Straight From Pastor Ey

Impressions last. But the problem with impressions is not only that they last but also that we are not sure that they are true. Usually, it is based on opinion instead of fact. (And even if we think we are good at “reading” people, we are not really that good simply because people are not books.) To paraphrase a saying, “We can only be impressive from afar. But we can only be intimate up close and personal.” It is the same with God. We tend to be impressed with God. But, much more than that, He wants us to be intimate with Him. In his classic “Knowledge of the Holy” work, A.W. Tozer wrote, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us… no religion has ever been greater that its idea of God.” Our Lord Jesus told us, “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:24, ESV) Our idea of God must be based on who He really is, that is, on what He revealed about Himself in His Word and not on what we imagine Him

“One of the deadliest con jobs of our time.” (Source: Yahoo! News) That’s what CBS News tagged the claim that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction or WMDs. Based “on information that came from an Iraqi defector code-named ‘Curveball’… [about Saddam Hussein’s alleged] secret biological weapons program” (ibid) the Bush Administration waged a war against Iraq that “led to over 100,000 deaths.” (Ibid) However, in an exclusive interview with The Guardian newspaper, Rafid Ahmed Alwan al-Janabi a.k.a. “Curveball” now confesses that he lied about the WMDs when he sought asylum in Germany. He is unrepentant: “Maybe I was right, maybe I was not right… They gave me this chance. I had the chance to fabricate something to topple the regime. I and my sons are proud of that and we are proud that we were the reason to give Iraq the margin of democracy.” (Ibid) He even justifies his lie by claiming that, “Believe me, there was no other way to bring about freedom to Iraq… There were no othe

The editorial of the Philippine Daily Inquirer hit the proverbial nail on the head when it opined: “Many Filipinos are trying to make sense of the completely unexpected suicide of a highly accomplished man who once had his hand on the levers not only of power but of history.” (Source: http://inquirer.net/) Did former Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Angelo Reyes kill himself because he was really guilty of the corruption charges hurled against him? Or, was it a desperate, last-ditch effort to save whatever’s left of his honor? So, right now, speculations are rife. “For many of us, however, this search for meaning is little different from the so-called blame game.” (Ibid) Who or what drove him to pull that trigger? Yet I’m afraid the answers to our questions will be buried with him. Now I fully understand why a character from one of my favorite TV shows wryly commented, “Suicide is selfish. You leave everyone to clean up your mess.” When asked about my thoughts about it, I replied,

That is one of “The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs,” the founder of Apple, according to communications coach Carmine Gallo (as quoted by Wilson Lee Flores in his business column, “Bull Market, Bull Sheet.” Philippine Star, January 31, 2011). Jobs is a very passionate person. When he founded Apple, “Jobs’ vision was to put a computer in the hands of everyday people.” (Ibid) One time Jobs said to his employees, “People with passion can change the world for the better.” He even declared to a TV reporter, “I want to make a ding in the universe.” (Ibid) And when he called upon Pepsi executive James Sculley to join Apple, Jobs challenged him with this change-the-world passion, “Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water or do you want a chance to change the world?” (Ibid) Passionate people are potent. Changing the world (or “making a ding in the universe” ) is a commendable cause. But there’s a higher cause (in fact, it’s the highest cause) that ought to charge up