Hezekiah’s Sickness and Recovery

The Bible doesn’t always follow a chronological narrative. A good example is how Matthew and Luke have a different sequence of events when it comes to Jesus’ temptation. You have topical writing and chronological writing. Some Bible scholars suggest that Elijah wrote the letter to Jehoram to Judah before the ascension. Historians do write in both topical and chronological writing. Perhaps, it’s done to focus on a topic. There’s a mixture of both being done. Any chapters on King Hezekiah’s sickness were most likely done after that. It was to presumably focus on an important area of Hezekiah’s life without distracting the reader. Any history textbook can write things down in both chronological and topical methods.

The Assyrian Siege of Judah by King Sennacherib

Rather than cram everything about King Hezekiah in a single post, I believe it’s more beneficial to chop it down into manageable posts. Now, the story of King Sennacherib of Assyria’s siege can be found in 2 Kings 18:13-19, 2 Kings 19, 2 Chronicles 32, and Isaiah 36-37. It would be a very long topical post since going back and forth between the three references isn’t easy. Sure, I’m for expository sermons but topical sermons are also important. Topical sermons can help as long as everything is taken into context. Isaiah was the prophet during the time of Hezekiah. Some people suggested that Isaiah was later martyred by being sawn asunder. I can’t be sure of that though I think he really was sawn asunder as much as I believe Peter was crucified downward.

The Sinfulness of Sinulog

Sinulog is upcoming, explaining the heavy traffic. The Black Nazarene is already one idolatrous event. Now, we’re going to talk about Sinulog. Sinulog is the celebration of the Child Jesus. Back as a child, I was told about the story of the fire and an image of the Child Jesus (dubbed as Senor Santo Nino) survived the fire. This is what I heard of as a child, and this is often used to justify the celebration of Sinulog:

The Black Nazarene is Idolatrous, Plain and Simple

The news that the image of the Black Nazarene has arrived at Quiapo Church is very disheartening. Many incidents with the Black Nazarene are very disheartening. Back in 2014, there was a news that over 50 people got injured. What’s even worse is that some people end up dying as a result of the mayhem with the Black Nazarene. I do expect some crazy comments from Catholic fake defenders (which I prefer not to debate with in contrast to real Catholic apologists) praising and trying to justify the feast itself. I’m sure people will hate me, but I must lovingly give this message. To deny Roman Catholics the truth they need to hear is a callous thing.

Learning More About Many are Called, Few are Chosen This 2024

Back when I was still in Cebu Bible Baptist Church Katipunan (and God is still using it mightily to preach the Gospel), one of the sermons was on Matthew 22:14. Knowing Cebu Bible Baptist Church, I held a non-Calvinist position for a long time. Sure, I didn’t gaslight Calvinists or still embraced non-KJV-only Christians. However, I was still convinced that the KJV was the best translation and that Calvinism is as erroneous as Charles H. Spurgeon smoking a cigar. Spurgeon is admired by both Calvinists and non-Calvinists. Some opponents of Calvinism often teach that God has predestined some to Heaven and others to Hell. A pastor can say, “My problem is viewing that God has determined that while people are still babies to who will be with Him in Heaven and who will go to Hell.” I had that problem until I did more research about the doctrine of unconditional election, It’s best summarized as, “Before the foundation of the world, God chose certain people.”

Meditating on Proverbs 3:5-6 This January 2024

One thing I can say is that Proverbs 3:5-6 has to be the thought for the year. Proverbs 3:5-6 can be used to teach how to start the year right. However, I believe more in daily resolutions than New Year’s resolutions. Don’t wait until December 31 to start writing them down but have daily resolutions. 2 Corinthians 4:16 talks about how the body is destined to meet deterioration. However, the inner self of the Christian is renewed day by day. The late R.C. Sproul Sr. talks about renewing your mind. Romans 12:2 talks about not being conformed by the world but by the renewing of the mind. These things can’t be done by the natural man. To do so, one must first be biblically born again. John 3 talks about the second birth that people must have before they can see the Kingdom of God.