#SorryTaoLang: So What About Lust?

#SorryTaoLang 3

So What About Lust?

by Daniel Carandang

Out of all the teen issues out there, lust seems to be the one taken for granted.

How?

It's already been considered as a part of human nature that one must live with, especially with guys.

"You're a guy, it's okay!"

The world tells you that there's nothing wrong with lusting over other people. It's okay to fantasize about them in any way that you want as long as it just stays in the head. Lust, they say, is a built-in function that you should just let flow.

Not really.

You think it's okay? Harmless?

Think again.

Lust is very destructive. It's the seed that once planted, can grown into a chaotic end that you might as well regret. It may seem like nothing at first but it can cause a chain reaction of events.

It's not okay to lust!

For those who aren't familiar with this 4-letter word, lust is a strong, passionate desire for a someone else, a sensual appetite. In Matthew 5:27, Jesus was clearly against adultery. You might ask: "Wait, I thought you were talking about lust?" but then, you have to admit, adultery is a fruit of lust: misplaced feeling for someone who isn't your spouse. He goes on to say:

28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. (v.28)

Our hearts are adulterous by nature. Lust is not a physical issue, it's a heart issue. You don't lust because you're body needs it, your heart just craves it. We lust to gratify our hearts' desires.

Lust is DESTRUCTIVE!

Painfully and more than we know.

In the beginning, it's not. You think that you're pleasuring yourself by filling your head with such thoughts. What's wrong with pleasuring the self, right? But what we don't know is, like cancer, lust is a silent killer. It won't kill you (it might though), but the consequences that follow are not what we'd want to have.

29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

Matthew 5: 29-30

Hell.

No one wants to go there.

Verses 29-30 described hell. The pain experienced...is just indescribable. During the 9-11 bombings, the fighter jets carried fuel so hot that caused the people to jump off the buildings. Fire that eats you up while you're still alive and kicking- not exactly where you wanna be. Such fate awaits those who choose to succumb to their fleshly desires.

Before someone commits adultery, he has tolerated it in his mind. It all starts with a single speck of impure thought that seems nothing at first. Just a spark. But when we fan it by continuously feeding our thoughts, the flames grow, and we fall deeply into sin. Before we know it, we're in so deep in our own personal pits of lust that causes us to fall for other people who are not our spouses.

Ted Bundy, an infamous criminal was known for a hundred cases of rape and murder. Numerous women were treated like pigs before they were slaughtered. People hated him for his deeds but to him, it didn't matter. It was a part of his nature. All of his antics began with what we think as simple and harmless: pornographic magazines.

Eventually, after all his crimes, he got the worst end of the stick.

The effects of lust are very destructive: broken families, tarnished relationships, destroyed reputations, etc. The things we let our minds mediate in manifest in our actions. If we soak ourselves into impure thoughts, it will show itself through our jokes and our opinions on sex. 

3 It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality;4 that each of you should learn to control your own body[a] in a way that is holy and honorable, 5 not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; 6 and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister.[b] The Lord will punishall those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. 7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 8 Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.

1 Thessalonians 4:3-8

Lust can turn us into wild, ferocious animals who constantly crave for meat, in this case, sex. If you let your lust control you, you will most likely end up thinking about sex every day and night. You'll want to do it with someone and soon. It will lead you to what you think is the right direction but in the end, you'll get the worst.

Lust is not something you brush off and just 'accept' because you're 'just human.' It needs to be dealt with DRASTICALLY! Do something before the worse comes!

Remember what it says in Matthew 5:29-30? Cut off your hand if you must! Though this doesn't literally mean cut off, it points out that we should stay away from anything that will simulate the lust in us. Step away from the computer. Don't look at the billboards. Stop watching sensual movies. Just flee!

Lust is a heart issue and soaking yourself in lustful images is not the answer to pleasure. Don't let the dirty images stick. There's more to life than these, friends. 

Don't let the lustful animal in you take charge. Remember that this is not pleasing to the Lord who created you. Kick out that lust and run away. Flee into the arms of Jesus and be secured from lust's siren call. Ignore her temptations and just...flee.

Written by Ashley Petallano (c) 2013

#SorryTaoLang: Don't Judge!

#SorryTaoLang 2

Don't Judge!

by Daniel Carandang

Have you ever made a comment about a friend and in return, that friend said:

“Ay grabe, na-judge nanaman ako.”

Have you ever felt as if you were judged by your friends or by other people?

Let’s face it: even though we don’t plan on taking law or see ourselves in court, we are all JUDGErs (pardon the pun).  One way or another, we end up making judgements on other people based on their personalities (e.g. there’s a very friendly girl in class and you think: “Hmmm...maybe she just needs something from  us.”), what they wear (e.g.  guy classmate wears not-so-white polo shirt and you say: “Maybe he wears the same thing every day.”), their social status and their looks.

The tendency to judge other people is notoriously present in each and every one of us. And similar to pride, it is equally destructive to us and the people around us. How many of you here would like to be around people who will lovingly tell you what you need to hear, BUT are neither condemning nor critical. That's what God desires for us. That's His will for His family.

DO NOT JUDGE.

Why shouldn’t we?

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

Matthew 7:1-5

I. IT IS GOD’S COMMAND

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged…”

In a court room setting, the judge is the one who settles the final call. Based on his/her observation, the judge gives the decision on the suspect’s fate: innocent or guilty?

A little background on the verse above:

On His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus was talking about how people who belonged to the kingdom of God, to His family (those who call Him 'Lord') should live--how they should act, speak, and what their perspectives and principles should be. Being a judgmental person was not included in the list. The principles taught by Jesus were in contrast with the lifestyles of the Pharisees, men who were considered to be holy and the ones thought to be fully in synced with God.

They memorized the first five books of the Bible, were very rigid and practically totally legalistic about a lot of matters during their time. To them, they were the only ones who had a right view of life and everyone else was just…wrong.

They became so self-righteous that they looked down on everyone else. They condemned and judged their fellow Jews, causing them to be the cause of hate and low self-esteem.

Self-check: are we becoming like the Pharisees?

Many times, we emphasize on the more obvious sins and ignore, or even spurn "acceptable" sins like judging others. We openly condemn cheating, gluttony…being cute (okay, maybe not).

If you are a part of God’s family, you should not have a judging heart.

Or else, you will also judged.

"For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

Matthew 7:2

If you mistreat people, you can expect that mistreatment will come running your way.

You ask: What about “Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.” (John 7:24)?

The verse is talking about discerning, not condemning. We are called to discern, but not condemn. We can rebuke and help others without condemning them. We must differentiate between good and evil, we must evaluate.

In Matthew, Jesus was pointing out the condemning attitude of the Pharisees.  These so-called holy men were judging others because of their personalities, appearances, weaknesses and the fact that the other Jews did not go along with them.

We must discern, when we find sin, we must confront lovingly and tell our brother what they need to hear. But we should NOT have the ugly, self-righteous, critical spirit of the Pharisees.

II. Don’t focus on yourself; focus on other people

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?"

Matthew 7:3-4

Verse 3 is a hyperbolic argument, exaggerated argument--Jesus was trying to make a point: when we judge, we don't realize but WE have a bigger reason to be condemned than the person we are condemning.

A person with a judgmental attitude has a wrong perspective himself.

“You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

Matthew 7:5

A judgmental person is a HYPOCRITE in the eyes of God. It’s as if they are perfect people and they have a right to condemn others. But the truth is we have no right to judge others because we too are imperfect people like them.

Instead of judging others, judge yourself. Instead of thinking "Why did he do that?", ask "Why am I doing this?"--so that you will not be a hypocrite.

III. Be careful in correcting other people

“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.”

Matthew 7:6

Trample- treating precious truths unjustly. If someone is really doing something wrong, do not be hasty in correcting others, because the experience will be like throwing your pearls to pigs.

It hurts.

So, what do you do?

“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!”

Matthew 7:7-11

PRAY!

Commit everything to the Lord. Things out of your control should be presented to God in prayer and not resolved by ourselves. Rely on His goodness and His ability to touch people's hearts. In the meantime, let's not judge if we don't want to be judged too.

Written by Ashley Petallano (c) 2013

#SorryTaoLang: PRIDE

#SorryTaoLang 1

Loud and Proud?

by Daniel Carandang

"Sorry, tao lang!"

Filipino people love using this excuse whenever they are accused of being something in a negative sense. 

Sorry, tao lang!

We make excuses whenever we know we're in the wrong or when we think what we did is what we can call a respectable sin. You justify your acts by thinking that no one is perfect and since everyone is a sinner, it's normal to be proud or to lust. 

You are human after all.

But what we don't know is these respectable sins may look harmless at first but bit by bit they can eat us and in the end, lead us to deep devastation.

So let's get down to business.

PRIDE.

No, we're not talking about a detergent brand.

Pride is the type of sin hard to detect in us by ourselves. We easily spot it on other people and willingly point it out for them. But when it comes to us, we deny to death. For some, they blatantly are proud. There are others who act as if they're not but inside, they think highly of themselves.

There are various types of pride: Intellectual (the typical know-it-all), doctrinal (the typical Bible know-it-all), moral (the 'okay-ikaw-na-the-best' type) and spiritual ( the 'I-don't-need-spiritual-mentoring-fellowship-thank-you-very-much' person). 

We think being proud can be tolerated because let's face it: we are people after all. 

But the Bible warns us against pride.

1. PRIDE is not of God

3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in very nature[a] God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature[b] of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross!

Philippians 2:3-8

Humility is a trait of Christ. Despite being the Son of God, He chose to come down here on Earth and die a shameful death to save us from our sins. If we are Christians, we are to be Christ-like and since Christ exemplified humility, so should we.

If we claim to be the children of God, it is improper of us to be proud when our God is not. We should become role models to others, especially to those who doubt our faith.

It also destroys our relationship with others. When we look at them as inferior, they would otherwise stray away from our company. People don't like being with other people who think they're better than the rest. It just annoys them.

2. Pride leads to destruction

Pride goes before destruction,
A haughty spirit before a fall.

Proverbs 16:18

The consequences of pride will always come. 

Have you ever shunned off a friendly advice because you thought you knew better?

Kevin Ware was apparently advised to take it easy before the game that made everyone cringe whenever it was replayed all over again. The NBA Star shook off the advice, believing that nothing could stop him from his game.

We all know what happened next.

He injured himself and it wasn't exactly the prettiest sight.

Pride can take a toll on your life. A haughty spirit may be ignorant of the consequences that immediately follows. We think we're better than the others? Don't need any other advice cause we know it all? 

Think again.

3. Pride keeps us from God's grace

5 In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,

“God opposes the proud
    but shows favor to the humble.”[a]

6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

1 Peter 5:5-7

Point blank: God is not for the proud people. When we allow pride to overrule us, we are actually blocking the blessings God intended for us. He's not fond for those who think that they are better than the others. We are all equally made in the image of God, no one is better than the other.

Self-check: maybe it's time to deflate those air-filled egos and think that other people are better than ourselves. Being too proud or egotistic can shun away the closest of friends, lead to disaster or simply ruin our lives without us noticing. Stop excusing yourself from pride!

Be humble as Christ was humble!

Written by Ashley Petallano (c) 2013

Halloween Mythbusters!

Series Break

Halloween Mythbusters!

by Daniel Carandang

Halloween.

First things that come to mind: candies, costumes, horror flicks, ghost...tons of scares!

Halloween is the day where fear comes to life and is commercialized by the celebrations and festivities surrounding the day. 

Fear, despite the heart attacks it can give, causes thrill. We secretly love the feeling of being spooked out of our minds. Why else do we oblige to watching horror films or roaming around horror houses or just plainly enjoy telling scary stories?

Halloween has been commercialized and is now an excuse to party out on October 31. Kids in costumes knock from door to door, either looking adorable or freaky, for neighbors who are willing to give them free candy. Teens and adults, also in costumes, partying and celebrating a night that honors the dead and the fear that comes along with it. 

Ghosts and the undead- common tags of Halloween. Some of us believe that it's just a hoax, while others are convinced that such does exist. 

So, what's what?

1. Are ghosts real? Are they really our dead relatives who came back to haunt us?

The media has been powerful enough to convince us that the translucent things you see are your dead cousins who are haunting you because they have some unfinished business on earth. Ghosts have been portrayed as levitating white cloths or transparent people you can see through.

Spiritual beings do EXIST but they are not the images of dead people.

 Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment

Hebrews 9:27

People, once they die, are judged. They go to one of two places: either heaven or hell. There's no wandering around the corners of the earth for the deceased. No one can go to earth once they die nor can they cross from heaven to hell. In Luke 16:23-35, we find the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus. As the story goes, the selfish rich man dies and finds himself in hell while Lazarus is in heaven. Seeing his terrible state, the rich man calls out to Abraham in heaven and asks to be able to see his family to warn them.

However, Abraham told the rich man that no one can ever get out from hell nor in heaven. No one can cross from both sides due to the chasm in between. He cannot go to earth nor can he ever go to heaven.

So, what about the apparitions people can see?

Those spirits are evil, minions of Satan who are after distracting us. When Satan was cast out of heaven, he brought with him 1/3 of the angels who became his minions. They are the ones tricking us with illusions of ghosts, some portraying real people in order to sway our faith. 

2. Are zombies (walking dead) real?

As much as most of us want to become survivors of the zombie apocalypse, the honest truth is: zombies do not exist nor will they ever exist. 

Zombies are works of fiction. Those who believe in such creatures and insists that the Bible talks about them use Zechariah 14:12: "This is the plague with which the Lord will strike all the nations that fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths." But they have the wrong context of the verse. 

Nope, zombies aren't real. Nor will they ever be.

3. Do third eyes or sixth senses exist?

Possibly. But they are not from God.

These extra sensory perceptions are not of the Lord. In fact, we are warned about mediums in Leviticus 19:31:

“‘Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God.

The activities of the occult or people who soak themselves in their sixth senses are going against the Lord. In fact in Leviticus 20:27, the Jews are warned of such practitioners and are advised to to stone such people. 

4. Are demon possessions real?

YES.

Mark 1:23-28 tells the story of Jesus and his encounter who was possessed with not just one evil spirit, but more than. If you read through Jesus' life story, you can see more of His demon castings. Demon possession can happen to anyone who doesn't have the Holy Spirit within them and are harboring large amounts of bitter, anger, resentment, etc. 

If we're not guarded by the Holy Spirit, we are vulnerable. 

Release from Satan's power is achieved through God's Salvation.

Now that Halloween Myths have been busted, it's now safe for you to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night cause you have nothing to fear when you're God is here!

Written by Ashley Petallano (c) 2013