Straight From Pastor Ey

When the ABS-CBN’s Bandila news report on an alleged “mysterious flesh-eating skin disease” in the province of Pangasinan went viral (pun intended), the ensuing online panic appeared to be more contagious than the supposed sickness itself. “The hashtag #PrayforPangasinan remains the top trending local topic on Twitter as netizens continue to hope for the recovery of those affected by the alleged flesh-eating illness.” (Source: ABS-CBN News ) There are those who immediately claimed that this fulfilled the “prophecy” of a so-called modern-day prophet.  Image credit B ut, according to the Health Secretary Enrique Ona, the report was a hoax. “There is no reported case of ‘flesh-eating’ skin disease in the country yet. Absolutely no reason for the public to panic” ( Rappler ). What was reported as supposed victims of the flesh-eating disease were actually people afflicted with “leprosy with drug reaction” and “psoriasis.” (Ibid) Of course, ABS-CBN would have a lot of explai...

A few days from now, the “Son of God” movie will premier worldwide. It’s based on the top-rating “The Bible” TV miniseries aired last year over the History channel. The series got nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards already. (Source: Wikipedia ) According to Roma Downey, the producer and the actress who plays the role of Mary in the movie, “ Tired of cursing the darkness, my husband, Mark, and I wanted to shine a light. …‘The Bible’ miniseries, born out of this intention and released last year, grew so popular that we were able to make it into our Jesus film, ‘Son of God.’” ( The Salt Lake Tribune ) A scene from the "Son of God" movie. Image credit But it had its share of controversy. On its third week, where Jesus appeared for the first time in “The Bible” series, “ there was supernatural opposition at work. The devil was also in that episode. Someone made a comment that the actor who played the devil vaguely resembled our president [Obama], and suddenly ...

[Read “The Boy Who Cried Pork”  Part 1 | Part 2 ] Image credit Bread. Other than the literal flour-water-yeast food, it’s also a slang word for money. Making bread could also mean making money or earning a living.  HAPPIER DAYS. Ruby Tuason (right) with Janet Lim-Napoles (middle), the alleged pork barrel scam queen. Image credit This imagery came to mind when Senator Jinggoy Estrada explained that “Ruby Tuason brought him hot food, not cold cash”  ( Inquirer.Net ). Tuason was a close friend of the Estrada family. She confessed that she personally handed over the dough, that is, kickbacks from the pork barrel scam to the senator.  PICTURE TIME. The Napoles couple attend a party with the Estradas. Caption and image credit She also claimed that “she used the side entrance of the Senate building, which is reserved only for senators, to evade inspection.” ( GMA News Online ) Ruby Tuason takes her oath at the Office of the Ombudsman....

Image credit One time,   “Jesus was hungry. He noticed a fig tree in full leaf a little way off, so he went over to see if he could find any figs. But there were only leaves because it was too early in the season for fruit. Then Jesus said to the tree, ‘May no one ever eat your fruit again!’”   (Mark 11:12b-14a, NLT) Then the next day, “the disciples noticed [that the fig tree] had withered from the roots up.”  (v. 20b) Now there are those who criticize Him for cursing the fig tree. After all, Mark himself pointed out that   “there were only leaves because it was too early in the season for fruit.”   (v. 13b) So, why look for fruit when it’s not yet the season for it? They felt that if it’s the season for figs but there wasn’t any, then He can curse the tree. Wasn’t that unfair?  Figs. Image credit According to the Bible Knowledge Commentary,   “In Palestine fig trees produced crops of small edible buds in March followed by the appearan...

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO and founder of Facebook. Image credit That’s the “only answer” that Mark Zuckerberg, CEO and founder of Facebook, could ever think of in view of the famous social network’s anniversary when he asked: “When I reflect on the last 10 years, one question I ask myself is: why were we the ones to build this? We were just students. We had way fewer resources than big companies. If they had focused on this problem, they could have done it. The only answer I can think of is: we just cared more. … We just cared more about connecting the world than anyone else. And we still do today. ” ( https://www.facebook.com/zuck ) Image credit Zuckerberg admitted he never imagined Facebook to be where it is now. He felt it was a rare privilege to do what he did. “It’s been an amazing journey so far, and I’m so grateful to be a part of it. It’s rare to be able to touch so many people’s lives, and I try to remind myself to make the most of every day and have the biggest impact ...

Image credit I read about a church that just installed its pastor. (Disclaimer: It’s neither about FCCF nor me ☺) After preaching his first sermon, the deacons and the entire congregation excitedly told their new pastor how much the message blessed them. The next Sunday, he preached again. Though they still like the message, they felt they were not as blessed as the first message. On the third Sunday, they noticed something. They just realized that the pastor have been preaching the same message to them on all those Sundays.  Can you imagine that? They were so dense that they only realized that on the third Sunday! So, they confronted the pastor. “How come you delivered the same message over and over again?” The pastor answered, “I will preach that message again and again until I see you obeying it.”  Image credit Think for a moment. If you were in that church, would you immediately notice that I was preaching the same message? If I were that pastor, would I see ...