TIMELY BIBLE PASSAGES TO LIVE BY

We are all God's creation- whether black or white, yellow or brown, from far or near, whether you are a Roman Catholic or a Protestant, a Muslim or a Jew, a Jehovah's Witness or a Born Again, or anybody who belongs to one of the many religious sectors the world over. We are all Christians. We live daily by this belief that there is a Great God who is always watching over us and He is everywhere. When was the last time you thought of God, talked to God, for what and why?

As a retiree I resolve to do good things daily for myself and for others to honor God, to show I love God, and hope to face Him in my day of judgment for whatever reward or punishment I deserve. It's easy to say I want to do good things to receive good rewards, but how will I know between good and bad? In my childhood I only learned them from my parents and elders, from my teachers, and I was not sure as to what measure they used to determine what was good or what was bad either.

My freedom to move about having been suspended for sometime now due to health problems, doesn't deter me from doing things I can manage. For example, as member of the the Basic Ecclesiastical Community (BEC) in our neighborhood which is an outreach organization program of the Roman Catholic Church to where I belong, I find time to minister to people who are observed to be inactive in their spiritual growth. Bible sharing with them is a new experience they welcome and enjoy. At the same time, my passion to proclaim God's Word as a lector during Eucharistic celebrations is not cut-off.

I don't claim to know much about religion and my faith as a Roman Catholic, but I pride myself in my continuing search for some nuggets of wisdom concerning my relationship with God and with others through readings. I don't get tired reading daily devotionals, listening and pondering on daily gospels, learning from others' experiences and commentaries about them from known figures. I like to read the Holy Bible. Whenever events and time allow me, I leaf through the concordance found at the last pages of the Bible and locate passages to pass away my quiet time to make my day. It's really a relaxing experience. Why don't you try it?

I have here few random collections of my readings either lifted or adapted from books and devotionals with biblical passages which I hope my readers might want to start from should they want to listen to God, talk to God, walk with God. This way, the respectable authors and all of us, their readers, will be helping educate each other with God's Word.

1. When DISASTERS come, it's all right if we panic or we pray. We can hold on to the Lord or foolishly blame Him. But remember this, Nahum says, "The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble". Nahum 1:7

2. When we PRAY about our needs, we almost always pray to be delivered from the pain of suffering, from the loneliness of estrangement, from the vale of bereavement, yet when we walk through the dark night, we sense the presence of Him who said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you". Hebrews 134:5

3. SUFFERING strips us of hypocrisy and it lays our souls bare. It is at such time we can experience God's help and the presence of Christ in a very real way. Sometimes suffering helps us to see ourselves as we really are. Suffering will either drive us closer to God or it will drive us further away. Put suffering between you and God and you are the loser, put yourself between suffering and God and it will drive you closer to Him. "The Lord knows the thoughts of man". Psalm 94:11

4. Have you ever heard the VOICE of GOD? recognized it as opposed to the voice of Satan? It is through His Word, the BIBLE that we most often hear His voice today or sometimes as others tell us about His Word or as we read it ourselves. The Words of Jesus, the Son of God, are recorded in the last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation. God is trying to tell us a great deal more than we have heard. If we want to hear His voice more clearly, take time to read His Letters to you in the Bible. Take time to meditate. Take time to listen to His voice in prayer. The voice of God is saying, Here is the path to real heaven. here's the way of life. "If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come to him and will dine with him, and he with Me". Revelation 3:20

5. When TRIALS knock at our door or sneak through the backdoor, we never quite expect them. When we battle with them we feel that nobody else has ever faced then same intensity of testing. Throughout the New Testament you will find a common theme: periods of testing come to all of God's children. Trials never indicate that we are abandoned by God. Trials are the results of a broken world, a world which is hostile to the values of God's children. "And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose". Romans 8:28

6. DEDICATED PARENTS spend much of their time supporting, encouraging, instructing, protecting, and challenging their children. Sometimes all their effort seem futile when the child starts to go astray. At this point, some biblical parent-child principles can help as a guide to what parents should teach their children. Children must be taught 1. to treasure God's command; 2. to call out for understanding; 3. to grasp what it means to fear GOD; 4. to practice God's wisdom in their lives. "The Lord gives wisdom". Proverbs 2:6

7. We live in an AGE of RAGE. But we can help solve the problem- one person at a time. When we are at the receiving end of someone's wrath we can return a soft answer. A calm approach can stop an anger in its tracks. Christ stayed calm in the face of hateful accusations in his trial and we should follow His example by staying calm in the age of rage. "A soft answer turns away wrath". Proverbs 15:1

8. No one is too old to SERVE GOD. We must keep growing, maturing, and serving to the end of our days. To idle away our last years is to rob the church of the choicest gifts Godd has given us to share. There is service to be rendered. There is still much to be done. So let's keep running with endurance. Let's finish the course- and finish it strong. "Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us". Hebrews 12;1

9. Don't worry that we have WORRIES. Don't pretend we never have them. If we are troubled by anxieties, we must admit them. Share them with a trusted friend. Above all, talk to the all-compassionate Friend, Jesus Christ, who knows our every thoughts and emotions. Ask Him for the grace to help us overcome our fears and worries. Then wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He will strengthen our hearts. On our journey through life, "Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You". Psalm 27:14

10. FORGIVENESS brings a permanent solution to wrongdoing. It is not weakness, nor something to be ashamed of. It is wisdom. Anyone can hold a grudge and plot revenge. But it takes strength of character to forgive. Forgiveness is an act of the will. To forgive someone frees you of the same sickness which is destroying your enemy. Forgiveness is not forgetting the scar but it removes the sting and brings healing. Forgiveness is God's antidote to the sickness of sin which tears lives apart. It is the healing which humanity desperately needs. "Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you". Colossians 3:13

Brothers and Sisters, if you hunger for more, I may refer you to my references: The Daily Bread, January-December, 2001, 2003 , Today Can Be The Best Day Of Your Life- by Harold J. Sala, 1994 edition. Shalom!

Photo by DrGBB

RECOVERING FROM A TRAGEDY

The recent tragedy that befell our Filipino brothers brought about by the onslaught of a double up of typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng make me call to mind the beginning of creation. Like in a song that goes, "In the beginning the world was so bright perfection was there for all men. Then He created the sun and the stars, the land, the birds, the trees..... Then as he rested the Lord sanctified the seven days for men...... Born in the image of his Maker, man shall have dominion over all. But because we were nothing but only human, sometimes we stumble, sometimes we fall".

It was a very beautiful song I used to sing when I was in grade school. Now I hardly remember the lyrics. The above is just a broken string of words I would like to start my thoughts with and hope to come out with some personal opinions that might be of help to our grieving brothers out there. Recovering from a tragedy needs both human effort and Divine intervention. So this is not very easy. Expect more disappointments. It's only when you face problem right in the eye that you will see a clearer path toward recovery. At least that's how I see things today in the face of disaster after disaster that visited our country.

When God created the world, he knew that He missed at some points. Like when he created Adam in His own image, God thought man was born to perfection, but was not. God saw Adam's heartbreaking loneliness, so He created Eve. But again there was a hitch. Eve defied God's first advice concerning the apple fruit. God was so angered that He showed both out of paradise and told them to sweat it out for everything they needed in order to live. God didn't punish them so hard as to banish them entirely on earth and never taste the fruits of His earthly creations, of food, clothing, and shelter. That's because God, our Almighty Father, loves us.

Like the good father that God really is, He made man to have dominion over all His creations, the land, the birds, the trees- despite man's first sin. He gave man his reasoning power to make decisions. He formed man with extremities- both hands and feet- to be able to work out on his own the things he needs. And in the beginning, God warned us to use the vast resources with care.

Like I said, God wanted perfection. But because of man's imperfection, I believe that things are really in place, don't you think so? If everything is perfect, will we have time to look up to Him who made all these? He gave us the brain power to be able to choose between what is right and wrong, what is good and bad, to differentiate feelings of sadness from happiness, to strive for success rather than for failure, to embrace security and protection rather than invite tragedy and disaster. God created everything for a choice, and He usually wants leads us to the right choice. Have faith in Him.

Disasters, natural and man-made, are among the things man has to live with. They are part of life (natural) - the storms, earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes, hurricanes and the results of imperfect living (man-made)- flash floods, landslides, fire, accidents, crimes, etc. An open acceptance of these sad realities will help us understand what happened and why things happened. It's very human to cry and even blame God for a tragedy that happened in your life." Why me?" There is a time to sulk, a time to be angry. "My God, why have you forsaken me?"But most importantly, we must find time to break away after sometime from grief, from anger, from fear, and all negative attitudes that will only sink us deeper into despair and nothingness. Before we accidentally create and widen a gap between us and God Himself, we must stand up and pick up the pieces and put back our life to normalcy. That's how God created us after all. He is our strength. He is our refuge.

God's plans are His alone to understand. Man is not created to share God's thoughts, but the fruits of His plans. We must put our trust in Him, so that our troubled minds will be spared from unnecessary evil thoughts. We have our choices to make within our reach . In our helplessness and seeming hopelessness, we need someone to listen to our hurts while they are fresh. We must find a trusted friend. We must unload our burden to people who are capable of giving us a helping hand, giving us advice perhaps to choose our next action from. We must be honest with what we feel and be thankful for whatever the other person is able to do for a time. Remember, we are in need of a shoulder to cry on. We don't ask that person to do the recovering for us or return to us all or part of what we lost. If the tragedy has rendered you immobile due to your loss- no decent house to return to, a loved one/s died, your source of income was shattered and went down with the disaster, fear for debts unpaid and mounting, no money enough to pull you up again, and your only reason to move on is you are alive, so be it. You're alive, my friend. And God is only a prayer away.

You might marble at how quick and easy I am at words to encourage you. You can even say, I don't suffer the way you do, because I was miles apart from you when that monster of disaster struck you, and I have no idea of how great that suffering is. Really? Then, my friend, this I say, I had been there ahead of you. In my youth, with my whole family, I experienced a string of destructive earthquakes, typhoons, twisters, and flash floods from very alarming rainfalls especially during rainy seasons when strong typhoons visited our province here in Pangasinan and neighboring provinces in Region I. I still have a vivid memory of how my father would tie the roof of our old house to the coconut trees to prevent it from being carried away by the storm. He would stay awake all night measuring the depth of the flood at the wooden stairs of our elevated house hoisted on wooden posts. Houses were built on strong posts, bamboo or wood, high above the flood level because we live near a tributary of the Agno River that overflowed year in year out after very heavy rains. Our house which stood out from the rest of our neighbors' houses because it was made of wood (few were built on cement those days) became sanctuary to our neighbors whose houses were made of bamboo and nipa which are light materials. Our old paternal house which was rebuilt somehow in a modest type out of cement and wood with galvanized iron roof is now vacant but it still serves today as " evacuation center" for relatives whose houses are always under threat by storms and floods. I built my own house adjacent to it and so the old house's care is my responsibility. Our annual family reunions during All Saints Day and barangay fiestas are held in our parents' house.

One of the worst ever floods I experienced was when I was a newly employed teacher. My father, a government employee then, was temporarily assigned to Tayug town, several towns away from home. My elder siblings were either away from home to college in Manila, or at work or with their own families. That was before the martial law days of the Marcos administration. I can't remember the name of that typhoon, but I can remember the details of our horrible experience. As I watched the floods went by, I thought the next day it would subside as it used to because the flood waters emptied down the Lingayen Beach nearby. But it did not.The heavy rainfall continued for days. Our kitchen floor which was a step lower than our main floor at the living rooms and bedrooms was only a finger away from the rushing floods below. At the onset of the storm, anticipating the event of another flood due to heavy rains, I bought our most needed necessities of grocery items and foodstuff. At least I just encashed my pay cheque and we had enough money to spend. My mother didn't want to leave house despite repeated pleas from our neighbor rescuers on boats to vacate house and join the other families at the evacuation centers in the vicinity of the Capitol which is on high grounds.

The rescuers tied the boat to one of the coconut trees nearby leaving instructions that should we decide to be evacuated we just shout for help. That boat made me sick the whole night as it knocked on the trunks of the coconut trees. It was a mistake to have even approved it be tied there. I was afraid that if it went loose it would just as knock out our house posts. My mother decided that we opened our windows wide to at least lessen the force of the wind against our walls. Before the rainy days my father had anticipated another typhoon and flood so he had changed the weak posts and repaired what was to be repaired in the house so at least I thought our house could withstand the storms and the floods.We stayed in one room that my mother thought was safer from the rest of the house. The heavy downpour started to soak us and everything that was exposed to the element. The howling typhoon made me cover my ears with my hands. The raging flood waters below our bamboo slats floor really frightened me. And the wild thought that we were alone in the place, no more rescue effort possible in the situation, was too much to bear that I just cried.

Before nightfall I heard people howling and shouting for help from distant houses. When I peeped through the window, I saw people climbing up the coconut trees. I froze and in silence I prayed as hard as I could. I put my ID in my pocket. I saw my mother with a rope in hand who said if anything worst happened, we would tie ourselves together to one of the roof beams above. the ceiling. We were alone with my mother, myself, and four of my younger siblings in high school and elementary grades. Mother tearfully announced that our absent father and other family members must find us where they left us.

My friends, God is really good. The fateful night passed and we were safe the next day. In the eerie silence of that very dark morning I knew that the Lord was with us all night and was there to protect us. We only needed to humble ourselves before the Lord and he guided us. Like what my father used to do, I monitored the flood level down our stairs. Inch by inch I measured how much water ebbed down. I also considered the time of the rising and ebbing time of the tides in the nearby river that caused the still irregular rise and fall of water level on the step of our stairs. The things my father did in such a situation, I learned to undertake for my family. The floods stayed for almost a week. My father couldn't come home due to the flooded streets on his way back home. He passed away time in soaked clothes as well. And there were no cell phones nor landlines those times. Imagine the pain, the feeling of helplessness and hopelessness we all felt not knowing what happened to each and everyone of us. My father stayed for few days at the bus station, the Pantranco, in Dagupan City because Binmaley, the town next to Lingayen was not passable by vehicles. He only atefew pieces of "pandesal" peddled on limited quantity at the station while people awaited for the flood to subside.

When he arrived home at last, he was carrying on his shoulders a sack half full of mongo that all sprouted because it was soaked in rain waters. He said he didn't know where to go at first. Were we in some evacuation centers or at home saving what was left of our house? He learned by words of mouth along the way that our place was devastated by floods. When the tragedy was over and we sat together as a family exchanging notes about our harrowing experiences, all our separate reactions pointed to one thing, we all prayed hard to God, asked forgiveness from our sins and professed our unending faith and love in the Lord, who created all things.

The floods, the storms, the typhoons come and go. Changes had been made by our local government that somehow addressed the answers to these problems. But as sure as the sun rises in the east and sinks to the west, disasters will come. God allows these things to happen because he wants to teach us to be prepared, to be more caring with our environment, and seek Him for strength and protection when tragedies strike. This is really an imperfect world made more at risk to disasters because of people's wanton abuse. Nobody is to blame but us. Do you agree with me?

Photo by IRRI images