Osteen’s Trivialization of God by Dr. Michael S. Horton

Osteen’s Trivialization of God:
	According to Osteen…	According to Christianity…
God:	A source of personal well-being; used rather than worshipped	Sovereign Creator, Judge and Redeemer
Our Problem:	Lack of success in life	God’s holiness and justice and our sin
God’s Solution:	Principles for walking in God’s Blessings	Christ’s death, burial, resurrection as one-sided divine rescue
The Goal:	Our Best Life Now	Suffering now, glory at the end
Scripture:	Catalogue of Practical Advice (the Bible as fortune-cookie)	God’s Law and Gospel (exposing our sin/announcing God’s grace)

(source: http://whitehorseinn.org/osteenarttable.htm)

Good News… At last… But…

ZTE scandal… Glorieta 2 bombing… Batasan bombing… any good news? At last, as I turn the pages of Philippine Star (Saturday), an article by Eva Visperas shed light to my day.

Thirty inmates were given a chance to finish a productive life in prison with President Gloria Arroyo’s Ladderized Education Program. The program, first in the country in the region of Ilocos, is in collaboration with Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Lyceum Northwestern University (LNU) and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) Dagupan. The inmates are enrolled in Bachelor of Science in Information Technology (BSIT).

Isn’t this a good news, people?

However, many (if not all) business owners are afraid to employ ex-convicts. So, will they have a good future? (Just asking) This remains to be seen.

The Dark Night

Watch out on 2008! Batman returns to the big screen with Christian Bale (Batman) going against Heath Ledger (Joker). The Dark Knight will feature again the partnership of Batman, Lt. Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) and a district lawyer Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) against the Gotham’s terrifying crime mastermind Joker. A movie I am waiting for.

Family appointment with God

How nice it is to see a family all in one room doing devotion time. It was a struggle for an individual to do it but if it is practiced and initiated in the family it would be easier both for the parents and children. Doing things at home is like flock of geese flying in a “V” formation, the one at the back of another doesn’t need to exert too much effort to flap its wings to fly. Young kids are sometimes like that, when they see everybody is reading they will read too. When they see adults watching T.V. they will join and watch too. Kids follow what the adults are doing. (Ang ginagawa ng matatanda sa harap ng mga bata, ito man ay mali o tama ay magiging laging tama sa mata ng mga bata.) Ultimately, this attitude can be of good use. As parents, we can show our kids that meeting with the Lord everyday is as special as we are meeting with their grandparents or their favorite cartoon character.

Let us have a habit of reading our Bible, praying and meditating with our kids. Start early in their youth.

Just a friendly reminder from a sinner saved by grace…

To God be the glory!

Enjoy Blogging

I would like to take this time to thank a good friend of mine who taught me and encouraged me to start blogging. I know that you know who you are S.K.T.

It is my prayer that you will continue to be contagious to other people in blogging and in opening people’s eyes in deeper theology. I admire the way you handle your theology and your gift in this area. May the Lord continue to use you mightily. Blessings… To God be the glory.

Thank You Lord!!!

“Thank God!” “Praise the Lord!” These are the phrases we hear at least once every Sunday. People say these words with genuine thanks to God for His gift of salvation. May we have the habit of thanking God every moment of our life because without Him we are nothing. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you… May thanksgiving be part of our daily life… To God be the glory… Amen!

My View on Wealth and Poverty

One of the most important things in understanding one’s writing, especially biblical writers, is to consider the context of their ideas. In the book of James, the context always plays an important role in understanding his point or idea. James’ primary intention in writing about wealth and poverty lies in the context of seeking God’s wisdom. James, in his epistle, pointed out the need of wisdom in several ways of life. These are through spiritual life (4:1-12), commercial life (4:13-17), the use of wealth (5:1-6), the waiting for the Lord (5:7-12), prayer life (5:13-18), and restoring an erring Christian (5:19-20).[1] The primary intent of all the ideas is to teach us that when we are struggling, we should ask God for wisdom.

In stressing on the use of wealth, James stated that rich Christians should rejoice when they are made low through divine trials (1:10). He then warns those wealthy Jews who took advantage of the oppressed that their riches would someday perish; their selfishness and fraud would affect their judgment and their tradition would one day no longer be tolerated.[2] Jesus teaches these words, “A person who gains the whole world but loses his soul has no profit at all.” (Matt.16:26)

James is not an anti-rich person. He only emphasized the evil ways of using their wealth. Christians can be rich as long as they use their wealth to glorify God. However, being poor is not “absolutely” special to God, because poor people may still be unrighteous. The impression of the Old Testament somehow affected our idea that poor people are righteous and special to God.[3] However, as believers, rich or poor, should seek to live a godly life to glorify God.

The Church in its biblical tradition addresses rich people, who often in their covetousness have accumulated excessive wealth at the expense of the poor, and also poor people, who in their impoverished are homeless, starving, sick, illiterate and suffering. Therefore, James is urging God’s people to be charitable to one another as faithful expression of their communion with God. This should be shown through believer’s life, they should not put wealth at the center of their life, instead, use it as resources to promote good living.

Thus, James insisted that Christians must live out on these conviction concerning wealth and poverty. Those who love the Lord should not allow their status in life to affect the way they treat others, either exalting the rich or dishonoring the poor in their midst. Christians must live in faith, hope and love towards other people. Be doers of the Word not just talkers.[4]

I think it is quite clear in James that being wealthy does not makes us unrighteous and not special to God while poverty cannot “absolutely” make us righteous and special to God. The bible does not say that we should not become rich or we must be poor to be closer to God. However, Jesus was quite consistent in warning us not to invest our treasures here on Earth but to lay our treasures in Heaven. Because moths and rusts can destroy treasures on earth, and thieves can break in and steal (this is saying that these are all temporary) while treasures in heaven cannot spoil because of their eternal value. (Matt. 6:20) Here, what we do with our wealth and how we cope with poverty reveals and at the same time shapes, our human identity. The way we use, own, acquire, and dispense material resources symbolizes, expresses, and influences other people’s notion of good life; without considering the fact that we cannot bring earthly treasures in heaven.

Jesus in the parable of the rich man (Luke 12:15-21) explicitly and emphatically rejects the identification of good life with an abundance of possessions. The rich man in the story is not a fool because he is rich; he is a fool because he identifies his very existence with the security he thinks comes from having grain stored in barns. The attempt to win life from possessions is folly. However, this does not suggest that earthly things are evil. According to Paul in his first letter to Timothy, “everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving.” Nor is wealth a wicked thing in itself. In fact, Jesus told his disciples to use wealth to make friends for the age to come (Luke 16:9).

Therefore, my stand is that generally wealth is good as long as it does not result from the oppression of the needy or become a false source of security and hope, and positively, it should bring glory to God.

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[1] Robert G. Gromacki, New Testament Introduction Revised Edition (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1990), 341.

[2]Ibid, 344.

[3] Roy B. Zuck, A Biblical Theology of the New Testament (Chicago: Moody Press, 1994), 435.

[4] Ibid.

The Golden Compass

“THE GOLDEN COMPASS, a new movie targeted at children, will be released
December 7, 2007. This movie is based on a the first book of a trilogy by
atheist Philip Pullman. In the final book a boy and girl kill God so they
can do as they please. Pullman left little doubt about his intentions when
he said in a 2003 interview that “My books are about killing God.”

The movie is a watered down version of the first book and is designed to
be very attractive in the hope unsuspecting parents will take their
children to see the the movie and that the children will want the books
for Christmas.

The movie has a well known cast, including Nicole Kidman, Kevin Bacon, and
Sam Elliott. It will probably be advertised extensively, so it is crucial
that we get the word out to warn parents to avoid this movie.”

From an e-mail

The Baguio Mission Trip

The Baguio Mission trip was an experience that I will never forget because of the valuable lessons that I have learned. I was surprised to know that in a Muslim community, there can be many Imams and that to be an Imam one doesn’t need to be well educated in Qur’an, as long as the adult male exercise good works and doesn’t have vices he is qualified to be an Imam. For them, an Imam is someone who can influence, lead, and help the community. This is only one of the many things that I have learned in this mission trip. In fact, the moment I got home, I keep on sharing the lessons I have learned about the Muslims to my family. I told them that through the trip I learned to understand them even better. To God be the Glory! By the way, always use your right hand when you shake hands with the Muslims…