THE FIESTA MUST GO ON

Some pictures I took during a parade in our place. The city had its Fiesta last November 20 & 21 in honor of their Patron saint.This is a unique Filipino trait, crisis or no, the Fiesta must go on. Since we are government employees, we all must show our faces in the parade in the middle of the noontime heat of the sun where I took the chance to get photos to share to everyone who cares to browse through here.

EVIL EYE

Matthew 6:23 But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! The belief in Ayin Hara is not a superstition but is well founded on references from the earliest Jewish texts. Sarah "gives" Hagar an Ayin Hara, causing her to miscarry her first pregnancy. Yaakov warns his sons not to be seen together so as not to incur Ayin Hara. Another example is King Saul's jealousy of the future King David who is credited with greater military prowess and "gives" him an Ayin Hara. Rabbi Eliyahu Dessler in a letter to his father asked "Where is the justice in a system that causes people to suffer for the jealousies of others?" Rabbi Dessler answered that what happens is the following: One person who has what another person lacks is "careless" and lets the other person see what he has. This causes pain to the other person, and his cry goes up to the Heavenly court. The lesson in all of this is that we must learn to be sensitive to others, and not flaunt what we have. Many people yearn to have what others have, and suffer real pain when they see others casually flaunt those things. True, they shouldn't be jealous, but we cannot expect everyone to be a Tzaddik. Divine justice demands retribution for causing this pain to another person. The best protection is to behave modestly and with a genuine concern for the feelings of others. Source Ohr Somayach Intitutions, Jerusalem, Israel

RABIES

Rabies is a viral disease that affects the nervous system of mammals, including humans. Animals and people can get rabies when they come into contact with the saliva of, or most often through the bite of an infected animal. If a person is bitten by, or exposed to an animal that may have rabies, he or she must receive appropriate medical care immediately in order to prevent rabies disease. Vaccination of household pets, along with immediate medical care for humans who are exposed to rabies, are critical components of rabies prevention and control. My niece was severely bitten by our neighbor's dog, so we had taken her for injection at the hospital. And as for our neighbor they denied that it was their dog who attacked my niece so they never offered to shoulder the expenses for the anti-rabbies and anti-tetanus injections. My niece sustained multiple bites on the hands, legs and even stomach. The nurse at the health center said that the month of November is the usual time of year wherein dogs are most inclined to bite. Maybe they are angrier on this month. Could it be possible that people also are on this month more prone to be more fierce and violent? I think so. News seems to confirm this.

AT THE VORTEX

Many years back we had fellowship with the Sabbath keeping group of people. The group's name was Worldwide Church Of God, whose leader was Herbert W. Armstrong. We went with them for a time until such time that the leadership was changed since Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong died of old age. The group WCG under Joseph Tkach shifted to Sunday keeping instead of Saturday. They split into two because of the issue of Sabbath keeping and Sunday keeping thus the Philadelphia Church of God was born that adhered to the teachings of the late leader Herbert W. Armstrong, while the Worldwide Church of God under the new leadership of Joseph Tkach shifted to Sunday keeping. I was of course dismayed of their split so the time came when we stopped our fellowship with them as the Philadelphia group went to another location. So we decided to stay home during Sabbaths. One lady came to us who was my aunt from my father's side, she invited us to fellowship with them. They are the Pentecostal group. I promised to attend with them next Sunday if I have time. I was troubled because I would then be attending Sunday service with them instead of the Sabbath. I said to myself that I could still keep the Sabbath, only that by next day I will be attending Sunday service with them. I wondered if it is acceptable to God. At that time I still called God as God since that was what we commonly called Him even though I know that YHWH is the correct name of God as it is sometimes mentioned in some Bible verses. I decided to pray about it to ask for His permission. I prayed that night that He would show a sign that it's okay to attend the Sunday keeping invitation by making next day a very sunny day and then when it will rain in the middle of it, not just a slight rain but a strong one that would really wet the ground, then I would understand that it is alright. After praying that, I promptly went to sleep. The next day, I forgot about it. It was indeed an unusually bright and sunny day. I was busy doing my chores around the house when it suddenly rained in midday. I was amazed because while the sun was shining yet it rained hard for maybe five minutes that it made puddles of water on the ground. Just then I remembered suddenly my prayer that night about God giving a sign through a rain in the middle of a bright day. I tended to think that it was just a simple coincidence but I stopped myself from thinking that way. Why would not I believe it when it was me who asked for that sign? I would be a fool to disbelieve it. I would be setting myself up for YHWH's displeasure and even a curse if I disbelieved it, so I told myself. So when Sunday came, I promptly attended their worship service. When I was there, I found how warm and caring they were with each other. I see their fervor and their dedication in their worship to God. I concluded therefore that YHWH does not disregard their worship even if they keep Sunday. They shared to each other what they have. I was amazed by their humility and their love for each other. They may worship in Sunday now but later on when YHWH will choose it is time to reveal the correct day of worship, nothing can stop it. The wheel of time is still turning, many things can still happen. It's not the end of the line for them yet. We should not belittle them for error they are in. There is a right time, a season for everything. At that juncture in their spiritual level, they are still spiritual babes that is true, but then their growth will continue until they will be matured enough to accept 'adult foods'. So we should not try to pluck out the milk from them to avoid stunting their growth. One day they will go look for the mature spiritual food when they're old enough. YHWH's timing, I know will never go wrong. In the end we all will meet at the vortex to meet YHWH on the Judgment Day.

JEZEBEL SPIRIT

In the Bible, Jezebel was a powerful, wicked queen, and wife of a passive king called Ahab. She was killed by several eunuchs at the order of commander Jehu. Jezebel was a witch, and her spirit of witchcraft is still in operation today in the world. It will take both a Jehu and the cooperation of the injured victims (spiritual eunuchs) to kill her again. The Jezebel spirit is sociopathic. Behaviors you might see (3 or more): 1. They gain power by destroying others. It is like an adrenalin rush when they “win” over someone. They manage to get in positions of authority, and are difficult to displace, once there. 2. They are controlling, manipulative, bossy. 3. they can either be war-like in their personalities, so that they are intimidating, or so “sweet,” “perfect,” deceitful, “timid” and sneaky, they are able to fool and recruit others to join them. Sometimes they can be very charming and charismatic. 4. critical of others, vicious to the point of bloodthirsty. 5. they are never wrong. 6. They recruit others in their charges against their victims. They act to persuade recruits, and do not give up this activity until the recruits are won over. If the potential recruits do not cooperate and buy into things, this angers them. 7. they are narcissic. While they can tend to be oversensitive themselves, they have no concern for the feelings of others. They are not sympathetic to their victims, and tend to play the role of victim themselves, in order to gain sympathy. This way the real victim is left stranded, and opposed by others if they ask for help. Being the center of attention really pleases them. 8. they lie, and they believe their own lie. Avoiding the truth, or intentionally acting to withhold truth is part of this. false picture is presented to others. 9. impulsive, failure to plan ahead. chaotic at times 10. lack of remorse after hurting someone. they justify the harm. 15. usually women, but can be men. The women tend to control their men with sex. And they pick passive men (Ahabs) so they can dominate them. 17. They falsely accuse you, and they do NOT forgive you …..

IN SEEKING WISDOM

"In seeking Wisdom, the first stage is silence." -- Rabbi Solomon ibn Gabriol (11th Century) To begin with, there are two Silences and not one: There is the Silence of the Mouth and, in addition, the Silence of the Mind. The former does not necessarily accompany the latter, but the latter always accompanies the former. That is, one can be silent "in-the-mouth" while not, at the same time, also being silent "in-the-mind." On the other hand, one who is silent "in-the-mind" is, at the same time, always silent in-the-mouth. Thus, there are three types of Lomaidim (Hebrew = "Learners"): THE FOOL: Silent neither in the Mouth nor Mind THE HEARING IMPAIRED: Silent in the Mouth but not the Mind THE LISTENER: Silent in the Mouth and the Mind. Of the "fool," Buddhism says, "A fool is like a spoon: it can sit in a bowl of soup forever and never taste it." Donmeh West

RELIGIONS OF THE WORLD

There are many religions of the world. They all said that they are peaceful and they seek the good of mankind. They all promise paradise. They all promote good deeds and brotherhood. But look what is happening. Religion becomes the source of all conflicts and wars of the world. It has become the cause for misunderstanding, prejudice of all kinds. Even in their diversity, they all show they are the same in spirit. It may be the reason that the scriptures warn all who are wise to "come out" and not become partakers of their sin and of their coming punishment.