The Second Commandment

I'll be the speaker for our weekly youth fellowship this coming Tuesday. For this new semester we will be having a series about The Ten Commandments. My topic will be the Second Commandment.

"You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments."

I'm preparing my message and I pray that the Lord will teach me what to teach my youth listeners. Click Here to Read More..

Blog pissed Mr. Defense Minister

They said that pen is mightier than the sword. I say, internet is the mightiest. Another recent incident has proved how powerful multimedia, particularly internet, is. Belgium's Minister of Defense, Pieter De Crem just got a taste of blog revenge.

In a statement, De Crem called blogging a "dangerous phenomenon" in the society.

I want to take this opportunity and use this non-event to signal a dangerous phenomenon in our society. We live in a time where everybody is free to publish whatever he or she wants on blogs at will without taking any responsibility. This exceeds mud-slinging. Together with you, other Parliament members and the government I find that it’s nearly impossible to defend yourself against this. Everyone of you is a potential victim. I would like to ask you to take a moment and think about this.

This was after Nathalie Lubbe Bakker, a bartender in a Belgian bar in New York blogged about the Minister's drinking spree. The bartender talked about how drunk De Crem was and how embarassed she were about his behavior. The worst part was she wrote that they were there on a taxpayer's money, as admitted by one of the De Crem's advisor who was at the bar with him. Her blog was written in Dutch.

Few days later, Bakker was fired. Allegedly, someone from De Crem's office called Bakker's boss, which prompted her termination. The minister admitted that indeed a call was made but that there was never any insinuation about the Bakker getting fired from her job.

I have read and heard several stories about people taking revenge through blog. One particular story made it big about when an Australian blogger took revenge from his Filipino lover by blogging the lover's dirts and his friends' who belong to Manila's socialites. It has been the talk of the town for weeks with the blog getting more than 100,000 hits in one day!

From these two stories, is Mr. Minister right when he said that blogging is a "dangerous phenomenon"? The statement created a stir in the blogging community, getting both violent and funny reactions. As for me, it's just one of those interesting stories that reminds me of what the prophet Haggai said to "give careful thoughts to your ways". Blogging is amoral and it's here to stay. People use it to inform, express and make money. It's all about taking responsibility. Click Here to Read More..

They call me that

yuppie (yŭp'ē)

• A young city or suburban resident with a well-paid professional job and an affluent lifestyle
  
• Acronym for young urban professional
• The term was popularized during the 1980s to describe young career people having relatively high incomes and education, seeking instant success and gratification, often beyond their financial means

That's according to Mr. Answers.com (I used to look-up words like that in my thick Webster Dictionary). That's almost me minus the "well-paid" and "affluent lifestyle" (though the latter is debatable). And yes, the "seeking instant success and gratification, often beyond their financial means" is usually true.

I'm 26 and there's also a syndrome called "quarter life crisis" that is usually associated with my age. A lot of words they coin these days. Whatever, all these boil down to my generation's coping and trying to fit in this fast-paced and demanding 21st century.

I've used to work in the city with the "smart-casual" people and their gizmos, fashion, gimmicks, beers and Marlboro lights. It's a fun world yet the lifestyle is too shallow. The mantra is "live for the moment". Suit yourself with whatever will satisfy you. The 15th and 30th of the month is equal to party and shopping. I was in it for a while. And got tired. It's a world where happiness is temporary as it is superficial.

Why is happiness so popular? Is everybody lonely? Why does everyone want it yet never gets enough of it? The Bible says that God has set eternity in the heart of every man. Eternal beings can't find happiness in a world that is temporary. Man is searching for happiness at the wrong places and at the wrong relationships. Only three things in this world will last -- God, His Word and man's soul.

Man must turn to God who made him for a love relationship. He must turn away from sin that causes all his loneliness and frustrations. Sin ruined everything that was good. Unless he lets go and admit his helplessness, emptiness will creep through him. The main issue is sin and the simple yet most important question is, "Are you willing to let go of it?". Click Here to Read More..