How Do We Forgive Those Who Did Us Wrong?

The Spiritual Benefits of Forgiving Those Who Did Us Wrong

Physicists say that, for every action there is always an equal or opposite reaction. This is most especially true in terms of human nature. Humans react to stimuli. Human nature dictates that if somebody did us something good or anything favorable, we reciprocate that gesture as a sign of our appreciation to the goodness rendered unto us. We treat that person nicely; we do him good also. But if somebody did us wrong, we retaliate by doing him evil also. It sometimes reaches a point that, even after years had passed, that offense remains unforgotten, implying that the offender has not been forgiven either.

But how should a Christian react if somebody committed a sin against him, or if somebody did him an offense?

First of all, a Christian’s rightful reaction is to be happy. If somebody sinned against you, you have to be happy because God is giving you an opportunity to forgive. The Father allowed that person to do you evil because He wants you to learn the virtue of being forgiving. This may sound weird to others but this is biblical. Actually, we will benefit from forgiving our offenders because, in doing so, we will, likewise, merit God’s forgiveness for the sins that we have committed.

MATTHEW 6:14 says,

For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:

The Father always exercises justice. He gives what is due us.

MATTHEW 5:7 (KJV) says,

Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

If you show mercy to others, God will also be merciful to you. If we forgive, He will be forgiving to us also.

If somebody has done you wrong, do not be mad because that is an opportunity that the Father is giving you to forgive, for you to be forgiven, too, because you also commit sins.

ECCLESIASTES 7:20 says,

For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.

All men sin, even the most holy men who lived on earth committed sins. That is, of course, excluding the Lord Jesus Christ because even when He manifested Himself in the flesh, He did not commit any sin. But the holiest men who lived on earth, like Job, Daniel, Noah, Abraham, Mary and Joseph, and all the other holy men recorded in the Bible for their values and faith, also committed sins. So, no man is sinless in the sight of God. But by learning how to forgive, we may be found blameless through the grace of God’s forgiveness.

Actually, you will not find it difficult to forgive if you would only realize that in forgiving your offenders you are doing yourself a great favor. You will merit God’s mercy; you will merit His forgiveness.

Learning how to forgive is learning how to love oneself. If you love yourself, you would always think of what is best for you. And winning God’s forgiveness is one of the best things that could ever happen to a person. Amen.

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Fact or Fake: Did Constantine Compile the Content of the Bible at the Council of Nicea?

3/22/2019 20 Comments

How did the Bible came to be

In this particular article, there are certain questions that I intend to answer which, I hope would shed light on confused and misinformed minds, with God’s help. First, if the Bible was compiled by Constantine; and second, if the Bible is complete; and if it is complete, how should we regard findings and discoveries in science?

Many Catholics were made to believe that it was Constantine who compiled the books that comprise the Bible. That is not true! Constantine had nothing to do with the compilation of the Bible. The truth is, even before Constantine was born, the first part of the Bible had already been compiled. There was already a compilation of scrolls which were being read in the Jewish synagogue. In fact, there was even an instance when the Lord Jesus Christ entered the synagogue and read one passage from the compilation of books. In the book of Luke 4:16-20, it says,

16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read,
17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.

Take note of the last verse, he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister. So, in the Jewish synagogue, there were ministers who took care of those books – among those books were the books of the prophets Isaiah, Zechariah, and Jeremiah. The books that the Catholics claimed to have been compiled by Constantine were actually compiled by the people of God.

Now, in the time of the New Testament, there was another man that was used by God to compile such. Luke 1:1-3 says,

1 Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us,
2 Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;
3 It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,

Luke, the beloved physician during the time of the Apostle Paul, was one of those who compiled these books, especially the books that were written by the apostles before him. There were information and declarations written by eyewitnesses that were handed to Luke which he compiled. This means that there were already Christians, before the time of Constantine, who had taken the initiative of compiling and taking care of all these pieces of documents which are now contained in the Bible.

One vital proof that there was already a compilation of these books is in 2 Timothy 3:15-17;

15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

Paul and Timothy have them! He called them “All Scriptures” inspired of God! Timothy, Paul’s student, may profit from these Holy Scriptures in teaching doctrines, for reproof, for correction, for instruction, to learn all things for righteousness.

As to whether the Bible is complete, yes, it is complete and the pronouncements therein are not in contradiction with scientific findings. May I say that scientific facts were already in the Bible even before they were found by science.

For instance, long before science had proven that the earth is round and not flat, it was already mentioned in the Bible. Actually, science had proven that the earth is round only when a satellite picture of the planet Earth was taken by the Apollo missions of the USA in the 1960s. However, as early as 2,700 years ago, the Bible had already spoken that the earth is round. Isaiah 40:22 says,

It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth.

There is a circle of the earth; there is a sphere. A circle is round, therefore, the earth is round.

Another detail about the earth is given in the book of Job 26:7,

He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.

Indeed, the satellite picture of the earth taken in the 1960s proved that it is hanging upon nothing. So, even before it was discovered by science, it was already in the Bible; and no scientific finding can ever contradict what is in the Bible.

The Bible is never obsolete. What the Bible tells is always news. Of course, there are parts of the Bible which are already history, but nonetheless, it always tells us news. The word Evangelion in Greek implies “good news,” so it is always news. The Bible tells us of things that are happening and things that are still to happen. The Bible has predictions; it also has current events.

I cannot think of any scientific finding that is not in the Bible. Even the plagues that we experience now, like the swine flu and the avian flu, which according to the World Health Organization are caused by viruses that they had never encountered before, had already been spoken in the Bible. The Lord in the Bible said, If anybody will not obey my word, I will bring unto you these plagues, plagues that I have brought to Egypt. And afterwards He said, And even plagues that are not written in this book. So, even before those viruses came about and brought threats and damage to living creatures, the Bible had already foretold their coming.

If one would only digest the contents of the Bible, he would find out that every knowledge being discovered by science today is already in the Bible. For example, God commanded Abraham to circumcise his seed on the eighth day of his birth. That was written in Genesis 17:11-12,

11 And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant between me and you.
12 And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you . . .

Why on the eighth day? Let me cite a discovery in science:

In 1935, Professor H. Dam proposed the name “Vitamin K” for the factor in foods that helped prevent hemorrhaging in baby chicks. We now know Vitamin K is responsible for the production (by the liver) of the element known as prothrombin. If Vitamin K is deficient, there will be a prothrombin deficiency and hemorrhaging may occur. Oddly, it is only on the fifth through the seventh days of the newborn male’s life that Vitamin K (produced by bacteria in the intestinal tract is present in adequate quantities. Vitamin K, coupled with prothrombin, causes blood coagulation, which is important in any surgical procedure.

Source: http://apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=13&article=1118

No surgeon will operate on a person without the sufficiency of Vitamin K and prothrombin because this could lead to hemorrhage. The possibility of hemorrhage is very great if Vitamin K and prothrombin are absent because it is the combination of these two that causes blood coagulation. That is why it is very important for a person who would undergo a surgical procedure, or any procedure that would inflict wound on the flesh, like circumcision, to have a sufficient supply of Vitamin K and prothrombin.

It is a wonderful thing that science discovered that it is only on the fifth to the seventh day of a male infant that his intestinal tract produces Vitamin K. Vitamin K is a kind of vitamin that is produced in the intestinal tract, unlike Vitamin C which comes from outside sources, and Vitamin D which is produced by the body when it is stimulated by sunlight.

So, now, we can see the wisdom behind God’s commandment to Abraham to circumcise his male child on the eighth day. On the eighth day, there is already the presence of Vitamin K in the intestinal tract of the male child. And with this vitamin and prothrombin, there wouldn’t be much bleeding even if the child is circumcised because he would then have sufficient coagulants. That wonderful scientific finding was already in the Bible thousands of years ago.

There was also a recent effort of scientists which aims to prove that there are matters in space, in the universe, which are not visible to the human eye.

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is a gigantic scientific instrument near Geneva where it spans the border between Switzerland and France about 100m underground. It is a particle accelerator used by physicists to study the smallest known particles – the fundamental building block of all things. It will revolutionize our understanding from the minuscule world deep within atoms to the vastness of the universe.

Source: https://public-archive.web.cern.ch/public-archive/en/LHC/LHC-en.html

They called that thing as Higgs boson or the God particle, and this was what they tried to experiment on using a very huge instrument. However, it was stopped because of an accident. But if time would come that they would be able to prove that, indeed, there are really matters that exist which cannot be seen by human eyes, the Bible had been ahead in coming up with such declaration. Romans 1:20 says,

For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead.

The Bible had already spoken of invisible things of God from the creation of the world! Actually, things visible were made from the invisible; Hebrews 11:3 says,

Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

These invisible things can be either gas or black matters.

How should we regard findings in science? Should we ignore them? No, we should not ignore scientific findings because they do not contradict biblical pronouncements. They even confirm what the Bible says. Scientific findings, in fact, are in consonance and in harmony with the truths in the Scriptures.

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How Can an Unmarried Best Live His Life as a Christian?

3/15/2019 33 Comments

How to be Single According to Christ

To be a Christian is to abide by the teachings and laws of the Lord Jesus Christ. As Christ is the Lord, the Christians are His followers, or servants; and every servant’s ultimate aim is to please his Lord, or Master. 

To live as a Christian is to live by the words of Christ. But who has the greater capability to do this, the married or the unmarried? Between the two, who has the better opportunity to serve the Lord without distraction? 

I CORINTHIANS 7:32-35 says,
32 But I would have you without carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord: 33 But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife. 34 There is difference also between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband. 35 And this I speak for your own profit; not that I may cast a snare upon you, but for that which is comely, and that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction. 
The Bible points out the significant differences between the married and the unmarried in terms of serving the Lord. St. Paul said that the unmarried cares for the things that belong to the Lord and on the things that will please the Lord. That means that his top priority is how he could be pleasing in the sight of the Lord. He delights in doing things that are in accordance to His will; and his joy is not on material things like riches and luxuries but in fulfilling the Lord’s teachings. 

A married man, on the other hand, cares for the things of the world, and on how he may please his wife. He worries about the day-to-day needs of his family. His thoughts are preoccupied in thinking of ways on how he could earn more for his family’s needs like food and shelter, for the monthly electric and water bills, for the milk and diaper of his babies, and all the other things that would please his wife. So he gives her all the material things she desires, he yields to her whims, and he sees to it that before he makes any decision, or before he does anything, he asks first for her opinion and consent because he doesn’t want to displease her. 

Apparently, being married becomes a distraction and a hindrance to one’s service to the Lord. And it is obvious that the unmarried person is in a better position to serve the Lord and to live a life expected of a Christian. And since he is single, his decisions and actions are not dependent on anybody else, and he doesn’t have to please anybody except the Lord. Leading a solitary life gives a person the chance to care for the Lord and for the things of the Lord only. 

Allow me to use myself as an example. I am unmarried; I live a solitary life. Because of my situation, I am able to care only for the things of the Lord, and I am able to do things which could please Him. I care for the brethren; I care for His teachings; I care for the preaching of the Gospel. My cares and concerns, and my preoccupations are all directed towards doing things that would please the Lord. And definitely, I wouldn’t be able also to perform all the tasks that rest on my shoulders now if I am married, or if I am a family man. My time and attention would surely be divided and I wouldn’t be able to do my duties to God and to the brethren as faithfully as I should. But because I am single, I am able to devote all my time to care for the things of the Lord. 

While it is true that a married person can also serve the Lord but with certain constraints and limitations; he couldn’t give his hundred percent because there are distractions and cares of being married that hinder him. 

Therefore, it is more convenient to serve the Lord if the person is unmarried because he is free from all kinds of distractions and cares of this world which are often experienced by those who are married. Besides, to be single gives a person more opportunities to do things that would please the Lord, like paying attention to His teachings and doing charitable works that would benefit other people. And for me, spending one’s life in pleasing the Lord is the best way to live a Christian life.

33 Comments:

How to Keep the Marriage Intact

3/08/2019 , 45 Comments

Biblical way of living as a married couple

Infidelity destroys relationships. The moment that a husband becomes unfaithful to his wife, it is inevitable that what used to be a “very sweet” relationship will turn into a sour and bitter one. And if not addressed properly at the soonest possible time, it could cause havoc to the whole family.

But why do husbands become unfaithful to their wives? Why do they leave their wives and look for another?

No husband in his right mind would abandon the woman whom he wooed very patiently for years for no reason at all. The fact that he did everything to win her hand in marriage only means that he has committed himself to her and wants a life-long relationship with her. This is why it is quite saddening to hear stories of wives whose husbands had abandoned them and are now embracing other women.

If we are going to make a simple analysis on why a husband leaves his wife in favor of another woman, we will realize that it stems only from a very simple reason: he feels that his wife has changed, that she is no longer the woman that he fell in love with – someone who was well-groomed, very caring and thoughtful, and always sweet-smelling. Because now, after several years of marriage and after bearing three children, his wife has lost her charm. She hardly takes a bath; she often forgets to brush her teeth; she doesn’t even comb and fix her hair anymore; and she seldom changes her dress. In other words, she has neglected attending to her personal grooming and hygiene. As a result, her husband gets disgusted.

A wife, even if she has mothered half a dozen children, should see to it that she remains adorable in the eyes of her husband. She should always be sweet-smelling, that is why she needs to bathe more frequently, in the same manner that she should also wash as often what certain television commercials refer to as the “feminine area.” A woman may lose her sweet scent if she neglects proper hygiene, or if she sweats a lot after performing certain household chores. So, instead of a sweet scent, she emits an unpleasant odor.

In Isaiah 3:24 it says, 
And it shall come to pass that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink...
That was God’s curse to the Israelite women. Instead of a sweet smell, there would be rottenness and stink. But a woman who is not under a curse has a sweet smell. So that your husband won’t leave you, make sure that you maintain your sweet smell. By nature, a man looks for a sweet-smelling woman. If your husband no longer finds that sweet smell in you because you do not brush your teeth and take a bath anymore, chances are, he’ll look for a more fragrant and more attractive woman.

Do not forget to show simple gestures of affection and care like serving him a cup of coffee, or giving him a little massage when he comes home from work. Those simple acts will make him feel how much you love him, and he will realize that he will commit a very great foolishness if he will betray a loving, caring, and adorable wife like you.

But most of all, the best safeguard to protect marital relationships is prayers to God. Actually, many marital relationships do not last because they lack in prayers to God. Husband and wife should live a prayerful life. They should always pray to God to protect their family and to keep it intact. And it is best that both husband and wife should remain steadfast in their service to God.

Always remember, God is merciful, and it is His will that husband and wife should live together until death.

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Qualities That Rightfully Make a Person a Christian

3/02/2019 31 Comments

who-are-the-real-christians

In this generation, lots of religious organizations sprouted like mushrooms, and each of them claims that they are Christians. However, not all who claim to be Christians are truly Christians; and not all who call themselves as Christians are really Christians. The Bible sets specific requisites before somebody could rightfully be called Christian.

So, who are the true Christians?

JOHN 8:31 says,

. . . If ye continue in my word, then are ye truly my disciples;

True Christians are those who believe and keep the word of Christ, just like the disciples. That is why the disciples are true Christians.

It is not enough that you believe in Christ, you also have to accept His words. If you claim that you believe in Christ but you are rejecting His words, you are not a true Christian. Rejecting Christ’s words is tantamount to rejecting Him also.

JOHN 12:48 says,

He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.

If you do not observe the words of Christ, you are not considered as a true Christian even if you proclaim yourself to be one. It is more appropriate to call you a nominal Christian only. A true Christian is he who keeps the words of Christ. And what are the words of Christ that we have to keep?

MARK 1:14-15 says,

14 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

I CORINTHIANS 15:1-2 says,

1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand:
2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

Therefore, it is the Gospel, or the good news – the good news about the kingdom of God, that we have to keep in our memory. Keeping the words of Christ, or the Gospel, in our memory and abiding by them would qualify us to be called true Christians.

Keeping the gospel in memory means living a way of life worthy in the gospel of Christ. 

PHILIPPIANS 1:27 says,

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you stand firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,

31 Comments: