… if you are inspired by, changed through and your life has made a turn around because of the Bible, then you’ll fall in-love with this movie. It’s an action film. Not great, as in “Borne…” great. But behind the action scenes, the passion for The Book is very evident.
Makes me think: we’re a blessed generation. We have hundreds of Bible versions with millions of copies in the market. And, through LifeChurch.tv (were LifeChurch Makati is networked), considered as the most innovative church in the US — and in my opinion the most generous — they have made The Bible even more accessible — for free! — through YouVersion.com. Now you can read the Bible through the internet or through your phones.
Very accessible more than ever. But where is our Bibles today? In the altars? In your bags — to protect you from “harms and dangers?”
You will never experience the power of the Book if you’re not going to be passionate about reading it and putting it in your hearts. It has changed my life, it has inspired me to walk with God and it has guided me through difficult situations in life. My experience is identical with millions who decided to make the Bible part of their lives.
And you can experience this, too. Grab your Bible and start reading it. If you don’t have one, go ahead and go to YouVersion.com, choose a version you’re most comfortable with and start reading online.
Don’t wait for the time when the Bible is nowhere to be found.
I’m playing with the thought of having a mini-Christian bloggers’ meet-up this Friday night. I’m not an event organizer or anything like that, so I really don’t know what I’m doing. :D Nonetheless, I have a couple of reasons why I need this to happen:
1. I need to see the faces behind those avatars. Let’s admit it, we know a lot of people online, but very few know each other personally. It can be a great time to fellowship and shake the real hands, you know what I mean.
2. LifeChurch Makati, the church we’re launching in May, said we’re willing to sponsor the coffee/drinks for this event. So, that’s free Starbucks for those who’s coming. :D To be transparent about it, not only that we’re excited to meet Christian bloggers, we also what to know if you guys can help cover the event on Sunday (March 21) as we have our 2nd preview service at Glorietta 4, Cinema 4. Details during the meet-up.
So, if you’re a:
- Christian blogger, or
- Christian twitter (wow, new English term, eh!)
and if you’re available this Friday, 7 pm, we’d like to have you for this Christian Blogger mini-meetup. That’ll be held at Starbucks Glorietta 4. Please confirm your attendance here. If I’ll have even just 4 bloggers to sign up, we’ll proceed. If you have questions, please email me at arnold[at]lifechurchmakati.com.
Watch this, then let me tell you why Bro. Eddie just broke my heart.
Let me lay out the ground work.
1. I’m an evangelical Christian.
2. Bro. Eddie is a leader of one of the biggest evangelical groups here in the Philippines.
3. While I’m not part of the Jesus is Lord Church which he founded, I look up to him as a brother and a great leader of the Church.
4. Apolo Quiboloy’s “Kingdom…”, on the other hand, is NOT an evangelical church. In fact, his church is largely considered a cult of Christianity among evangelical apologists. Reason for this includes his claim of being the Son of God (in Gentile body, blasphemous in my opinion), their works-oriented salvation doctrine, Oneness (as against Trinitarianism), and exclusivity (even claiming that Davao — where their headquarters is located — is the new Jerusalem). He has all the characteristics to be tagged by evangelicals as a dangerous cult.
5. I can respect Quiboloy as a citizen of the Philippines and truly a leader with many followers. But I will never call him a “preacher of righteousness”.
Bro. Eddie, as most of you know, is campaigning for the presidency.
Seeing this man of God compromise his belief, the gospel of Jesus Christ, to which this man from Davao has adulterated, breaks my heart. He is not only loosing his witness, he is also loosing the witness of the entire evangelical Christianity in the Philippines.
What else can Bro. Eddie do just to win the votes of the people?
I’m calling on Bro. Eddie to repent of this lie, hunger for power and for bringing shame to the name of Jesus Christ, the true Son of God.
I’m a big fan of the PBB franchise. Pero kailan kaya matitigil ang pag gamit ng HMs ng “i am poor card”? Just play the game well please.
That short, 140 or less character line has defined exactly what I have in mind — not just with the state of Philippine television, because I hardly watch these days, but with the Filipino mindset in general.
Politics. Take a look at Manny Villar, Erap and Jojo Binay. “I am/was poor, therefore you should vote for me”
Workplace. I have erroneously given “on top of the others” favor to some employees not because they were deserving, but because they said, and claimed at least, that they are poor. I’m sure this happens all the time in the workplace.
Game shows and Philippine TV. You see this everyday. People go on TV and proclaim that they are poor, therefore should deserve some sort of alms or privilege.
Jove called this “I am poor card”. I call this emotional ambush.
My heart goes to the poor. I was raised in a relatively poor family.
What I’m so pissed is the “I am poor, therefore…” mentality of us Filipinos. We thought that being poor is the end of it all. People dwell on it. Politicians exploit it.
If you think you are poor and has nothing on earth to help you get out of it — aside from joining TV shows, receiving financial “help” from politicians or betting on lotto, then you’ll be poor for the rest of your life.
I’m not writing this for the poor — heck, they are poor, how can they have internet access! I’m writing this for us in the middle class. Please stop exploiting this Filipino poor mentality. Let us help them get out of the curse of poverty and not wallow on it. Politicians — let not the people vote for you because you are/were poor but because you have an actual plan to help them get out of the mess and not just to temporarily relieve the pain.
For those who know me, you know that I’ve long been involved with a church called Grace Place. It’s been a great 3 years. God has been leading us all throughout, teaching us what to do and what not to do. Sometimes, we’re hard headed. But when we follow His leading and focus on what matters most, great results happen.
So, we’ve been making noise about a new church called LifeChurch Makati in Facebook and people were asking, “There’s no more Grace Place?”
The quick answer is, “Yes. There’s no more Grace Place.”
The longer and more accurate answer is to explain that technically, the people behind Grace Place are the same people that will launch LifeChurch Makati. Only, LifeChurch Makati has:
a different approach in doing church
a different Sunday experience
a different location
a different partner
LifeChurch Makati is powered by LifeChurch.tv, an innovative church in the US lead by Craig Groeschel. We’re going to have a preview service on February 21, 2010 at the new location in Glorietta 4, Cinema 4. It’s a different Sunday experience, I promise. You’ve got to see it to believe.
And if you’re a follower of Christ and wants to serve, you’re welcome to be part of the launch team. Here are the details.
Arnold Gamboa. Jesus' follower. Joyce' lover. Johann's and Arwen's playmate. Team Sparrow leader. LifeChurch Makati's servant. Know more about this blog here.
… if you are inspired by, changed through and your life has made a turn around because of the Bible, then you’ll fall in-love with this movie. It’s an action film. Not great, as in “Borne…” great. But behind the action scenes, the passion for The Book is very evident.
