On a personal note, business wise the Lord has been good. After the turmoil we’ve been through in 2010, I’ve always considered 2011 as an adjustment. But now that such is over, I see 2012 as a year of growth in all businesses that has been entrusted to me by the Lord. With regards to my online businesses, 2011 was a year of expansion so the dividends on the capital investments I’ve made online will probably be reaped in 2012 and in the next 2 to 3 years by God’s grace. I’m glad to have finally finished the final chapters in some cases I’ve been handling. Although the stock market seemed to be going nowhere in 2011, we’ve posted a small gain, and that is all right, but hopefully I look forward to a more exciting and brighter market in 2012.

In terms of ministry, we’ve received a lot of spiritual blessings and have been further inspired by recent events to continue doing the work that the Lord has entrusted to us. Oh by the way you might want to check out our church annual report. Click here to read The Master’s Community Fellowship annual report 2011.

On a much more personal note, I’ve lost weight and will hopefully continue to do so in 2012 albeit the setbacks during the holidays. (I still can’t stop thinking about all those crispy lechon and shiny glazed hams that has been served during the holidays) I’ve read a lot of books but didn’t have much progress in terms of my online theology classes. Hopefully I’ll be able to get back to it this year. We’ve also done a lot of traveling within Southeast Asia in 2011, and will be looking forward to doing more traveling in 2012. We did some major renovations in our house such that it has become more eco-friendly and expanded our kitchen. I’ll tell you all more about it soon.

As another year has passed, I realized that I am getting older and I hope I am getting wiser because wisdom does not always come with age. But my prayer to God is that he would help me live life to the fullest, learn, love and leave a legacy all for Him. Once again Happy new year to all and hope we leave all the bad memories of 2011 in our memory foam mattress  and look forward to a brighter more prosperous new year !

Mother’s day quote No. 10 - “Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs… since the payment is pure love.” - Mildred B. Vermont

Mother’s day quote No. 9 – “Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother” - Lin Yutang, Chinese writer

Mother’s day quote No. 8 – “A mother is not a person to lean on, but a person to make leaning unnecessary” – Dorothy Canfield Fisher

Mother’s day quote No. 7 - “God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers” - Jewish Proverb

Mother’s day quote No. 6 – “A man loves his sweetheart the most, his wife the best, but his mother the longest” – Irish Proverb

Mother’s day quote no. 5 – “The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother” - Author Unknown

Mother’s day quote no. 4 – “Mothers hold their children’s hands for a short while, but their hearts forever. ” - Author Unknown

Mother’s day quote no. 3 - “Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible” ~Marion C. Garretty, quoted in A Little Spoonful of Chicken Soup for the Mother’s Soul

Mother’s day quote no. 2 and one of my personal favorites– “Only Spartan Women are the only ones who give birth to real men” – Queen Gorgo, Wife of legendary King Leonidas I of Sparta.

(Note It is said that Queen Gorgo said that when she was asked by a woman from Attica, ‘Why are you Spartan women the only ones who can rule men?’, she said: ‘Because we are also the only ones who give birth to real men.’” Another version has this as, “…some foreign lady, as it would seem, told her that the women of Lacedaemon were the only women in the world who could rule men; ‘With good reason,’ she said, ‘for we are the only women who bring forth men.’”

Mother’s day quote no. 1 and my number 1 personal favorite – “THE HANDS THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE, RULES THE WORLD” - William Ross Wallace.

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY TO ALL!!! Don’t forget to bring your fat burners when celebrating mother’s day as you might be tempted to eat a lot !

The crucifixion of Christ has become such a familiar subject to all of us that even if we “remind” ourselves about it every year by remembering the last seven words of Jesus, we sometimes fail to really grasp the pain and the agony that Jesus went through in the cross at Calvary. I really wish that I could be transported back in time to witness the crucifixion and hear the last seven words of Jesus. However even if we did not actually witness the actual crucifixion, the Bible gives us a really graphic depiction of the events in Calvary and this is more than enough for me. Every time I meditate and reflect on the crucifixion, I feel humbled thinking that the Son of God has given his life for me.

Fortunately for us in the 20^th century we are given the privilege of being able to re-enact the crucifixion and see it on film. The film the passion of the Christ somehow gives as a glimpse of the sufferings of Jesus. Below are three youtube videos that I believe are a great way to help us reflect on the crucifixion. The first video is the events leading to the crucifixion. The second video re-enacts Jesus on the cross saying the last seven words. The last video is my one of my favorite song on the crucifixion “What held you on the cross” by Michael O’Brien.

If you are already a genuine Christian, It is my prayer that through this little post you might be able to reflect on the sufferings of Christ by remembering the last seven words of Jesus and His crucifixion. If you are not yet a Christian, my prayer for you is that you will become one by accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. With that I leave you with this verse “For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have everlasting life” – John 3:16. Honestly speaking this is the best  life insurance quote you could ever read in any fine print !

The Lent Season starts with Holy Thursday which is known to be the day that commemorates the last Supper of Jesus Christ with the apostles. Good Friday is traditionally acknowledged by most as the day that Jesus Christ was crucified. Black Saturday is when Jesus was still in the tomb. Lent ends with Easter or Resurrection Sunday, which is the day in which Jesus rose again from the grave.

For some people Lent means having a long vacation. This is not only a religious holiday, but a non-working holiday in most predominantly “Christian” nations. For us in the Philippines we have non-working days from Thursday to Saturday, well traditionally Sunday is also a non-working day for most business establishments. Because of the long holidays, people go on vacation, family outings, beach outings. For some it is a time to relax, meet with family and friends to catch up.

For some business establishments, it’s time to do maintenance work as this is one of the times of the year where you have long period wherein you don’t have to do regular business operations.

For some people Lent means a time of reflection, a time of contemplating, and thinking about one’s life. Often people who think like this goes to retreats or find solace in nature. Others spend time praying in solitude. For the religious people they engage in church activities, go to the Stations of the Cross or abstain from eating meat (Which is better than taking  secratatropin)or engaging in worldly pleasures to somehow “partake” in the sufferings of Christ. Churches have special services. Radio networks and T.V stations often suspend or limit programming to a minimum airing programs that have “spiritual” values. Other extremist go to the extent of beating themselves up or having themselves nailed to the cross.

There is somewhat a spirit of solitude and silence that encompasses Lent. When you go to the city, business establishments are closed, most neighborhoods seems so quite. People are either just in their houses or somewhere else taking a vacation. It is even said that prostitution houses, girlie bars and other establishments that cater to man’s carnality, suspend their operations during Lent season.

For most, Lent season is a time of the year where you switch to a “spiritual” mode. This may sound fine but actually it is not. Most people have no real understanding of the true and real meaning of the Lenten Season.

Switching to “spiritual mode,” thinking about God, and partaking of the sufferings of Christ shouldn’t happen only several days a year. A real Christian partakes of the sufferings of Christ everyday and every moment of his life.

Jesus Christ himself said “…If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.” – Luke 9:23 (NASB) In this verse Jesus is saying that if you want to become his disciple or his follower you have take up your cross daily. In other words you must be willing always to partake of his sufferings, willing to be sensitive to spiritual things, denying oneself and willingly following Christ in whatever you do every single day of your life just like the Apostle Paul when he writes that he “dies daily” (1 Cor. 15:31)

To understand the true and real meaning of Lent is to know that Lent does not and should not only happen once a year. Real Christians celebrate Lent everyday and every moment of their lives. The Apostle Paul writes in Galatians 2:20 “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (NLT)

Do you understand the true and real meaning of the Lenten Season? Are you willing to deny yourself, take up your cross daily and follow Christ? A Christian is a “follower of Christ.” If you understand the true and real meaning of Lent, you now understand what it really means to be a genuine Christian.

Growing up as an Independent Fundamental Baptist we never observed ash Wednesday. Fundamental Baptist as much as possible stay away from observing traditions made by the Roman Catholics in order to make a distinction. I have no problem with this considering that the Philippines labels itself as a “Christian” nation. More than 90 % of this country claims to be Christians. But the sad truth remains that there are only a few real Christians. So in order to distinguish themselves from “Roman Catholic Christianity,” Fundamental Baptist rarely observes the traditions followed by the Roman Catholic church. One can really see the need to make a distinction.

I have no problem if people observed ash Wednesday or not. Some evangelical denominations like the United Methodists church, Reformed churches, Church of the Nazarene, Anglican/Episcopal churches, Lutheran churches and even some Baptist denomination in the U.S.A and other parts of the world celebrate Ash Wednesday.

The true meaning of Ash Wednesday is that it means nothing if the heart of the person has not truly genuinely repented. You can cloth yourself in sackcloth and put ashes in your head as what is done in Biblical times or you can bathe yourself in ashes. You can abstain from meat or even go on fasting for several days. (No more need for diet pills if you do this every day!) You can even rid yourself of all things “worldly.” But the truth of the matter is if deep in your heart you have not truly repented it means nothing. Observing the outside rituals are all useless. What is important is what is inside your heart.

The Hebrew word for repentance is two beautiful words. It is the words “shuv” which means “to return” and “nicahm” which means to feel sorry. The Koine Greek word is even more beautiful. It is the word “Metanoia” which is a combination of the preposition ‘meta’ which means “after” and the verb “noeo” which means the result of perceiving. Combining the preposition and the verb we come up with the meaning of “Metanoia” which is “To think differently after.” To be truly in repentance or to be truly in Metanoia is to think differently after perceiving your condition. It is a change of mind which is accompanied by regret and change of conduct. An example of true “Metanoia” is found in the story of the prodigal son as written in Luke Chapter 15.

Repentance is a necessary component of Salvation. Without real and genuine repentance there can be no real Salvation. (Acts 20: 21, Romans 10:9 and 10) Real and genuine repentance is God-given, Spirit-led change of heart and mind.

Most people who profess to be Christians who observed Ash Wednesday think that they have already “repented.” For them it is enough that they go to church have ashes written in their foreheads, abstain from “worldly” pleasures for one day and then that’s it. The next day, weeks or months they go back to their old ways sinning like they used to do as before, until the next ash Wednesday or Lent season comes next year. These people have failed to grasp the true meaning of Ash Wednesday. Sadly, they have not truly repented. They have failed to grasp the true meaning of repentance.

What about you? Have you truly repented? Do you understand what it means to truly repent of your sins? Are you saved? Are you sure that you will go to heaven when you die? Are you freed from the burden of sins? Are you sick and tired of your life? Do you want real change? Perhaps you would like to understand what true repentance really is. Click here to view this presentation entitled “Another interview with God.” You might also want to view the Gospel tract “Who do you think I am”

I just can’t believe the devastation caused by Typhoon Ondoy last week in Metro Manila. I had been monitoring the news constantly, surfing websites and blogs related to the storm, watching youtube videos on the fury of Ondoy and dropping by the PAGASA website from time to time to monitor incoming storms.

I just can’t believe what happened in Metro Manila. Floods went above the garage flooring and reached as high as two storrey houses and even higher in some areas ! An urban planner who got his degree from Harvard said in an Inquirer interview that it’s not an act of God but sin that caused the floods. The sin he was referring to was the sin of omission particularly the sin of not respecting the environment and the sin of the government in not placing the necessary infrastructure to prevent floods from happening as outlined in the recommendations of a world bank report entitled “Metro Manila Transport, Land Use and Development Planning Project,” which was published in 1977. Well I’ve always lamented the fact that in this country, we have very poor urban planning compared to other highly industrialized nations. I do not even know if we have a University that offers a course on urban planning.

Well whether it was “sin” or both sin and an “act of God”, it does not matter. The loss of lives, people loosing their homes and possessions that they have worked hard for several years, gone in just a few hours is so heart breaking. I just can’t believe what happened.

It is as if it isn’t enough, now here is disaster after disaster, there’s another storm coming this time it’s a super Typhoon Pepeng. Barely 1 week has passed since Ondoy has unleashed its fury in Luzon. The entire Luzon area is now once again under threat.

The Philippines is not the only one that has experienced disaster after disaster from the wrath of nature. Last Tuesday a 7.9 magnitude earthquake in Tonga caused Tsunami in the area which killed more than a hundred people and wiped out villages in Tonga, Samoa and Fiji. On Thursday, another 5.5-magnitude earthquake hit Samoa.

On Wednesaday, Indonesia got hit by 7.6 Magnitude earthquake leaving more than a thousand dead and a thousand more probably homeless.

Aside from that there’s another super typhoon hovering over the Pacific, code named “Melor” which is expected to hit Guam and will be heading to Japan by next week. It was a relief to hear that according to weather forecasters, Melor will not hit the already battered Philippine Islands.

Last Thursday, a fire hit Archbishop Reyes Ave. in Barangay Luz here in Cebu City. Although there were several persons injured and there were properties that were destroyed, it was a relief to hear that nobody got killed.

SO WHAT ON EARTH IS NEXT ? THIS IS JUST TOO MUCH ! A WEEK OF DISASTER AFTER DISASTER !

Personally, I am thankful to God that no disaster happened to me personally. (The only disaster that happened to me would probably be my hair LOL) Just kidding.

Well these strange events of disaster after disaster happening is not an accident. Jesus said in Mathew 24:6-8 that some of the signs of his coming are that “ . . . Ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. . . “

A week of disaster after disaster may be bad news for everyone, but there is one good news I can think about, JESUS IS COMING SOON ! Are you ready ?

The Pantene commercial became an instant hit because it was inspiring and creatively conveys a story. Critics have been quick to judge that they can’t see the connection between the shampoo and a deaf girl playing a violin. A comment in youtube goes like this “Nice commercial and storyline but i just cant relate Pantene with the girl. IN CONCLUSION: Pantene makes the girl goes deaf and mute. The only thing I can relate them both. LOL”

Well, I think they nailed the message. Just as people were hooked about the Promil commercial (People brought Promil milk for their kids hoping they will become gifted too) I think the Pantene commercial drove the message home. If you want to shine and stand out from the crowd, use Pantene hehehehe. (Of course keep on practicing the violin too, or whatever you are planning to shine on)

Anyway, enough of the Pantene commercial. Being a street violinist myself, I was quite interested in the commercial. I had played and had been exposed to music all my life. Although I am quite rusty now, but I have sort of passed my violin playing to my son, and he just had his first violin concert. (Not really it was just a recital hehehehe):-)

Going back to the girl in the Pantene commercial, people might ask, can a deaf person really be good at playing a musical instrument. Of course they can! Some of the world’s greatest musicians are deaf. The great Ludwig van Beethoven produced some of his greatest work after he loose his hearing.

Anyway aside from encouraging people to use Pantene, the commercial also drove home a very important point. Having difficulties or problems in life such as having a physical handicap is not a hindrance for somebody to be the best that they can be in life.

Kinds of remind me of the movie entitled “The Soloist” which I saw recently. The movie is based on the life of Nathaniel Ayers, a musician with paranoid schizophrenia. Unlike the fictional Pantene commercial, this one’s based on a true story. I’ll talk about this in another post. In the meantime, enjoy the pantene commercia and be inspired. Remember, keep on using Pantene to shine LOL . . . This is not a paid post, but to show appreciation to the company who made the comercial, if you have girl friend, one of your gifts for her this Christmas should be a bunch of Pantene shampoo. 

Anyway before I start bashing some doctrinal errors that Baptist churches lovingly hold allow me to explain why I am doing, what will be doing.

First of all, I am a Baptist. I still am, despite the fact that I have already been regularly attending a “non-denominational” church. I have not renounced my membership nor have I transferred membership. Not yet. Secondly, I believe that the Baptist church has been used by God mightily throughout the centuries in winning people to Christ, evangelizing the world and doing a lot of mighty and wonderful things in the name of God. Thirdly, although some may disagree with me, the Baptist has the most unique church history among all denominations. However this is just my own opinion. Fourthly, among the denominations, I find the Baptist as the most conservative, most adamant about clinging to the “right” doctrine and the boldest Christians who stand up for what they believe is true. Again this is just my own opinion. Fifth and last in my own personal life God has used the Baptist church as an instrument in order that I might hear the Gospel, get saved and grow spiritually.

Well those are some good things that I have to say about the Baptist church. However despite that, the Baptist as a denomination is not perfect. No individual denomination is perfect at all. Each denomination has its own short coming. It is because denominations are filled with saved but imperfect people who commit honest mistakes.

Sadly sometimes the mistakes most Baptist make are not honest mistakes but stubborn mistakes. Despite the fact of Biblical and logical evidence to the contrary some Baptist still clings to doctrines that are not very Biblical at all.

The doctrine I am referring to first is the doctrine that “Jesus Christ is a Baptist” and the “Baptist Brider” doctrine. Not all Baptist Churches believe in this doctrine but there are many who do, especially from the Independent Baptist and Bible Baptist factions. This doctrine is very popular among the Bible Baptist churches here in my home town in Cebu Philippines and in the Visayas and Mindanao areas. It has also quite a number of following in Luzon and in Metro Manila.

I am really amused with the “Jesus Christ is a Baptist” doctrine. The person advocating this will usually go through this line of thinking. “If you are baptized by the Catholic church then you are a Catholic, if you are Baptized by the Mormons then you are a mormon, but if you are Baptized by a Baptist then you are a Baptist.” The argument seems very logically sound.

However what amuses me is the fact that advocates of this doctrine stretches this logic further and states that “Since Christ was baptized by John the Baptist, hence Christ is a Baptist.” I was in high school when I first heard this, and I never believed it the first time I heard it. I told myself, no person who is in his right mind could believe this heresy. Unfortunately I was wrong. A lot of Baptist believes it and I am really quite amused and somewhat surprised that a lot of good and well intentioned pastors believe this. On the other hand I am not surprised at all. Some Baptist stubbornly believes anything their pastors tell them because they do not study their Bibles seriously at all.

Anyway, let’s get to the heart of the matter and let me answer the question as to why the doctrine is very wrong.

1.) The Bible never says anything about Jesus Christ belonging to any denomination.

You can never find that the Bible says that Jesus Christ is a Baptist. This goes for other denominations as well. Jesus Christ was neither a Baptist, Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Methodists or of whatsoever Christian denomination.

2.) The doctrine is based on a logical fallacy

The “logic used” to support the doctrine, is devoid of reason. In logic we call this as a “deductive fallacy.”

A deductive fallacy is simply a deductive argument that is invalid. The arguments in a deductive fallacy might be true, but the conclusion derived from the arguments is false. The doctrine in its syllogistic format is presented as follows:

1st premise -  All people baptized by the Baptist Church are Baptist
2nd premise -  Jesus was Baptized by John the Baptist
Conclusion -  Therefore Jesus is a Baptist.

Both the 1st and 2nd premises may are true, but the conclusion obtained from the argument is false. The conclusion does not follow the premise because of the following reasons:

1.) John was called “The Baptist” not because he belonged to the Baptist denomination but because he “baptized” people. Water baptism was symbolical of a person’s genuine repentance and the washing away of his sins.

2.) The earliest known Baptist denomination is known to be the Anabaptist group, which can trace its roots back to the New Testament church which was the church founded by Jesus Christ himself. The group did not exist as such until after the era of the New Testament church which was several decades after John the Baptist died.

3.) While it is true that the Baptist as a denomination can trace their roots back to the New Testament Church, the Baptist cannot claim exclusivity to this matter. Even proponents of “Baptist Perpetuity” recognized that other groups like the Montanists, Novatianists, Donatists, Paulicians, Albigensians, Catharists and the Waldenses can also trace their origins back to the church that Jesus built.

The “Jesus Christ is a Baptist” doctrine is the doctrine behind the “Baptist brider.” Said doctrine simply states that “The Baptist Church” is the Bride of Christ. It is because of this doctrine that Baptist briders refuse to acknowledge the baptism of other denominations. Most Baptist Briders believe that in order to be part of the bride of Christ, you must be given a “Baptist baptism invitations.”

Again I would like to point out that the “Baptist brider” doctrine is wrong for the following reasons:

1.) Nowhere in the Bible does it specifically state that the Baptist Church is the bride of Christ. No pastor or Bible scholar who will apply proper hermeneutics can come to this conclusion.

2.) Instead of finding support in Scripture for this doctrine, you can even find support in Scripture AGAINST this doctrine ! It is not water baptism that joins us to the body of Christ, making us, the church the bride of Christ. 1 Cor. 12: 13 clearly states that the baptism of Christ with the Spirit is what gives us new life and places us into the body of Christ. It is very clear that this verse is not talking about water baptism. Water baptism just as in the time of John the Baptist is just to testify to the whole world that repentance of sin and conversion has already taken place inwardly.

3.) Whenever the Bible refers to the “bride of Christ,” nothing specific is made as to who is the bride of Christ, much more which church denomination is the bride of Christ! However the church fathers, Bible scholars, and commentators point out that several verses in the Bible indicate that the church is the bride of Christ. The church they are referring to does not refer to a single denomination but rather to the universal church, that body of true believers who were baptized spiritually into the body Christ irrespective of denomination. Now, some local church proponents may argue that the Bible is referring to the local church, but again this is a misinterpretation of Scripture. Most of the time, when the Bible refers to the word “church” or “ekklesia” it refers to a local church. (1 Corinthians 14:23, 16:19, 2 Corinthians 1:1, Colossians 4:15 etc.) However there are times when it is so obvious that Scriptures is referring to the universal church. (1 Corinthians 12:28; 15:9; Matthew 16:18; Ephesians 1:22-23; Colossians 1:18) In the case of the “bride of Christ” it obviously refers to the universal church, the entire body of true believers and not just a local church much more a particular denomination!

As a result Baptist churches who believe in the “Jesus Christ is a Baptist” and the “Baptist brider” doctrine become more isolated from believers of other denominations. They become “separatist” without any Biblical basis at all. For example the Bible Baptist churches in our place even don’t fellowship with other evangelical denominations. They don’t even fellowship with other Baptist churches. If the church does not have the word “Bible Baptist” or “Independent” as their name, they do not want to have any dealings with that church. They even refuse to fellowship with the Southern Baptist churches that they deemed as “too liberal.” They condemn Baptist who fellowship with non-denominational churches. (just like me):-)

What’s funny about this is that in spite of their “separatist” stand, pastors from these churches continue to use materials, books and listen to good preaching from “non-Baptist” denominations. When they visit other countries such as the United States they even receive aid or support from Southern Baptist churches and even non-denominational churches or churches that don’t carry the “Baptist” name. They justify that this by simply saying that their doctrine is “Baptist.” This is a lame excuse. I find this very hypocritical.

More funny is the fact is that the independent Baptist churches seem not to get along with each other, some faction do not even fellowship with other factions because they think that other factions are “too worldly” or “too liberal.” They keep on quarrelling on small and petty issues, majoring on the minors. Perhaps they have forgotten what Jesus said in John 13:35 “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”

Now don’t get me wrong. I am in no way advocating a liberal, ecumenical, tolerant stand on issues. I believe we should draw the line whenever the Bible clearly draws the line just like what Jesus and the apostles did when they rebuked other religious groups for their erroneous doctrines. I believe we should not fellowship with denominations no matter what they call themselves if the major doctrines they support are contrary to what the Bible really teaches. Where the Bible unequivocally and clearly draws the line, we should draw the line. We should not compromise issues that are black or white. However we should not be dogmatic on issues wherein the Bible does not clearly draw the line, or issues that are considered “gray” areas. Each denomination has their own beliefs and practices with regards to these areas. We should not extend said line with our own man made doctrines.

I am exposing this false doctrine out of love for my fellow believers in the Baptist denomination. I hope and pray that my brothers and sisters in the Baptist denomination will be enlightened concerning this matter and I sure wish that they would stop teaching The “Jesus Christ is a Baptist” and the “Baptist brider” heresy. Said doctrines are just man made doctrines and can never find support in Scriptures.

Michael Jackson is known for his famous moon walk, a dance step that he popularized and is defined by Wikipedia as “a dance technique that presents the illusion of the dancer being pulled backwards while attempting to walk forward.”

I pondered upon this definition and realized that the death of Michael Jackson and his famous moon walk could teach us lessons in life. This post is not intended as a put down of the King of pop, rather this post focuses on the lessons that we can learn from Michael Jackson and his last moon walk.

Michael Jackson is considered as the most successful entertainer of all times. Having sold over 750 million records and winning several awards including 13 Grammies and 13 number one singles. His total lifetime earnings are estimated to be $500 million with some people saying that his music catalog holdings are worth more than a billion dollars.

Yet despite the fame and fortune, at the latter part of his life, he struggled with debt and depression. Some people would even go to the extent of saying that what complicated his health issues was his reported two year isolation from family and friends and his financial struggles. Despite being loved by millions all over the world, he died a broken hearted, depressed and lonely man.

I call Michael Jackson’s last years on earth as his last moon walk and just like the moon walk, instead of going forward in life; he is being pulled backward instead. Sadly unlike the moon walk, what happened to him during his last years on earth was not an illusion. Here three things that I think we can learn from Michael Jackson’s last moon walk.

1.) Always live within your means – Despite earning millions of dollars every year, during the last years of his life it is said that Michael Jackson spends $ 20 to 30 million more than what he earns with his lavish lifestyle. As a result he was deeply in debt. Various people including a Bahraini sheik accused him of not paying what he owed them. He lost his well beloved Neverland Ranch. Although his assets outweigh his debt by an estimated $200 million U.S dollars, Michael Jackson died owing more than $ 400 million.

While it is true that as a “star” he earned the right to live a lavish lifestyle because he deserved it, he should have lived well within his means and should have properly taken care of his finances. Because of his failure to do such, it further contributed to his depression.

I’m so glad I learned the lesson about finances at a very young age. You can read more about my experiences in the following  post “The financial script of life“, “6 Steps to Financial Freedom” and “Are you on your way to financial freedom ?”

2.) Life may be tough, but you’ve got to learn to face your problems – Michael Jackson may have achieved a certain amount of success in his life, but he never learned to face his problems. When he became depressed he turned to anything from plastic surgery, acne treatment, isolation and drug abuse. After he was accused of child molestation, he was so depressed that he was never the same again. J Randy Taraborrelli described how he escaped from his problem in an article for the daily mail, “He surrounded himself with children, animals and a false reality – so much so that he never learned how to cope in the real world. He never wanted to grow up, and his managers encouraged these eccentricities when they should have encouraged therapy.”

Whenever I feel depressed I always get inspired to learn to face life’s challenges by being reminded that I am so “Blessed in ways I may never know” I also draw inspiration from a guy named Nick Vujicic. To read more about him, click on the link.

3.) Happiness and joy in life is not all about fame and fortune – Nobody can dispute the fact that Michael Jackson achieved so much in his lifetime. He broke records, racial barriers and transformed the world of music. Yet despite his successes and despite his being loved by millions of fans all over the world, he died unhappy, sad, depressed, and feeling unloved. He isolated himself from friends and family.

If there was anybody that could relate to him it is King Solomon. The book of Ecclesiastes, written by King Solomon best describes what Michael Jackson went through. Just like Michael Jackson, King Solomon tried everything else in life in order to find meaning and happiness. He had wealth and fame. He built buildings, palaces, resorted to pleasure and entertainment, tried knowledge and philosophy yet despite all of that, he describes everything that he experienced as vanity, meaningless, futile, useless, a chasing after the wind and more aptly a “vexation of the spirit”

However unlike the king of pop, the wisest king, correctly concluded in the last part of Ecclesiastes that the purpose of man’s life is to “Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.” (Ecclesiastes12:13 & 14)

Happiness and joy is not all about fame and fortune. It’s about finding meaning in life and you can’t find meaning apart from God.

When I was a kid, they said the formula for JOY is very simple; it’s placing Jesus first in your life, Others second and You last. The formula may sound simplistic but I believe it is the best formula for having happiness and joy in life.

I could say more and there are lots of other things that can be learned from Michael Jackson’s last moon walk. However I’ll stop here and let you do your own evaluation of Michael Jackson’s last moon walk. It is my hope and prayer that you will also learn something and hoping that our last moon walk on this planet may be better than what Michael Jackson had to go through.

“Sa Bawat Wika” is a Filipino phrase which means “In Every Language.” The movement is under the umbrella of the Wycliffe Bible Translators. A search in wikipedia reveals that the group was founded in 1942 by William Cameron Townsend. The ministry is named after the “Morning Star of the reformation,” John Wycliffe, who was the first person to translate the whole Bible into middle English. As of today, Wycliffe Bible Translators works in over 50 countries.

The “Sa Bawat Wika” project aims to put a Bible translation in every language without a Bible translation by the year 2025.

According Wycliffe Bible Translators there are 6,909 languages spoken in the world. According to Pastor Lloyd, translation cost is estimated at more than 1,200 per verse on the average. I checked out the internet on how many verses are there in the Bible and there is an estimated 31,103 verses. Multiply that by the cost of translation that is P 1,200 per verse that is an estimated P 37 Million per translation! Multiply that by the number of languages with probable need of Bible translation which is 2,393 and the entire project would need an estimated P 89 Billion Philippine pesos! (Convert it to 47 pesos to a dollar that is about $1.9 Billion U.S dollars) Now I don’t know if my estimates are correct as I am only the one doing the computations, but it sure will take a lot of information drive to raise that kind of money.

However if you think about it, if only every evangelical Christian will participate in this effort the task would not seem so gigantic. The World Evangelical Alliance which is the largest evangelical Christian group boasts of about 420 million members. Let us just say that this is the number of evangelical Christians, if you divide 1.9 Billion by 420 million that would only be $ 5.00 U.S dollar per person ! Gee this is certainly cheaper than low cost life insurance. The problem with this is that most of evangelical Christians have not been made aware of this drive or if they do, they simply don’t care to give.

Aside from the daunting task of raising such huge amount, each translation takes work takes time to complete. A research in Wikipedia reveals that each translation work depends on the portion of the Bible being translated and that on the average, translation work done by the Wycliffe Bible Translators could take as long as 20+ years.

Pastor Lloyd Estrada preached from the book of Revalations 7:9 wherein the Apostle John writes “After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.” (NIV) He draws encouragement from the prophecy of this verse that there will be believers from every nation, tribe, people and language.

Further, Pastor Lloyd explained how important Bible translation is and how it has laid the ground work for mission work to flourish. He showed data that in certain tribes in the Philippines, before portions of Scriptures were available to the tribal people there were only a handful or even no churches at all in such and such a tribe. Now that the Bible or certain portion of Scriptures were available in their local language a lot of churches has sprang up among them.

So how can you help in the “Sa Bawat Wika” project ? Their website outlines three things that each evangelical Christian can do to help. You can either Pray, Give or Go or do all three. I would like to add another one and that “Blog” or help spread the word. You can help promote the project by telling other believers about it. For more information on the Sa Bawat Wika project visit their website at www.sbw2025.org.

As of now, you can’t see much in the Sa Bawat Wika website. I strongly suggest that the website administrators of Sa Bawat Wika, improve their website by making it more interactive and informative. Useful statistics such as featuring a language group and the progress of Bible translation within the group would be helpful. Other helpful information I suggest would be the project’s target financial goal and the status of the fund raising project. A graph on such would be very informative and helpful. A link to paypal or donation via credit card facility would also be able to help. It would also be helpful that the project become a member of the ECFA (Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability) to ensure transparency and promote accountability. These are just my two cents to make that I would like to suggest to the project director in order that the objectives of this project might be attained.

Well, the task might look gigantic, arduous and very daunting indeed. It certainly is a challenge. But I am certain that the Wycliffe Bible Translators are drawing inspiration from the statement of the father of modern missionary work, William Carey when he said “Attempt great things from God, expect great things from God.” I also want to leave you with this encouraging verse “For with God, nothing shall be impossible” (Luke 1:37)