MAKE UP (Original Poem)

*Make-up*

You put on make-up
to enhance your beauty.
On your face
there are colors of the sky,
of wood, ocean, metal
and candy.

You put on make-up
to attract the beholder's eyes.
But you can't find a brush,
a blush and paint
for your soul and heart.
Them you cannot disguise.

SING (Original Poem)

*Sing*

sing me now a song,
afternoon.

morning
was unexpectedly mute
today.
it did not open its bud.

evening,
be ready to serenade me.

i shall save your melodies
in my ipod.

SMELLY ARMPITS (Original Poem)

*Smelly Armpits*

Your smelly armpits
oppress me.
I feel like collapsing.
But I cannot say that
straight to your face
because you look unfriendly.

If I speak against
those smelly armpits,
the Third World War
it may trigger.
You are a total stranger
among other strangers
here in this slow-moving elevator.

The Temple of the Holy Spirit

The Temple

The temple of the Holy Spirit is the entire body of the genuine believer of Jesus. The temple includes everything from the strand of hair to the hardened soles of the feet. The temple is the house of the Spirit of God, a quiet, yet quickening resident from above.

The temple has to be kept holy. Never to be corrupted by any sinful contamination. The eyes often wander and they devour what is within their range of vision. The hands are quick to touch and feel and grip. The feet, like the eyes, are prone to wander and to leave the narrow road. All body parts should be kept holy. Easier said than done. But still can be done.

The Spirit is only powerful when we believe that it is. The flesh and its appetites can only be subdued when the Spirit is allowed to rule. When the flesh rules, darkness rules. And here is death. When the Spirit of God rules, Light rules. And here is Life. The temple of the Holy Spirit lives and shines with God's glory.

My Original Facebook Quotes 1

"Going to church can't save you. Your religion can't save you.... Only JESUS, the Son of God, can!"

‎"You don't live in a big house. You don't have a car. You don't have lots of money. But you have a loving family, good health, a job, a clean conscience, and a genuine relationship with Jesus. Rejoice! You are blessed!"

"Your friends are simple, not popular, not fashionable, not rich, not powerful. But they love you and care for you. That's enough. And that's okay. Praise the Lord for them."

"God is pleased with sincerity, simplicity, humility, godliness..... Try to find these in showbiz. Try."

"So much money. So so much money... But very unhappy."

"Famous. Very famous. But very far from Jesus...."

"You know you have been doing a lot of bad things. But you admit that you feel no remorse. There is no deep sense of guilt... Uh, oh..... A big sin problem here... But in Jesus there is mercy and love and freedom. He can perform an awesome miracle in your life. Run to Jesus!"

"We go to church not to talk, not to keep whispering, not to keep looking at the watch, not to criticize the preacher, not to look at clothes, not to meet your crush.... Go to church for God!"

"Yes, I applaud you for great talent. But I applaud you even more for godly character. I praise the Lord!"

"Getting older means being wiser, godlier, calmer."

"Repentance heals. Sin sickens."

The Man and His Dragons (Original Poem)

In bed he lays
for his terribly sick body
tells him to slay
the dragons
of his flesh--
the gluttony of his gut
and the evil thirst of his throat.

His flesh is cursed
with a poisoned blood
and a sinful heart.
He cannot kneel
nor lie prostrate
to pray.
But he lies on his back
and wonder
if God is so remote.

In bed he stays
and knows that death
is just a gasp away.
Weak and delirious,
he calls out the Name
above all names.
Faced with dragons,
he then stiffens
after uttering,
"Save me, Jesus!"

INAUGURAL SPEECHES

Inaugural speeches are passionate speeches. They stir, rouse and rekindle many feelings and emotions, most especially those of hope. Such speeches are cries for positive change, social justice and economic progress. But speeches are speeches. The mouth can only do so much.

Inaugural speeches are declarations of intent. They are avowals to do this and to do that. They are pronouncements of the beginning of this and the end of that. Speeches can only do so much.

Inaugural speeches are mostly promises. Once words are said, they are heard, understood and hopefully remembered by those to whom the speeches are delivered. And promises should be held sacred.

The new president of the Republic of the Philippines is Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III. He delivered his inaugural speech on June 30, 2010. What he said should be taken seriously. The nation must pray for him, work with him and hope with him.

After the inauguration and the celebration comes the real work. Work is sweat, tears and blood, even. Speeches are soundbytes or mere spit, even.

LADY GAGA

Mama Monster Madonna is tired and passe. So, music world's new generation of idolaters need a clone in the shocking shape of Fame Monster Lady Gaga. She's bloodier, wardrobe-crazier, ungodlier than the Queen of Pop. This makes her tastier to the world.

Just like Madonna, Lady Gaga is but an image adored and worshiped by millions who just love infectious beats, rhythms, hooks, shocks and imagery. As long as it sounds, looks and feels shockingly good, it is good. All in the name of entertainment.

Lady Gaga's fandom has become inevitably spectacular. This is what the world wants-- Sex. Pleasure. Lust. To those who cannot have enough of Gaga, be warned. She may now be in the limelight. But she's not in the Light. Definitely not.

Education in the Philippines

They're planning to add two more years to the ten years of education before a student can proceed to college. They believe a 12-year basic education will meet global standards of education. Why only now? I'm not saying it's too late but even if they add twelve or twenty more years to basic education, this is no guarantee that our students will achieve academic excellence.

There is no excellence if teachers are not excellent, well-paid and inspired. A mediocre teacher teaching in a rotting school with flawed textbooks will only produce incompetents. The government now has to know which education problems to fiercely deal with first. I am sure corruption has been killing our already poor educational system.

While the government is trying to fix problems I say to students: LEARN AND GET EDUCATED OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM.... Are parents and TV doing their part as educators? I don't think so.

I ONCE SAW YOU (An Original Poem)

I once saw you talk to a poor little girl.
I saw you give her something
that made her smile.
You played with her
and laughed so hard with her
until she let go of her balloon
that floated toward the sky.

I once saw you sit next to a lonely man
on a bench one cloudy afternoon.
I saw you hold his hand
and this made him bow his head
and wipe his eye.

I once saw you walk past my window.
You looked sad.
I knew not what was hurting you.
Where was the little girl?
Where was the lonely man?
Who was there now for you?

I will never be certain.
I let you walk and walk
away
until I drew the window curtain.

BE BORN AGAIN

In John 3:3 Jesus said to Nicodemus, a Pharisee, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Jesus, the Son of God, is not a liar. He Himself said this in the Scripture. But why do most people don't get this straight? Since most people don't really get it, they don't get born again as a result. They stay where they are, facing the peril of NOT seeing and NOT being in heaven.

Born again means rebirth. It's a spiritual transformation. It is not group membership nor church transfer. To be born again is to have the mind, heart and life changed by God through genuine faith in His Son Jesus, who is God. The Holy Spirit takes up residence in the believer's heart. The Spirit, who is also God, will counsel, comfort and convict the born-again of sin.

When one becomes born again, he is saved, forgiven, justified and redeemed. To this new creation in Christ titles and denominations don't matter anymore.

LOVE: Two Haikus

LOVE: Two Haikus

I
They say 'I love you'
But unalloyed with reason.
One day they'll shed tears.

II
Passion, appetite.
Oh, what is love without both?
It will be friendship.

SEX EDUCATION

I am not totally against the Department of Education's latest move to include sex education in the basic education curriculum for public elementary and high school students. My questions are: Are the educators truly equipped and qualified to educate the young on sex? Are these educators wise enough to know which questions to answer and to NOT answer? How will the DepEd gauge the success of this "experiment"?

Now, we keep claiming the Philippines is a Christian nation. But it is a shame that there is no push at all for the reading and application of the Bible. "What does God say about sex? About sexuality?" The Word of God has answers to them. Excluding God from this "experiment" would further saturate the children with "sex" in this already sexually saturated world of ours.

We always forget that God is far above our sciences, our education, our personal moralities. He has the best instructions for us. I strongly assert, "Let God and His Word take over now!"

LET THEM SMOKE!

Let smokers smoke. It's enough that they have been consistently warned of the health risks and dangers they face for puffing smoke habitually. They know that cigarettes have no real health benefits. They know that they can insist that it's their lungs they are damaging and not other people's. They know they have the stubborn right to be and to stay stubborn.

And what do I think of that You Tube video of a 2-year old boy from Indonesia who puffs like a little dragon? Well, it did not shock me. The boy was just unfortunate to have the most irresponsible father. People can start condemning the parents of the kid. People can start calling for stricter policies and regulations on cigartte smoking. But not all people care about personal health. In this world, populated by 6.8 billion people, there will always be the good, the bad and the dead.

Facebook and God

I've been Facebooking for about 16 months now. Just recently I was struck by the conviction that I should daily glorify Jesus Christ on this popular site. Facebook seems to have turned into a temple of the Self. Millions of people tell other millions of people about themselves. People stay on Facebook for hours everyday and Jesus Christ hardly gets a status mention on most FB walls. I admit I have more posts about my "Self" than about the Word of God. As a Christian I must respond to the prompting of the Spirit of God to obey His Word. Jesus said in Matthew 28:19-20, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen."

If one is indifferent towards the things of God, one can turn Facebook into a Babel Tower. The self is glorified. Man and his many doings are magnified. Facebook is the temple of the king named Self. It's a challenge to put Jesus first on Facebook. And I am faced with this challenge in the light of my recent divine prompting. Truly I accept such challenge like a brave Christian. I will do the things that please the Lord even if it requires my permanent leaving of the Facebook temple.

One Very Hot Afternoon (Original Poem)

*One Very Hot Afternoon*

It's one very hot afternoon
and I'm beginning to think of malling

naked;

to think of diving into a swimming pool
of ice cream

naked;

It's one very hot afternoon
and I'm beginning to think of cursing
this tilt of the earth.

There's no winter in my country;
a truth

naked.

For the Hurting Lover (Original Poem)

Your heart limps
and it limps with you.
What used to be red,
like lips and kissed lips,
is now painfully blue.

The memories
of romance past
and of passion's residue,
are for now crutches
that support you.

Walk with your wounded heart
and limp you may go.
Love is red,
bloody red,
even indigo.

Ahead perhaps
for you is something
or someone new.

WILLIE & WOWOWEE

Willie Revillame and Wowowee are two faces of a network coin. It's a bloodied currency. (Remember the 2006 PhilsSports Arena stampede?) Now we hear rumors of Willie's not returning to the show. I am not a fan. It does not affect me a tiny bit if he's not coming back. Time now to say goodbye to this cash-dispensing monolith. But without a doubt Wowowee has countless followers who believe the show is entertaining, hope-giving, even life-saving.

Willie has become an idol. And Wowowee an exploding temple of cash, sexy women and chance. But not all fans win. Not all of them get money. Not all of them get to play to win. Only a few hit the jackpot. This means not everyone wins. Not everyone gets money. But still so many people hope they would have the Wowowee money. The Word of God is forgotten in this paganistic clamor for the moolah. 1 Timothy 6:10 says, For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

BLESSED (A Collection of Personal Quotes)

Below are personal quotes posted on my Facebook Wall on May 17, 2010.

"Blessed are they who have become born-again and new creations in Jesus Christ."

"Blessed are they who don't lead double lives."

"Blessed is he who does a good thing for someone and keeps quiet about the good deed."

"Blessed is he who has love and peace in the home."

"Blessed is he who has genuinely loving Christian friends."

"Blessed are they who don't keep up with the Joneses."

"Blessed is he whose basic needs are regularly met."

"Blessed is he who always gives thanks to the Lord God."

"Blessed is he who knows that godly wisdom is superior to human intelligence."

"Blessed is he who is not running away out of guilt from something or someone."

"Blessed is he who has no financial debts."

"Blessed is he who has contentment in the simplicity of his life."

"Blessed is he who has found the Lord God and is found by Him."

"Blessed are they who have the love and respect of their children."

"Blessed is she who has found a loving and faithful God-fearing husband."

"Blessed is he who has found a loving, faithful Christian wife."

"Blessed is he who is ready to face His Creator for the judgment."

"Blessed is he whose heart is filled with Truth and Light."

"Blessed is he who follows the Good Shepherd and not this evil world system."

"Blessed is he who fully gives up pronography for that is what the Holy God desires."

"Blessed are the prodigal sons and daughters who sincerely return in repentance to their loving and merciful Father."

"Blessed is he who walks in the Love of God."

"Blessed is he who reads and follows the Word of God."

MONEY

Money is not evil. The love of it is. I look around and I see people NOT seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. (Matthew 6:33) Instead, they chase money as if that is their Life. Grasping for the wind, they usually run in circles with disappointment on their heels. Money is visible to the eye. God is not. So, money is more an immediate attraction to the poor, the covetous and the greedy.

The promise of God to those who put Him and His Righteousness first will be divine additions. Things will fall into their proper places. What is empty will be filled. Lack turns to overflowing. This is not easily fathomed by people who stubbornly believe that money is their peace, their happiness, their life. They are very wrong and very deceived.