If you want to win in this life, prepare in private when no one or even few see. So when crunch time comes, you know you’ve won the battle the very moment your impulse developed in private starts moving.

Manny Pacquiao on lessons in life:

“I will buy an iPad because I love Apple”

“I will become a call center agent after I graduate, that’s the fastest way to having a career after I graduate”

“I need to go abroad, my family needs money to live”

“I have been attending this church since I was born. Why would I try others that they say would benefit me?”

Form or goal?

In buying a gadget, the form are brands, the goal is usability.

In establishing a career, the form is your job, the goal is being able to use your unique passion in pursuing the kind of work designed for you.

In relationships and family, the form is job security, the goal is love and togetherness.

In worship, the form is a church, the goal is God

In making decisions, the forms are almost always given emphasis. But in the long run, if we focus on the goal rather than the form, it produces short term pains and long term gains.

While this video cannot prove anything, this clearly shows the kind of attitudes politicians have here in this country.

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.

Most of the greatest spiritual innovators throughout history were people who broke the rules… When you try something new in ministry most people will tell you that your idea will never work… Innovation by definition will not be accepted at first. It takes repeat attempts, endless demonstrations, monotonous rehearsals before innovation can be accepted and internalized by an organization. This requires courageous patience. If you have a God idea, you must be brave enough to go with it. Break some rules.

This Sunday marks the start of “breaking rules” for LifeChurch Makati. We’re going to break some rules in doing church here in the Philippines. If you’re interested to know what it is, check us out on our first preview service at Glorieta 4, Cinema 4 this Sunday, February 21. You’re invited to observe and experience.

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.

But that would be a long shot, wouldn’t it?

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.

Philippine Daily Inquirer reports:

(DSWD Sec.) Cabral asked the NBI last year to investigate the identity of the blogger after reading a blog entry entitled “Aanhin pa ang damo kung patay na ang kabayo (What good is help that comes if it is too late),” posted on ‘Blog ni Ella’ on Oct. 21, 2009.

The former social welfare secretary claimed the blog entry contained “malicious imputations against her, the Department of Social Welfare and Development, and its employees.”

“The article alluded that she and the DSWD employees are corrupt, having diverted donated goods for personal gain at the expense of the typhoon victims and downright incompetent,” the NBI said in its referral.

A few things:

- I saw the blog during its height. There’s nothing libelous about it. The blogger stood with nothing to gain — other than the unsolicited fame the blog resulted from. If there was anything Ella was about during that time, she was sincerely bothered by the fact that people were hungry and homeless and without clothes and the government doesn’t seem to care.

- Sec. Cabral has an onion skin. As the saying goes, “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen”

- This sends a chilling effect on bloggers. Blogging — and social networks — as we now know, is the future of media. It may not be as formal as the print or even TV, but I will argue that it’s the fastest and even more accurate source of information nowadays. Just take a look, for instance, on this report from PDI. It says, “It also checked with the hosting company of the domain name www.ellaganda.com and found out that the hosting contract with “Ella Rose delos Santos” or “Ellaganda” has been terminated since December 2008″ Duh? If it was “terminated” since Dec. 2008, why has www.ellaganda.com able to post the alleged libelous blog last Oct. 2009? So who has the accurate information now?

As a blogger, I feel for her. Do you think freedom of speech can still be exercised in this country — even in a free platform such as blogging?

Bloggers, unite! Make some noise. Defend your rights.

“If the Sabbath was given only during the time of Moses and according to Jesus “the Sabbath was MADE for MAN” (Mark 2:27) therefore MEN came to exist only during the time of MOSES!” “As long as MAN exists, the SABBATH should also exists because the SABBATH was MADE for MAN.”

A common Adventist argumentation, this interpretation rises and falls on the “correct” interpretation of the context of Mark 2:27. In 2005, I posted a reply on this subject. This, however, shares a more detailed explanation on the context of Mark 2:27 and how this verse has been erroneously used by Adventists to prove a point that wasn’t there.

* * *

In Mark 2:27-28 the Pharisees had made the 7th day Sabbath exceedingly important. They had made the Sabbath the important thing to them man’s needs were only secondary at best. Jesus wanted to make the point to the religious leaders and the people that the Sabbath was not more important than man. The Sabbath was for the benefit of the people and not the other way around. Jesus in saying that he was Lord of the Sabbath was pointing out that he possessed the ultimate authority over the Sabbath. I like the way the Jerusalem Bible puts it, “…so the Son of Man is master even of the Sabbath.” In other words, the Pharisees do not have the authority to condemn Jesus over what they considered a Sabbath violation for he is master and Lord of the Sabbath.

This dispute with the Pharisees arose not over the question of who was supposed to keep the Sabbath, but rather over how the Sabbath was to be kept and who had the authority to determine how the law was to be applied. The SDA belief that here Jesus is teaching that all mankind must keep the 7th day Sabbath is not found in the text. Jesus and the Pharisees knew that the Sabbath was only for the Jews. Neither Jesus nor the Pharisees were concerned with the question of who must keep the Sabbath. Such a concern is limited to the SDA church and other sabbatarians. Let us note that in the text it does not say “all mankind” but just “man”.  Compare this fact with other universal text found in the New Testament and you will see a marked difference. “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). “I will pour out a portion of my spirit on all mankind” (Acts 2:17). “…for he wants all men to be saved” (1 Timothy 2:4). “The grace of God has appeared, offering salvation to all men” (Titus 2:11). These universal texts  contain the word “all” that is missing from Mark 2:27. The reason for this is that Mark 2:27 is not a universal text. It refers to the Jews only. This interpretation is in complete harmony with the rest of Scripture (see Exodus 16:22-23; 20:8-11; 31:16-17; Deuteronomy 5:12-15; Nehemiah 9:13-14; Ezekiel 20:12, 20).

To sum up we have a text that is not at all concerned with who was to keep the 7th day Sabbath. The concern was with who had the authority to interpret how the Sabbath was to be kept by those under the Law. The text gives no indication that it is a universal text as it simply says, “man” not “all mankind” as in universal texts. In addition we must remember that Jesus was certainly well aware that the Bible says that the 7th day Sabbath was a sign of the Mosaic Covenant between God and Israel not between God and the world. Therefore, Mark 2:27-28 in no way is saying that the Sabbath is a requirement for all mankind to observe forever.

Jesus actually taught that human needs come before the legal requirements of the Law. This whole dispute with the Pharisees arose when they saw Jesus allowing his disciples to harvest grain on the Sabbath because they were hungry. “Have you not read what David did when he was in need and he and his men were hungry?” (Mark 2:25). Jesus’ point was that David “gave it to his men” (v. 26) thus he broke the legal requirement of the Law for a human need. And a greater one than David is here. “That is why the Son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath” (v. 28). The idea that all people must observe the Sabbath based on this text is a classic example of reading into a text something that is completely foreign to it.

When it comes to targeting a niche market, TEN – The Evening News on TV5 does it good. Stars Jove Francisco, Martin Andanar and Cherry Mercado, TEN is a unique blend of news, humor, light commentary and internet updates and reviews. They have a huge cult-like following among the tech savvy, young population.

Being a 3rd placer in the network war, making TV5’s newscast different is a good move. The trio do not try to be Ces Drillon or Arnold Clavio and the rest of their counterparts in the other huge networks. They tried to be different and successful in doing so.

If you’re a TEN fanatic, here’s the sad news, though: there’s a rumor circulating on the internet that Manny Pangilinan, PLDT’s big boss who bought TV5 recently, is planning to sack TEN for a traditional newscast (some say for an RPN9 type of newscast). And of course, if you’re like me, you’ll disagree that it’s a bad move. TV5 will loose it’s niche and will just be “one of them”.

My “insider” claims, though, that it’s not yet too late. If we can bug Manny Pangilinan enough, maybe he’ll change his mind. So, if you’re a TEN supporter, post a comment here. Let’s try to keep TEN alive. :D