Humility and Faith

The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. Matthew 8:8-10

The first person commended for faith by Jesus (there were only two people Jesus commended as having great faith in Scripture) was a Roman centurion who asked Jesus to heal his servant. The centurion's humility and faith were drawn from his understanding of authority.

There is no question that this centurion was a humble man. His attitude toward Jesus was that he, a Gentile, was not fit to have Jesus in his home. He was not demeaning himself; he was honoring Jesus. He also cared enough about his servant, a person far below himself in rank, to ask for the servant's healing. He saw a situation beyond his authority-- the sickness of his servant -- and knew he needed help.

This centurion was the commander of a hundred men in a great army. His authority was backed by an empire. He was far from powerless; the finest doctors in the land would been available to him. When he gave an order, people moved quickly to obey. Why would such a man come to Jesus with respect and deference? Why didn't he just ORDER Jesus to heal his servant?

The centurion did indeed have great authority, but he knew his authority came from Caesar and Jesus' authority came from heaven. In comparison, Caesar's power was insignificant. So it was that this officer came humbly before Jesus --helmet in hand, if you will -- and made his request in absolute faith that simply by Jesus' word his servant would be healed. Humbly he came; humbly he received.

The centurion's humility did not come from thinking he was nothing but from knowing just where he fit in the chain of authority in the universe. He did not think higher of himself than he ought, but neither did he thing less of himself than was necessary. His authority let him know that he had an obligation of respect for and submission to those above him and responsibility for those under his command. True humility expresses itself by taking compassionate responsibility for those below you in God's chain of command and being joyfully obedient to those who have authority over you.

This is why meekness -- which is akin to humility -- is included as a fruit of the Spirit in the list in Galatians 5:22-23. Meekness is the refusal to exalt oneself over another. We can be meek only when we have absolute confidence that God is our defender. Meekness requires complete trust that God sees us and rewards us according to His Word. When we are meek, we can leave promotion and success in God's hands and not strive to manipulate situations for our own benefit. This is often a longer road than self-promotion, but in the end far more rewarding.

Excerpts from: The Prayer of Solomon/Enduring Wisdom from the World's Wisest Man

How has God's Word been Preserved for Thousands of Years?

Through Moses the Israelites received revelation directly from God, including the Ten Commandments "inscribed by the finger of God" (Exodus 31:18). These two engraved stone tablets were known as the "tablets of the Testimony" (Exodus 31:18) or simply, as in this passage, "the Testimony" (Exodus 25:16, 21). The Lord directed Moses to place the tablets insde the "ark of the Testimony" (Exodus 25:22), more commonly known as the "ark of the covenant" (Numbers 10:33). The ark, whose specific dimensions and design were given to Moses (see Exodus 25:10-14), was the visible sign of God's presence and protection. The placement of the Ten Commandments inside the ark symbolized the honor that the Israelites held for God's Word.

This honor for God's sacred Word was also reflected in the strict way in which the Bible was passed down. Because no printing presses existed in antiquity, each manuscript had to be handwritten and copied with precision from an existing manuscript. This process was undertaken by scribes who were tediously careful to copy the words of God exactly. Later in history, between the sixth and tenth centuries A.D., a group of Jewish scholars, the Masoretes, became even more meticulous in their quality control. To make sure their new copies were error free, they would count the words on a page of the original document and compare it to the words on the newly created page. If the numbers did not match, they would destroy the new page and write it again.

These examples highlight the careful tradition in which the Sciptures have been handed down for thousands of years. Knowing how seriously the transmitters of the text took their job, we can be sure that the Bible can be trusted to accurately reflect what the original authors intended.

Excerpts from: The Case for Christ Study Bible, Investigating The Evidence for Belief/Lee Strobel (former Atheist) General Editor

Clamor Girl

Oh, to be chic and glamorous! I have this dream where I swoop into a room, head held high, stomach in, flawlessly attired, and not a hair out of place. Women seethe with envy, gentlemen leap to their feet and offer a chair, and I, like Princess Grace, smile regally, then sit down with knees together and slender feet crossed at the ankles. My gown is the latest fashion, spotless and wrinkle-free. When I speak my voice is soft but sure, and I do not stammer or hesitate.

I try to make this dream a reality. And while I probably could never be considered glamorous, at least I try to have my hair fixed and have on clean clothes when I go out. But somehow, I always manage to arrive looking like a pup who has been playing in the rain.

Last night we went to the business meeting at church, and it began to rain. By the time we got there, all the good parking places were taken and we had to walk quite a way. I had on my best white slacks, too. It would be understandable to get a few little mud spots on the bottoms, but when we entered the brightly lit room I discovered I had a big muddy smear on my stomach.

"Let it dry," my husband advised. "Then you can brush it off." I had to give my report before it dried. I knew everyone was looking at the mud, so I kept trying to hold pages over it, and I dropped some. When I bent down to pick them up, I bumped heads with the moderator who had bent down to help me.

"Does my girl feel grumpy?" my husband asked at breakfast the next day. I groaned.

"How can you love anybody who is so sloppy-so-overweight-so-klutzy?" I stormed.

"It's hard." He nooded with a grin. When I began to cry he hugged me.

"If I was all rolled up in bandages," he said, "And you couldn't see me, would you still love me?"

"Of course," I snapped. "It would still be you inside."

"Guess that answers your question." He kissed me. "I love the you inside."

from: Mab Groff Hoover

"The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16

Most people wish that they look like those celebrities gracing those Style magazine covers, and those celebrities on the red carpet as they walk gracefully to enter the major events in their lives. We admire the gowns, their touched up faces and figures and, we either show our admiration or mock them with jealousy. People have the habit of looking at public figures from their outside appearances, their accomplishments and their humanitarian works, among other outside attractive and talented ways. Some even proclaim that those are God-given attributes.

But what can we say if we found out the absolute Truth that God doesn't admire or in awe or grasping for Joy about these popular public figures at all? The Truth is God looks into the hearts of His human creations. God is not amazed at burnt offerings offered to Him, but He is more concerned of our relationship with Him. Directly from God, He said that every human has a deceitful heart.

"The heart is deceitful above all things  and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" Jeremiah 17:9

As explicitly explained in The Message, Jeremiah 17:9 reads: "The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful, a puzzle that no one can figure out. But I, God, search the heart and examine the mind.
I get to the heart of the human.  I get to the root of things. I treat them as they really are, not as they pretend to be."

"The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time."  Genesis 6:5

That's why God initiated a plan of a Savior that will cure our wicked and deceitful hearts. God gave Jesus to die on the cross for us sinners, so we can have a new heart and a mind obedient to God's absolute Truth. And when we face Him at Judgment Day, we are blameless.  

Knowing God's Word of Truth and learning His Wisdom are the only answers to living a life full of Joy, Peace, God's Love, Forgiveness, Faithfulness, Mercy and more of God's attributes. Absolute Truth from God can set us free-- FREE indeed of heart's corruption, wickedness and deceitfulness. Jesus Christ is the giver of this Freedom.

8 Perfect Stay-Young Foods

By David Zinczenko, with Matt Goulding - Posted on Mon, Nov 09, 2009, 10:42 am PST

Eat This, Not That
by David Zinczenko, with Matt Goulding a Yahoo! Health Expert for Nutrition

8 Perfect Stay-Young Foods

Eating right isn't just about weight loss—the nutrients you take in can have a serious effect on how you think, feel, and look! Our bodies and our feelings are nothing more than reflections of the various chemicals flowing through our system on a daily basis. Make sure those chemicals are the healthy kind you get from the right mix of fruits and vegetables, proteins and fats, and you’ll feel healthier, more energetic, and happier than you have in years.

In Eat This, Not That! 2010, we compiled a list of eight foods that can help keep you young. You’re only as young as you feel—so add these eight nutritious powerhouses to your daily diet, and start feeling (and acting and looking) years younger!

EGGS
Benefit: Weight loss
Substitute: Egg Beaters egg substitute

When it comes to breakfast, you can’t beat eggs. (That was too easy, wasn’t it?) Seriously, at a cost of only 72 calories, each large egg holds 6.3 grams of high-quality protein and a powerhouse load of vital nutrients. A study published in the International Journal of Obesity found that people who replace carbs with eggs for breakfast lose weight 65 percent quicker. Researchers in Michigan were able to determine that regular egg eaters enjoyed more vitamins and minerals in their diets than those who ate few or no eggs. By examining surveys from more than 25,000 people, the researchers found that egg eaters are about half as likely to be deficient in vitamin B12, 24 percent less likely to be deficient in vitamin A, and 36 percent less likely to be deficient in vitamin E. And here’s something more shocking: Those who ate at least four eggs a week had significantly lower cholesterol levels than those who ate fewer than one. Turns out, the dietary cholesterol in the yolk has little impact on your serum cholesterol.
Bonus tip: Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Choose wisely—avoid the foods on our list of 20 Worst Breakfasts in America.


GREEN TEA
Benefit: Longer lifespan
Substitutes: Yerba mate, white tea, oolong tea, rooibos (red) tea

Literally hundreds of studies have been carried out documenting the health benefits of catechins, the group of antioxidants concentrated in the leaves of tea plants. Among the most startling studies was one published by the American Medical Association in 2006. The study followed more than 40,000 Japanese adults for a decade, and at the 7-year follow-up, those who had been drinking five or more cups of tea per day were 26 percent less likely to die of any cause compared with those who averaged less than a cup. Looking for more-immediate results? Another Japanese study broke participants into two groups, only one of which was put on a catechin-rich green-tea diet. At the end of 12 weeks, the green-tea group had achieved significantly smaller body weights and waistlines than those in the control group. Why? Because researchers believe that catechins are effective at boosting metabolism.
Bonus tip: The average American consumes 400 liquid calories a day. Minimize that impact—avoid the 20 Worst Drinks in America.

GARLIC
Benefit: Cardiovascular strengthening
Substitutes: Onions, chives, leeks

Allicin, an antibacterial and antifungal compound, is the steam engine pushing forward garlic’s myriad health benefits. The chemical is produced by the garlic plant as a defense against pests, but inside your body, it fights cancer, strengthens your cardiovascular system, decreases fat storage, and fights acne inflammation. To activate the most allicin possible, you have to crush the garlic as finely as you can: Peel the cloves, and then use the side of a heavy chef's knife to crush the garlic before carefully mincing it. Be sure not to overcook it, as too much heat will render the compound completely useless (and your food totally bitter).
Bonus tip: Some foods keep you looking young. Others can quite literally cure what ails you. Check out these super 15 Foods That Cure.


GRAPEFRUIT
Benefit: Weight loss
Substitutes: Oranges, watermelon, tomatoes

Just call it the better-body fruit. In a study of 100 obese people at the Scripps Clinic in California, those who ate half a grapefruit with each meal lost an average of 3.6 pounds over the course of 12 weeks, and some lost as many as 10 pounds. The study’s control group, in contrast, lost a paltry 1/2 pound. But here’s something even better: Those who ate the grapefruit also exhibited a decrease in insulin levels, indicating that their bodies had improved their ability to metabolize sugar. If you can't stomach a grapefruit-a-day regime, try to find as many ways possible to sneak grapefruit into your diet. Even a moderate increase in grapefruit intake should yield results, not to mention earn you a massive dose of lycopene—the cancer-preventing antioxidant found most commonly in tomatoes.
Bonus tip: Eat well and you’ll feel younger and more vibrant. Add exercise to the mix and you’ll practically erase markers of age.

GREEK YOGURT
Benefit: Feeling fuller for longer
Substitutes: Kefir and yogurt with “live and active cultures” printed on the product label

If it’s dessert you want, go with regular yogurt; but if it’s protein, go Greek. What sets the two apart? Greek yogurt is separated from the watery whey that sits on top of regular yogurt, and the process removes excessive sugars, such as lactose, and increases the concentration of protein by as much as three times. That means it fills your belly more like a meal than a snack. Plus a single cup has about a quarter of your day’s calcium, and studies show that dieters on calcium-rich diets have an easier time losing body fat. In one study, participants on a high-calcium dairy diet lost 70 percent more body weight than those on a calorie-restricted diet alone. If only a similar claim could be made of everything you eat.
Bonus tip: Fruit-on-the-bottom yogurt is a classic example of a food that doesn’t deserve its healthy reputation—see what else makes our list of the 30 “Healthy” Foods that Aren’t.


AVOCADO
Benefit: Reduced risk of heart disease
Substitutes: Olive, canola, and peanut oils; peanut butter; tahini

Here’s what often gets lost in America’s fat phobia: Some fats are actually good for you. More than half the calories in each creamy green fruit comes from one of the world’s healthiest fats, a kind called monounsaturates. These fats differ from saturated fats in that they have one double-bonded carbon atom, but that small difference at the molecular level amounts to a dramatic improvement in your health. Numerous studies have shown that monounsaturated fats both improve you cholesterol profile and decrease the amount of triglycerides (more fats) floating around in your blood. This can lower your risk of stroke and heart disease. Worried about weight gain? Don’t be. There’s no causal link between monounsaturated fats and body fat.


BELL PEPPERS
Benefit: Improved immune function
Substitutes: Carrots, sweet potatoes, watermelon

All peppers are loaded with antioxidants, but none so much as the brightly colored reds, yellows, and oranges. These colors result from carotenoids concentrated in the flesh of the peppers, and it’s these same carotenoids that give tomatoes, carrots, and grapefruits their healthy hues. The range of benefits provided by these colorful pigments include improved immune function, better communication between cells, protection against sun damage, and a diminished risk of several types of cancer. And if you can take the heat, try cooking with chili peppers. The bell pepper cousins are still loaded with carotenoids and vitamin C, but have the added benefit of capsaicins, temperature-raising phytochemicals that have been shown to fight headache and arthritis pain as well as boost metabolism.


ALMONDS
Benefit: Improved memory
Substitutes: Walnuts, pecans, peanuts, sesame seeds, flaxseeds

An ounce of almonds—or about 23 nuts—a day provides nearly 9 grams of heart-healthy oleic acid; that’s more than the amounts found in peanuts, walnuts, or cashews. This monounsaturated fat is known to be responsible for a flurry of health benefits, the most recently discovered of which is improved memory. Rats in California were better able to navigate a maze the second time around if they’d been fed oleic acid, and there’s no reason to assume that the same treatment won’t help you navigate your day-to-day life. If nothing else, snacking on the brittle nuts will take your mind off your hunger. Nearly a quarter of an almond’s calories come from belly-filling fiber and protein. That’s why, when researchers at Purdue fed study participants nuts or rice cakes, those who ate the nuts felt full for an hour and a half longer than the rice cake group did.
Bonus Tip: Before you go out to eat, grab a handful of almonds; it could help keep your hunger at bay.

Most actors are basically neurotic people. Terribly, terribly unhappy. That's one of the reasons they become actors. Nobody well adjusted would ever want to expose himself or herself to a large group of strangers. Think of it. Insanity! Generally, by their very nature - that is if they're at all dedicated - actors do not make good parents. They are altogether egotistical and selfish. The better the actor - and I hate to say it, the bigger the star - why, the more that seems to be true. Honestly, I don't think I've ever known one - not one! - star who was successfully able to combine a career and family life." - Margaret Sullavan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Sullavan

"Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body."

"Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body."

 There's more to sex than mere skin on skin. Sex is as much spiritual mystery as physical fact. As written in Scripture, "The two become one." Since we want to become spiritually one with the Master, we must not pursue the kind of sex that avoids commitment and intimacy, leaving us more lonely than ever—the kind of sex that can never "become one." There is a sense in which sexual sins are different from all others. In sexual sin we violate the sacredness of our own bodies, these bodies that were made for God-given and God-modeled love, for "becoming one" with another. Or didn't you realize that your body is a sacred place, the place of the Holy Spirit? Don't you see that you can't live however you please, squandering what God paid such a high price for? The physical part of you is not some piece of property belonging to the spiritual part of you. God owns the whole works. So let people see God in and through your body.

                             1 Corinthians 6:18 The Message

"Paul deals with another type of sexual immorality. Claiming the right of Christian freedom, some of the Corinthian men are making use of prostitutes, arguing that this is a natural use of the body. Paul considers it incompatible for a man who is a part of the body of Christ to unite himself with a prostitute. Since his body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit and he has been bought with a price, a Christian man ought to honor God with his body." www.abu.nb.ca/courses

Get Fit Faster with This One Easy Rule

During last month's MTV music video awards ceremony, actor Jack Black urged the audience join hands and pray to "dear dark lord Satan." In his prayer, the actor prayed that the musicians and nominees would have "continued success in the music industry." The awards program was broadcasted on the MTV network (a subsidiary of the Viacom Corporation) throughout the country through cable and satellite television.

The Radio City Hall audience readily acquiesced to Black's invitation to pray to the devil. In a video posted on YouTube, Black encouraged the large audience to join in by saying, "let me see those horns." Black, dressed in a "muscle suit" continued by asking the awards ceremony audience to join hands during "the prayer." He then held hands with actress Leighton Meester while he prayed aloud.
 
Black's prayer went basically unnoticed among most conservative and Christian media circles -- perhaps because they feel the comedian was simply joking as he displayed his contempt for Christianity with the prayer invocation. In fact, this would be in keeping with Black's previous behavior.
 
In 2008 he participated in a video that mocked supporters of California's marriage initiative, Proposition 8. In commenting on that video, the Culture and Media Institute (CMI) said Black "appears as Jesus rebuking the Proposition 8 supporters while munching on a shrimp cocktail and saying that the Bible condemns eating shellfish too. Then he [Black] reels off some scripture references without context to suggest that the Bible is self-contradictory and unreliable." In their press release (December 4, 2008), CMI described Black as "an anti-Christian bigot."
 
Others claim last month's public "prayer" to Satan was just a publicity stunt to promote the new heavy metal video game, "Brutal Legend."
 
But regardless how one looks at Black's actions, it sets a dangerous precedent. Author and King's College professor Paul McGuire labels Black's prayer to Satan as "just the tip of the iceberg of what is happening in our nation and in the entertainment industry." The conservative commentator contends that "although it is hidden, Satanism is one of the fastest growing religions in America." He adds: "We can expect to see Satanists demanding and getting the same rights as any other religion."
 
Former Hollywood actor Bob Turnbull says Black's prayer to the "dark side" was "pathetic and sick," which shows a "heartbreakingly sad" side of Hollywood's culture. Turnbull, also known as the "Chaplain of Waikiki," knows a little something about Hollywood. In the '60s and '70s, he appeared in a number of well-known movies (The Little People, Camelot, Tora Tora Tora) and television shows (Hawaii Five-0, Petticoat Junction, My Three Sons, Bob Hope Chrysler Theater, Another Life).
 
Phil Magnan, director of BFamilyAdvocates.com, chimes in, wondering if Black "really knows what he is invoking or has any idea how destructive Satanism really is."
 
Radio talk-show host Jesse Lee Peterson has a different take on Black's prayer. Peterson is instead at odds with MTV, the network that hosts the awards. He says it is "disturbing that MTV continues to promote the most degenerate and base programs on its network....[They] intentionally air programming designed to seduce and corrupt the minds and hearts of America's youth" (like Sex...with Mom and Dad, among others).
 
Ultimately, McGuire believes there could be some encouraging signs to come. While he affirms his belief that the level of darkness will continue, the Christian author strongly believes that simultaneously Americans will "see a revival among the youth similar to the Jesus Movement in the '70s."

Bahala na or baha - 'la na?
STAR BYTES By Butch Francisco (The Philippine Star) Updated October 17, 2009 12:00 AM

The Correspondents co-host Karen Davila: Where did we go wrong?

What went wrong with Metro Manila? Was there urban planning at all for this metropolis?

As traced by last Tuesday’s episode of The Correspondents (anchored by Karen Davila), there was. Unfortunately, there was lack of implementation.

With the help of resource persons armed with diagrams, I now finally understand the issue over the unimplemented Parañaque spillway that people kept talking about in the aftermath of Ondoy.

In the ‘70s, plans were underway to dig through Parañaque to create a spillway from Laguna Lake down Manila Bay. Had that plan been implemented, flooding shouldn’t have happened in the Laguna lakeshore communities. But look at the barangays surrounding the lake now — these are still submerged in water three weeks after Ondoy.

So why was the Parañaque spillway never dug up? As pointed out in The Correspondents, Parañaque became a fashionable residential community in the ‘70s and nobody could work their way through there anymore by the time government was ready to start the project. 

And then there was also the issue of the grand plan for Metro Manila also around that time that was never implemented. This dates back to the infamous period when Imelda Marcos was governor of Metro Manila. After the Marcoses were removed from power, every mayor was given the task to run his own town or city without coordinating with their neighbors and that created a problem of governance for the head of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA). Karen clearly illustrated that when she hopped atop a raft in a submerged area where there used to be a street prior to Ondoy.

Why was that place still submerged almost three weeks after Ondoy? Who had jurisdiction over that? And so she proceeds to point out the fact that a few meters away was the boundary line of Taytay, to her other side was Taguig and if she could only cross, that was Pasig.

And then there was the matter of the short term for government officials — like a mayor is only given a three-year term and that explains why there is no long-range planning for our towns and cities. I agree with that, but given the reality of politics in the Philippines, a mayor may vacate his or her post after several terms, but eventually the spouse takes over or even one of the children and please spare me the burden of rattling off names.

Those who hang on to their power, of course, should just be rightfully branded as greedy — like they can’t have enough. Now, greed was another reason why urban planning went haywire in Metro Manila. As one resource person said: One of the biggest sources of income for those cities came from the development of some of those subdivisions that shouldn’t have been there in the first place because these were low-lying areas.

Even MMDA chairman Bayani Fernando bitterly admitted to Karen that Marikina shouldn’t have been inhabited and should probably have been just allowed to remain what it was supposed to be: Rice fields. But in due fairness to Fernando, those subdivisions were already there even before he became Marikina mayor. Despite being in the fault line, Marikina residents I know were happy with the way the city was developed by him. It is, in fact, the most disaster prepared among our cities, but 90 percent of it still got submerged.

In that same episode, The Correspondents showed a map (supposedly submitted to the United Nations) that indicated the areas where we were not supposed to inhabit. But build away we did — and look at the repercussions.

These government officials toy with both the rich and poor. They play with the money of the rich by approving the developments of these subdivisions (and profit even more from the huge real estate taxes that property owners have to pay annually) even if those places aren’t fit for human population. The poor, of course, have been used by generations of politicians who need the vote of the informal settlers come election time. Surely, we need not say anymore that our esteros have all been but clogged when these squatters decided to appropriate these waterways for their own use. That had always been obvious, but to this day is tolerated by the government. And so we got denuded. Let’s see if Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will succeed with her recent pronouncement to relocate informal settlers who obstruct our waterways.

Historically, most of us know that in his attempt to decongest Manila proper, the late Pres. Manuel L. Quezon had the plans laid out to move the center to what is now Quezon City, which is safer because it stands on higher ground. But as another resource person reminded Karen, the Second World War intervened and Quezon’s plan to move all government offices there was never fully realized.

But if you think about it now, we would still have problems with flooding because at the rate our population grew, we all wouldn’t fit still in Quezon City and surely we’d go the surrounding areas — like Marikina and now Bulacan — which was what most of us did. But would anyone dare get into an argument with the Catholic Church with regard to its stand on population control? Uh-oh. Did I just get ex-communicated?

And so what do we do now to prevent another Ondoy? (Pepeng is another matter.) As resource person Paolo Alcazaren (of this paper) put it in The Correspondents, by December and with another Pacquiao win, we’d forget all about the tragedy that was Ondoy. Yes, I agree with him. We’ll just go our usual merry way. No thanks to our “bahala na” attitude.

Or should it be “baha-la” na?