Eternal Success Story in the Making

Though it has been that long
Though I may look strong
I’ve done things that were wrong

Look at me with no impartiality
For I see myself not worthy
Only I continue through his mercy

With teary eyes I saw
Fellow soldiers I know
Chocked the word
Offended by the word

One by one draw back
Unable to stand on the rock
Now they are gone
Alone shall I run?

Battles left and right
I fought with all my might
I was caught when I was weak
Laying wounded while the Lion seek

I said to myself, stand up and fight Chaz!
The Lion is approaching, approaching fast
With knees bent and eyes closed
I prayed, Hold my hearth Oh Lord
For I am down and can’t fight no more

Then a voice from nowhere I heard
Sweet and lovely words were said
“Go to a place where I usually go”
“It is near, crawl if you must but go”

to be continued….

What the mind conceives and believes it will achieve.
You can do it if you Believe you can.
Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail.
Begin with the End in Mind.
Do what you love and love what you do.
Do it right the first time.

Yan ang mga ilan sa mga paborito kong mga kawikaang pangtao para makamit ang tagumpay o “success” kung tawagin sa wikang Ingles.

Ang salitang “success” ay may iba’t ibang kahulugan para sa iba’t ibang tao. Sa iba, ang success ay nasusukat sa mga material na bagay tulad ng pagkakaroon ng magarang sasakyan, bahay at lupa, magandang damit, latest cellphone, 15k na ipod, magandang girlfriend, gwapong boyfriend, poging aso na nagkakahalaga ng sampung libo (masarap kaya ang asong iyon kapag ginawang kalderetang aso?).

Sa iba naman nasusukat ang “success” sa mga bagay na “intangible” tulad ng pagkakaroon ng kapangyarihan sa gobyerno o sa pinagtratrabauhang companya, pagkakaroon ng masayang pamilya, pagkakaroon ng malusog na pangangatawan, pagiging experto sa isang larangan, pagkakaroon ng isang mabuting asawa kahit hindi gaanong maganda/gwapo (huwag lang tulad ni bakekang, pangit na mukha pangit pa ang ugali), pagkakaroon ng mga tunay na kaibigan (yung mga kaibigang kahit nakakalimutan mong itext andyan parin sila, mga kaibigang nagsesetup ng makakadate mo kahit ayaw mong makipagdate, mga nanghihiram ng gamit mo at hindi na sinasauli kung isauli man dalawangpung taon ang bibilangin mo, mga kaibigang nagyayayang lumabas para lang magpalibre, mga kaibigang mapangasar).

Kahit ano pa man para sa iyo ang kahulugan ng “success”, ang tinuturo ng mga success guru upang makamit mo ito ay dapat daw magkaroon ka ng naglalagablab na pagnanasa (burning desire) upang ikaw ay magsikap sa pagkamit nito.

Tama iyon, kaya nga sabi ng kawikaang tunay “Seek and you shall find, Knock and you shall be opened, ask and it shall be given unto you”.

Ngunit aking napagtanto na kahit anong gawin mong pagsisikap kung wala ka namang Dios na kasama hindi mo makakamit ang tunay na tagumpay.

Marahil may maganda at mayaman kang asawa ngunit bungangera naman… mas mabuti pang umakyat ka sa bubong ng bahay nyo at wag nang bumaba. O kung lalakeng asawa naman, kahit gwapo at mabait, wala namang Dios sa buhay niya… ikaw na marupok na sisidlan hindi ka kaya mabasag?

O kaya’y kumikita ka ng limpak limpak na salapi ngunit ang kapalit naman ay ang iyong dangal at integridad anong pakinabang ng salaping iyong iniipon?

Marahil nakapunta ka sa isang first world country sa pamamagitan ng fix marriage ngunit ang kapalit ay ang pagkakaroon ng asawa na hindi mo naman mahal… anong pinagkaiba mo sa mga kalapating mababa ang lipad pwera sa kasal? Ang ginagawa ng iba matapos makuha ang green card… divorce kaagad. Ang tanong… Kristyano ka ba pag ganoon?

Sa hirap ng buhay ngayon kahit sa patalim ang karamihan ay kumakapit narin. May kakilala akong babae na pumatol sa isang Hapong may asawa. Nagkaanak sila, binibigyan naman ng malaking sustento ngunit sino ang nadamay sa kasalanang ginawa nila? Ang anak sa labas na walang malay. Na lalaking may kaagaw sa pagmamahal ng kanyang ama.

Ako man ay nakaranas ng mga pagkabigo sa trabaho, sa negosyo, sa relasyon, sa mga interviews sa call center, sa mga pyramiding scam (alam nyo ba ang powerhomes?), etc. Bakit nangyayari ang mga ito sa akin kako? Sinunod ko namang ang mga payo ng mga success gurus pero bigo parin ako.

Matapos ang matagal na soul searching… narealize ko na kaya nawala sa akin ang mga bagay na iyon ay para tanggapin ko naman ang mas lalong dakilang mga bagay na makakabuti sa akin.

Kung hindi ako nabigo sa negosyo, hindi ko sana nasumpungan ang dream job at dream company kong ito na di ko man lang kinailangang mangibangbayan. Kung hindi nangyari ang pagkabigo ko sa mga maraming bagay, hindi sana ako ngayon nandirito na patuloy na naglilingkod sa Kanya (unawain ng nagbabasa).

Dito ko narealize na hindi lang sa sariling kakayanan dapat tumiwala ang isang Kristyano, kundi bagkus sa pagkakaroon ng pananampalataya sa buong makakaya at kabutihan ng Dios na di makakapagsinungaling. Na ang kanyang pangako ay:

…Sa anomang paraan ay hindi kita papagkukulangin, sa anomang paraan ni hindi kita pababayaan. – Hebreo 13:5

PBB has gone too far…

Poor young people… made to accept a shameful display of stupidity.

I rarely watch T.V. these days but during my long vacation, I happened to stop at ABC CBN while scanning for a good movie to watch.

I’m not a Roman Catholic but I think it’s not proper to use the rosary as a prop in a game. Especially with a humongous rosary! I mean c’mon? I’ve seen people making large cake, pizza, sisig (that could feed one or two baranggays) and all for the glory of making it in the Guinness record… Heck, I even heard of a giant shoe that was made into a house while I was in Grade 1… now that was funny for me back then.

But a giant rosary? If something is regarded as sacred, will you use it in a game show as a props?

Now some may ask, how about if the contestants were praying with a sincere heart? :p

To all semenaristas out there, the way or the manner you pray is also important if you want your prayers to be heard. If that was not the case, then Christ would not have to forbid the use of vain repetitive prayers and praying in public places. Matthew 6:6 -

6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. 7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.

Oh… by the way, can someone tell me if “Tore ni David” and “Bahay na Ginto” can really pray for us? ‘Coz I’ve heard the contestants saying those while reading a booklet that is used in praying the rosary.

…

…..

Some of the crap I’ve seen in PBB:

• Rustom coming out of his closet just to make the public accept his perverse gaynessssss…
• A hopelessly romantic pathetic DJ courting a Pollyanna.
• and now a giant rosary…

What will PBB come up next?

When I was a little boy I watch my uncles and relatives drink beer during their occasional drinking sessions. Due to my curiosity I had the chance to slip by and taste what they are drinking, much to my dismay I hated the taste. In my young mind I wonder why these grown men group themselves together and drink such an awful thing.

But when I became a teen, I was lead to believe that such activities are meant for socialization. Although my mother is against such activities because of the extreme effects of alcohol to the youth, I was not totally convinced by her nagging. I often argue that such activities when taken in moderation are just meant for socialization. But since I was raised in a Christian family I held the value of respecting and obeying our parents, thereby I refrain from such activities. From this “anti-social” behavior I was set apart (but not aloof) from my classmates and friends in high school. I was even called a “mama’s boy” by the first girl I courted. Lol

Then came the time when I was free from my parent’s control. I went into college in Baguio, far away from home. One time in Baguio City, the cousin of my cousin invited us into their Church (Baptist) and attended their Sunday service. After the service we were offered foods and beer. Though I am either pro or against drinking beer, for the sake of being a good guest I drank the beer. This strengthened my belief that drinking beer in moderation is not a big deal because even Christians do such thing.

Despite of the advertisement of beer companies that had cleverly made drinking beer synonymous with “family and friends togetherness”, there still remain doubts in my mind about alcohol because of my little knowledge of the bible. There are certain verses that seem to contradict themselves regarding the topic of drinking wine. Then came a certain point in my life wherein several truths about the bible were exposed to me by a group of Christians like no other religious group had ever exposed before. So let me start my lengthy view of the topic at hand.

It is my way of finding the truth by taking both sides of the coin in consideration and even take in consideration the middle side of the coin or the neutral side. I have considered the arguments of Christians who believes that drinking alcohol in moderation is allowed and the argument of Christians who believes that total abstinence in alcohol is necessary and a side that is somewhat neutral.

From the 75 warnings against wine to the “water to wine” miracle of our Lord Jesus Christ, there are arguments counter arguments and verses counter verses that I have encountered. Most even took the labor of looking up the Greek and Hebrew meaning of the English word “wine”. But I will no longer site the arguments of the side which failed to pass biblical truth for it will just confuse most readers who are babes in the word of God. But to those who wish to undergo the same process I went, I recommend the following links.

Christians should not drink wine: http://www.legana.org/studies/alcohol.htm http://www.scionofzion.com/drinking.htm

Somewhat neutral: http://www.tektonics.org/lp/nowine.html

Pro moderate drinking of Wine: http://www.bible.org/page.asp?page_id=988

To start with, to my friends who read this must come to the knowledge that when the bible speaks of wine it either pertains to NEW or OLD wine (Luke 5:37-39). New wine is unfermented thus non-alcoholic it is basically grape juice. Old wine is fermented thus alcoholic. What is in question in here is the alcoholic wine. Alcoholic wines also nowadays are labeled with the percentage of alcohol it contains. For the sake of simplicity, when I say alcoholic wine I am addressing the kind of wine that has enough alcohol content that can cause a man to be drunk. The apostles and Jesus did not drink OLD wine. There are many verses in the bible that is against alcoholic wine though some are debatable; the following two are what I would like to present.

Prov. 20:1 Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.

Biblically and statistically alcoholic wine is a cause of trouble, it is a mocker, it is raging. Watch the news and you’ll see “magkumpare” friends stab each other while on a drinking session, you will hear about a father who raped her daughter under the influence of alcohol etc. etc. The bible also says that drunkards will not inherit the Kingdom of God 1 Cor. 6:9-10. When something in itself is described by the bible in a negative light, should we even think that we should take it in moderation, just enough of it that would not cause us to be drunk? If cyanide causes death when taken orally, should we take a little amount of cyanide that is just enough not to kill us? Certainly not! Alcoholic wine is a source of trouble and causes a man to do evil things. The bible commands Christian to abstain from every form of evil. Let me repeat that, Christians are commanded to abstain from EVERY FORM of evil 1 Thessalonians 5: 22 Abstain from every form of evil. The following is the second biblical reference that took away my doubts about the topic.

Prov. 23:31-5 Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast. They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.

The above reference goes even beyond from abstaining! The mere act of intentionally looking or searching alcoholic wine is prohibited. It is no doubt that the wine being mentioned in the verse is alcoholic.

Even some Christians, who believe that a beer will not send a person who practices moderation to hell, will agree that abstinence is proper. The following are what they have to say.

“In my experience in doing personal evangelism, I have made the observation that the fact that there are Christians who drink is a major excuse many alcoholics hide behind. God calls us to be salt and light to the world that we live in (Matthew 5: 13-14) and to avoid conduct that could cause others to stumble (Romans 14:21.) 

“One beer might not send me to hell, but it could lead ten people there who saw me, and followed my example.”

“If we really care about the souls of men, and if we are really in business for Christ, rather than for ourselves, then there seems to be no alternative to total abstinence-not as a matter of legalism, but rather as a matter of love”

Well as for me, as long as my friends know my stand about alcohol… that would be enough for me. If you would like to invite me to a wedding reception don’t forget a can of Cali for me! lol.

- Chaz St. Michael