Friday, December 17, 2010

Theme : SPOUSE "Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids Matthew 25:1-13"

This parable foretold the suddenness and unexpectedness of the Lord's coming. It calls for us to be prepared for that moment. There are four things we need to understand from the parable: the wedding, the bridesmaids, the bridegroom, and the warning.

I. THE WEDDING (v. 1)

In Biblical times, weddings were the big community event. They were the greatest social celebration. Everyone got involved: friends, families, and neighbors. They were a time of happiness and festivity. For the Arrangement of a Marriage - there were three elements in a Jewish marriage of that time. 1. The engagement 2. The betrothal 3. The wedding. So the Anticipation Before a Marriage is a long process and there was serious preparation.



II. THE BRIDESMAIDS (vv. 1-5)

a) The outward appearance - The Bridesmaids are the people who profess to be Christians.. They say they know Christ, and they anticipate His coming. They even say they are prepared for Him; they have on their wedding garment and have their lampstand. Their presence symbolizes their interest in Christ and their lampstand symbolizes their profession of faith in Christ. They all show outward marks of watching for the coming of the bridegroom: Christ. They are gathered as bridesmaids, waiting to be received into the glorious marriage celebration.

b) The inward reality - On the surface the ten bridesmaids are the same. Yet they are not the same. Verse 2 says "five of them were wise [Gk., phronimos, `thoughtful, sensible, prudent'], and five were foolish [Gk., moros, `moron, stupid']." It may not be clear which is which, but He who searches men's hearts knows (1 Sam. 16:7). The Lord reads our character and marks our place. The Lord knows them that are his, and them that are not his, in every assembly of worshippers"

Matthew 25:3-4 says, "They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them; but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps." The foolish had no oil, so they were not prepared for Christ's return. Their attachment to Christ was merely external. They hadn't secured the most important thing of all: the oil necessary to light the lampstand. The oil represents saving grace. In a crowd of people who outwardly appear to honor Christ will be some whose hearts are unprepared. They have not received salvation by grace.

An Unpopular Message

Throughout His ministry, Christ repeatedly warned that there will be people attaching themselves to the church who are not saved. For example, He said that in His kingdom on earth would grow both wheat and tares. He warned they would look so much alike that we are not to pull out the tares lest we pull out the wheat (Matt. 13:28-29). The separation of the two will take place when the Lord returns (v. 30).

III. THE BRIDEGROOM (vv. 6-12)

A. The Arrival - This moment in the wedding is analogous to the moment of Christ's second coming.

B. The Awakening

C. The Appeal - What did the foolish one do when they realized they had no oil? Matthew 25:8 says, "The foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out."

Lesson that we can learn – Salvation is a personal responsibility

If we're called to the judgment seat of God-- whether at death or the second coming--no one can help us. All the saints in heaven and the believers on earth could weep on our behalf but that wouldn't save us. Salvation is non-transferable. As we will see in a moment, the wise bridesmaids didn't give any oil to the foolish ones. That's not because they were selfish; it's just that an unbeliever can't ask a believer for salvation. Every person is accountable to make his own life right before God.

D. The Answer

The answer from the wise bridesmaids appears in verse 9: "Not so, lest there be not enough for us and you; but go rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves." That the foolish bridesmaids are told to buy oil doesn't mean salvation can be bought. It's a free gift (Rom. 6:23). But there is a price: you have to give up your very self. No one can give you salvation. You have to go to God on your own. The foolish bridesmaids could have gotten oil, but not at midnight. They had the opportunity, but they slept it away. They weren't allowed to be a part of the wedding ceremony without a lit lampstand. They didn't have what was necessary.

D. The Abandoning

1. The reception & rejection into the kingdom

In verse 10 we read that while the foolish virgins went to get oil "the bridegroom came, and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage; and the door was shut." There was no place for the foolish virgins to buy oil at midnight.

The door into the kingdom is open now. But someday it will be shut. Some people will be caught unprepared. They will know the same shock as those who appear before the Lord in Matthew 7:22-23: "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out demons? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess to them, I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

IV. THE WARNING (v. 13) -The parable concludes, "Watch, therefore; for ye know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of man cometh" (v. 13). Watch ye, therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the son of man."

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Love Letter from Father in Heaven

My Child,


You may not know me, but I know everything about you. Psalm 139:1

I know when you sit down and when you rise up. Psalm 139:2

I am familiar with all your ways. Psalm 139:3

Even the very hairs on your head are numbered. Matthew 10:29-31

For you were made in my image. Genesis 1:27

In me you live and move and have your being. Acts 17:28

For you are my offspring. Acts 17:28

I knew you even before you were conceived. Jeremiah 1:4-5

 
I chose you when I planned creation. Ephesians 1:11-12

You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book. Psalm 139:15-16

I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live. Acts 17:26

You are fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalm 139:14

I knit you together in your mother's womb. Psalm 139:13

And brought you forth on the day you were born. Psalm 71:6

I have been misrepresented by those who don't know me. John 8:41-44

I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love. 1 John 4:16

And it is my desire to lavish my love on you. 1 John 3:1

Simply because you are my child and I am your Father. 1 John 3:1

I offer you more than your earthly father ever could. Matthew 7:11

For I am the perfect father. Matthew 5:48

Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand. James 1:17

For I am your provider and I meet all your needs. Matthew 6:31-33

My plan for your future has always been filled with hope. Jeremiah 29:11

Because I love you with an everlasting love. Jeremiah 31:3

My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore. Psalms 139:17-18

And I rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17

I will never stop doing good to you. Jeremiah 32:40

For you are my treasured possession. Exodus 19:5

I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul. Jeremiah 32:41

And I want to show you great and marvelous things. Jeremiah 33:3

If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me. Deuteronomy 4:29

Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

For it is I who gave you those desires. Philippians 2:13

I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine. Ephesians 3:20

For I am your greatest encourager. 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you. Psalm 34:18


As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart. Isaiah 40:11

One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes. Revelation 21:3-4

And I'll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth.Revelation 21:3-4

I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus.John 17:23

For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed. John 17:26

He is the exact representation of my being. Hebrews 1:3

He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you. Romans 8:31

And to tell you that I am not counting your sins. 2 Corinthians 5:18-19

Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled. 2 Corinthians 5:18-19

His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you. 1 John 4:10

I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love. Romans 8:31-32

If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me. 1 John 2:23

And nothing will ever separate you from my love again. Romans 8:38-39

Come home and I'll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen. Luke 15:7

 
I have always been Father, and will always be Father. Ephesians 3:14-15

My question is…Will you be my child? John 1:12-13

I am waiting for you. Luke 15:11-32

Love, Your Dad

Almighty God


Saturday, August 14, 2010

“Just as all men die in ADAM, so all men will be brought to life in His Son, Jesus Christ”

How can some among you say there is no resurrection of Christ? A problem that St. Paul was dealing with the people in Corith. What a horrible thought that is …. No resurrection of Christ.


When our first grandfather ADAM fall, Death dawn on all mankind. In fact, Death came through ADAM. The world was in darkness and “fallen asleep” as St Paul described in the scripture tonight.

Our Heavenly Father, in HIS work of Salvation for all mankind, sent HIS only son to redeem HIS creatures. How did Jesus redeem mankind? Through His Passion, Death and Resurrection. At the resurrection, all things were made new and there is the beginning of a new creation.

“Just as all men die in ADAM, so all men will be brought to life in His Son, Jesus Christ” This is the highlight of tonight second reading. “Just as all men die in ADAM, so all men will be brought to life in His Son, Jesus Christ”

First Adam brought death; Last Adam brought eternal life.

First Adam brought condemnation; Last Adam brought justification.

Adam disobedience and its consequences were passed on to all of us without exception. However, Christ obedience and righteousness is passed on to all who repent and believe in Him. Adam stood for many and brought death upon all; Jesus Christ stood for many and brings eternal life to all who trust in Him.

Brother & sister in Christ, Let us put our complete trust in Jesus. We all hope that one day we may experience our own Assumption.

Friday, July 16, 2010

"James"- in Hebrew "Jacob", Jacob name's was later changed to "Israel"

JACOB was not born an Israelite. He had to “earn it” the hard way. God did not call him Israel until he was 98 years old and had become the kind of person that fits the name. The first usage of this name Israel is not racial, national, political, or religious. It has to do with character and relationship with God.


The name was also meant to be a testimony or a witness to the sovereignty of God and all of its implications. Israel means “God rules.” As Dr Bullinger says in his notes on Genesis 32:28, where Jacob wrestled with the angel:

Israel. “God commands, orders, or rules.” Man attempts it but always, in the end, fails. Out of some forty Hebrew names compounded with “El” or “Jah”, God is always the doer of what the verb means (cp. Dani-el, God judges).

Prevailed. Succeeded. He had contended for the birthright and succeeded (25:29-34). He had contended with Laban and succeeded (27). He had contended with “men” and succeeded. Now he contends with God - and fails. Hence, his name was changed to Israel, God commands, to teach him the greatly needed lesson of dependence upon God.

Jacob lost the wrestling match with the angel, but in losing, he won the prize. In losing, he won, for now he understood the sovereignty of God. He learned that he might succeed in overcoming men by his own strength and wit, but he could never give lip service to God’s sovereignty while ordering Him around, as many do.

The prayer life of many Christians consists of telling God what He already knows in order to coerce Him into doing what they think He ought to do. When will we learn that God really does know what He is doing, and that He is not the helpless giant in the sky that many seem to think He is? We ought instead to hear His voice and find out what He wants and intends to do - and

then pray that His will be done, and not ours. This is true recognition of His sovereignty. This is spiritual maturity. This is what it means to manifest the character of a true Israelite.

Jacob could never be Israel in his own strength or by the power of the flesh. Israel was a name that gave testimony to God’s strength and man’s weakness. Men usually think of the name Israel as meaning “ruling with God,” as if this were some sort of privilege, where Israelites get to accumulate servants and slaves and be above other more ordinary men. It is not. It indicates that the Israelite is the servant and slave of Jesus Christ, his sovereign Master. Until man is fully conquered by Jesus Christ and apprehended by His love, he is not a true Israelite. Until he loses the wrestling match with God, he cannot be given the name of Israel.

THE MEANING OF "ISRAEL" TO MOSES

In time “Israel” took on a new meaning. In the days of Moses the “children of Israel” meant those who were of the household of the descendants of Jacob-Israel. They were not all necessarily direct descendants of Jacob. After all, Jacob had inherited thousands of servants after his father Isaac had died. He, in turn, had inherited them from his father, Abraham.

Genesis 14:14 tells us that Abraham had 318 men of war in his household. That number does not include their wives and children and perhaps even their parents. It is highly probable, then, that Abraham had close to 2,000 men in his “tribe.” This would have perhaps doubled by the time Isaac inherited them. And these could easily have doubled again by the time Jacob inherited them from Isaac. Thus, Jacob’s household might have included about 8,000 in all.

These ultimately went to Egypt with Jacob and his sons and grandsons (70 in all, according to Exodus 1:5). Moses’ mother, a daughter of Levi himself, was born while the 70 were on their way to live in Egypt at the request of Joseph. Numbers 26:59 speaks of “the daughter of Levi, whom her mother bare to Levi in Egypt.”

Historically speaking, the book of Jasher clarifies this, saying in Jasher 59:9,

"And the children of Levi were Gershon, Kehath and Merari and their sister Jochebed, who was born unto them in their going down to Egypt.”

Jasher 67:11 and 68:1-5 shows that Jochebed gave birth to Moses 130 years after Jacob went to Egypt. Eighty years later Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt. This means Israel was in Egypt for 210 years, not 400 years as is commonly thought. The 400 years mentioned in Genesis 15:13 is from the birth of Isaac to the Exodus. It was also 430 years from the promise to Abraham to the covenant with Moses a few weeks after the Exodus (Galatians 3:17). Thus, the promise to Abraham occurred just 30 years before the birth of Isaac. Yet Isaac was born 190 years before Jacob went to Egypt; because Isaac was 60 when Jacob was born (Genesis 25:26), and Jacob was 130 when he went to Egypt (Genesis 47:9).

Thus, Israel spent only 210 years in Egypt, and yet they increased in population to over 600,000 men over the age of 20. This indicates a total population of at least 2-3 million people. It would have been hard for just 70 sons of Jacob to increase to that number, even if they had been in Egypt for a full 400 years. How did they increase so quickly? It is easily explainable by the fact that “Israel” by this time included all of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob’s servants who accompanied them to Egypt. If they started out with at least 8,000 and doubled each generation of 20 years, their population would have increased as follows:

First generation: 16,000

Second: 32,000

Third: 64,000

Fourth: 128,000

Fifth: 256,000

Sixth: 512,000

Seventh: 1,024,000

Eighth: 2,048,000

Eight generations of 20 years is only 200 years. The graves in Goshen that were excavated recently showed that the Israelite men averaged 3 or 4 wives each. This was shown in a documentary over Public Television in 2001. They could not possibly have gotten all their wives from within their own closed Israelite families, barring a miracle of the women bearing 3 or 4 girls to every boy. They must have gotten the extra wives from outside, probably many Egyptians (like Joseph’s wife, Asenath) The Egyptians in those days were not dark skinned, so this would have had no effect upon their racial character.

We say all this, not to imitate a census bureau, but to show that “Israel” by this time was a nationalistic term, not a purely genealogical term. It was no longer even a term that indicated one’s character or relationship with God.

The book of Exodus and Numbers shows us conclusively that those “Israelites” were stubborn, rebellious people who were more Jacobite in their character than Israelite.

They carried the name of Israel because of what they were supposed to be, not because of who they were. They were supposed to have the character of Jacob after he wrestled with the angel, but they did not. They were supposed to bear testimony to the sovereignty of God, but they rebelled against Him.

It is the same with the term Christian. Many people call themselves Christians, but this term has now come to mean “a member of an organization that claims Jesus Christ as its founder.” Unfortunately, it no longer seems to have much to do with one’s character or relationship with God. Christians are supposed to act like “little Christ’s,” but painfully, this is only too rare.

The people in Moses’ day were Israelites, perhaps, by genealogy. They were certainly Israelites by nationality. But they were NOT Israelites in their relationship with God. And this is the crux of the matter. God is not interested merely in producing Israelites by genealogy or by nationality. He is interested in producing people who reflect the character of the term Israel.

Jacob was a believer long before he became an Israelite. So we find that God is not merely interested in producing believers, or Christians, as we would say today. His goal is to produce men and women who are called in the New Testament “the Sons of God.” This is God’s big dilemma. How does one take physical people and turn them into the sons and daughters of God?

We will answer that question as we proceed, but first we need to continue our history lesson to show how the name Israel changed in its shades of meaning over time.

ISRAEL DISTINCT FROM JUDAH

Five centuries after Moses, King Solomon died. He had been King of Israel, a united Israel that included all of the twelve tribes, plus Levi. But then the tribes of Israel revolted against his son Rehoboam because he refused to lower their tax burden. Only the tribes of Benjamin and Judah remained loyal to Rehoboam (I Kings 11:29-39).

The Kingdom thus split into two nations. The ten tribes to the north retained the name of Israel. The two tribes to the south took the name of Judah. From this point on when the prophets speak of Israel, or House of Israel, they are referring to the ten tribes to the north. When the prophets speak of Judah, or the House of Judah, they are referring to the two tribes to the south.

Thus, the name Israel took on a nationalistic meaning. No longer did it apply to the tribe of Judah or Benjamin. It applied only to the other ten tribes in the north who had formed their own monarchy under Jeroboam.

This is very important to understand, because most Christians today mistakenly apply the prophecies to the House of Israel to the modern Jews, whose roots (even they claim) go back to the southern nation of Judah. Hence, “Jew” is a shortened form of “Judah.” Modern Bible teachers mistakenly apply to the “State of Israel” the prophecies of the regathering of the “House of Israel.” They ignore completely the fact that the House of Israel are the ten tribes that went into Assyria, not the two tribes that were taken to Babylon. The House of Israel never returned and were, as Ezekiel 34:16 called them, LOST SHEEP.

JUDAH DISTINCT FROM ISRAEL

God prophesied through all the prophets that the lost sheep of Israel would be found but never that the Jews would replace the Israelites. Thus, when the Jews called their new nation “Israel” in 1948, they did so in order to deceive the average Christian into thinking that they were fulfilling the prophecies of the regathering of the lost sheep of the House of Israel. It was a deliberate deception, because up to that point the Zionists had talked about the restored Kingdom of Judah.

Even so, as I have written before, true Judahites are those who accepted and submitted to the rulership of the King of Judah, Jesus Christ. The rest were cut off from the tribe, according to the law itself. Paul refers to this in Romans 2:28. There was a conflict in Paul’s day as to which sect represented the tribe of Judah. Was it those who rejected Jesus, or those who accepted Him? Those who rejected Him were the majority, and so historically they were able to retain the name of Judah in the eyes of men. But as far as God is concerned, it was the Christians who were the true representatives of Judah. To the original disciples and followers of Jesus (who were of Judah, Benjamin, and Levi) were soon added many others of different nations, grafted to the tree of True Judah. In time, the tree of True Judah became more populous than the dead branch of Judaism that had been pruned, or cut off.

For this reason, in my opinion the Jewish state has no right to call itself the State of Judah any more than the State of Israel. If their state had been founded by believers in Jesus Christ and by Christian methods, perhaps this might justify calling it “Judah.” But this did not happen.

Instead, they came with the intent of dispossessing the Arab population, both Christians and Muslims. They provoked an Arab response and then blamed them for starting the fight. They finally engaged in terrorism against the British in the 1940’s and called the British officers “murderers” when they hanged the terrorists that they caught. They even killed hundreds of their own people in order to blame the British government and make them look bad in the eyes of the world.

If this sounds shocking, let me simply refer to the sinking of the S.S. Patria, a refugee ship full of Jews that had attempted to land illegally in Palestine in 1940. The British government decided to send it elsewhere. Menachem Begin, the leading terrorist of the day and head of the Irgun Gang, wrote a book, The Revolt: Story of the Irgun. It was first published in 1951. He wrote on pages 35, 36,

“The Patria never sailed. Jewish terrorists’ placed a bomb to prevent its departure. The bomb exploded and more than two hundred Jews were killed or drowned. The British authorities noted the fact that this was not an Irgun Zvai Leumi operation; it was the Haganah which had placed the bomb.”

The Haganah was the military force of Ben-Gurion’s Jewish Agency operating in Palestine at the time. He may have thought that the lives of 276 insignificant Jews were worth their weight in propaganda, but I suspect the families of the victims were of a different opinion. The truth of the sinking of the Patria was not publicly known for ten years, after which time it was reported by David Flinker of the Jewish Morning Journal, Nov. 27, 1950.

To the British, Menachem Begin was the “Number One Terrorist.” To Begin, he was the Number One Freedom Fighter. At least he was open about his terrorism and did not deliberately seek to harm hisfellow Jews. He despised the Jewish Agency and its Haganah for their hypocrisy and policies that changed with the political winds. When it was advantageous to them, they engaged in terrorism of their own, particularly in the time from Oct. 1945 to July 1946, even uniting their activities with the Irgun and Stern Gang, another terrorist organization commanded by Yitzhak Shamir, who later became an Israeli Prime Minister. But at other times, to curry favour, they would help the British find and imprison Irgun or Stern members.

The point is that terrorism will not establish the Kingdom of God. Terrorism, however, established the Israeli state. The preachers were sure that May 18, 1948 began a 1,260-day period to the middle of the “tribulation” when the Antichrist would build his temple on the site of the mosque in Jerusalem. It did not happen.

Christian preachers were equally sure that the Jews would repent by the end of seven years (1955) and that Christ would return. It did not happen. But instead of questioning their basic premise that that Israeli state was the fulfillment of the regathering of the House of Israel, they simply adjusted their theology further away from the truth.

ISRAEL LOST ITS NAME "ISRAEL"

After centuries of rebellion and rejecting God, Israel was cast off into Assyria, who settled them along the southern shores of the Caspian Sea. There they lost their God-given name, Israel. God stripped them of it because they were not living up to its testimony. In their rebellion, how could He allow them to keep using a name that means “God rules”?

This is how Israel began to be known by other names, and this is how God saw to it that they were “lost.” The people were not lost. Only their name was lost. The people were known to the Assyrians - even a century before they deported Israel - by the official name Beth-Khumri, sometimes spelled in alternative ways like Bit-Humria. This name means “House of Omri,”
named as such after Israel’s most successful monarch (I Kings 16:28). Omri was the father of Ahab, who is more well known today.

In the Hebrew language of that time, Omri’s name was actually pronounced Ghomri. The Assyrians thus referred to the land where they had been resettled as the land of Gamir and its inhabitants the Gamira. Later, the hard “g” sound was softened to “k” or “kh”. Thus, the Celts (or Kelts) today are known as the Khumri, for they still retain that ancient name after their descendants migrated from Assyria into Europe, Britain and Wales. The Welsh go by the name of Khumri even today.

Assyria was later conquered by Babylon, and Babylon in turn was conquered by Medo-Persia toward the end of Daniel’s life (Daniel 5). Darius the Mede actually took the city of Babylon and ruled it until his son-in-law, Cyrus, returned from other campaigns. Cyrus allowed the people of Judah to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the city. His son, Cambyses ruled as co-regent with Cyrus from 530-528 B.C. Cyrus died in 528 fighting the Scythians. Cambyses then reigned another 6 years as sole regent of Persia.

Darius the Great of Persia then took the throne, and he reigned from 521-486 B.C. When he died, he was buried in a tomb on the side of a mountain called Behistun. The Behistun Rock listed in 3 languages all of the people who were subject to his rule. This included some portion of the ex-Israelites, who were now known as Gamira.

In the Babylonian inscription at Behistun, they are called Gimiri, but in the Persian table, these same people are called Saka. The third table in the Susian language calls them Sakka. Thus, the Gamira, or Gimiri, are also known as Saka and Sakka.

The Greek historians of that period spelled it “Sacae,” (Scythians). The Roman historians spelled it “Saxons.” These form the bulk of European peoples who migrated into Europe from the area in and around Assyria. They were not Assyrians. They were Israelites who had lost their name for refusing to live up to its true meaning. Being Israelites by genealogy did not give them immunity from God’s judgment.

The point is this: if we must focus upon genealogy to find the lost House of Israel, then let us do it with some integrity. The Jews are not Israel either spiritually or physically. The physical Israelites (or ex-lsraelites) are to be found among the Caucasian people of Europe and wherever they have spread throughout the world. They were given the name “Caucasian,” because many of them migrated through the Caucasus mountains from Assyria into Europe.

And to some extent, these people have indeed been blessed in many ways, particularly in the fact that the Gospel of Christ spread and took shape in the European nations quite early. This was their key advantage. God saw to it that the Gospel took root there first.

However, having six Bibles for every family does not make us a Christian people. For the most part, this made us “cultural Christians,” to make us feel good about ourselves while we continued to despise the divine law and substitute oppressive Church laws in its place. Only a few throughout history understood that the purpose of election was to empower a people to set creation free. The majority thought election meant the privilege of enslaving others who were not quite so elect.

It is not enough to be an ex-Israelite of the dispersion. Your genealogy and a few dollars might buy you a latte. I appreciate, of course, being descended from Israelites, because if I had been born elsewhere, I might never have had a Bible in my own language, nor parents who taught me the Word. There is this advantage. But if I expect my genealogy to impress Peter enough to open the gates of heaven, I am greatly mistaken. In fact, Peter probably would look at me and say, “Oh, yes, I remember that lot quite well. Please go to your left, down three flights of stairs, and tell the receptionist I’m sending more fuel.”

God is not impressed with cultural Christians or genealogical Christians. He is looking for a relationship with people who truly live up to the name of Israel. He is raising up people who will truly be overcomers, even as Jacob was an overcomer. Such people do not have to be Israelites by genealogy in order to enter this race. Jacob did not qualify by genealogy, but by faith and obedience. He was the pattern in the Old Testament, the one through whom this whole Israelite story began.

The question before us is this: How is God fulfilling the prophecies to Israel? Is it enough to know who Jacob’s physical descendants are? Can others become Israelites?

With acknowledgments to God’s Kingdom Ministries

Friday, May 28, 2010

Launching of the New Wing of Sibu Diocesan Pastoral Centre by Apostolic Delegate to Malaysia, Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio on 27 November 2009



The launching of the New Wing of Sibu Diocesan Pastoral Centre by Apostolic Delegates to Malaysia, Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio on 27 November 2009 at Kemuyang, Sibu







Sibu Diocesan Pastoral Centre - Archbishops, Bishops, Priests, Donors & Board of Management

Sibu Diocesan Pastoral Centre - Facilities

The Statute of the Neocatechumenal Way dated May 11, 2008



[Nature of the Neocatechumenal Way]


§ 1. The nature of the Neocatechumenal Way is defined by His Holiness John Paul II when he writes: "I recognize the Neocatechumenal Way as an itinerary of Catholic Formation, valid for our society and for our times."

§ 2. The Neocatechumenal Way is at the service of the bishop as one of the forms of diocesan implementation of Christian Initiation and of ongoing education in faith.

§ 3. The Neocatechumenal Way, endowed with public juridical personality, is composed of an ensemble of spiritual goods:

1. the "Neocatechumenate," or a post-baptismal catechumenate

2. the ongoing education in faith

3. the catechumenate

4. the service of catechesis

The Neocatechumenal Way

In the primitive church, when the world was pagan, those that wanted to become Christian had to begin a "catechumenate," an itinerary of formation in preparation for Baptism. Today the process of secularization had brought many people to abandon the faith and the church: because of this there is a necessity for an itinerary of Christian formation.

The Neocatechumenal Way is not a movement or an association, but an instrument in the parishes at the service of the bishop to return to faith many of those who abandoned it.

The Way began in the early 60's in one of the slums of Madrid, by Kiko Argúello and Carmen Hernandez, and was endorsed by the then Archbishop of Madrid, Casimiro Morcillo, who noted in that first community a true rediscovery of the Word of God and the implementation of the liturgical renewal proposed in that time by the Council.

Having seen the positive experience in the church of Madrid, in 1974 the Congregation for Divine Worship chose the name Neocatechumenal Way for this experience.

It is a way of conversion through which the richness of the gospel can be rediscovered.

In these years the Way has diffused itself to over 900 Dioceses, in 105 Nations, with over 20 thousand communities in six thousand parishes.

In 1987 the first international missionary seminary "Redemptoris Mater" was opened in Rome. The seminary hosts youth that have discovered and matured their vocation in a Neocatechumenal Community and have answered the call to go and announce the Good News in the whole world. Many Bishops have successively followed the experience of Rome and today in the world there are over 70 diocesan missionary seminaries "Redemptoris Mater," where over two thousand seminarians are being formed.

Recently as an answer to the Pope's call for a New Evangelization, many families that have lived this experience have offered themselves to help the mission of the church going to the most secularized and dechristianized places in the world, preparing for the birth of new missionary parishes.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Give Drink to the Thirsty by Mark P. Shea

A religion that practices baptism is a religion that doesn't have very rigorous membership requirements. No Herculean feats necessary to prove your mettle. You don't have to hand your darkest secrets over to the Custodian of the Engrams for him to leverage you into keeping the Inner Secrets of the Organization. No proof is necessary beyond your word that you mean to try to be a good Christian. No ritual bath in bull's blood. No gashing yourself with knives or holding your hand over an open flame to attest your seriousness.

Indeed, there's none of that "and we mean business!" stuff that any secret organization worth its salt practices. Just a splash of water three times, a few ritual words, and you are good to go! You don't even need to possess the faculty of consciousness if you happen to be born into a Catholic family: Mom and Dad do that bit for you till you are ready to claim the Faith for your own, which a lot of Catholics never get around to doing. The baptismal water runs off your velvety newborn head (or even your graying ex-Nazi butcher head), and the gift of eternal life is granted by our profligate God. It's as though Catholics really believe all that stuff about salvation by grace and not by hard work on our part!

In light of this, water is once again seen as a fitting symbol of the grace of God. It's everywhere. Oceans of it! Three quarters of the earth's surface is covered by the stuff that first mediates the sacramental grace of God to us. Most of our bodies are made of it. It's Adam's Ale, the most common thing in the world -- like grace.

Some folks might react to that last sentence as though it were a slam on the grace of God. How dare I call it "common"? But that's only because some folks think that calling something common is calling it "cheap" or "boring" or "unimportant."

None of that is true. All the most important things in the world are common. Breathing, for instance. You don't think about it while you exercise the privilege; but let somebody interrupt it for just a few seconds, and your appreciation for it shows a marked uptick. Love is common. It happens every day. People are constantly falling in love. And when it happens, it is exquisite every time: a little shadow of participation in the life of God Himself. Birth is common -- and every birth is a miracle. Death is common -- and every death is a tiny Golgotha in which another human being is joined to the sufferings of the Son of God and His Blessed Mother.

The commonness of water is like those common -- and precious -- things. Jesus tells us that the Sheep in the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats are marked by, among other things, the fact that they will be commended because they gave Him something to drink.

And yet, that doesn't seem very . . . reward-worthy. It's not exactly up there with slaying the Hydra or battling an army grown from dragon's teeth or cleaning the Augean Stables. When we go to a restaurant and a waiter gives us our customary glass of ice water, we do not break forth in alleluias. After we mow the grass and our wife gives us a glass of water, we do not customarily rejoice that salvation has visited this house. Yet Jesus chooses this image as a sign of our worthiness for Heaven. What gives?

At this point, it is often customary for the imagination to wander to scenes we are sure we recall from the Bible somewhere, like that time Jesus gave a drink of water to the desperately parched Charlton Heston in 1 Wyler 10:42. But it turns out that scene isn't from a biblical book. It's from Ben Hur, one of the great biblical epics of the 1950s where Jesus appears as a bit player whose back is always to us and whose face always manages to cow and overawe grizzled Roman soldiers. In scenes like that, we can certainly see how giving somebody a cup of cold water might be commendable as an act of mercy.

But how often do we have occasion to meet desperately thirsty chain gangs full of innocents, much less have an artesian well nearby when we do? Indeed, if it comes to that, how often, even in Jesus' day, was the average person confronted with stampeding herds of desperately thirsty chain-gang members to whom he could dramatically give drink? Perhaps such occasions happened with a little more frequency under the Roman boot than in Suburban America. But as a rule, it was not common. So this leaves us somewhat at a loss as to how to implement this teaching in our life, as well as with a puzzle about how such a saying would have been understood by Jesus' disciples. Desperate thirst, while it certainly could occur in a world without indoor plumbing and at the mercy of drought, was just not all that normal an occurrence.

This is not, by the way, to say that there's no problem with the water supply in human habitats the world over today. As charities like Global Water attest, there is much to be done to assure that people in the Third World have a source of clean, safe water to drink. My point is not that we can blow off the need to give drink to the thirsty, nor to say that because we in America are blessed with modern water technologies we can henceforth ignore this corporal work of mercy. As things like the Nestle Boycott attest, the Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man is still being played out today, only the Rich Man is now busy profiteering off the thirst of Lazarus by telling his mother, "Don't feed your boy with that low-tech breast milk! Instead, line our pockets with this snazzy new formula that you mix with contaminated water! Sure, your kid will be between six and 25 times more likely to die of diarrhea and four times more likely to die of pneumonia than a breastfed child, but that's a small price to pay for supporting First World capitalism in the Third World!"

But that said, it's still worth asking how the command to give drink to the thirsty might have been understood by Jesus' hearers. Charities like Global Water and EvilCorps like Nestle did not exist when Jesus spoke. Those men and women who heard Him were not thinking about the problem of dysentery in Sudanese water supplies a thousand miles away from their village in Galilee. So while we do very well to consider such matters and do our part to help ensure that an African mother is not bamboozled into killing her child by corporate hucksters eager to make a buck, we also need to consider what this passage may have meant to those who first read it.

It is worth noting that when the disciples thought about thirst -- and especially the thirst a man could feel as "the least of these my brethren" -- there was one thing they could readily connect these sayings to:

After this Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the scripture), "I thirst." A bowl full of vinegar stood there; so they put a sponge full of the vinegar on hyssop and held it to his mouth. (Jn 19:28-29)

Jesus had thirsted. He had thirsted physically on the cross -- an intense burning thirst brought on by massive loss of body fluids following His scourging. When He begged for drink, our race gave Him vinegar to drink. And His followers got much the same treatment: crucified, stoned, cut to ribbons, roasted alive on spits -- the torments we devised for the least of His brethren just goes on and on.

In this light, the cup of cold water suddenly comes back into focus as the humble and sharp rebuke to human cruelty and selfishness that it is. So small an act as this is impossible for the fallen human creature in the grip of Christ-hatred. Indeed, it can, in the right conditions of mob violence and hatred, even mark you as "the wrong sort," a sympathizer, a fellow traveler, one who deserves the same fate. Just as Peter could imagine the hot breath of condemnation on his neck for the crime of having an accent similar to Jesus' (Mk 14:70), so even the smallest act of perceived similarity to Jesus can cost you your neck when the mood to persecute is on the world. However, such is the divine generosity that even this small an act of charity to His saints may well be what carries us into the Light when the Divine Assizes are reckoned. That is, I suspect, the meaning of this passage:

"He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives him who sent me. He who receives a prophet because he is a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward, and he who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. And whoever gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he shall not lose his reward." (Mt 10:40-42)

To give drink to the thirsty here is to give drink to Christ Himself, harried to a hiding place by a pursuing mob, or panting in desperation in a world that is all too ready to crucify Him yet again in the person of some helpless soul who just thought to do what is right. To be kind to a disciple during some pogrom, or to take in an apostle as a guest, was, indeed, sometimes to give literal physical food and drink (as the Philippian Jailer discovered when he welcomed Paul and Silas).

But above all, for the early Church, to give drink to the thirsty would most certainly have been connected in their minds with the gift of living water. Preaching the gospel in Rome, or most of the urbanized areas subject to Caesar, one would have been hard-pressed to find bodies dying of thirst in the shadow of the aqueducts. But one could find a plentiful supply of souls hungering and thirsting after righteousness. To them, the words of Christ in the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats would have been inevitably joined to the story of Jesus' words to the Samaritan woman:

There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?" For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." The woman said to him, "Sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep; where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, and his sons, and his cattle?" Jesus said to her, "Every one who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst; the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (Jn 4:7-14)

To give drink to the thirsty is now, as it was then, a work of mercy supremely in that it involves giving the mercy of God in the person of the Holy Spirit to those who cry out for Him. To be sure, the bodily needs of the thirsty must be met. But after the lowest level of Maslow's Pyramid is built, human beings -- not being brute beasts -- go on needing more than this. They suffer from a thirst that no earthly water can satisfy. Indeed, as many an alcoholic and addict will tell you, we suffer from a thirst that men have destroyed their lives seeking to quench with mortal elixirs that promise life and give only death. That is why the water at Jacob's well -- and indeed all the water in the world -- could not slake the Samaritan Woman's thirst. Only the Spirit could give us the water that quenches our thirst. And, in the end, it is only by this common-yet-miraculous drink that we can fully and truly give drink to the thirsty.
 
Mark P. Shea is a senior editor at www.CatholicExchange.com and a columnist for www.InsideCatholic.com. Visit his blog at www.markshea.blogspot.com.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Hachiko: A Dog's story


I enjoyed watching movie especially a good one. Today, I watched one extremely good movie "Hachi" based on a true story on "Hachiko".

Hachikō (ハチ公?, November 10, 1923–March 8, 1935), known in Japanese as chūken Hachikō (忠犬ハチ公?, "faithful dog Hachikō" ('hachi' meaning 'eight', a number referring to the position within the nest the dog came from, and 'kō' being a Japanese familiar suffix)). Hachikō was an Akita dog born on a farm near the city of Ōdate, Akita Prefecture,[1] remembered for his loyalty to his owner, even many years after his owner's death.

In 1924, Hachikō was brought to Tokyo by his owner, Hidesaburō Ueno, a professor in the agriculture department at the University of Tokyo. During his owner's life Hachikō saw him out from the front door and greeted him at the end of the day at the nearby Shibuya Station. The pair continued their daily routine until May 1925, when Professor Ueno did not return on the usual train one evening. The professor had suffered a heart attack at the university that day. He died and never returned to the train station where his friend was waiting. Hachikō was loyal and every day for the next nine years he waited sitting there amongst the town's folk.

Hachikō was given away after his master's death, but he routinely escaped, showing up again and again at his old home. Eventually, Hachikō apparently realized that Professor Ueno no longer lived at the house. So he went to look for his master at the train station where he had accompanied him so many times before. Each day, Hachikō waited for Professor Ueno to return. And each day he did not see his friend among the commuters at the station.

The permanent fixture at the train station that was Hachikō attracted the attention of other commuters. Many of the people who frequented the Shibuya train station had seen Hachikō and Professor Ueno together each day. They brought Hachikō treats and food to nourish him during his wait.

This continued for nine years with Hachikō appearing precisely when the train was due at the station.[
Hachikō became a national sensation. His faithfulness to his master's memory impressed the people of Japan as a spirit of family loyalty all should strive to achieve. Teachers and parents used Hachikō's vigil as an example for children to follow. A well-known Japanese artist rendered a sculpture of the dog, and throughout the country a new awareness of the Akita breed grew.

Eventually, Hachiko's legendary faithfulness became a national symbol of loyalty.

Friday, April 23, 2010

What movies best represent the seven virtues and the theological gifts?

What movies best represent the seven virtues and the theological gifts?


The Regina Coeli Academy in Philadelphia is putting together a list of recommended films for students.

One of the founders, Barbara Henkels, asked me to put the word out for some recommendations, which I am delighted to do.

Here is my preliminary list for the virtues:

Faith: The Song of Bernadette (1943), directed by Henry King, starring Jennifer Jones. One of the most successful and enduring of Hollywood's religious films, The Song of Bernadette portrays the clash between faith and science, doing surprising justice to both sides.

Hope: It's a Wonderful Life (1946), directed by Frank Capra and starring James Stewart. This Christimas classic was something of a flop when it was released -- too close to the end of WWII? However, it still grips the viewer with the freshness of George Bailey's struggle with suicide.

Love: Life is Beautiful, starring and directed by Roberto Benigni. Anyone who has seen this film will very likely never forget the father's gift of his life to save his son in a concentration camp.

Prudence: Young Mr. Lincoln (1939), directed by John Ford and starring Henry Fonda. What makes this film so memorable is the way Lincoln employs his intelligence and insight into human character in the courtroom to get at the truth of a murder charge.

Justice: The Winslow Boy (1948), directed by Terrence Rattigan and starring Robert Donat. (By all means, watch this film version and not the 1999 remake by David Mamet.) Based upon a true story, The Winslow Boy portrays a father's dogged pursuit of justice for his son kicked out of school for stealing.

Temperance: Cheaper by the Dozen (1950), directed by Walter Lang and starring Clifton Webb. The attempts by the father of the Gilbreth clan to run everything by the clock is an unforgettable lesson about temperance and how it can be taken to the extreme.

Fortitude: Bridge Over the River Kwai (1957), directed by David Lean and starring Alec Guinness. The American and English soldiers in a Japanese prisoner of war camp are led by Colonel Nicholson (Guinness) whose trips to suffer the heat of "the cooler" are an unforgettable lesson in courage and leadership.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Cancer Update from Johns Hopkins

AFTER YEARS OF TELLING PEOPLE CHEMOTHERAPY IS THE ONLY WAY TO TRY AND ELIMINATE CANCER, JOHNS HOPKINS IS FINALLY STARTING TO TELL YOU THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE WAY …


[Cancer Update from Johns Hopkins ]

1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect the cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable size.

2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person's lifetime.

3. When the person's immune system is strong the cancer cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and forming tumors.

4. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has multiple nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic, environmental, food and lifestyle factors.

5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing diet and including supplements will strengthen the immune system.

6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing cancer cells and also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells in the bone marrow, gastro-intestinal tract etc, and can cause organ damage, like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs etc.

7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs.

8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often reduce tumor size. However prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation do not result in more tumor destruction.

9. When the body has too much toxic burden from chemotherapy and radiation the immune system is either compromised or destroyed, hence the person can succumb to various kinds of infections and complications.

10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy. Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other sites.

11. An effective way to battle cancer is to STARVE the cancer cells by not feeding it with foods it needs to multiple.

What cancer cells feed on:

a. Sugar is a cancer-feeder. By cutting off sugar it cuts off one important food supply to the cancer cells. Note: Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc are made with Aspartame and it is harmful. A better natural substitute would be Manuka honey or molasses but only in very small amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in colour. Better alternative is Bragg's aminos or sea salt.

b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk and substituting with unsweetened soy milk, cancer cells will starved.

c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based diet is acidic and it is best to eat fish, and a little chicken rather than beef or pork. Meat also contains livestock antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites, which are all harmful, especially to people with cancer.

d. A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole grains, seeds, nuts and a little fruits help put the body into an alkaline environment. About 20% can be from cooked food including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide live enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to cellular levels within 15 minutes t o nourish and enhance growth of healthy cells.

To obtain live enzymes for building healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice (most vegetables including bean sprouts) and eat some raw vegetables 2 or 3 times a day. Enzymes are destroyed at temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C).

e. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high caffeine. Green tea is a better alternative and has cancer-fighting properties. Water--best to drink purified water, or filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in tap water. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it.

12. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the intestines will become putrified and leads to more toxic buildup.

13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By refraining from or eating less meat it frees more enzymes to attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows the body's killer cells to destroy the cancer cells.

14. Some supplements build up the immune system (IP6, Flor-ssence, Essiac, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, EFAs etc.) to enable the body's own killer cells to destroy cancer cells. Other supplements like vitamin E are known to cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the body's normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or unneeded cells.

15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior be a survivor.

Anger, unforgiving and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax and enjoy life.

16. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated environment. Exercising daily, and deep breathing help to get more oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer cells.

Monday, April 12, 2010

About Cancer

有关癌細胞。。。。
ABout Cancer

在弱鹼性體質的狀態下,癌細胞是無法生長、甚至是無法生存的。
Actual case studies, very important, please read patiently and pass this on..

真實案例,很重要,請耐心看完,請轉寄哦!!
Even if you have read this before, you should reread this, especially the list of acidic and alkaline foodstuff , best to read several times and remember..

即使看過了還是要再看,尤其下面的酸鹼性食物最好多看幾次,就可以記住了
Please read this article in full patiently, it will be helpful to your health.

請耐心看完這篇文章,對自身健康很有幫助
More than 30 years ago, a Mr Zhang who worked in the public sales department of a Taipei Brewery, participated in the brewery overseas study selection examination, and passed with flying colours.

三十多年前有一位服務於公賣局台北啤酒廠的 張 先生,參加該啤酒場選派技術人員到國外深造的考試,以優異的成績及格。
Before going overseas during the physical examination at a public hospital, it was discovered that he had a lung tumour the size of a child's fist, and therefore was unable to go overseas to study.

在出國前經某公立醫院體檢發現,罹患有像小孩拳頭大小的肺部腫瘤,因而不能出國。
The greatly disappointed Mr Zhang had always been sus-picious that the diagnosis was wrong.. So he went to another hospital for a check-up, the result confirm that previous diagnosis was not in error.

張先生非常失望之餘,一直懷疑診斷有誤;於是再到另一家醫院檢查,結果還是證實原來的診斷並無錯誤。
For the youthful and healthy Mr Zhang to be stricken down with such a terminal illness, in his despair, he rang his old classmate who at the time was Taidong County Government, Huangsun County Mayor's secretary, Mr Wei.

當時年輕力壯的 張 先生得到這樣的絕症,在人生絕望之餘,多次打電話給當時任職台東縣政府黃順興縣長機要秘書的魏姓同學。
Mr Wei rushed to Taipei during his rest day on a Sunday to see Mr Zhang..

魏姓同學便利用星期日趕到台北 和張 先生見面,
Mr Zhang discussed with Mr Wei in detail his despair and pessimism, and entrusted his friend regarding his affairs after his death. Coincidentally, Mr Wei was a good friend of Dr Lu Geling, who was in charge of the Maijie Hospital, 1945-55, and specialized in the clinical research into cancer cases.

張先生向魏同學詳述相關絕望的詳情和悲觀感受,並請位同學協助其後事,恰逢魏同學與前任馬偕醫院院長1949-55年專精於癌症臨床研究的呂革令 博士係知交好友。
He immediately suggested that Mr Zhang go to see Dr Lu for treatment. At first, Mr Zhang said he preferred not to see anymore doctors, so as not to add further to his misery.

當即建議前往訪求 呂博士醫治,起初 張 先生說不願再看醫生,以免徒增傷悲;
But Mr Wei told him that he had telephoned Dr Lu before to seek his advice and arranged an appointment. Mr Zhang felt obligated and went with Mr Wei to meet Dr Lu.

但魏同學說先前已以電話請教過 呂博士並安排好時間, 張 先生只好偕同前往 呂 博士住處造訪。
When Dr Lu met with Mr Zhang, Dr Lu said: ' Mr Wei is a friend and introduced you and I to get to know each other. This is destiny. Thank you. Let me ask you do you know why is cancer referred to as terminal illness?'

呂博士 和張 先生見面就說:「 魏 先生是我的好友,介紹你和我認識是我們緣份,感謝。我請教你:『癌為什麼叫絕症,你可知道嗎?』」
Both Mr Zhang and Mr Wei did not know how to answer.

張先生 和魏 先生都不知道如何作答。
Dr Lu explained: 'There are only two approaches taken by humans to treat cancer to-date. The first is to destroy the source of the disease. The second is to increase the capability to fight the disease.

呂博士又說:「人類醫治癌症到目前為止只有兩條路,第一條路是消滅病源,第二條路是增加抵抗力。
But the strange thing is that, whether we use Cobalt 60 or other drugs to destroy the cancer cells, before the cancer cells are killed, the good cells are destroyed first..

但很奇怪的是,癌無論用鈷60或其他藥物去消滅癌細胞,可是癌細胞還沒被消滅,好的細胞卻先被殺死。
On the other hand, no matter what nutrients or supplements we use, before the good cells have a chance to absorb them, the cancer cells have taken them up and it simply speeds up the growth of cancer..

另無論用什麼營養、補藥,好的細胞還未吸收,癌細胞卻先吸收、讓癌長得更快;
Therefore both approaches are doomed to failure, that is why cancer is terminal.'

因此可說上述兩條路都行不通、所以叫絕症。」
Dr Lu continues: 'Human beings are most clever, they have successfully landed on the moon. But why is it no one ever questioned the above two approaches for treating cancer which are nothing but self defeating dead-ends, and try to seek a third avenue?

呂博士又說:「人類的聰明連登陸月球也都已經成功,但為什麼沒有人去懷疑上述兩條治癌的路是在鑽牛角尖,另外找第三條路?
When I was conducting clinical research in Majie Hospital , I had many opportunities to work with and being helped by many colleagues in the Hospital. I discovered that the blood tests of 100% of the cancer patients showed that the blood samples are acidic.

我以往在馬偕醫院做癌症临床實驗,並得院內各部同仁協助的機會,我發現癌症病人血液檢查的結果百分之百都是酸性反應。
Those Buddhist monks and nuns who are long term vegetarians and live very close to Nature, their blood are prevalently weakly alkaline and amongst them, there has yet to discover any cancer cases.

長期素食、且生活接近自然的佛寺僧尼,由於體質都偏屬優質弱鹼性,所以尚沒有發現罹患癌症的病例。
Therefore, I boldly concluded that under weakly alkaline condition, cancer cells are not able to grow, or even to survive.

因此我大膽的斷定在弱鹼性體質的狀態下,癌細胞是無法生長、甚至是無法生存的。
Mr Zhang, I would suggest that starting from now you reduce your intake of the acidic meaty dishes..

張先生我建議你從現在起少吃酸性的葷食類,
Take more of the alkaline food. In addition you can take green algae and soup made from water chestnuts with skin,

多吃鹼性食物,另外可吃綠藻和帶殼菱角湯,
modify your physical condition, and try seriously to have a regular life style which is close to Nature;

改變你的體質,並勵行接近自然的良好生活規律;
If you can manage to stay alive for five years, you should have no further problem. I wish you the best of luck.'

如果五年內不死、你就沒問題了,祝福你。」
Mr Zhang followed Dr Lu's suggestion and seriously altered his eating habits.

張先生依照 呂 博士的建議,認真改變吃的習慣,
Every day, he ate green algae, drank chestnut soup, be optimistic and did an appropriate amount of exercise, and went back to the same public hospital for a check up. It was discovered that not only that the tumour did not increase in size, on the contrary it showed signs of shrinking, and surprised the hospital staff conducting the check-up as a miracle.. Five years later, the tumour had shrunk to such a state as to almost disappear..

每天又吃綠藻、喝菱角湯,樂觀加上每天適當的運動,一年後再到同一公立醫院檢查結果,發現腫瘤不但沒有長大、反而已呈現萎縮狀態,遂令醫院檢查人 員驚為奇蹟,五年後竟完全處於萎縮、至近於消失狀態。

After almost 40 years, presently Mr Zhang's health is totally normal, and living a very pleasant life.
經過了將近四十年歲月,現在 張 先生的健康情況完全正常,生活起居甚為愉快。

Following Mr Zhang, a Mr Chen Tianshou, who was previously Head of the General Administration of the Taidong Provincial Hospital , was similarly diagnosed with lung cancer.
繼 張 先生之後,有位前台東省立醫院總務課長 陳添壽 先生,同樣得到肺癌;

When Mr Wei heard of this, he told Mr Chen of the experience of Mr Zhang, and Mr Chen started to follow the instructions of Dr Lu to change his physical condition. The outcome was that he was able to recover fully from the cancer, just like Mr Zhang.
魏先生得知 後將張 先生的經過轉告 陳添壽 先生, 陳 先生乃依照 呂 博士的建議進行改變體質,結果與 張 先生同樣治癒癌症。

At that time, Mr Lu and his family have emigrated to the United States . After the two cases, he returned to Taiwan and met up with Mr Wei.
那時呂博士全家已移民美國,事 後呂 博士回來台灣再與 魏 先生見面時,

Mr Wei told Dr Lu about the experiences of Mr Zhang and Mr Chen, and suggested that let the two of them detailed their experiences to Dr Lu in person, so that Dr Lu could publish a report on his self cure body conditioning method.
魏先生將 張 先生 和陳 先生的經過告訴 呂 博士,並提議由他們倆位親自 向呂 博士陳述,請 呂 博士發表其改變體質之自療成果報告。

Mr Lu very humbly replied:
呂博士謙虛地回答說:

'I am too old, besides, I do not have any clinical records of the outcomes. I would ask that you tell your
friends and relatives, if they are agreeable, then please continue this experience and spread the words ⋯ ⋯
我年事已大,且沒有臨床紀錄不能做為成果。請 魏 先生轉告親友,如果友人認同的話,請他們繼續做體驗並廣為宣導.........。」
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One should take care of oneself but should also be caring about others, 85% of cancer patients have acidic in their physical condition.
關心自己也要關心別人,85﹪癌症病患屬於酸性體質

*** Blood of healthy persons is weakly alkaline in nature, with a pH of about 7.35 to 7.45
* 健康人的血液是成弱鹼性的,約是pH7.35〜7.45左右
*** Babies' blood is also weakly acidic
* 嬰兒也是屬於弱鹼性的體質
*** As adults mature their blood becomes more acidic in nature
* 成長期的成人有體質酸化的現象

According to a study of 600 cancer patients, of their bodily fluid, 85% of the patients are acidic
根據一項六百位癌症病人體液分佈的研究,顯示85﹪癌症病患屬於酸性體質。

Therefore, how to maintain the weakly acidic nature of our body is the first step for moving far away from diseases.
因此,如何使體質維持在弱鹼性就是遠離疾病的第一步。

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Acidic physical conditions manifest itself in:
酸性體質的生理表徵

1. Skin without lustre
1.皮膚無光澤。

2. Athlete's foot
2.香港腳。

3. Feeling tire even with very little exercise, and feeling sleep the moment one gets on to public buses
.稍做運動即感疲勞,一上公車便想睡覺。

4. Easily out of breath going up and down stairs
4.上下樓梯容易氣喘。

5. Fat and with lower stomach protruding,
5.肥胖、下腹突出。

6. Move slowly and movement lethargic
6.步伐緩慢、動作遲緩。
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Why does the body physical condition turn acidic? 為什麼會形成酸性體質?

1. Excessive intake of dairy acidic food
1.過度攝取乳酸性食品

a) meat, dairy products, eggs, beef, ham, etc are acidic food
a)肉類、乳酪製品與蛋、牛肉、火腿等皆屬於酸性食品。

b) taking too much acidic food will cause the blood to become acidic and viscous, difficult to flow to the end of blood vessels, leading to cold feet or knee, stiff shoulders and insomnia.
b)攝取過量的酸性食品血液會傾向酸性而變黏稠,不易流到細血管的末稍,而易造成手腳或膝蓋的冷寒症,以及肩膀僵硬和失眠等。

c) When one is young and strong, taking suitable quantity of meat is appropriate, but older people it more suitable to have a diet which are primarily vegetables ..
c)年輕力壯時吃適量的肉類是對的,但老年人則以蔬菜為宜。

2. Irregularity in the pace of life will cause the body physical condition to become acidic
2.生活步調失常會造成酸性體質

a) Irregular pace in life will lead to mental and physical stress
a)生活步調失常會造成精神與肉體的壓力。

b) According to statistics, people who sleep late are more likely to have cancer than normal persons, by as much as 5 times.
b)據統計,晚睡者罹患癌症的機率比正常人高出五倍。

c) Human beings originally lead a life with regular tempo in this world, it is not possible to store up sleep or food and not possible to change the order of living by mixing up days and nights.
c)人類本來就活在節奏的世界裡,無法事先儲備睡眠或飲食,也不能日夜倒。

d) Human organs are controlled by the autonomic nerves, and during day time it is mainly sympathetic nerves activities, and at night it is mainly the parasympathetic nerves which are functioning, If this order is disturbed and reversed, then diseases will result.
d)人體內臟受自律神經控制,白天主要是交感神經活動,晚上則由副交感神經工作,若使其錯亂及倒置,就亦百病滋生。

3. Emotion over tensed
3.情緒過於緊張

a) Civilised society brings stresses
a)文明社會會造成的壓力。

b) Job related or mental stresses
b)工作上或精神上的壓力。

c) A person suffers mental stress, when the stress is removed and the person relaxes, sometimes this may lead to death, referred to as the syndrome of imperfect adrenal cortex function.
c)當一個人承受精神壓力後,一旦緊張鬆弛,時會造成猝死,稱為潛在性副腎皮質機能不全症。

4. Physical Stress
4.肉體的緊張

a) Before any operation it would be necessary to check to see if the renal cortex does function normally. If the adrenal cortex is lacking, or if the stress imposed by the operation exceeded the ability of adrenal cortex to cope, it could lead to death or other undesirable impacts.

a)動手術之前應先檢查腎上腺皮質機能是否正常。如果副腎皮質機能較差,或手術壓力遠超過副腎調整功能,則可能造成病人死亡或其他不良影響。

b) If it noted that patient's face is puffy, it would be necessary to inquire in detail the patient's medical history and medication status, for patients taking adrenal cortical hormone, extra care should be exercise when administering acupuncture.
b)若發現病患臉部浮腫,需詳加詢問病史及服藥狀況,為長期服用腎上腺皮質賀爾蒙者,施以針灸要特別注意反應。

c) Stress due to physical labour or exercise in excess, whole night card games, driving etc should be avoided as much as possible
c)勞動或運動過度,通宵打牌、開車等壓力都應盡量避免。
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Appendix: Acidity/alkalinity of Common food stuff
附錄:常見食物的酸鹼性

1. Strongly acidic food: egg yolk, cheese, cake make with white sugar or persimmon, mullet fish roe, dried cod.
1強酸性食品:蛋黃、乳酪、白糖做的西點或柿子、烏魚子、柴魚等。

2. Mildly acidic food: ham, bacon, chicken meat, squid, pork, eel, beef, bread, wheat, butter, horse meat etc
2.中酸性食品:火腿、培根、雞肉、鮪魚、豬肉、鰻魚、牛肉、麵包、小麥、奶油、馬肉等。

3. Weakly acidic food: white rice, peanut, , oil fried tofu, sea weed, clam,
3.弱酸性食品:白米、落花生、油炸豆腐、海苔

weakly alkaline food: red bean, radish, apple , cabbage, , tofu etc.
4.弱鹼性食品:紅豆、蘿蔔、蘋果、甘藍菜、、豆腐等。

5. Mildly alkaline food: dried radish, soya bean, carrot, tomato, banana, orange, pumpkin strawberry, egg white, dried plum, lemon, spinach, etc.
5.中鹼性食品:蘿蔔乾、大豆、紅蘿蔔、蕃茄、香蕉、橘子、南瓜、草莓、蛋白、梅乾、檸檬、菠菜等。

6. Strongly alkaline food: grape, tea leave, grape wine, kelp sprout, kelp, etc. Especially natural green algae which contain rich quantity of chlorophyll are very good alkaline health food, but tea should not be drunk in excess, and best to drink in the morning.
6. 強鹼性食品:葡萄、茶葉、葡萄酒、海帶芽、海帶等。尤其是天然綠藻富含葉綠素,是不錯的鹼性健康食品,而茶類不宜過量,最佳飲用時間為早上。

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

The Anatomy of a Sin

The Anatomy of a Sin  
By: Msgr. Charles Pope

The first reading from today’s Mass is an extraordinary moral tale from the Book of Daniel. It is the story of Susanna. The full passage (which is quite lengthy) can be found here: Daniel 13:1-62. Interestingly it is missing from Protestant Bibles which use a truncated version of the Book of Daniel.

It features the story of a beautiful young woman, Susanna, married to a man named Joakim. One day as she is bathing in a private garden two older men who have hidden themselves there out of lust try to seduce Susanna who rebuffs their brazen overture. They threaten to falsely accuse her of having committed adultery with a young man in garden if she does not give way to their desires. She still refuses and they follow through on their threatened lie. They further demand that she should be stoned. Things look bleak for Susanna until Daniel comes to the rescue and, through crafty interrogation, exposes their lie for what it is. The story is a small masterpiece. If you have never read it, you should. In the course of its engaging tale it gives us a kind of anatomy lesson of sin. It is good to consider the teachings here

Anatomy Lesson One: The Cardinal or Deadly Sins lead to other sins- The story powerfully shows how lust, one of the seven cardinal, (a.k.a. capital, or deadly) sins leads to numerous other sins. This is the nature of the seven deadly sins and explains why they are often called Cardinal Sins. In Latin “cardines” means “hinge”. Hence, the seven deadly sins are like hinges on which many other sins “swing.” In this story the deadly sin of lust leads to immodest inquiry, violation of privacy, attempted seduction, unjust accusation, exploitation, lies, oppression, and even to attempted murder. King David too had given way to lust and it led to lies, and ultimately to the murder of Uriah the Hittite by David in which David involved not only himself but his generals. This is what the seven deadly sins do, they lead inexorably to other sins.

Anatomy Lesson Two: The Sequential Sources of Sin. In a remarkable description the story describes a threefold source from which their sins spring forth. The text says: They suppressed their consciences; they would not allow their eyes to look to heaven, and did not keep in mind just judgments. (Daniel 13:9). I’d like to take a look at each of these three sources from which sin springs.

They suppressed their consciences- What is the conscience? The Catechism defines it thus: For Man has in his heart a law inscribed by God, This is his conscience, there he is alone with God whose voice echoes in his depths… (Catechism of the Catholic Church(CCC) # 1776). So in effect the conscience is the voice of God within us. God has written his Law in the hearts of every human person. Thus, in terms of basic right and wrong, we know what we are doing. There may be certain higher matters of the Law that the conscience must be taught (eg. the following of certain rituals or feasts days etc.). But in terms of fundamental moral norms, we have a basic and innate grasp of what is right and wrong. Deep down inside we know what we are doing. We see and salute virtues like bravery, self-control, and generosity. We also know that things like murder of the innocent, promiscuity, theft, destruction of reputations etc are wrong. For all the excuses we like to make, deep down inside we know what we are doing, and we know that we know. I have written substantially about conscience elsewhere (HERE). But notice that it says that they suppressed their consciences. Even though we know something is wrong we often want to do it anyway. One of the first things our wily minds will do is to try and suppress our conscience. To suppress something is to put it down by force, to inhibit or to try and exclude something from awareness or consciousness. The usual way of doing this is through rationalizations and sophistry. We invent any number of thoughts, lies and distortions to try and reassure us that something is really OK that deep down inside we know isn’t OK. We accumulate false teachers and teachings to assist in this suppression of the truth that our conscience witnesses to. St. Paul wrote to Timothy: For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. (2 Tim 4:1-3). It is quite and effort to suppress one’s own conscience and I would argue that we cannot ever do it completely. In fact the whole attempt to suppress the conscience is quite an effort and it is very fragile. This helps explain the anger and hostility of many in the world toward the Church. Deep down they know we are right and often, just the slightest appeal to the conscience to awaken its voice, causes quite an eruption of fear and anger. So here is the first stage in the anatomy of a sin: the suppression of the conscience. In order to act wickedly and not face deep psychological pain of significant guilt these men in the story first suppress their conscience in order to shut off the source of that pain. Step one is underway.

they would not allow their eyes to look to heaven- In order to sustain the fictions, stinking thinking, rationalizations, and sophistry necessary to suppress the conscience it is necessary for one to distance himself from the very source of conscience, God himself. One way to do this is to drift away from God though neglect of prayer, worship, study of the Word of God and association with the Church which speaks for God. Drifting away may become more severe as times goes on and the refusal to repent becomes deeper. Drifting soon becomes absence and absence often becomes outright hostility to anything religious or biblical. Another way that some avert their eyes from heaven is to redefine God. The revealed God of Scripture is replaced by a designer God who does not care about this thing or that. “God doesn’t care if I go to church, or shack up with my girlfriend etc.” On being shown scripture quite contrary to their distorted notions of God they simply respond that Paul had hangups, or that the Bible was written in primitive times. But the cumulative effect is that they are no longer looking to heaven or to God, but rather to a fake God, a false kingdom, an idol. Either way, the purpose is for the individual to isolate and insulate themselves from God and what he reveals. This makes it easier to maintain the rather exhausting effort of suppressing their conscience. So for these men step two in engaged and it further supports the suppression of conscience necessary to commit sin without the pain of guilt.

and did not keep in mind just judgments- Finally lets throw in a little presumption which dismisses any consequences for evil acts. This of course is one of THE sins of our current age. This final stage is meant to eliminate the salutary fear that should accompany evil acts. The sinner at this stage has had some success in alleviating the psychic pain of guilt and even a lot of the fear that used to accompany sin when the voice of conscience was less layered over and muted. But still some fear remains so now an attack is made on any notion of consequences. Perhaps the sinner exaggerates the mercy and patience of God to the exclusion of God’s holiness which sin cannot endure. Perhaps he denies the reality of hell which God clearly teaches. Perhaps he denies that God exists at all and holds that there is no judgment to be faced. However he does it, he must push back the fear the punishment and/or judgment.

Then, having suppressed the voice of God to the extent he can and having removed himself from heaven’s influence, and denied that anything of negative consequence will come, he is free to sin gravely. It is as though he has taken a number of stiff drinks and anesthetized himself sufficiently to proceed without pain.

But guess what, it’s still there deep down inside. The voice of conscience remains. Under all the layers of stinking thinking and attempts to insulate oneself from the true God, deep down the sinner still knows what he is doing is wrong. Even the slightest thing to prick his conscience causes increasing unease. Anger, projection, name-calling, ridiculing of anyone or anything awaken his conscience will increasing be resorted to. Sin is in full bloom now and repentance seems increasingly difficult or unlikely. Only great prayers and fasting by others for him will likely spring him loose from the deep moral sleep he is currently in. Pray for the conversion of sinners.