Before the beginning of time, as we (humans) know it, there was a conflict in heaven. That conflict was not exactly an issue of good versus evil as many present it to be. Today, we see that constant tug of war between good and evil. Genocide, famine, greed, and sickness are seemingly counteracted by the goodness of missionaries, churches, humanitarian projects, and doctors without borders. But, is that all there is - the human race choosing between doing good or evil acts?

 

There is the Gospel of restoration which gives us a mission to restore and mend what is broken, but that isn’t the conflict that we live in; restoration is just the temporary remedy within God’s plan of the soon to come total restoration. If we examine Chirst’s brief life on Earth, we may see a different story than just the over used Christmas and Easter stories. Within the context of love, we see a battle of WORSHIP. 

 

This is our modern interpretation of good and evil - two almost equal powers battling to prove who is ultimately stronger. In the end, good always prevails. We see this in today’s best story-tellers: Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Batman, Superman, Avengers, and the list goes on. That is not the good and evil that the book of Revelation paints! Lucifer being a creation of God can never be greater than his Maker. God being omnipotent (Revelation 19:6) has no equal, biblically, there is no other who could, can, or ever will be like God. The war is not about good versus evil, but about keeping you alive (John 3:16)!

 

From Genesis 1 to Revelation 22, you can find Worship woven within the fabric of every story and page, a snap shot of the greats - Enoch, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Daniel, David, and Paul - who lived their lives by whom they worshipped, and not by an intuition of who had the bigger stick. 

 

The Wise Men came to worship the baby Jesus (Matt 2). The demons knew who ought to be worshipped (Mark 5). The woman at the well learned that worship wasn’t a place or style (John 4). And Mary gave the best known example of worship (John 12).

 

Jesus Christ being the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb. 13:8) deserved worship before, deserves worship today, and is deserving worship forever! That can raise many questions, but to keep on topic, traditionally, Christians define Worship to God as a relationship, giving honor and praise, and it being a lifestyle. But those definitions can end up as a cliche, “we were made for worship” and even sing “…I’m coming back to the heart of worship.” In many cases, worship has become a war zone of How-To’s instead of Whom-To. Hence the unending debates on worship which I believe is the bate to grab our attention from Whom we need to spend more time with. A very smart man once said, “There is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecc. 1:9) 

 

We worship God not because he demands it; that would be quite the opposite of a loving God to demand worship. But, we worship because of the acknowledgment of what Jesus Christ has done for us, is doing for us, and will do for us. We often do take all of God’s doing for granted. A reality check on one’s worship can be personally measured by the advice Jesus said, “out of the abundance ofthe heart his mouth speak” (Luke 6:45), or “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Luke 12:34) and so what does your heart of worship say?

 

Take a look at our lifestyle, where does the majority of our paycheck go to? Besides your weekly church rituals and last-minute daily devotionals, do we actually devote time to share our worship with others? Is most of your energy going towards accomplishing the How-To’s or in executing the Whom-To missions?

 

So, who do you worship?

 

- Tony Stanyer

Dale Carnegie in his book "How to Win Friends and Influence Other" said "If you want to gather honey, don't kick over the beehive."

 

When we try to criticize publicly and expose leaders of the church or it's institutions from the anomalies that we believe they have done, we do not only try to destroy them but the church as well or it's institutions which still affects the church. We may always be right with our point or points but since they represent the organization, they carry with them the name of the organization. In that, when they are shamefully exposed the organization is shamefully exposed too and it hurts the church as well. If members of the church do this to their leaders then they also in some way hurt themselves since we're all part of one body which is the body of Christ. 

 

In the bible Satan is called the "accuser of our brethren" (Rev. 12:10). Would we want to follow his footsteps by being an accuser as well? But this does not mean that we'll just keep a blind eye, cover our ears and ignore the issues. Should we just let these anomalies remain unchecked. I may not be able to answer that but this I do know, God is not blind and He sees everything even the things done in secret. He will surely punish those who have done evil or something bad in his own time. We just need to trust Him t hat he is still in control. Punishment is also heavier on those who should know better or those in higher leadership positions. The higher you get the more accountable you are to God. 

 

Sometimes, we get frustrated when what we want doesn’t happen regarding the person, no matter how much we try to pin him against the wall through our daggerlike words that we're throwing against him. So we grind our teeth in anger because the person seem to be unaffected. This I also know, prayer still works. But I hope that we won't pray that lightning strikes a person. But let us pray that God will continue to lead his church (and it's institutions) just like he did in the past and may He continue to guide our leaders into fulfilling their duties for His glory. He is the one who placed them in those positions just as he had placed David who had Uriah killed or Solomon who first brought Israel into idolatry. I believe that those two kings were very grateful that God gave them so many 2nd chances.

 

So, how would we want to gather honey? Is kicking over the beehive the answer?

 

Think about it.

 

Rex Mangiliman

Youth Pastor, Philippine International Church - AUP

www.facebook.com/rexus.ph

Lately I have been hearing and even been part of some groups who are planning on urban ministry. What do we really mean when we say “urban” ministry?

 

In our religious ministry culture, “Urban” has become a code word for ministry to people who elite, or people impacted by poverty, or hip hop culture, or resource-deprived inner city neighborhoods, or all of the above. These distinctives aren’t necessarily bad, but they are very different, and none of them are tied by definition to the adjective “urban”.

 

As a personal opinion I think many pastors, ministries, and wanna-be-next-big-thing can take some advice from Mr. Jeremiah who said “Seek the welfare of the city…in its welfare you will find your welfare (Jeremiah 29:7). ” This is a word spoken by the prophet to a people in exile, a people who find themselves in a place they don’t want to be, among a people they must serve as captives. Urban youth ministry is often like this, marked by serving in a context of exile. At a time when people are looking elsewhere for money, the better life, and greater happiness— people don’t want to be here (Philippines)! Choosing to serve with a posture of longevity and seeking the shalom of the city can make all the difference.

 

How do you define urban ministry, and how does it shape what you do?

 

Lisa Clark Diller introduces on conversation on Jesus Christ in the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1844.

At the center of one of the largest known commercial complexes in Makati there will be a little candle lit.

 

This April 1-8, in light of the Holy Week, an activity will be placed in the garden, in front of Glorietta 3. Set your calendars, inform your friends, that there is something to experience in Ayala; to meet the life changer--Jesus Christ!

 

The Journey to the Cross version of DREAM International Creative Ministries, envisions to plant a seed this Holy week in one of the busiest places in the Philippines. A seed that will make the participants desire to make Jesus their Savior, their everything, their all.

 

A big thanks to Life Church Makati for adding us to their world and partnering with us to bring the center piece of gospel to life!

 

Come be blessed and experience the story of Jesus Christ first hand!

Many of us have heard over and over again from our nagging parents to eat our vegetables. This common and frequently annoying session hardly goes by each meal time. Most of you could even relate and have managed to devise ways on how to avoid it. Now, I hope that that complicated word written as the title above would be enough for you to eat your veggies every meal or whenever possible.