OBITUARY of Dr. Alfonso G. Pablo, Sr.

 

OBITUARY

Obituary Facebook Post

Alfonso “Alfon” Granadozo Pablo, Sr., 82, went home to be with his Creator, Savior, and Master on November 24, 2021, at the Philippine Heart Center in Quezon City.

Alfonso was born September 29, 1939, in Camiling, Tarlac, Philippines to Bartolome Pablo and Antonia Granadozo. Alfon is focused and determined. At a young age he was familiar with farming and helped in their rice fields. He learned early the value of planting seeds and hard work. One of his favorite childhood memories he frequently talked about was caring for carabaos (water buffalos) and having them fight while he and his friends rode on them, unaware of the dangers.

His ungodly, self-centered youth days were spent in the beautiful and bustling town of Marbel in Koronadal, South Cotabato. A natural athlete, he played for gamble and competed in volleyball and high jump. God intervened and called him to a life transformed by His grace and to dedicated service in the ministry. For this purpose, he finished his Bachelor of Theology at Wesleyan Bible College in Kabacan, Cotabato, Master of Divinity at Asian Theological Seminary in Quezon City, Doctor of Ministry at Philippine Baptist Theological Seminary in Baguio City, and Doctor of Philosophy at Alliance Graduate School in Makati, Manila.

Rev. Dr. Alfonso G. Pablo, Sr. is an ordained minister of the Wesleyan Church of the Philippines and served as General Superintendent for sixteen years. Before that, he served in various Wesleyan Church ministries as church planter, pastor, Bible College faculty and President, General Secretary of Educational Institutions and Sunday Schools, and Assistant General Superintendent. He also served in various para-church organizations, Bible Colleges, and seminaries namely Philippine Association of Bible and Theological Schools (PABATS), Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches (PCEC), Philippine Relief and Development Services, Inc. (PHILRADS), Philippine Association of Christian Education (PACE), PACE Graduate School of Christian Education (PGSCE), Wesleyan Graduate School (WGS), Philippine Bible Society (PBS), Overseas Missionary Society (OMS), Holiness Association Philippines, Philippine Crusade, Every Home for Christ Philippines (EHCP), Asia-Pacific Nazarene Theological Seminary (APNTS), Asian Theological Seminary (ATS), Asia Evangelistic Fellowship Philippines (AEFP), Discipling a Whole Nation (DAWN), Global Transformation Ministries Inc. (GTMI) and the Wesleyan World Fellowship (WWF).

His retirement years were spent on being a resource speaker and adjunct seminary professor, helping organize a group of retired ministers called Capacity Assistance League for Elders’ Best (CALEB) with the mission of encouragement and mentorship, spending time with his children and grandchildren, tending his garden in New Tanza, and writing his four signature books: Transforming Leaders, Transforming Households, Transforming Believers, and the last one Transforming Faith which is still in his own handwriting form.  This one he fervently crafted daily for long hours and sacrificed sleep to get it done and hopefully published before God calls him Home. God decided it was time for him to rest, so with the family’s pledge to get it done, he went into a deep sleep and his spirit returned to his Maker.

He is survived by his wife and best friend of 53 years, Filipina “Fely” Arciaga-Pablo of Antipolo, Rizal; four children and their spouses Shinar Fe and Jofre, Alfonso Jr. and Alma, Alvin Wesley and Sheila, Aldean Wayne and Jessica; twelve grandchildren Shekinah and Josh, Alfonso III, Ava Raphaella, Alijah Faith, and Alfonso IV, Zygfryd Jon, Neome Eilah, and Alshley Jia, Eleazar Wayne, Gabriel James, and Ephraim Silas; and his sister Consolacion Pablo.

Memorial services will be held at The Haven of Angels in Antipolo, Rizal on the following dates: November 26, 27, and 28. The final memorial service will be held at Rosales Wesleyan Bible College Pangasinan this November 30.

Dr. Alfonso G. Pablo Sr, a Brief Eulogy

 

Another hero of the Christian faith has gone home at age 82. He was regarded as a man of holy character, a visionary leader, a mentor, a preacher, a theologian and a servant. 

The first time I heard him preach and teach in the mid-90s, I thought if there is a man of integrity I like to emulate; it would be this man.  When I got married, I asked him if he’ll do the ceremony and become of my ninongs. He, the General Superintendent of the Wesleyan Church of the Philippines was kind enough to travel by bus from Manila to Sinipsip, Bakun Benguet. That was about 12 hours of travel.

December 1999, GMM Chapel, Sinipsip Bakun Benguet

Being the bishop of the Wesleyan church of the Philippines, I sat in many of his lectures and listened to many of his fiery messages. I consider him to be one of the best Filipino preachers I've ever heard. You cannot sit in his lectures without being inspired and motivated. You cannot listen to his passionate preaching without being convicted and challenged. Yet, if there was a man who epitomized a holy character it was Dr. Alfonso Pablo. His integrity was unquestionable. His visionary leadership was undeniable. His thirst for knowledge was unextinguishable and his passion for God was unmistakable! He has inspired and mentored many. I am one of the numerous lives he has touched and this cannot be over emphasized. He had left an indelible imprint in my heart; the man he was. While many leaders were falling by the wayside, he remained a clarion of the holiness preaching. 

In his message posted on Facebook, Dr. Jun Vencer, the former General Secretary of the Philippine Evangelical Church (PCEC) writes,

 "Dr. Alfonso Pablo, Vice-Chairman of Global Transformation Ministries Philippines, author, theologian, and leader. He was a devoted husband and a godly father. Personally, he was a dear friend and faithful co-worker. He was a thinker and deeply rooted in the evangelical faith.  He had a transformational vision for society and a passion for souls. His commitment to the local church and church planting was central to his mission. Hours of discussion on various issues had helped shape my own worldview for which I am indebted. We will miss him but his legacy will continue to influence many evangelical leaders into the future."

Dr. Pablo will be missed greatly. But because he had lived his life to the fullest, even though he was not present from the body, he is present through his legacy. 

Dr Pablo earned two doctorates; Doctor of Ministry in Practical Theology (1982) and Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Theology (2019). He has published 3 books since 2010. Transforming Leadership (2010), Transforming Households (2014) and Transforming Believers (2020). He was working of his fourth book, Transforming Faith. Hopefully this will be published soon.  If there’s a fifth book I would want him to write, it would be Transforming Preachers. That is no longer an option but perhaps one of his protégés can make that possible!

Earning his doctorate in Philosophy at the age of 80, two years shy away from his death just prove his insatiable thirst for knowledge. I am 50 and I have not earned any yet. 

By the way, Alfonso G. Pablo Sr. was the first entry I made on Wikipedia in November 2011. The article has been edited since. 

I guess my only regret is that I penned these words after he is gone and he won’t be able to read them.

AMAZING CORDILLERAN IN CAMBODIA

In this post, I am going to share a true story of a relentless woman, I call Ms D who had lost her phone, a Samsung Galaxy A6 in a Grab Tuk Tuk in one of the streets of Phnom Penh. This happened this last few days.

On Thursday evening, I received a message from Ms D asking me to call a certain phone number. Upon inquiry, she told me it’s her phone number but was taken by a dishonest Grab driver.

Ms D lost her phone inside a Grab tuk tuk on her way to school on Thursday morning. Upon realizing it, she called her own number immediately but was unreachable. Someone must have taken out the SIM card right away. She called the driver and the driver denied seeing the phone in his tuk tuk. Ms D filed a complaint at the Grab office and arranged for a meeting with the driver. She also reported the incident at the police station in Bang Keng Kang, but the police officers refused to take any action because it’s only a cell phone.

As per policy, a police officer must be present at the Grab office during the meeting. Ms D’s TA (teacher assistant) found a police officer from another station and he appeared at the Grab office to help. At the Grab office, the driver adamantly denied seeing or getting the phone. That if he had seen it, he would have returned it. Without evidence, nothing was accomplished during that meeting.

Ms D told the grab driver outside the office that if he returns the phone she’ll pay him back. She was thinking of paying him at least $100 to redeem it. The driver still deny getting the phone. He told her that she should pay him instead for wasting his time calling for a meeting at the Grab office.

What the driver didn’t know was that Ms D won’t just give up easily. She’s a fighter. What's with that cheap cell phone anyway that she won’t just let it go. Her friends and relatives told her just to give up the fight, let the phone go and get a new one. Why stress or even endanger yourself? Well, she actually bought her a new one but giving up on her old phone was not an option.

Suddenly, she had an idea. She went online and tracked the location of the phone. The built-in GPS showed the last location of the phone by St 202. When I saw the location posted on her Facebook account, I thought it looked like it was taken to Kleang Romsiew. This place is famous for second hand phones where you can trade in phones. It’s also infamous for stolen ones.

On Saturday, Ms D went to look where the phone was taken to. After several attempts, she found the place and to her surprise it’s a phone shop. Pretending not being able to speak English well, she just pointed at the CCTV in front of the shop. At first, the people didn’t understand what she wanted; but she kept pointing at the CCTV. The owner of the place came, and after chatting with him, he finally agreed to show and give the CCTV footage to her.

Then she explained why she wanted the footage because her phone was stolen and that there are important documents and files. The CCTV footage show the grab driver di take the phone there at about past 10:00 on Thursday morning to have it reformatted, erasing all content. The driver stayed for 45 minutes trying to wait. The phone guy couldn’t unlock the phone easily so he told the driver to leave and come back in the afternoon. Another guy came back late in the afternoon to pick it up. After the phone was reformatted, its location was no longer traceable.

With solid evidence in her hand, Ms D called me up and asked me if a Khmer person can go with her as a witness at the Grab office. Because everyone was busy I decided to go. The grab office was closed because it’s a holiday. So we just stayed in front of the office as she began to tell me what happened. When she told me all that she did, I was impressed by her relentless effort and courage to get the evidence. She even told me that the owner of the shop is willing to come and testify if needed.

Ms D, however, was also concerned about her safety. What if the Grab driver will try to take revenge and will do something bad to her if he loses his Grab registration. So we devised a strategy; not to put shame on the driver if he was found out to be the culprit. Perhaps we can call the driver and tell him that we found evidence that he did take the phone. If he would return the phone, then we would drop the complaint. Ms D did not agree about this at first but she said, she will think about it. In the afternoon she called the driver through a Khmer neighbor to test the water and to arrange a meeting at the Grab office on Monday because she found evidence. The grab driver threatened Ms D that if she is unable to provide solid evidence, he would file a complaint against her at the police station instead. With the driver’s reaction, it is best to proceed with the meeting on Monday, but call the guy who reformatted the phone and the owner of the shop to come to the Grab office and testify.

On Sunday, Ms D went back to the shop and talked to the owner if he could come to the Grab office on Monday. He agreed to go but the other one was scared to go. He even told Ms D not to create a problem for just a cell phone. This reinforces Ms D’s worry that the driver might do something so she wanted to change house for security purposes. I said there was no need to move to another house.

On Monday, MS D wanted more evidence. She went to the salon shop near her school if she could get the CCTV footage when the driver dropped her off last Thursday morning. After waiting till 10:00 am, the footage didn’t show any relevant evidence.

I made it to the Grab office at about 10:30, but the driver wasn’t there. “Perhaps he is on a trip” the staff muffled. While Ms D was talking to the Grab staff, I talked to a rich-looking young man in a white polo shirt with black pants and black shoes. He was smartly dressed so I said, Sir, are you from the shop? “I am,” he said. “What about you, are you from the police?” he replied. “ I am not. I am a friend of Ms D.” “You must have been in Cambodia for a long time because you speak khmer very well”. I said, “only 18 years”.

While waiting for the driver, the man in white was called to show the CCTV footage to the staff and made some explanation. From a distance, I watch the footage while he's showing it to the staff. The staff told him if he could send them the footage, only a part of it because the guy stayed there for 45 minutes.

Sitting next to the man in white, I asked him, “so do you sell mobile phones as well? To show good faith, I thought I would visit his shop and check on what mobile phones he sells. He said, “no. I don’t sell mobile phones.” I was perplexed. And then he said, “I am the owner of the market.” I was speechless for a few seconds. “I owned 57 shops at Kleang Rom Siev." I replied, “You are a big guy.” “Not really,” he said.

Then I thought to myself, who is Ms D that she could command the owner of the market to come to the Grab office to testify for a lost cheap cell phone? I said cheap phone because the owner of the market told later that the price of that phone according to the seller is about $25-$30 only.

Even Ms D, didn’t know that this man in white owns the market. She thought she only owned the shop where her phone was taken to and reformatted. Still, no word from the driver.

Finally, the staff was able to contact and locate the driver. Unfortunately, it may take an hour before he gets to the office. So we were all advised to leave and come back within an hour. The man in white did his part and requested if it was okay not to return. Before we left, I told the staff, “all that Ms D needs is to have her phone back and she is willing to pay the driver as well. Please let your driver know this.” Then we all left. I went out and did some walking while waiting.

At 12:15, Ms D called me to return to the office because the driver had arrived. Upon arriving, I recognized the driver immediately. How did I know? It's a coincidence that he was wearing the same clothes and pants he had last Thursday, the ones I saw in the CCTV footage. How could he ever deny it.

We have one more problem to overcome. The Grab staff told us that a police officer must come as per policy. I thought another guy told us earlier that we can only go to the police if the driver will still deny even with the solid evidence. The good thing was, Ms D’s TA already mentioned to the same police officer who was there last Thursday to come to the Grab office again at 10:00. But he wasn’t there yet. So I had to call him if he could come or else we will have to look for another officer. He said he is on his way.

The police officer arrived in pure black uniform, with a gun strapped on his left side. He said, “I’m sorry for being late because we had to guard the streets while the Prime Minister was in a meeting and I could only come when the meeting was over.”

He sat down and read the police blotter. Then asked Ms D to present her evidence. He listened patiently through the interpreter and then turned to the driver and said, “what can you say about this?” The driver said, “I admit I went to that shop only to take a passenger.” The driver still adamantly denies taking Ms D’s phone.

Ms D took out a piece of paper from her bag containing more evidence. She has more evidence? She does. It's the phone's memory card and a Philippine SIM card that she had retrieved at the phone shop where her phone was taken into. Fortunately, the shop seller was able to retrieve it from the trash bin and gave it back to her last Saturday.

Again how did Ms D gather all her evidence, playing the detective role, and all by herself? It was pretty impressive. Even the police officer was impressed by how she was able to obtain CCTV footage from the owner of the market and to have the market owner come to the Grab office to witness.

At this point, the police raised his voice a bit and told the driver, “here is solid evidence of a CCTV footage with you wearing the same clothes and with witnesses that you took the phone there. How can you still deny it? With this evidence and witnesses, you can go to prison.

All of a sudden, the driver changed his tune and said “I admit I took the phone but I did not steal it on purpose because it was left in my tuk tuk. I didn't mean to steal it.” The police said, “Now that you admit it, admit it totally.” The driver finally confessed what he did in front of us all.

He added, "I don’t know why I did that. For 3 years I have had many passengers forgetting their phones in my tuk tuk but I returned them all. This is the first time I did this crazy thing. I don’t understand myself.” Then he looked at Ms D and said I’m sorry. He looked at me and the Grab staff and said the same thing.

Ms D replied, “I have forgiven you already. All I need is to have my phone back and I will pay you as well.” The staff said, do you really need to pay him? “It’s okay”, Ms D said.

The officer asked the driver where is the phone right now? All we know is that had sold it to someone at a cheap price. But he did not sell it and it's at his house. The question is where is his house? How far? Only 16 kilometers away.

Ms D said, “if you go and get it, we will wait." He was getting ready to go but the police told him to contact someone to bring it in order to save time. I handed him my phone and called someone who's at work to go to his house, take the phone and bring it to the Grab office. We had to wait for about 30 minutes.

While waiting MS D asked the Grab staff what would happen to the grab driver after this meeting. “As for me, as long as I get my phone back it’s up to the police and the Grab Company what they want to do to him.” Grab staff said that as per policy, the driver will be banned from Grab. He won’t be a part of them anymore. Ms D asked the staff if they can give him a second chance so that he will not lose his job. The staff said, “we cannot promise because we have another team who decides on this issue.”

The police asked MS D what she wanted about this case. She said “all I need is my phone back”. The police explained that if Ms D pressed charges, based on the crime committed, the driver could go to prison for 6 months to 1 year. Upon hearing this, the driver broke down and then wiped his tears. He came and knelt down in front of Ms D and begged forgiveness. MS D told him, "it’s okay. I have already forgiven you". Then she gave him a hug. In such a time as this, you will forget that Covid still exists. Well, everyone is fully vaccinated so it’s okay I guess.

While sitting, the police asked me series of questions. You’ve been here long, what do you do? I said, "I am a follower of Jesus. I work with churches. Have you heard about Jesus or Christianity?" One of the Grab staff interrupted and said, “are you a Christian? I said, “yes. we are”. With smile, the lady Grad staff replied, “I am a Christian too." The police officer again asked more questions whether or not Ms D was single. How old was she? Was she fully vaccinated? What about the booster shot? If she was not, he is willing to take him and get her booster shots.

The person assigned to take the phone finally arrived at the office. We asked the driver to hand the phone over to Ms D so we could take a picture as evidence that the phone was returned to the rightful owner. There was a display of emotion during this moment.

The effort Ms D exerted in all of these, the people she involved or bothered, the lessons learned and the friends made are memories to cherish. Perhaps not a cheap phone after all!

But what happened after this? Did Ms D pay the Grab driver? Did she press charges? Did Grab remove the driver from its list? What about the police officer? Watch out for part two.

Surge in Ravi Zacharias Facebook Page after the Report about his Sexual Allegation was Released

Am I the only one who noticed this? The followers on the Facebook Page of the late Ravi Zacharias soared after the report on the sexual allegation was released. From 2019 up to February 2021, likes were over 900K. But in March 2021, it has surpassed a million likes. I was expecting the opposite. I thought people will unfollow his page, like what some Christians did to his books, throwing them into the trash can. What do you think the reason might be? 

While many Christian bloggers and YouTubers jumped into the bandwagon and condemned Ravi, many ordinary Christians, as seen in hundreds of comments in either YouTube videos or Facebook posts, didn't believe the allegations to be true. I wonder if 12-pages report is sufficient to condemn the man and if there was enough evidence presented in the report to prove the report's claims.  

Here are some questions to consider: (1) How do we know with certainty that the report was not manipulated?  (2) How do we know beyond any shadow of a doubt that Ravi's victims were telling the truth and nothing but the truth? This question does not mean to malign or put down the victims. The question lingers, still, can we trust their testimonies? If so, on what ground? Since the alleged sexual misconduct happened in private, it would be difficult to prove. I believe Ravi should be considered innocent of the sexual allegations until proven guilty beyond any shadow of a doubt. And if guilty as charged so be it. But who or what body can declare that Ravi is guilty? 

Pulpit Plagiarism

Photo Credit: http://www.journeypastoralcoaching.com/

Perhaps some of us, pastors, are guilty of borrowing sermon ideas, quotations, outlines or the entire sermon without acknowledging where we got them from.

So this is just a little reminder to my fellow pastors. If you borrow a sermon from someone give the credit to whom credit is due. It’s called “plagiarism”, if you don’t.

The thing about this age of technology is that people can just google the topic you are preaching and they’ll find out if you borrow your sermon. I was teaching a class on Hermenuetics one time and I told my listeners to find the sites where commentaries are from. Right in the middle of my class, the people are looking at the interpretation of some certain verses available on line. That can happen while we are preaching. People can simply google your topic or your text and immediately find out about your sermon. So it is best to mention if your outline or sermon is from someone else.

Few weeks ago I was listening to a mega church pastor on YouTube and I was intrigued by his alliterative 3-point outline. Then a few days later, I stumbled with a sermon preached by Rick Warren. As I listen to the message, I realized I heard it once before. Someone is borrowing from either one. So I checked the date of the video and found out that Rick’s message was posted 4 years earlier than the other pastor. This means the other preacher just borrowed the sermon from Rick Warren, without giving a credit. While the other pastor changed the title, the outline is exactly the same. Even the illustration Rick used, he also used it. Well, I heard Rick Warren said before that you can use his sermon without giving him credit. But this does not excuse preachers from not mentioning their sources.

Just this morning, I heard a pastor on Facebook, borrowing an entire sermon, without acknowledging where he got the message from. How did i know? I googled his topic. And sure enough, it is available online. He pretended the message was entirely his, but he got it from somewhere else. It would not hurt if he simply said, this message is not mine but... Or you can find this sermon from this site...

YOU ARE NOT A FAILURE

You may have failed, but you are not a failure. You may have lost some battles, but you are not a loser. Life is sometimes a series of failures. Yet one or ten failures do not define you. One or ten losses do not determine who you would become. There is always hope for a better version of you. Take personal responsibility for your development beginning today and do it consistently. Believe in the God who created you and believe you can become what He created you to be.  

Update about the Igorot Preacher Blog

Although I blog occasionally, I am not a blogger. I visit my blog when I feel like writing anything. I wish I would be more consistent. 

Wow. It's been a while I visited my blog; my last post was two years ago. Where was I? I guess I just completely forgot I have a blog. Facebook has become my new blog for updates and write my thoughts. I just set the privacy to "only me" whenever I posted ideas just for myself. 

May things happened in the past two years. Some are fun, happy, and inspiring.  Other are tough and tragic. A friend was falsely accused and was thrown in jail without a warrant of arrest and is now in pre-trial detention for almost 18 months. We moved church location twice, I visited the Philippines once, I lost two brothers in one year, the Corona Virus has changed the world, and many more. 

In February this year, I had my last haircut and my last cup of coffee and a can of coke. After 9 months, my hair is longer than usual, and have not had any cup of coffee nor a can of coke. 

I will give details about all these in my next posts. 

By the way, if you want to see more updates, follow or like my Facebook Page, The iGorot Preacher or my personal account Greg B. Fernandez Jr. 

Talk to you later.  

Kankanaey Bible Available Online

What if I tell you that the Kankanaey Bible is now available online? What if I tell you there's a Kankanaey Bible App?

Four years ago today, I wrote a blog post lamenting on the unavailability of the Scripture in my native tongue, Kankanaey, both online and in print. Early this morning, however, I discovered that not only there is a Kankanaey version of the Bible in PDF format , an online version  but also a Kankanaey Bible App available in  Android operating system. Such was unheard of four years ago. While the hard copy of the Kankanaey Bible might still be out of stock, the electronic version which was made available online in 2016 by Wycliffe is an excellent resources for anyone who desires to read the Bible in the Kankanaey dialect.

The moment I found these online resources early today, I immediately checked some critical verses relating to the deity of Jesus. After spending 3 hours trying to check the translation, I believe Wycliffe did a good job in translating the Bible into my native tongue. With the hundred verses I have checked so far, I have yet to see a doctrinal errors or mistranslated part of the scripture. 

Although I commend the hard work done by the translators, I have noticed that they seemed to add explanation or clarification when statements aren't clear. Here is an example among others I have noticed. The first 3 verses of the Gospel of John reads, "Sin damodamo, sin daan maparsuaan di lobong, nawawada din Kali. Sisya di kadwan Diyos yan Diyos met laeng sisya.  Nanipod sin eng-enggana, wada din Kali ay sana ay kadwan Diyos.  Sisya di nangipaamagan Diyos sin am-in ay wada, et maga polos di naamag mo adi babaen en sisya."

Those of you do not understand Kankanaey language, here is my English verbatim translation of the preceding Kanakaney translation of John 1:1-3 . "In the beginning, when the earth was not created, there was the Word. He was with God and He is also God. From the beginning, that Word exist and was with God. Through Him God created everything that was made, and absolutely nothing was made except by him."  (Greg's verbatim English translation of the Kankanaey version of John 1:1-3))

Compare this with the KJV, ESV, and NIV translations. 

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made (ESV)"

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made." KJV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. (NIV)

If you can read Greek, here is the Greek Text of John 1 verse 1. 

Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ Λόγος, καὶ ὁ Λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν Θεόν, καὶ Θεὸς ἦν ὁ Λόγος. Οὗτος ἦν ἐν ἀρχῇ πρὸς τὸν Θεόν. πάντα δι’ αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο, καὶ χωρὶς αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο οὐδὲ ἕν ὃ γέγονεν. (Greek NT: Nestle 1905)

In all the above three English translations, including the Greek Text, the phrase "when the earth was not created" do not exist. This is an additional explanation done by the Kankanaey translators. While I understand that the reason why the translators felt it is necessary to include such qualifiers to point out that this damodamo (beginning) points to the time before everything was created and was not referring to any beginning, I felt that putting additional explanation into the translation is not necessary. 

Nonetheless, I understand that translations are also interpretations. I will never forget what my NT professor told me several years ago, "All Bible translations are interpretations." Please note also that there are different ways how the Bible was translated. There are more literal translations such in the KJV and ESV translations, but there are also paraphrase such in the NLT, LB or The Message. 

Since there is no perfect translation anyway, including the numerous English versions, I'd say that the Kankanaey Bible available online is a great contribution and a helpful tool for everyone who wish to understand the Word of God in the Kankanaey tongue. I encourage you to go ahead and download the app. 

Easter Ain't About Eggs and Bunnies

This was originally a Facebook post. When I was typing, however, it keeps getting longer; so I decided to cut it and make it a blog post. What prompted this post was, early today I wanted to change my cover photos with an image of the risen Lord. So I typed Easter on the Google search. All pictures on the first and second page are colorful eggs, bunnies and chocolates. I thought, what in the world! So I changed the word to Resurrection of Jesus on the google search. Only then, I found the image I was looking for. Now you understand the emotion that goes with this post. 

In the secular and commercial world, it is unfortunate that decorated eggs and bunnies are more popular than Jesus on Easter; like that of Santa and Christmas Tree on Christmas! It seems that Christians and missionaries are to blame for the commercialization of these important Christian holidays and its proliferation in different parts of the world! Regardless of one's intention, and these symbols depict, Easter ain’t about eggs and bunnies. It’s the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus from the grave. Had Jesus not been risen, there would have been no Christianity ever existed. The existence of Christianity hinges from that miraculous event in history when the tomb was made empty! The evidence of the Resurrection is overwhelming regardless of the arguments against it made by unbelieving scholars. It is not my purpose in this post, to point out any of those arguments. There are lots of articles you can read about the evidences of the Resurrection. What I am lamenting about is the commercialization and proliferation of Easter symbols, which Christians are guilty about. What's wrong about it? Nothing really. My concern is that the symbols are more popular than what they symbolized. The symbols are more famous than Jesus. 

Let me explain why Christians are guilty of these charge I am making. There's a demand for commercialized decorated eggs. There's a demand for Easter bunnies. Companies who want to make money saw this as an opportunity to make profit. They manufactured these symbols to supply the church's demands. When missionaries and Christians go to another country, they bring their own traditions. They import the celebration, including the symbols.  When I came to Cambodia in 2003, there were very few Christmas tree in the stores. There are some, but they are small. As the years progress, Christians and foreigners keep asking about bigger Christmas trees. Now, you will see giant Christmas trees for sale all over Phnom Penh. You even see in front of buildings. It's for profit because of the demand. I have not been to all stores if there are lots of Easter eggs and bunnies for sale in Phnom Penh. But I will predict, there will be in the coming years. 

When I was young I know nothing about Easter bunny and Eggs. I only know about the celebration of the Resurrection. I am not against Easter eggs and bunnies, but I have to admit I am ignorant these symbols. I just know that where we live, we do not celebrate The Resurrection along with these symbols. While some writers are saying that Easter and also the bunny came from a Pagan tradition, there's no concrete evidence for it. I know there's nothing inherently evil about these symbols. They are good symbols of life. What is unfortunate is the fact that people only know the symbols and know nothing about what is behind the symbol-Jesus' resurrection. The next time you see decorated eggs, bunnies and chocolate, remember that Jesus has risen. Because of He has risen, Christianity exists! Christians exist because of the Resurrection of Jesus. The very foundation of the Christian faith, is this event called, the Resurrection! 

7 Women who Died for Love and Wife are Never Commanded to Love her Husband

This message has been floating around social media it passes my Facebook wall every now and then. The message reads:

" Valentine died for love, Romeo also died for love, Jack in Titanic died for love, Samson in the Bible died for love, Greek Heroes Hercules & Achilles died for love. Even Jesus Christ died for love!

Where are the women?

Don’t buy any woman a Valentines treat/Gift/Diamond ring this year until she gives you at least 5 names of women who died for love…Because no woman would die for love…

Wake up, guy!" 

I understand that the sarcasm, the joke or whatever the writer wants to convey. This seems to be anti-valentine's Day, anti-women or ignorance at it's best! I am not a woman, but I am writing to defend the women. Whoever wrote this pretended to know history but in reality he is ignorant of both of history and literature. I am not familiar much with history and literature either, but just a quick google search, is enough to find women who died for love. I am giving you 7 women who died for love. Read them. When the challenge comes up, you can mention 7, not just five. 

Here are 7 Women who died for Love-either romantic love or love for others

1. Queen Victoria

2. Diana Frances

3. Joan of Arc

4. Mother Theresa

5. Florence Nightingale 

6. Cleopatra

7. Heloise 

There goes my list. If you want more, read this  21 Women Who Died for Love in History, Literature and Folklore. 

Why include Jesus in the equation? We'll then, it also fitting in the argument to say that not just 7 or 31  women died for love. In addition, the phrase "No woman would die for love," is out of the equation, because there are millions upon millions of women who would die for love. Mothers, would die for love! The writer of this meme deliberately ignored the multiplied millions of women who gave life to all men and women that exist in this planet. Some died while giving birth,  unfortunately, and most would die for their child!

Because the meme cited Samson and Jesus, I am going to point out one thing. Did you know that a wife is never commanded to love her husband? Neither Jesus nor any writer of the Scripture ever commanded a woman to love a man. As a mater of fact, the wife is never commanded to love her husband. Only the husband is commanded to love his wife, and to love her like Jesus love His bride-the church. How did Jesus love His bride? He died for her. Paul commanded the husbands to love their wives--like Jesus love the church. This is romantic love to the highest degree-husband willing to die for his woman! 

In contrast, the wife is never commanded to love and die for her husband. This is profound! The wife needs love but the husband does not. This does not mean that the wife should never love her husband. Love is not what the husband needs. What he really needs, apart from sexual intimacy, is respect.  That is why, Paul commanded the wife to respect her husband!

How to Lose 22 Pounds in 21 Days

Before the Fast

After the Fast

If ever there's a magic that works every time you want to lose unwanted weight, it is Water Only Fasting (w.o.f). At the onset, I have to say, fasting is not for everyone. But here is a tool you can use, if you want to get in shape quickly.

There are several types of fasting, but true fasting means drinking water only; no solid food, zero calorie intake, no coffee, tea or fruit juice. Due to the existence of different types of fasting, whenever I use the word "fasting" in this post, I am referring to water only fasting to avoid confusion. 

Although there are several reasons why people fast, let's focus on weight lose only. If you are overweight like me and want to lose some quickly, the answer is fasting. There are tons of materials out there you can read on how to fast, when to fast, who should fast, how long should you fast, how to break the fast and what are the benefits of fasting. I won't be covering those topics here as you can read them elsewhere. 

Let me share my experience how I lost 22 pounds in 21 days through fasting and how I am maintaining my weight. Wait a minute, how I maintain the weight I've lost will be another blog post.

Here's my 21-day journey. Three days before December 2017 ends, I made a decision to embark on a 21-day fasting starting on January 1, 2018. On December 29, I ate two meals, lunch and dinner. On the 30th, I ate one meal, at dinner time. On the 31st, I only ate 2 pieces of small banana. While everyone was partying on the New Year's Eve, I was preparing for my fast. I literally went to bed at 8:00 PM and haven't even heard the countdown accompanied by fireworks. On January 1st up to January 21st, I consumed only water. Four days into the fast, however, I experience stomach discomfort perhaps due to the filtered tapped water i have been drinking. I switched to drinking mineral bottled water as seen below. By the way, Kulen Water is the only mineral water in Cambodia, taken directly from Kulen Mountain, in Siem Reap. 

The fast was easier than I thought. I was a bit hungry on the first day, but from day-2 onward, I have never felt hungry. My hunger disappeared almost entirely. The desire and craving to eat comes once in a while, but hunger never came back even once. Even up to day-21, I wasn't hungry at all. I think I could go up to 30 or 40 days if it were not for the work I have to do. Of course, I felt weak the entire 21 days. I had light headache at times, and stomach discomfort. The most difficult experience I went through was my constant spitting. Starting on day 7, the urge to spit comes almost every 20 seconds.  How I manage this? It's gross. I need not describe what I did. Other than incessant spitting, the entire 21-day fast was easy. Starting on Day 19, the desire to drink water also left me. If possible, I don't want to drink water. Water tasted bad. I had to force myself to drink to avoid dehydration. 

I lost 10 pounds on the first week, then it slows down. I lost additional 10 pounds from day 8 to day 17, then it plateaued on days 18 & 19. Additional two pounds of weight shredded off  on day 21.

On the evening of Day-21, I went to the market bought watermelon, papaya, and vegetables and ate some before I went to bed. On day 22, I ate more water melon, some papaya and then I made vegetable broth. I went back to normal eating 7 days after the fast.  

It is guaranteed; if you don't eat you'll lose weight! It is simple as that. You won't die from fasting. Contrary to what people think, you won't lose muscle. Those who are saying, fasting is dangerous are ignorant. Do your research to gain knowledge before you make your conclusion. Before you even fast, do enough research. Be careful where to get advice. Never get advice from anyone who never fasted. In addition, I have to warn you. Many medical doctors do not recommend fasting. It's unfortunate that many are ignorant about the true benefits of fasting.  

By the way, I didn't only lose weight, but my B/P came down from 156/106 to 104/71. If you have blood pressure issues, water fasting can lower it down easily. It has been well-studied that fasting can cure many disease, including type 2 diabetes.  

I was gonna post how to lose weight and maintained it, but I will reserve that for my next post. I think it's too early for me to write since I am only on my 3rd week after the fast. 

What are You Willing to Lose For The Sake of Christ?

Last Sunday at PPC, I spoke about the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus. If Jesus is worth pursuing, if Jesus is the most valuable treasure anyone can ever possess, what are we willing to lose to gain him? Can you count all accomplishment, achievements, and possessions as loss in comparison of gaining Christ? 

Perhaps it is easy to say I can lose everything for the sake of Jesus when you have little things to lose. For others, it would be harder to count everything as loss or to lose everything. But if Jesus is everything, you would be glad to lose everything to have Him! 

In Philippians 3: 7-8, the Apostle Paul talks about him counting everything as loss. He counted all things as rubbish  or dung for the sake of Jesus. Earlier in chapter three, Paul listed his resumes and then took that list and flush them down the toilet. Nothing matters in comparison of the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus. 

Do you know Jesus? If not, what are you willing to lose to gain Him? Are a follower of Jesus but don't really know Jesus? What are you willing to give up in order to know Him more intimately? 

Is Money Your Master or Your Servant?

There are two masters on earth, and the Devil is not one of them. While the reality of the evil one is clear in the Scripture, Jesus didn’t call him a master. The two masters on earth are God and Money. Money is a dangerous master. Somebody said that money is a terrific servant but a terrible master. If money is a master, then we are either its servants or its master. Jesus said, you cannot serve two masters. You cannot serve God and money. Notice the word “CANNOT”? Jesus didn’t say, you should not serve God and money. It is impossible to serve both. Either God is your master or your money. If God is your master, then make money your servant. Money is a tool that must be used not a master to be served.