For Without Faith, Any Good Works, Humanly Speaking, Can’t Please God at All

James tells us about how faith without works is dead. However, did you know that works without faith is just as dead? The works salvation crowd had tried to use James 2 to say, “See, it’s salvation by faith and works.” without knowing the whole point. If it were so, James 2:10-11 wouldn’t be written as it says it only takes one sin for us to fall short of God’s glory. Romans 3:10-19 shows us how our best isn’t enough. Hebrews 11 is the hall of faith and we read how by faith this and that was done.

God’s Wonderful Plan for the Christian Life May Include Martyrdom

There are times I feel saying that martyrdom is part of God’s wonderful plan for the life of the believer. This wonderful plan of God is not the same as Joel Osteen would say it. Rather, this is where the wonderful plan of God is for all eternity. The “wonderful plan” of the prosperity gospel movement is health, wealth, and happiness. But God’s plan is not just health, wealth, and happiness but also sickness, poverty, and sorrow. God intends to allow both suffering and blessing as part of the wonderful plan for the Christian life–this may even include martyrdom.

Physical Training and Growing in Godliness

I was thinking about how I moved from a more sedentary to active lifestyle. One of the things I decided to do is to get a pedometer to help me monitor my exercises. Now, I realized that there are days that the body asks to rest. It means that the body is asking not to do some intense activities for the day and focus on basic tasks like cleaning one’s room, washing dishes, and mopping the floor instead. The benefits of exercise are numerous–muscle growth, better mood, and detoxification of the body. I remembered doing some cardio and aerobics and I’ve had much shorter anger, reduced excess energy (which has helped me control my compulsive lying and talking), and I get to had less constipation. All these workouts are part of one’s physical well-being.

Boogeyman Parenting Doesn’t Fit Into Proverbs 22:6

July is known to be nutrition month in the Philippines. Children can be very picky eaters so discipline is necessary. I was thinking about the possibilities of why it took me some time to enjoy eating vegetables (which I do now) over why I initially didn’t like vegetables. It’s really a worrying concern when children don’t eat their vegetables. Not eating vegetables is not good for your health. However, some parents are doing the right thing the wrong way. It’s just like spanking and/or scolding one’s children for misbehavior is right but it can go from discipline from abuse. Making your children eat their vegetables is right but it can also be done in many absurd ways. One of them is the use of boogeyman parenting.

Homosexuality is a Sin But Hatred Against Homosexuals is Just as Wrong

It’s no question that homosexuality is a sin. The Old Testament and the New Testament both condemn it. Romans 1:26-27 tells us the following:

²⁶ For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; ²⁷ and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. (ESV)

A Critical Re-Examination of “The Prophet” from Chick Publications

With this week celebrating the Eid El Adha or the Feast of Sacrifice for Muslims–I think it’s an excellent opportunity to write about another myth published by Chick Publications. More than 10 years ago, I actually bought this blatant lie namely that Islam was supposedly founded by the Vatican. This was a story promoted by Chick Publications and the late Alberto R. Rivera. I used to believe Rivera was a man of God yet evidence, as documented in the book The Alberto Rivera Story by the late Roy Livesey, had shown he was a fraud. A critical re-examination of any of the Alberto comic book series is pretty much, blink, and you’ll miss there are some overly fantastic statements. This is one claim that was too fantastic to the true yet I bought it!

The Blood of Bulls and Goats Will NOT Take Away Sins

Well, Eid El Adha will be starting this evening, right? Muslims have been duped into a lie that God commanded Abraham to sacrifice Ishmael instead of Isaac. Truth is, Genesis, not the Koran, contains the truth! This very belief alone (aside from Islam’s denial of Christ’s deity) proves that Islam isn’t compatible with Christianity. Muslims, in their celebration of Eid El Adha, have the feast of sacrifice. It really hurts me to think how Muslims are still relying on animal sacrifices. Like Judaism, Islam is still trying to stitch back the curtain that God has torn down after Christ’s finished sacrifice. Unfortunately, Muslims even deny the crucifixion of Jesus as they believe it was Judas Iscariot who was executed instead.