesus gave a command to Christians as found in the Book of Matthew in chapter 28:19-20 on how to obtain salvation and maintain it, to wit:

                    “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit:  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you:  and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

           So in order to be with Christ always, we have to follow the commandment He left us in the preceding verses until the end of our life in order to earn our salvation as Christians.  Why?  Because our Lord Jesus Christ will reward us our salvation as He promised in the Book of Revelation 22:11-12, which reads:

                     “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still; and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still; and he that is holy, let him be holy still.  And, behold, I come quickly and my reward is with me, to give every man according to his work shall be.”

           The above verse exposes another flaw in the doctrine of “Once saved, always saved” because in the law of Christ you have to work in order to obtain salvation.  This is just fair because the salvation of Christ is a reward, not a gift as was before. The plan for salvation in the last days is only thru   tutelage, instructions and safekeeping of the Lord Jesus, only if we keep and observe through our work His words, not merely read them as some are encouraged to do in futile pedantic exercise.

           To the astute reader the “work” required of us, is to do the bidding of the Lord God through His Son Jesus Christ.  This we find in the verse in Philippians 2:12 and 13 which says:

                     “Wherefore my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but how much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling”.

  “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do his good pleasure.”

           Thus if we deny our own will and replace it with the will of God, we are working, why because our own works are not acceptable to Him and only our work done under His good pleasure are acceptable, nothing else.  This also means that His work bears fruit in us and that fruit is the acceptable work we need to do continuously for salvation.

          Another flaw in the doctrine of “once saved, always saved” is the wrong notion that mere acceptance of the Lord Jesus Christ as savior makes the acceptor a “saved person”.  Wrong. That is pure arrogance, a canard and damnable heresy. Who are we to precondition our salvation on our own efforts in the mere act of accepting Jesus Christ?  God will not be mocked!

           It is the other way around, our acts and deeds should be acceptable to God in order to attain salvation.  We are the ones who need salvation. We find the premise in the various Biblical principles.

           Psalm 19:14 – “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer

                    Romans 12:1 to 2 – “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

 (2) And be not conformed to this world: but ye be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

           Conclusively, only when we do acceptable works willed by God for us to do or fulfill can we say we are candidates for salvation.  These are the “work” we need to do for salvation in contrast to the philosophy of “you do not need to work for your salvation” by the “once saved, always saved“ group.

           Again, the most dangerous fable that the “once saved always saved’ doctrine espouses is the idea that salvation cannot be lost. This is a foolish proposition.

           Consider Judas Iscariot, he was saved once by gift, but did he lose his salvation?  Yes.  Consider also the husband and wife Ananias and Zaphyra did they die saved?  I doubt.  In Hebrews Ch. 6:4-6 it says:

 “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come; If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance:  seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him into an open shame”.

          Also in Hebrews 10:26-27

          “For if we sin willfully after we have we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries”.

And also we look at the verses in 2 Timothy4:3 & 4 to wit:

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine but after their own lust shall they heap to themselves teachers having, itching ears;

          And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned into fables.”

         Thus in conclusion, salvation can be lost, there is no doubt about it. The first Salvation is a gift, the second salvation is a reward from the Lord Jesus Christ, a salvation from hell in the last days, for Christians. My earnestness to send to you these verses is found in the letter of exhortation of the Apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 2, to wit:

                    “Preach the word, be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.”

         We are sure of what we are sending to you are the truth for it comes from the Bible, undefiled by human interpretations or opinions.  And all this we do in Love, for God is Love.

           Thanks be to GOD Almighty.

 Bro. Feli

 

Deo

           

A Classic Filipino Tale: D’ Original Bibingkahan Sa Dos

It is a combination of right ingredients  that made this story an original one, an inspiration to those who hear about  it. That is exactly what I felt when I sat down and interviewed  Bernabe ”Abeng” and his wife,  Paulina “Poleng”  Guillermo.  Married for forty-nine years, their  story was concocted from a simple recipe of unflaling love, devotion, and hard work that created success in their  lives.  Abeng and Poleng  have been neighbors since childhood. When he was old enough to start looking for a wife, Abeng did not have to look  far.  Poleng was right there–the girl next door–and the courtship began .  They werer  married on June 5, 1960.

Like all newlyweds,  Abeng and Poleng were determined to make their new  life  together work.  He worked during the day, and well into the evening, tending to the riceland he had leased from a nearby landowner.   She  helped by sewing clothes and doing embroidery at home to add to the income.  They saved their money  in  a makeshift piggy bank salvaged  from empty  milk cans.  It took about a year  before they  saved enough to afford  a kalesa  (a horse- driven covered carriaged carried passengers). The couple used this kalesa as a source of  additional income.  In those days engine-driven vehicles were limited, so the kalesas served as the most popular  mode  of public transportation.  Abeng continued to work on his  farmland, while provided kalesa services throughout the day.

When the demand for kalesas waned and replaced by the growing number  of  jeepneys (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeepney)  and tricycles (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tricycles ), Abeng focused all his effort back to farming.  He and his wife sold the kalesa, and thought of other  ways to make a living.  Both  knew that  farming is a physically demanding work , and Abeng was not sure how long his body is going to hold up.   The thought of going back to school  to learn a new trade was out of the question.   Abeng only had a fifth grade education and did not have enough motivation to pick up where he’d left of in school.  So he’d decided to  stay with farming.  The couple were able to make a decent living from farming and sewing that, by 1980,  the couple were able to buy their first  jeep.  By this time,  Abeng had even tried his hand at working as a security guard for  a relative’s  jewelry business in Marilao,  Bulacan  from 1975 to 1990 to support his growing family.

By 1990, Abeng and Poleng decided it was time to change directions in their business.  They’ve been entertaining the idea of opening up a  meriendahan  (a small snack kiosk on the side of the road), and opened their first establishment  on July 1990.   Their meriendahan  served palabok (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palabok),  spaghetti, and aroz caldo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arroz_Caldo).   On their opening day, they ran a promotional scheme that meal was to be free to every diner in order to attrac business.  Their marketing idea worked.  On their  second day of operation, “Poleng” suggested they start making Bibingka (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bebinca).  She still  remembers the recipe her own mother had taught her when she was  a little girl.  Their first bibingka was sold on the third day.  It was an immediate  hit.   The customers  liked it so much that they’ve started  ordering the delicacy  on a regular basis and for special occasions.

By December 1990,  Abeng and Poleng realized  that their business success lies  in making bibingkas. Their customers were  ordering hundreds , even  thousands, of bibingkas by  Christmas and New Year and  D’ Original Bibingkahan Sa Dos  became a household name almost overnight.  Their bibingka became the talk of the town of Bulacan and the word  stretched all the way to the three major cities of Manila, Makati, and Quezon.  Many of their  bibingkas even reach the America and many parts of the world.  D’ Original Bibingkahan Sa Dos has  grown every since.

Competition is normal part of the food business in the Philippines.  Other merchants  started copying Abeng and Poleng’s business idea, but the imitators could  never duplicate  the texture and taste of their bibingka.  D’ Original Bibingkahan Sa Dos’  revenue were slightly affected for a while due to the growing competition.  But as soon as  the customers realized that no competitors  could match the taste of their bibingkas, the profit went back up. Even through the current economic recession, the business is still thrived,  and has branched off into other delicacies like different flavors of suman (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suman_(food ),  cassava  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassava)  cakes, ube ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ube), and  leche flan ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leche_flan).  The bibingkas now even came  loaded with cheese and young coconut.

Abeng has an advice for anyone planning to start a business in the Philippines, especially those Filipinos who are thinking about going abroad to work.  He said there are opportunities to make it here in the Philippines.  People  just have to start a business  they enjoy working or have skills in, don’t give up, and their hard work will pay off in the end.  Abeng said he is sad to see Filipinos go abroad to work just to support their family in the Philippines.  If they would  just stay in this country and try to make the best of what they  have, then they’ll find the success they’re desperately looking for.  He thought about going abroad to work at one time  in the past, like what his Filipino contemporaries have done.  But he’d decided to stay because he wanted to try to make it in his own country and to be with his family.  At the age of  seventy-four, he’s never regretted the decision to stay.  As a former farmer, Abeng always believed in the old saying that, wherever a person planted his or her own seeds, that’s also where he or she will harvest. Abeng and Poleng have proven that belief to themselves, their children, and those who knew them.

 

How Filipinos Cope with the Worldwide Economic Crisis

By now everyone in the world has felt the effect of the economic slowdown.  Companies are closing  down or downsizing, employee are being layed off in increasing numbers, and mortgage dependent homes are being foreclosed.  Lives  are literally being changed by this ongoing worldwide recession.  There is no certainty when this crisis will end.  Most countries are ill-prepared,  and it is causing major concern throughout the world, that could turn into a  panic if the situation does not improve.

I am currently in the Philippines and, in spite of all the bad news we have been hearing about the world’s economy, the people here seem to be taking everything in stride.  The Philippine economy is also feeling the brunt of the economic slowdown; but, according to most  Filipinos, “the daily life in the Philippines is a recession.  We’re so used to the hard life, that we just shrug our shoulders  at what’s going on throughout the world.  This recession doesn’t affect us like it does other countries.”   These Filipinos made these comments with the quiet confidence of knowing what they are talking about.

And they are right.  Life in the Philippines is an everyday challenge, and the current worldwide recession does not make that much of a difference in the way Filipinos in the Philippines live.  Most Filipinos have no home mortgages, car loans, and credit bills to worry about.  Their primary concern, or what seems like their only concern,  is how to get through the day by putting food on the table, and living  a simple and happy life.

People from other countries might be inclined to think that life in the Philippines may be too rudiment for their  taste, but sometimes I wonder  if that is still the case with the world’s economy in the state it is in.  Nothing is guaranteed anymore (it has always been that way)–including our source  of  livelihood and lifestyle.  Sometimes fortune change–or change hands; but, one thing is certain, living a  simple life is still the best way to go.  Maybe the rest of the world can learn valuable life lessons from Filipinos in the Philippines–and people from poorer countries–on how getting by on very little can go a long way.

Unhappy Americans Should Be Really Unhappy with the Conservative Agenda

The American economy is hurting in a way it hadn’t hurt before and it did not arise overnight. It was a sinister plan by the “private sector with money and tax cut privileges” to take over the functions of Government and make more money not only from the taxes being paid by us as middle class taxpayers but also to make us pay directly for Government services (like healthcare) that were PRIVATIZED as “spoils of war” when Conservatives gain control of the administration. This service should have been free as part of the WELFARE OF THE PEOPLE CLAUSE OF THE U.S. CONSTITUTION by virtue of the taxes we pay.

CORPORATISM AND DOUBLE TAXATION.The creeping menace is called “Corporatism” with some politically-connected corporations taking over and running profitably thru monopolistic activities certain functions of Government, health care being one of its highly visible victims. Roads and bridges built with public money are next in sight by these elite who did not pay the taxes for its construction, they just want to take over it in order to minimize Government presence in activities that are historically part of the Government’s covenant with the people. Example is the present healthcare situation in the U.S.A.

The net effect is a form of double taxation thru monopolies granted by elected Conservatives running the Government and legalized thru judicious “tax cuts”. We have paid your taxes whether in the direct or indirect form. As such we expect Government to deliver to us taxpayers, a well-planned and executed healthcare it being a part of the GENERAL WELFARE CLAUSE OF THE U.S. CONSTITUTION. But sad to say Government has abdicated it duty to serve us and another private entity delivers our healthcare thru payment of “health insurance” directly by us the taxpayer. And what do we get in return, a measly tax deduction. That’s what I call “mongrelized double taxation” we paid the Government taxes and we have to pay another company to give us healthcare but with several restrictions. Do we really have to pay for it when you have already paid it thru the taxes you pay?

That is why I vehemently dislike the tax cuts practiced by Republicans and Conservatives. Large corporations being unelected bodies have an insidious purpose, to exert control over the social and economic and eventually the political life of our society. Remember the U.S. corporations running the puppet governments of some South American countries at the turn of the 20^{th century? It is “imperialism” if done outside the borders of the United States and presently called corporatism within our borders with the same effect and purpose, to privately benefit from purely Government functions.}

TAX IS THE LIFE BLOOD OF GOVERNMENT, TAX CUT HAS BLED US INTO RECESSION AND BAIL-OUTS, AND WE ARE HURTING WITH JOB LOSSES AND FORECLOSURES!The tax cut calls by Republicans and Conservatives have continually deprived the U.S. Government of its necessary taxes to fulfill its broad mandate. Government has an obligation to look after the welfare of the (all, not the rich only) people as provided under U.S. Constitution. The tax cut privileges and loopholes have enabled the rich to pay only 10% of the burden of supporting the U.S. Government, the middle income earners pays at least 87% of the burden (see table below).

 Breakdown of Federal Revenues (Source: Council of Economic Advisors, Economic Indicators (Washington D.C., U.S. Government Printing Offices, 1967, 1977, & 2004) shows that percentage wise individuals pay more taxes than the “poor” Corporations.

 Those Republicans and Conservatives crying for “tax cuts” are not following Christians tenets because of their unwillingness to share the burden of supporting Government that works to help the less privileged to enjoy the same amount of benefits, welfare and care (education, health, public services and utilities) due to every resident and citizen of the United States as assured by the Constitution under the “Welfare Clause”, (it is in the Preamble if you don’t know that’s why I am reproducing it for the Tax Cuts and Trickle-down Economy proponents, to read).

Years Individual income tax  

1965    1975    1988      2004

Individual Income Tax

43%      45%       44%       43%

Social insurance taxes etc.,  

 20        32           37          39

Corporation income tax  

23          15           10          10

Other      

 14          8            9              8

——   ——    ——       ——

100%   100%   100%    100%

By the way, as a fiction of law, U.S. corporations are also considered citizens having the right to acquire properties and to sue or be sued among other attributes. But the “tax cuts” of Republicans and Conservatives combine has so hobbled the economy so much that the victimized tax-paying, patriotic middle class, meaning us, are now called to bail out “tax cut” corporate beneficiaries for its reckless behavior thanks to its “trickle down voodoo economics”. The “trickle down economy” simply means the POOR has to subsidize the RICH.

 Ouch!

 ”We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

THE CONSTITUTION IS THE CONTRACT BETWEEN GOVERNMENT AND THE CITIZENRY.The Lord Jesus, knowing that a Government is bound in a contract with the people and tasked with keeping the peace, law and order, maintenance of a system of educational, maintenance of a system of health care for the whole citizenry and those sojourning into its territory, maintaining an adequate food supply, assuring merchants to peaceably carry out their his trade, and other activities of a civilized and organized society during Caesar’s rule said: “Render unto Caesar those which are Caesar’s and render unto GOD those which are for GOD”. And for this benefit of living under a Roman Government the Lord Jesus paid his taxes together with Saint Peter the Apostle, He did not ask for a tax cut though He is Lord of All.

 WHERE THE MONEY WENT?

Now the question should be asked, “Where the money went”. As stated in the breakdown of Income Tax Payments of Individuals and Corporations alike, the corporations have niggardly participated in the support of Government thru taxes. As to where it went? Ask the corporations who are doing business here and abroad. They sent their factories abroad to exploit the low wages and investment tax-holidays afforded by repressive regimes backed by the U.S. Government and NOW won’t even repatriate their profits here per advice of “Tax cuts gurus”. Imagine calling themselves American companies and not wanting to pay the American Government the tax due them? If I remember my taxation properly, U.S. corporations doing business abroad are given a preferential treatment on incomes from abroad to pay only the difference between taxes they pay the host Government of the foreign country and the taxes due to them had they done business here and operating in the United States. It is called tax crediting under the principle of tax-reciprocity.

 Overseas U.S. corporations are allowed by the U.S. Government to pay a preferential rate and most of the time the foreign Governments gives U.S. Corporations income tax holidays and other tax subsidies not enjoyed by domestic corporations. So in sum most of them do not pay taxes there nor taxes here in the United States. Where is it? Your guess is as good as mine or better yet, ask the Conservatives/Trickle down economists to explain the merits of their programs and why we are in these dire straits. I hope they answer honestly.

 THE ROOT OF RECESSIONThe recession we are in now was brought about by the reckless manner the Government was managed not by George W. Bush alone but in conspiracy with the trickle down economists and tax cut gurus. Here is what the tax-cuts do to us: If you are a boxer who do you hit with your punches, your opponent or the referee? It seems the tax cuts hits the referee or Government for that matter so that he is unable to do his job. Aside from the tax cuts, regulation laws were either ignored, put into the dustbin, and was broken such that a casino like atmosphere pervaded the bonds market what with derivatives and double derivatives. Trouble was just a whiff away.

 To learn the benefits of the Bible in our daily lives, tune in to www.theoldpath.tvwhere Bro. Eliseo Soriano of the Church of GOD International, explains it in service to God and fellowmen as he exposes all false practices and falsities in religion.

Deo