INVITATION: Study the Scriptures

2 Timothy 3:16: "All Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness, that the man of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work."

Hi. This is an invitation - just an invitation. You have your own choices to make. I do not intend to mislead or negatively influence any human mind (or heart if you would insist). I only want to share what I can impart with everyone - scriptural knowledge (which I must continue to acquire as well). And it is still up to you to examine the facts and the underlying principles. Religion is a choice, belief is a choice, and everything is a choice for us to make.

People sometimes say that they don't have choices; but the truth is they always have. We often close our minds to the right choices because they are difficult; and justify thereafter the wrong choices that we have chosen. Free will is a gift which we must exercise with great care. Knowledge and skills are special things which we must prove and utilize. While we must make use of our minds to prove and conclude things, we shall never "completely" rely on it. And what of the heart? Jeremiah 17:9 states: "Who can understand the human heart? There is nothing else so deceitful; it is too sick to be healed."

Nearly everyone believes in what the Bible says - that it is the "Word of God" and must therefore be looked upon for guidance. It is seldom to find a person who is an atheist. In fact, even atheists and other religions agree to "some" of what the Bible says. But here lies exactly the problem. Many people have learned to believe only on those which they personally find favorable. Okay, it is definitely a sin to murder, it is wrong to commit adultery, ETCETERA. But there are more to Scriptures than these very things. There are more to Scriptures that, like most of the right choices we avoid, are difficult to follow and believe in. But we must never turn our backs on these truths, because they are truths. And the key to a truly wonderful life is acquiring "accurate knowledge" in as best as we can.

History attests to the Bible's accuracy and integrity. A historian would be a great witness for the fulfillment of many scriptural prophecies - the fall of Babylon, the fall of Jerusalem, the birth of Christ, etc. Even the shape of the earth is already revealed in the Bible long before man was able to prove it. I hear a lot of people saying that the Bible has so many inconsistencies. With little knowledge, one might easily say so. But the Scriptures contain different laws. Mosaic Law (from the term "Moses" and which can be found in the Old Testament/Hebrew-Aramaic Scriptures), for example, is definitely in contradiction with some of the laws which Jesus Christ gave, and which can be found in the New Testament/Greek Scriptures. Stoning is an example of some of these laws, including provisions on clean foods, etc. (the law on circumcision was also revised some time later after Jesus Christ's death). But this contradiction is not an inconsistency. In the Bible, Christ changed some of these laws. You may check Hebrew 7:18 as well. So, when you think there is an inconsistency, try searching first whether you missed an important scriptural detail. Other scriptural accounts may also appear questionable to the human mind (ex. Lot offering her virgin daughters to the wicked men of Sodom and Gomorrah just to protect his visitors, etc.). Yet one must know and understand that the Bible sometimes expresses details in "what-the-eyes-see perspective". It sometimes does not convey the underlying thoughts and motives of the people involved in its stories. Thus, while we find later accounts to be questionable, it is only truly God who knows of the entire truth - and He alone can rightfully judge.

"It is up to you on how you understand the Bible" - this is a very sad statement - although we must understand the people who have this notion. When you write a book and found that its contents are being twisted, or discovered that your messages were differently understood, would you be happy? The Scriptures were written for our benefit. But we definitely would not benefit if we do not grasp its accuracy, and make ourselves believe that we know when we actually may not know. Search - this is the key. Study the Bible and see for yourself. God does not want human beings to just keep on believing every inspired expression that is presented to them - that includes this blog. Instead, test these things whether they do originate from God (I John 4:1). Prove whether your beliefs are indeed right and do not be a victim of apathy.

John 4:24 states that we must worship God with TRUTH. And 1 Timothy 2:4 says: "This is fine and acceptable in the sight of our Savior, God, whose will is that all sorts of men should be saved and COME TO AN ACCURATE KNOWLEDGE OF TRUTH."

It is, of course, your choice. ;-)

Note: Image from: http://www.maranathacc.com/uploads/bible2.jpg

Satan and Demons

Angels and Demons. All demons are angels; but not all angels are demons.

Humans' conceptual image of Satan is literally a fake. No, he isn't physically frightening. In fact, Satan is an extremely charming angel that he became so conceited to the point that he thought very high of himself.

That was when he became ugly - inside! (on the second thought, the use of "he" is actually a big question - as angels do not have sexes)

Say goodbye to nightmares that feature demons with horns and tails (and that stupid fork!). They are only fruits of the imagination which were probably used to illustrate how dreadful these fallen angels had turned out to be. If you examine the Scriptures, there isn't any information that match these characteristics. Demons continue to exist with similar appearances as righteous angels (Wait, are they not angels too?). Exactly, demons are angels who chose to follow Satan's path in rebellion against Jehovah. They were totally swept away from heaven and thus inhabited earth together with human beings. They still have supernatural powers. And who knows if they probably have categories too? - just like the archangel, seraphs, and the cherubs.

Lesson learned: do not judge a creature based on outward appearances.

Five (5)

5 Things Found in my BAG

• mobile phone
• wallet
• pen
• notebook
• keys

5 Things Found in my WALLET

• bills
• IDs
• cash card
• reserved pics
• CTC

5 Things Found in my ROOM

• clothes
• toiletries
• sleeping stuffs
• bible
• magazines

5 Things I’ve Always Wanted To DO

• help my family
• take a course in Psychology
• acquire material possessions for security
• improve my spirituality
• cure myself from all imperfections

5 Things I am Currently INTO

• WORK... WORK... WORK (secular)
• saving money
• plans for a house renovation
• never ending analyses of life and the self
• work (spiritual) ---> small caps :(

Lucid Dreams

Lucid Dreams. The human mind is truly a wonder.

I've been trying to figure out this gift (?) which I seemed to have more control of just lately. And, recently, I did find its technical term - 'lucid dreams'. Wikipedia states that "during lucid dreams, it is possible to exert conscious control over the dream characters and environment, as well as to perform otherwise physically impossible feats" (2008) - which is exactly what I'm capable of doing while asleep (sort of). Lucid dreams are also those dreams in which the person is merely aware that he is dreaming. I've had many of these as a child and I remember forcing myself to wake up in one of them, sensing that there's an impending doom. Dreams to me are like lives in a different but similar dimension. You are the same you, with the same fears, same weaknesses, same longings, although I do notice that I tend to be weaker in dreams - crying over things which I never would dare cry over in reality.

I used to fear that I have this terrible illness (I actually think I have a lot) which manifests itself only when I'm sleeping. It began when I was a working college student and I had to sleep late on evenings due to tight schedules. Being a service crew is definitely not easy especially when you care about school grades, and when you had to drink with some workmates right after work (yes! it's wine!). I remember waking up in the middle of the night (this was the very first - I wasn't even sure if I was really awake) and my body just couldn't move no matter how hard I try ("rutoy!" hahahaha...). The feeling was truly eerie and I was close to feeling panic - it was like struggling for something unexplainable. It was also the time when I realized one of the disadvantages of sleeping alone in a room. Nevertheless, I remember being able to utter "Mama" (goodness!) in my futile attempts to call attention; until I finally was able to attain full consciousness.

Then similar evenings followed. But the next times were a bit different and these were what led me to my present diagnosis of my case. The 'couldn't move body' was gone and this was completely replaced by a clear 'conscious unconsciousness' (confused? that's exactly lucid dreaming). But what's really alarming was the presence of the same eerie feeling I felt at first. Until I read this:

"During the actual transition into the dream state, one is likely to experience sleep paralysis, including rapid vibrations, a sequence of loud sounds and a feeling of twirling into another state of body awareness, 'to drift off into another dimension'. Also there is frequently a sensation of falling rapidly or dropping through the bed as one enters the dream state. After the transition there may be the sensation of entering a dark black room from which one can induce any dream scenario of one's choosing, simply by concentrating on it. The key to success is not to panic, especially during the transition, which can be quite sudden" (Wikipedia 2008).

This exactly was the closest to what I felt. Hmmm... so there's a treasure (speaking of controlling what things to dream about).... I also read that mastering the art of lucid dreaming is like having a genie in a bottle with you as its master - all wishes, all dreams, granted!!! - in dreams. And so I learned that I must embrace the eerie feeling instead of trying to struggle to be awake. And I did. I did many times to the point that the eerie feeling was already lost (maybe it's still there but I had learned not to feel it as 'eerie'), and transition from consciousness to dreaming is no more difficult to achieve. It was, I should say, truly one of the wonders of living.

But humans as we are, I must admit that I have abused the craft. It's sad that when you can control your dreams, you can't control yourself from dreaming about the right things. I remember the coming 1000 years when all men will be trained to achieve perfection, and the following release of Satan to test humans for one last chance. This has been always my fear. I used to complain to my Bible teachers before that if there ain't no assurance that I would not fail as Adam and Eve did - despite their perfection - then I don't want to be resurrected and relive life (that is if Armageddon comes after my death). If my dreams were tests, then hell, or maybe even gehenna, will certainly be my future (FYI: 'hell' means death, 'gehenna' is second death or total destruction - Jehovah is not that mean to torture us forever in fires). But hey, I'm still imperfect so maybe it's not that bad (hehehe... excuses... excuses... excuses).

Anyways, life is wonderful and dreams are healthy for the mind (scientifically). It's nice to wake up every morning and be surprised that we still got chances to improve ourselves. While dreams may serve as sources of wonders, we must always learn to distinguish one from reality. We may be weak when we're asleep; but being awake should create a lot of difference.