He spread a cloud for covering, and fire to give light by night. They asked, and he brought quail, and gave them bread from heaven in abundance. He opened the rock, and water gushed out; it flowed through the desert like a river. For he remembered his holy promise, and Abraham, his servant.1Today marks my […]
But as for me I shall walk in my integrity; redeem me and be gracious to me. My foot stands on level ground; in the great assembly I will bless the LORD.1 Tomorrow, 26th October, is a milestone for my family as we celebrate Stella’s birthday. It is hard to believe that I married her […]
Whoever despises the word brings destruction on himself, but he who reveres the commandment will be rewarded.1 The book of Proverbs provides us with practical wisdom for living; e.g., Chapter 13, verse 13, shows us a contrast between those who refuse or despise the word and those who revere it; destruction and reward, respectively. The […]
When the number of years married has surpassed the number of years being single, grace becomes truly apparent. Come Saturday 3rd of December, Stella and I would be celebrating 32 years of marriage. As a follower of Jesus, we submit to the authority of Scripture.1 Much material is written about the purpose of marriage and […]
There are many tools to help us understand Scripture; one of them is to take note of repetition. During our small group meet studying Proverbs 3, we observed that heart was repeated 3x.1 Why is the heart important? The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?2 So we are […]
Allow me to abridge the version of creation. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.1 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. . .” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him;2 (And the LORD God planted a […]
Last week, we dealt with the wives on the issue of submission, quoting from Ephesians; today, we turn to the husbands, likewise quoting from Ephesians—This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.1 As Paul was addressing the husbands, he abruptly shifts and alludes to the image of […]
Stella and I have been privileged to walk engaged couples through a study called the Blueprint for Marriage, a biblical standard for God’s design on marriage. Often we need to clarify the roles of Wives and Husbands (Interestingly, whether it be in the book of Ephesians, Colossians, or Peter, when it comes to marriage the […]
While having lunch with our daughter, Stella recalled how normally seated across her was Johanan now at work and beside him was her dad now 3 years deceased. As she was saying this she was graphically etching in the air with her fingers their silhouettes. We have been married for 29 years (3 […]
By grace we celebrated our 40th Anniversary at the Ateneo de Manila, a milestone among batchmates from Grade School and High School (dubbed, “Party Farty Forty”). It was a moment of rekindling of fond memories (normally, embarrassing or grotesque) typical of spontaneous, juvenile actions. Amusingly, we barely physically resemble our youth—much have grown sideways, faded […]
By URL I do not mean the Abbreviation for “Uniform Resource Locator;” rather, Understanding, Respect, and Love. Come the 3rd of Dec, Stella and I would be celebrating our 29th year of marriage. It has been a constant learning, discovery, and revelation. I wonder if God intentionally instructed the husband to love the wife,1 and […]
During our History class as an architecture student, we were taught the various elements of historical structures. One of them was the cornerstone, interchangeably known as the keystone. It is the stone wedged at the top of an arch; and by the effects of gravity this stone holds the arch in place. It is so […]
As mentioned in my earlier blog, I started not believing nor knowing what to make of the marriage vow—“Until death do us part.” My nature was to get. Your value to me was what you could give. Sadly, this need was insatiable. Surely, there must be more to life than self? As though like metal […]
Sex is . . . Basically, God’s truth may be divided into 3 categories: First, those truths that are far beyond man’s finite mind to comprehend. “The secret things belong to the Lord our God.”1 Second, although all men can know something about God’s nature—“For what can be known about God is plain to them, […]
I liken that anything created was designed for a purpose. Viewed from an architect’s mindset, the creation of a house or building goes through a design process: decipher the wants and needs of the user, verify the parameters, the cost constraints, available materials and technology, options, deciding the team of professionals, etc. With the end […]
Are you contemplating marriage? Consider! Often quoted, “statistics show that ‘Christians’ or non-Christians alike almost have the same tally for marriage breakups.” If you are like me, my logical mind couldn’t make sense of what the marriage vow demanded—until death do us part? Why do some live happily-ever-after and others do not, regardless of beliefs? […]
