Philippine Asian News Today Vol 19 No 9 | Page 24

Wisdom from the Word
24 RELIGIOUS PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY May 1 - 20 , 2017
Wisdom from the Word
Ben Berto

THIS WE BELIEVE ABSOLUTELY Unity In The Body of Christ 2

“ That which was from the beginning , which we have heard , which we have seen with our eyes , which we have looked upon , and our hands have handled , concerning the Word of life — 2 the life was manifested , and we have seen , and bear witness , and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us — 3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you , that you also may have fellowship with us ; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ . 4 And these things we write to you that your [ a ] joy may be full .” 1 John 5 : 1-4 NKJV
I ’ d like to share with you these words from St Patrick of Ireland about his take on Jesus Christ . It was a long passage so I am putting the last lines . The lines show how much St Patrick love Jesus Christ .
“ Christ to shield me today , Against poison , against burning , Against drowning , Against wounding , So that there may come to me an abundance of reward . Christ with me , Christ
before me , Christ behind me , Christ in me , Christ beneath me , Christ above me , Christ on my right , Christ on my left , Christ when I lie down , / Christ when I sit down , Christ when I arise , Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me , Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me , Christ in every eye that sees me , / Christ in every ear that hears me . I arise today Through a mighty strength , the invocation of the Trinity , Through belief in the Threeness , Through confession of the Oneness of the Creator of creation ”
This is part two of the Church Statement of our Beliefs .
LESSONS FROM THE PARABLE
“ According to Paul , writing on 1 Corinthians 12 , the same thing is true in the spiritual realm . If one member of the church refuses to work in harmony with the directions of Christ , the Head , the work will be impaired or interrupted until each member decides to cooperate . And if Satan , the
author of chaos , controls any members of the body instead of Christ , there will be no possibility of Christ ’ s church functioning in unity , unless of course , it ’ s for the wrong purpose .”
IMPORTANCE OF
UNITY
Speaking of unity , the Bible writers stress that differences such as gender , race , wealth , intelligence should not hinder the body of Christ from functioning correctly as long as members are in Christ . These differences exist , but the person who is in Christ is a new creature . The Lord removes the barriers that divide human beings , ( Ephesians 2 : 14 ). Thus , “ There is neither Jew nor Greek , slave or free , male or female , for you are all one in Christ Jesus ( Galatians 3 : 28 ). In other words , all these differences , far from producing dissonance , contribute to enriching the concert .
Just before His agony in Gethsemane , Jesus prayed for the unity of His disciples . He asked His Father to make them one , as He and the Father were One . ( John 17 :
20-23 ). The unity that we , His disciples , achieve in response to His prayer will give us the ability to fulfill His purpose of declaring to the world that Jesus died to save us from sin .
As one body with many members , the church brings together people from every nation , tribe , language and people . Through the revelation of Jesus Christ in the Bible , we share same faith and hope , becoming witnesses to the whole world .
“ Christ to the world we sing , The world to Christ we bring .” Amen .
For prayer , questions and Bible study , call Ben at 604-581-1278 , Junjun at
778-927-8040 , and Stanley at 604-700-3053 . You are invited to worship with us every Sabbath ( Saturday ) at the Abundant Life Community Seventh-day Adventist Church at 13062-104 Avenue , Surrey . Welcome .

Our new shepherd , Pastor Leomar Macaraig also takes care of the Vancouver Filipino and Burnaby FilCan SDA churches . His phone number is ; 604-928-3579 . Every Friday , we have a Bible Study with the Pastor . Everybody is welcome to attend , whether you are a Seventh-day Adventist or not . The Word of God is for everyone . Our address is 9495- 132 Street , Surrey ..

Moments

Fr , Jerry M . Orbos , SVD

Giving

The story is told about a man who spent a fortune trying to find a cure for his baldness . When asked why he did so , his response was : “ It is better to give than to recede .”
Today is Mother ’ s Day . Mothers are those who constantly give and give , and who don ’ t mind if they recede . That ’ s just the way they are . They truly love , and keep on giving , and do so without much fanfare or grandstanding . Such are mothers !
In today ’ s Gospel ( Jn . 14 , 1-12 ), Jesus tells His disciples not to be troubled because He is going to prepare a place for us , and He Himself will show us the way . He Himself is the way to the Father ’ s house : “ I am the Way , the Truth , and the Life . No one comes to the Father except through Me .” We honor our mothers today , our very first mentors who have shown us the way toward truth and life .
We honor Mama Mary today . It is she who leads us to her Son , Jesus . If we want to come closer to Jesus , Mary , His very own mother , is the one who will lead us to Him because it is she who knows Him best . No one , not even St . Joseph , not even the disciples , knew Jesus as Mary did . Those who follow Mary end up loving Jesus , and she herself tells us to love and follow her Son . “ To Jesus , through Mary .”
We pray today for our Motherland , ang ating Inang Bayan . A mother loves her children — all her children — no matter what . May those who run our country never forget that our Motherland will still be our Motherland long after they are gone . We all , including our so-called leaders , are just passing through .
Let us pray today for our Mother Nature and Mother Earth . May the generations
after us still enjoy our Mother Nature and Mother Earth . An urgent reminder : Let us not be so careless , irresponsible and greedy as to forget that there are innocent and helpless people who come after us .
Gone too soon . Leonard Ilano , 44 , went home to the Father in his prime . He was a successful architect , a joyful person who lived life to the full . He had a stomach ache for three days , and then he was gone . His wife , Grace , described their life together as “ four years and four months so full of joy and fun .” Until we meet again in the resurrection , pray for us , Leonard , as we pray for you . Continue to smile at us from heaven above .
Today , Mother ’ s Day , let me share with Mommy Lita Ilano , Leonard ’ s mother , a poem found by Odette Sacaben in Our Lady of Walsingham Church in England . Titled “ A Last
WWW . PHILIPPINEASIANNEWSTODAY . COM
Goodbye ,” the poem answered many of Odette ’ s questions then when she , too , lost her teenage son : “ Though happily each year had begun , I had to die while very young / It is so long since our last touch , and I miss your presence there so much / Of many things I needed to learn so to this place God made me turn / Yet with so many things to do , I have taken this moment to speak to you / The life that was , was not to be mine / Yet within this world , it has worked out fine / Where I am now I have new friends , in a place called heaven where the spirit ascends / Straight to this world , few pass it by , and no one can really die / Although this child you cannot see , I know you ’ d be so proud of me / I look forward to when I ’ ll see you , Mum / So until it is your time to come , enjoy your life , and please don ’ t cry / I just came to say a last goodbye .”
Jesus tells us today : “ I am going to the Father .”
Yes , we , too , are going to the Father . Heaven is our final destination , our true home . Our journey to the Father is tough but not impossible , hard but bearable . And we are not alone . We have a mother , we have a queen , who travels with us and brings us safely home . Let us help each other on .
From Mary , we learn to surrender to God ’ s will in all things . From Mary , we learn to trust even when all hope seems gone . From Mary , we learn to love Christ , her Son and the Son of God . Our Lady of Fatima loves you !
Think about this : “ It ’ s nice to keep our feet on the ground , no matter how high we ’ ve come . After all , it ’ s not about the wealth and power we gained , but the legacy we leave behind that matters most in the end .”

A moment with the Lord .:

Lord , teach us to be giving and forgiving . Amen .( Inquirer . com )