The American Dream That Was: A Past Revisited

By: Art Javier

     Sometime in 2011 a hot news particularly in Yahoo, says that a new wave of foreclosures is coming for the coming year 2012. The thousands of inventory that banks have been holding on will now be adjudicated which will set a record far greater than the wave of foreclosures that happened in 2010. It seems that the American Dream has paled at that time to all of us.  Let us revisit the past wherein I wrote about these hard times.

 

I.                The American Dream

     It used to be that owning your home was a hallmark for one to be identified as belonging to the middle-class American family life. The fulfillment of home ownership is in fact the fulfillment of the “American Dream.” With the rest of the US citizenry, we too, the immigrants who came to this country shared the thought of home ownership as a symbol of the American Dream. Being able to provide a decent house gave our families not only a secured shelter but also for our young to have access to a good public education.  The financial aspects of a home are equally important since it became a strong speculative store of value to protect us- whether we originally intended it to be our long-term abode or as an investment or retirement asset in our sunset years.

     However, during those hard times, millions of us whether U.S. citizens or immigrants, just shaked and scratched our heads that the above so called “American Dream” was a distant memory as we confronted the realities of the times. Millions and millions of Americans had to face the fact that their homes declined in devastating figures-big time. What seems perplexing to the average Joe, at that time, not only must he tackle the pressure of making his mortgage payment on a house that has lost its value- but he also lost his job and was unemployed because of the debilitating and malignant recession that engulfed the entire economy. To add insult to injury, Joe could not find a new job - not only because the job market was likewise depressed- but he was faced with a very low credit score spawned mainly by his inability to make timely payments on his mortgage. Joe cannot recoup what he has put in his house, and he cannot get out of his obligation since he cannot re-sell in that very miserable market.

 

II.             New Home Sales

     It was reported at that time in US News and World Report, “new home sales, pending home sales and mortgage applications were down to a 13 year low despite the fact that long term mortgage rates have plummeted to an average of 4%. New home prices have fallen to about 30% to 40%.”

     It was a “given” that the fall in house prices ate up the equity that we had in our homes. We read reports that more than 11 million residential properties have mortgage balances that exceeded the homes’ values. “And given the total inventory of homes and the shadow inventory of an additional 3.7 million empty (foreclosed) homes,” David Rosenberg, Chief Economist of Gluskin Sheff, noted at that time, that “home prices did fall by another 5% to 10%. This left an estimated 40% of all American homeowners with mortgages in excess of the value of their homes.

 

III.           The Disappearing Equity

     There is no denying the fact that the disappearing equity is an invite for strategic defaults. A lot of homeowners took the “Cash for Keys” deal, that is, mail or personally surrender the keys to their “friendly” lenders and just walked away even if they can afford to make the payments. But some refused to make any more payment and hanged in there. The banks did not take these deflated properties onto their books because they will then have to declare a financial loss- over and above the fact that they still have to worry about maintaining these properties. Did you guys knew why at that time a quarter of the people who have not made a single mortgage payment were still able to live in their houses for more than 2 years?  In fact, there were some unscrupulous people in Las Vegas and maybe in some areas, who had the audacity to rent out their houses which were already in a state of foreclosure. The naïve and poor renters were just caught in the middle and were forced to vacate the properties in a very untimely manner when the letters to foreclose from the lender started to come in.  So where did this ex-homeowner turned Landlord go after all these happened?  “Man, he’s gone…he’s nowhere to find.” He’s probably in Timbuktu, having a good time and spending your hard-earned money.

 

IV.           The Continuing Saga of Foreclosures 

     There was a report that stated, a staggering 8 million homes were in some state of delinquency, default or foreclosure. Alan Abelson of Baron’s reported, “that an additional 8 million more homeowners were estimated to have mortgages representing 95% or more of the value of their homes leaving them with 5% or less equity in their homes, and thus were vulnerable to further price declines.”

     Foreclosures may have slowed down a bit with the Home Affordable Modification Programs and other government efforts. But these programs have not worked as hoped since more than 50% re-defaulted within 6 to 12 months, after modification, even after their monthly payments were cut by as much as 50%.

     Mr. Zuckerman wrote, “While the foreclosure pipeline remains clogged, as it unclogs, a new wave of homes will wash into the market and precipitate additional downward pressure on prices. The number of foreclosed homes put on the market by banks will be a more powerful influence on the further decline of home prices than either consumer demand or interest rates.” 

     As I have also written in my past article, the mortgage finance was at that time a sick market and was deeply troubled. Conventional lenders were then asking for substantial down payments and were imposing very stringent financial requirements. More and more home sales were being conducted on cash basis transactions.

 

V.              Conclusion

     At the end of the day, what was the most critical factor that was subduing the demand for housing? Well, home ownership, which was once referred to as the great American Dream, became the great American nightmare. Mr. Zuckerman wrote that, “It was no longer seen as a great, long-term buildup in equity value.

 

     We were all witnesses to this collapse of the “American Dream” and thank God at this time we are now all awake from this very unpleasant nightmare. The market has corrected itself and we are out of this economic catastrophe. We continually look forward to a realistic price on our homes, as we revive the true epitome of the “American Dream” setting the correct equilibrium between supply and demand.

 

                                         The Economics of Being Beautiful  

      By: Art Javier

            Perhaps it is now an adage that old saying I always hear in my younger years “It is not what you know, but it is who you know.” In this ever-changing world we live in, this old saying does not always work. We cannot (always) get what we want or think we have the economic advantage if we always rely on this saying.  Faced with this reality, people now try to lean on other variables such as intelligence, aptitude and qualifications and probably an x-factor that can play a major role where one can have an advantage in getting what he or she wants. This x-factor refers to those who are gifted with physical beauty and their ability to enhance this priceless possession. Let’s look at the background of my thesis above and review some facts where being beautiful and good looks do play an economic advantage.

            Current statistics prove that physically attractive women and men earn more than the average-looking ones, and those people who are plain-looking earn less. The “Economist” a weekly published magazine, contends that, “if we look at the labor market as a whole, good looks have a bigger impact on earnings than education, although intelligence is still a highly regarded value. Beauty is naturally rewarded in jobs where physical attractiveness would seem to matter such as prostitution, entertainment, customer service and so on.” But believe it or not, it manifests itself in very unexpected fields, too. Not so good-looking NFL quarterbacks earn less than their good looking counterparts, despite the fact that they have identical yards passed and years in the league. The report goes on to say, “the same is true in other markets. Women have traditionally traded looks for economic support in marriage.” A Chinese study confirms that husbands of unappealing women earn about 10% less than those who have good looking wives. “Attractive people also have an easier time getting a loan than plain folks, even as they are less likely to pay it back. They receive milder prison sentences and higher damages in simulated legal proceedings. In America, more people say that have felt discriminated against for their appearance than because of their age, race or ethnicity.”

            As you can see, a pretty person seems to have all the luck.  Why?  The Economist refers to three books now available in the market, “Beauty Pays: Why Attractive People Are More Successful by David Mamermisch, The Beauty Bias: The Injustice of Appearance in Life and Law by Deborah Rhode and Honey Money: The Power of Erotic Capital, which attempt to explain why this is so and if there is anything that can be done about it.        

            The first book, Beauty Pays, by David Mamermisch, an economist at the University of Texas, asserts that over a lifetime, a good-looking worker in America on average makes $230,000 more than a plain one. Surely, any company can justify that attractive workers can bring in more business, so it only makes sense for firms to hire them. Have you ever been inside “In and Out” hamburgers?  Look at all those young, energetic and good-looking guys and gals!

            The second book, as the Economist reviews, The Beauty Bias, by Deborah Rhode, a law professor at Stanford University, is perplexed why any woman would embrace fashion willingly as in wearing high heels in an office environment. She is also outraged why virtually all females consider their looks as key to their self-image. The book cites a survey where more than half of young women said they would prefer to be hit by a truck than be fat. The indignation of Ms. Rhode is mostly akin to morality. Billions of dollars are now spent on cosmetic surgery-more than 90% of it by women- at a time where more than 1/5 of the entire population does not have basic health care and a national average of 8% unemployment rate.  More and more women are so engrossed in improving their looks than they do care about others.

            Ms. Rhode continues to say, “Discriminating against people on the grounds of personal appearance should be banned. It limits a person’s right to equal opportunity, reinforces the subordination of groups where unappealing characteristics, including obesity, are concentrated and restricts self-expression. “

            The third book, Honey Money: The Power of Erotic Capital, by Catherine Hakim, as the Economist continues to review, is a totally different work from the two other books. While Mr. Hammermesh and Ms. Rhode see discrimination, Ms. Hakim sees an opportunity for women to enhance their power “in the bedroom and the boardroom.” Ms. Hakim argues that “erotic capital” is an underrated class of personal assets to set beside economic capital (what you have), human capital (what you know) and social capital (who you know). Ms. Hakim attempts to quantify a complex mix of physical and social assets, consisting of beauty, sex appeal, self-presentation, social skills, livelihood, and sexual competence. Like all other capitals, the “erotic capital” is important for success. It is especially valuable for poor people, young people, the newly arrived and the otherwise unqualified. In heterosexual settings, it belongs primarily to women.

            Ms. Hakim suggests “that women have more erotic capital than men because they have had to work at it for centuries. Also, women have the upperhand in “erotic capital” for another reason: the male “sexual deficit.” While both sexes are more sexually active than ever before, from the age of about 30, women’s libido tends to fall off while men’s does not. Because women have less interest in sex than men, to put it crudely, it is a seller’s market.” Ms. Hakim continues, “In the power dynamic of couples, controlling access to sex is more important than earning more money. It is the woman’s main bargaining chip, as most still earn less than their partners. Feminists who are throwing away their feminity are overlooking a powerful asset.”

            The Economist stated these three authors are in or fast approaching their 60’s. They are contemporaries of the generation of feminists who waged war against the beauty culture, leaving unshaved legs and allegedly burned bras. 

            “But life has moved on. Sexualized images are everywhere and the world that has emerged is one in which no one can afford to pretend beauty does not matter.” We note that men, too, having lost their monopoly of high paying and prestigious jobs and careers are investing in their “erotic capital” to enhance their appeal to mates and employers. They are like an army, coming in all shapes and sizes, marching off to the gyms and discovering face creams in record numbers.

            Perhaps my above thesis “whom you know” which was referred to by Ms. Hakim as “social capital,” would just be insufficient in these modern times. One needs to invest in his or her “erotic capital,” or simply put, the economics of being beautiful, to be successful.

           (Source: A reprint from the magazine “The Economist” with the same title) 

 

The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

By: Art Javier

          Let me pose this question to all: “How do you survive and pass through all the trials and tribulations you have in your life?” My answer: “Focus on the words you say to yourself and to other people.”  

 I.                There is Power in Our Words:

           The truth is, there is power in the words that we say or utter. If we stay focus in affirming and saying out loud the words that we have written in our goals, then the current hardships we face will come to pass and we will overcome any and all the challenges that negate the fruits and end results of our hearts’ desires. 

           The reason why you are where you are is largely caused by what you say to yourself.  When we utter words that connote positivity such as love, compassion, honesty, charity, chastity, patience, understanding, hope and continue to say them every day of our life we will continually to bless our life. Our life moves in perfect dynamic strides parallel to the direction of our words. If we are focused on the positive words then we claim the end results of victory, success and achievements.

          I saw in a friend’s mansion house the other day, where we had a short seminar on “The Purpose Driven Life,” a big, imposing and giant wall that was entirely filled with dozens and dozens of positive words, such as amiable, friendly, successful, kind, warm, honest, etc., etc.- and her name inscribed in big and bold letters in the middle of all these positive words.  Now I know why the owner of the house is a highly paid motivational speaker all around the country and without a doubt why she’s making millions.

 II.             Negative Words: The Destroyer

          The opposite side is, if we continue to utter and enrich our vocabulary with negative words such as “we’re not good enough,’ ‘we’re not gonna make it,’ the ‘F word, and the S word,’ ‘ I will never have a full time job and just be stuck here in this part time dead-end job,’ ‘I don’t have the talent to do it, I am not ready,” then we invite the prophecies of defeat- as if we are calling and inviting bad breaks, bad luck, bad omen, mediocrity and lack. We cannot expect abundance if we have an impoverished attitude.  A poor mouth will surely produce a poor life. But if you sow seeds of strength, love, patience, hard work, able and capable you will reap the fruits of good health, increase, abundance, new opportunities, joy and happiness. 

     The gospel of James says, “With our tongues, we can bless our lives, or we can curse our lives.” I have witnessed a lot of Filipinos who have this silly expression of, “Ay buhay..” expressed with so much frustration, depression, disappointment and with a very heavy heart.”  Whenever I asked these same people, in the past, “Kamusta na?” (How are you?) They responded, “Eto ganoon pa rin. Tumatanda na, tumataba pa at malapit ng makalbo.”  (Well here we are ..same old..ageing, getting fat and nearly balding). I checked out and visited these guys out after 3-5 years and without an ounce of doubt, I surely found old, fat, bald and ugly dudes. Their words just self-fulfilled their own prophecies. 

 III.           Attitude Determines Altitude

     This typical “Filipino-like” negative attitude will totally and completely curse our lives.  Let us always remember that our attitude will determine our altitude.”  The right words and the right attitude will propel us to new heights where we have never imagined we can achieve. You are what you say you are. These words will cause our wings to open and progressively bring us to the next upper level, one level at a time.  Avoid hanging around or working with chickens and turkeys. You will have a hard time to soar like an eagle.

      I want to edit the immortal words of John F. Kennedy. It goes like this, “Say (Instead of Ask) not, what your country can do for you, but say (instead of ask) what you can do for your country.” It must be in the form of a statement, not a rhetorical question! Replace that popular phrase of JFK with the word “ask” to “say.”

 

IV.           The Power of Affirmation in Jesus Name

     When you are in front of the mirror just before leaving your house for work don’t utter the words, “Mirror, mirror on the wall who’s the fairest of them all?” That’s an ancient worn out phrase. Be positive and look yourself straight in the eye in front of the mirror and say, “Girl, you’re lookin’ good today.” Start telling that woman in the mirror, “You’re healthy, strong, young, sexy and beautiful, with no vanity. And if you’re a guy, tell yourself, “You handsome little thing.”  And if you are a Filipino say to yourself, “Ang pogi mo talaga. ..Lahi ka talaga ng pipikutin.”

     I hear a lot of people who are used to saying this expression or belief, that is, “It is what it is..That’s the reality.” For me, I will never give in to such conviction. We Christians should never abide to this self-defeating, self-destructing thought process of other people. If we believe that there is power in our words, energized by the power of the name of our Lord, Jesus, we should use words not to describe the situation but use words to change the situation. There are people who make things happen, people who watch things happen, people who wonder what happened and people who don’t know what the heck happened. We should be the people who can make things happen, always in Jesus’ mighty name.   

V.              Verbalize this quote: “With God All Things Are Possible”

     The reality of negative, passive and materially conforming people is not the same reality of a true blooded Christian who has in him the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

     I heard that in the scriptures, the Apostles ask our Lord, “What will we eat? What will we drink?” Jesus answered, “Say not…etc.etc...for your Father in heaven..etc. etc...” The key word here is the word “Say..” Do not say a negative thought. Every one of us is prone to negative thoughts. But don’t say it, because if you do, you will be trapped in those negative words, and you will decree and give life to it and it will come to pass and soon becomes your reality. What do you need to do?  Shut up!… and that negative thought will soon be lifeless and will die naturally. It is one thing to think and it is another thing to talk.

     When we continually talk about our problem and share it with other people the more we become lost, beaten, discouraged and the more we make the problem looks bigger. In these tough times, always tell yourself and say ,”God is bigger than any problem,”  “With God all things are possible.”  Don’t dwell in that square face of yours all day long. Say a funny word, remember a funny situation in your life. Smile and the world smiles with you. Cry and you cry alone.

     You have to convince yourself to verbalize and continually say that you are a victor and not a victim, that you are a champion, a conqueror and a winner. When David faced Goliath, do you think he had the time to think negative and say negative words to himself and to all those Israelites who were watching him? He would have been crushed and put 6 feet under the ground if he had displayed and spoke of any negativity.  But instead that little, tiny and diminutive shepherd boy defeated a strong giant and a well-equipped warrior, Goliath, with a sling shot.   David expected, focused, affirmed and utter words of victory. Surely, he felt fear, but he spoke of his strong faith and belief in the Lord that he will defeat the Giant. There is a great difference between feeling and speaking.

     When Manny Pacquiao was asked by an interviewer, “Manny, Mayweather said, you will be his victim number 48. What can you say to that?”  Manny, focused as he always is, was gracious and steadfast and said, “The Lord will deliver Mayweather into my hands.” Interviewer: “What do you have in you that you think you can beat Mayweather?” Manny replied with conviction, “I have God in me.”

     When James Harden, point guard and superstar of the Houston Rockets was interviewed the other day on what he can say after scoring over 50 points, he said, “ I give glory to God for that.”

 

VI.           Short and Simple Positivity (KISS)

     These are short and simple words that are so much filled with strong faith but can move mountains and defeat a Giant. Do not concentrate on the problem. Focus on the Word. They are filled with promises and revelations.

      How about you my friend, what positive words have you put in your vocabulary? Keep smiling and say words of wisdom, say nice, simple and kind words to yourself and others.

      Have you heard that song of Martin Nievera, “Say that you love me..” The key word in that song is “SAY.” You can love somebody but if you don’t say it to that subject person, it doesn’t mean a thing.  When I was in college, I had a terrible crush on this girl. But I kept it to myself. I felt I was not good enough for her not handsome enough to have a relationship with a girl as fair and beautiful as she was. A few years after graduation she got married. From that day I had a crush on her and until today I still do but do not know and have not been able to know if she had feelings for me or not. The moral of the story is to just say it and just let it out. If we don’t, we will forever be in the dark. It’s a make or break. If we get rejected, we just have to accept it and move on. Better to have loved and lost than to never to have loved at all. The point is, like the Nike ad says, “Just do it,” I’m now telling you, “Just SAY it.”

 

     VII.Conclusion

     Say beautiful and positive words to yourself, to the people you love and the world around you.  Say to the people of the world you love them, and the people of the world will love you back. Condemn your life and surely your life will condemn you.  Put away those negatives and words of condemnation. Replace negative words and humble yourselves with words of forgiveness and strong positive words of faith, hope and love.  Say those positive words with unquestionable conviction; for then and only then you will know, and I know those words will come back to you and will self-fulfill their built-in prophecies.   

      Keep well!

 

                            Blessings, Magic and Miracles

                                                                 By: Art Javier  

 

     There is a vast difference between Magic and Miracles. By the same token, there is also a huge contrast between blessings and miracles.

I.               MAGIC VS. MIRACLES

     Between magic and miracles, the critical issue is the source. Miracles are the supernatural works of God while Magic is either human or demonic.

     In the realm of human magic, these entertainers practice the “sleight of the hand” in their performances. More aptly they are referred to as Illusionists. These are the likes of David Copperfield, Lance Burton, Siegfried and Roy and probably Penn and Teller. The people who watch these Illusionists know that it is not real magic since they consciously know that behind it is a trick. Nonetheless, they delight in it anyway, since they cannot figure out how the trick was done. Next week the movie “Now You See Me” will have its second sequel.  In the first installment, some of the tricks in their magic were revealed in the movie.

     The real magic somewhat spelled as “magick,” is drawn from an occult or demonic power associated with conjuring and sorcery which is condemned in Scriptures.

     The differences between Magic and Miracles are:

(1)   Magic draws power not from God. Miracles are the results of God’s power intervening in the world.

(2)   Miracles glorify God. Magic brings glory to the magician.

(3)   Magic involves manipulation and opposition to the truth. Miracles reveal the truth.  The Magician manipulates the people for his personal gains while the Miracle worker manifests the power and glory of God. 

     Maybe to some, magic and miracles are the same. But the truth is, their goals are widely apart. The magician or illusionist distracts the eye from reality. Miracles draw the eye to reality. Miracles reveal. Magic hides. Miracles are a gift. Magic is a studied skill.

 

II.             BLESSINGS VS. MIRACLES

     Miracles can be construed to be a suspension or superseding a natural law. Truth be told, it is a temporary fix. On the other hand, blessings are consistent and overflowing in our lives. They are always in our midst because when we are always obedient to the commands of the Lord- the natural consequences are blessings. “For every obedience, comes blessing.” They are fresh every morning. Overpowering and, overwhelming.  In Tagalog, “siksik, liglig at umaapaw. “

     In a snapshot, here are some reasons why it is better to receive God’s blessings than beg and constantly plead for His miracles:

(1)   Living in blessings connotes avoiding problems. Blessings prevent crisis. In contrast, we ask for miracles to deliver us and bail us out from the crisis or the problems that we have created.

(2)   Blessings are always in constant abundant supply. Miracles are rare to come by.

(3)   And as mentioned earlier, miracles are a temporary fix but blessings are permanent solutions.

               When one lives from miracle to miracle, that means one lives from crisis to crisis. On the contrary, living from blessing to blessing means living from glory to glory. Miracles are not natural and definitely not permanent.

     You may have experienced your car ran without gas at one instance since at that time you had no money to buy gas but wanted to be in Church with the Lord. Or you only had $7 in your pocket but were able to buy groceries that could feed your family for one whole month. The question is: “Would you rather be living in miracles, constantly broke because you refuse to work or the other choice to live your lives in constant blessing, by following the commands of the Lord- enjoying the abundance of His love and mercy-fresh every morning- which are already anchored in your lives. The saddest part of it all is that a lot of people do not know, nor will they ever know, that they are already blessed!

     When your car runs empty, you pull up the gas station, fill it up, pay with cash or credit card and boldly say “Thank you, Jesus!”

     You must take care of your bodies, eat right, follow God’s instructions, exercise and attain an excellent physical and mental health. Do not abuse your bodies, and end up constantly pleading for God’s miracles- for healing of the diseases and infirmities you have contracted. Father time will catch up with you for neglecting your physical and mental health. Let us put the Word of God in our circumstances and not our circumstances in the Word of God.

  “(1 Peter v 23. Having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the Word of God, which lives and remains forever.)”

     My ultimate question is: What is the blessing of God? Are these the things that we possess, like a new car, wealth, a big house, or even a happy marriage? ‘I’m pretty sure many of us think of it this way. Because whenever we achieve any of this, a brother or sister will tell us “you are blessed.” But my answer to this question is: No. The things that we possess are not the blessings of God. The blessings of God are those that will produce the things not the things per se. An example is a Pastor who has been blessed with the gift of teaching and delivering good and inspirational sermons. Ultimately, he will produce a congregation that will be close and able to establish a personal relationship with our Lord Jesus.

     Let’s take a biblical character. Abraham is a case in point. Do we want the animals, the horses, or the things such as personal belongings or things of Abraham? Of course not. What we want is the favor of God that was spoken to him which produced his physical and spiritual abundance.

     Therefore, in conclusion, the blessing of God is His divine spoken favor. And this blessing combined with our faith, trust and righteousness in Jesus Christ will provide abundance in our Spirit, soul and body.

          

                          

 

 

“I leave you Peace, My Peace I give you”

by: Art Javier

      Christmas is just around the corner. To those who have international cable or satellite subscription, the Filipino Channel specifically the TV Patrol segment has a day-to-day countdown of how many more days before we hit Christmas. When you get to read this article when first published it should be 22 days before Christmas.

     What seems to be lamentable is that year in and year out, we celebrate Christmas but many of us seem to have a different perception of what Christmas is all about. When I was little, I usually hear from the old folks that “Christmas is just for the kids.” (Para sa mga bata lang ang Pasko). At that time, I accepted this perception. Why? Because our  young minds were conditioned to see Santa Claus as the symbol or the central character of Christmas. There is no problem telling our children about Santa Claus and his role in the Christmas spirit and what he stands for. The problem lies in too much hype of Santa and the children misses the fact that it is Jesus Christ who is the central character of Christmas. 

     First and foremost we should tell ourselves and our children that we are celebrating the birthday of our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ, the Messiah, was born of the Virgin Mary, by the power of the Holy Spirit, preceded by the Annunciation of the Angel Gabriel. “For God so love the world that He gave us His only Son to save us from sin.”

     Jesus Christ stands for love. As He has taught us, we must love God, with our whole heart, mind and soul, as manifested in the first three commandments and we must love our neighbor as we love ourselves- all restated and reinforced from the fourth to the tenth commandment.  But even as many of us who are the obedient children of God try our best to follow these commandments and manifest our love for God and our neighbors, we are saddled by a great stumbling block, that is, the lack of peace. For how can one love if one has a troubled mind and a troubled spirit?

     Jesus equally stands for Peace as much as He stands for Love. How do we attain the peace that Jesus wants us to have in this life?

     Let me summarize the many teachings I learned from various preachers, priests and spiritual leaders on how each one of us can attain peace. There are three tiers or levels in our pursuit of peace in our lives.

     The first level is: Be at Peace with Yourself.  How can one be at peace with oneself? The greatest way to be at peace with yourself is through prayer. Sincere and deep meditation puts us in direct contact with our Maker. Prayer strengthens our faith and gives tranquility to the spirit. It clears our mind and creates the positive thoughts that will inspire us to do good in our lives. As our spirits enter into deep meditation, we must ask God to forgive us and more importantly that He helps us forgive ourselves. We must forgive ourselves for the shortcomings, mistakes and sins that we have committed in the past and in our present lives. We should learn not be hard on ourselves and not to take life seriously. Put a smile in your face and everything else changes and magnetizes that positive energy around us.

     For those who seek a deeper spirituality and long lasting peace, a regular Bible study can be pursued. Reading and studying the Bible shoud be preceded by our sincerest intention to know and understand what God wants us to do in our temporal lives here on Earth.

     Before I leave this first level, I would like to share with you a quote from the Awesome Moments on how we can enhance the peace within ourselves. Let us always remember this, “There is a God..You’re not Him.” If we encounter a problem which we think is beyond our means, give it to the Lord. We should stop playing God and stop controlling the lives of other people. We should also stop rewinding old faults and sins of the past. By the same token, we should not forward events that we would like to impose and compel others to follow, against their own free will. Let us not forget that there is a Supreme Being, and definitely you’re not Him. This thought alone will bring us peace with our own selves.  

     The second level is: Be at Peace with your fellow men. Allow me to borrow some ideas from Fr. Jerry Orbos so that I can explain this thesis.  Fr. Orbos says that to be at peace with our fellowmen, we have to get rid of the sins of the H-E-A-R-T.

     The first sin is the letter H, which stands for Hatred. We shoud remove hatred in our lives and learn to forgive our fellow men.  Forgive your parents, your brothers and sisters, your friends, relatives and even your enemies. Forgive your ex-spouses, your ex-boyfriend and girlfriend and forgive all the people who have done you wrong. Truly, it so difficult to forgive. But the first step we should do to be able to forgive is to pray for that person or persons whom we want to forgive. That gesture alone will open our hearts and our minds to enable us to forgive other people. Soon the hatred that is likened to a poison and an acid will be eliminated from our heart.

     The second letter E, stands for Envy. This is really one bad trait of the Filipino people. Ever since I entered my adult life, I have noticed that the Filipinos are generally envious people. I have been and have lived all around the world and this is a common denominator for many Filipinos whether they are in Africa, Middle East, Asia or America. Many Filipino writers and sociologists refer to this as the “Crab Mentality.” When a Filipino neighbor, friend, relative or acquaintance progresses in life we become troubled, confused and disappointed and we would like to pull that person down where we think he or she belongs. Sounds familiar?

     But the fact is, we can really dispel envy if we can convince ourselves that we already have all that we need. Most of us compare ourselves to others, as in Keeping up with the Joneses, and the ultimate result is that we either become vain or bitter. For as the Desiderata says, “there will always be better and lesser persons than us.” Conclusion: To be at peace with your fellow men, dispel envy and do not compare yourselves to others.    

     The closest relative of envy is jealousy. A jealous person is an unsecured person. The best way to remove jealousy in ourselves is to develop our self-esteem and just let other people be. Live and let live. Or as Paul McCartney says. “Let it Be.”

     A little jealousy is probably healthy in a romantic relationship. But if it gets out of control, it will be enough to destroy a marriage and ruin a family and a home. Get rid of jealousy by giving your partner the space and the time he or she needs for himself or herself. Give yourself also the time and space you need for yourself and soon jealousy will be a thing of the past in your relationship.

     The third letter A, stands for Anger. You can never be at peace with your fellow men if you constantly indulge in anger. Learn to manage you anger. As Fr. Orbos says, “Talk to people, shout at animals.” A lot of us shout at people and baby our animals (pets).

     The next letter R, stands for Resentment. A person who always resents (matampuhin) will never have peace with his fellow men. Anything and everything that one does, even with the best intentions, will never be appreciated by one who has resentment in him. So get rid of resentment. Replace this by being joyful and appreciative and you will be at peace with your fellow men.

      And the last T stands for Timidity. Timidity is not doing what we believe we can do to better the situation. This will always haunt that person because he will always feel guilty if evil comes to someone or a group of people whom he could have saved from these unfortunate consequences because he did not do what he could have done. This person will never be at peace with his fellow men.  

    The third level to attain peace is to be at Peace with your God, whatever you conceive Him to be. It doesn’t matter what religion or denomination you practice or whatever name you call God, whether it’s Yahweh, Allah, El Shaddai, etc. It doesn’t matter too whether you are a Catholic or a born again Christian. Stop wasting your time criticizing the Catholics who give respect to the statues and images of the Lord and the Blessed Mother. Because in the end you will know that religion will not save you.” For only the grace of God will save you.” Any man of any faith, should give more importance to accepting the Lord Jesus Christ, the one and the only central character of Christmas, as his Savior and develop, sustain and keep strong that personal relationship with Him. By doing this, you will always be at peace with your God.

“Peace be with you.”

 

PEACE: THE WORD FOR THE DAY

By Art Javier

 

I.                INTRODUCTION

     As already explained to us in the beginning of this series, the main theme of the epistle to the Galatians was to confirm to the Jews and Gentiles in Galatia, that we are justified by faith alone, apart from the works of the law.” The key verse in this epistle is the Galatians 2:16 “Know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ.” 

     As the epistle progresses, by putting our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, we are able to attain the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and that indwelling is able to produce in us the fruit of love, joy , peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  (Galatians 5:22-23).

     Today we zero in on the fruit of “PEACE.”

     What was revealed to me by the Lord, on how I will be able to impart the message of PEACE to you today was that- He actually referred me to Chapter 1 verse 3.. “Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ..”

     The revelation to me by the Lord is that no one in this world can ever have PEACE if he does not first receive the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. It means that we must first accept our Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, be born again in spirit before we can even experience true peace.

 

     And as we breeze through this epistle, Paul is emphasizing that the Christian life should be lived in the power of the Spirit and not the flesh. (Galatians 5:16-17) “But I say to you, walk by the Spirit and you won’t fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh and these are contrary to one another that you may not do the things that you desire. “

     As we moved on to the verse 21 and 23, we find the tremendous contradictions between the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Holy Spirit.  “Envying, murders, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these, that those who practice such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.”

     Now I want you to focus on what Paul is saying here the works of the flesh, which are envy, murders, and things like these, are those that actually negate our attainment of peace. I will equate these works of the flesh to what I will call the SINS of the HEART which prevent us from enjoying TRUE PEACE in this world.

 

II. SINS OF THE HEART: H- HATRED

                                               E-ENVY

                                              A-ANGER

                                              R-RESENTMENT

                                              T- TIMIDITY

 

A.    HATRED

     Hatred by definition is the feeling of intense dislike or extreme aversion (dislike) of hostility. The hatred that I am referring to here is the one that is directed to others. Our Lord Jesus mentioned “hatred” in his sermon at the mount. (Matthew 5:22) “Anyone who hates his brother will be subject to judgment.” Our Lord commands us to be reconciled with our brother before we even come to the Lord.

     Hatred is a sin of the heart—It is so heinous, that the hateful thought or hateful act is tantamount to an act of murder in the eyes of God. The man who hates walks in darkness. (1 John 2:10-11) “He who loves his brother remains in the light. But he who hates his brother is in the darkness and doesn’t know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.”

     The worst scenario, is that when a person who continues to profess religion but remains in enmity and hates his brother. The Scriptures says such person is a liar. (1 John 4:20). “If a man says “I love God” and hates his brother is a liar; for he who doesn’t love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?”

     Hatred is like a poison, like an acid, that destroys us from within-producing bitterness that destroys our heart and our minds. It destroys the very core of our personal witness as a Christian and removes us from the fellowship with the Lord and with other believers.  A person who harbors hatred will never be at PEACE.

     FORGIVENESS is the sole act which will erase HATRED in our heart and allow the fruit of the Spirit, which is PEACE to manifest in ourselves-in our whole person and being.

 

B.    ENVY

     By definition, ENVY is a feeling of discontentment aroused by someone else’s possession, quality or luck. It is also that intense desire to have the quality, possession or a desirable attribute belonging to someone else.”

     When we are envious at someone, that means we want something of that someone, we don’t have. ENVY (which is a close relative of JEALOUSY) is a sin of the heart that is not characteristic of a true Christian. When we envy, that means we are still controlled by our fleshly desires. (Galatians 5:26. “Let’s not become conceited, provoking one another and envying one another.”

     ENVY is also manifested in us when we rejoice in the misfortunes of others or when we feel sad when somebody progresses, or attain some improvement or luck in their lives. Talk about the infamous “Crab Mentality.” 

     In order to remove ENVY in our hearts, we must set ourselves to simulate that perfect kind of LOVE that GOD has for us. (1 Corinthians 13). “Love is kind. It does not ENVY. It does not boast, It is not rude, etc..”

                The more we focus on ourselves, the less we are able to focus on Jesus. When    

          we are stubborn and harden ourselves to the TRUTH, we cannot turn to JESUS to    

          heal us. (Matthew 13:15). “For the people’s heart has grown callous, their ears are

         dull of hearing, they have closed their eyes; or perhaps they might perceive with    

         their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart and should turn again;

         and I would heal them.”

     Let us be more like Jesus and less of ourselves. Through Bible study, prayer and fellowship with mature believers, we learn to serve others and continually change our heart. It is only by knowing the Prince of Peace that we are able to attain True Peace. (Romans 12:2) :Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind so that you may prove what is good, well pleasing and the perfect will of God.”

 

C.    ANGER

Anger by definition is a strong feeling of annoyance, displeasure or hostility.  Anger becomes a sin of the heart when:

(1)   It is motivated by pride. (James 1:20) “For the anger of man doesn’t produce the righteousness of God. “

(2)   It is unproductive and distorts God’s purposes. (1 Corinthians 10:31) “Whether therefore you eat, or drink’ or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God.”

(3)   When anger is allowed to linger. (Ephesians 4:26). “Don’t let the sun go down on your wrath.”

     But more importantly, anger becomes sin, when we attack the wrong doer instead of the problem.  In Ephesians 4:15-19, we are told to speak the truth and use our words to build others up and not allow rotten or destructive words to pour from our lips.

     Anger more often than not causes depression and irritability over little things which are often unrelated to the underlying problem.

     The best way to handle anger and ultimately attain PEACE in our heart is to recognize and admit that our prideful anger was wrong. This confession should be directed to our Lord Jesus and to the people who had been hurt by our anger. (Proverbs 28:13). “He who conceals his sins doesn’t prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.” (1 John 9) “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins and to cleanse us from unrighteousness.”

 

D.    RESENTMENT

     By definition, resentment is the bitter indignation at having been treated unfairly.  Resentment is synonymous to that feeling of bitterness and pain due to some injustice or an insult. Resentment can be directed to an action, a statement or a person. Either way, resentment stems from the love of things of the world and a lack of faith in Jesus and His plan for us. It is OK to recognize unfair treatment but we should not wallow or indulge in feelings of self-righteous anger.

     The Bible doesn’t care too much for the honor of human pride. An intense emotional outburst to an otherwise harmless insult shows a lack of spiritual maturity, a lack of self-respect and a lack of self-love.  (Matthew 5:38-39).” You have heard “An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth. But I tell you, don’t resist the evil. But whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also.”

      Resentment is a passive weak emotion that has no place in a Christian life. If there is an insult, we should concentrate that we are in Christ and we must not put too much value in the cruel words of others.  If we face injustice, let us deal with it through prayer and Godly action. God will always allow us to be dishonored for the sake of sanctification- as we ultimately travel the road of the true PEACE that He alone can give us.

 

E.     TIMIDITY

    By definition, timidity is defined as lacking in self- assurance and courage.  Simply put, timidity is when you could have done something, but because of your cowardice you just didn’t do it.

     There’s not much that the Bible says about cowards except in Revelation 21:8. “But for the cowardly, unbelieving, sinners, murderers, sorcerers, liars, their part is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur.”

 

     Peter is one good example of timidity when he enslaved himself in fear. His three-fold denial of our Lord Jesus surrendered himself to men rather than to God. But with Jesus’ forgiveness, Peter learned to lead a life of great faith and boldness despite facing persecution. 

     Jesus is our best friend when we are engulfed in fear and timidity. We are God’s children when we put our faith and trust in Christ. We should always ask our Lord Jesus to work His perfect PEACE in us. (Deuteronomy 31:6) “Be strong and courageous, don’t be afraid nor be scared of them for Yahweh your God, He it is who does go with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.”

     With all these words above, you will always be at PEACE with our God the Father, our Lord Jesus Christ, your fellow men and equally important, if not the most important, with yourself.

 

                                       PEACE BE WITH YOU!

 

 

 

 

            The Dynamics of Worshipping God in Truth and Spirit        

                                           By: Art Javier

             The thought of worshipping God in Truth and Spirit had its roots according to many Bible scholars from the conversation of our Lord Jesus with a Samaritan woman at the well. The conversation as depicted in the Bible had this woman telling Jesus that Jews worship God in the temple while Samaritans worshipped at Mount Gerizin.(John 4:6-30). Jesus told the woman, “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such to worship Him. God is Spirit and His worshippers must worship in the Spirit and Truth.”  (John 4:23-24).   

             What is the lesson that we need to learn about worshipping God in Spirit and Truth? It is important that we need to understand the underlying dynamics of this tandem as we go about fulfilling the purposes of our everyday Christian life.  

              For starters, we can discern from the conversation at the well, that worshipping God in truth and spirit, negates the traditional posture of confining this activity in a geographical location as in the Temple in the Old Testament or in modern times in a church building. The coming of our Lord Jesus has made this tradition, of separating Jews and Samaritans in the Old Testament- and truth be told, it still extends even unto modern times among denominational traditional church practices- as irrelevant.

 A Love-Driven Worship

             Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes through the Father but only through Him. (John 14:16). All we children of God have now gained access to the Father through Him. Therefore, true worship has become an affair of the heart rather than a memorized or scripted traditional ceremony, plagued with repetitious recitations and empty verbage.

            Jesus has commanded us that love must pre-empt worship. He gave us the greatest commandment in Luke 10:27, Jesus answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind.”  Therefore, our worship pre-supposes that it must be love-driven or else it is a meaningless and useless worship.

          Having now established that love is the primary and necessary ingredient in our worship we are now ready to zero in on how we worship in spirit and truth. We will now see how this dynamic relationship comes into play. Brace yourself as we embark into this very enlightening spiritual exercise.

The Dynamics

          To worship in spirit means that we engage our hearts to its full capacity, with overwhelming real passion for God and with our love directed only to Him. As we love, so do we worship. The absence of such a passion means it is not worship in spirit.  This is where “we separate the men from the boys” or to borrow the phrase “we separate the church goers from the church movers.” Many church members just go to church with their minds wandering all over the place. Some do it or see it just to fulfill an obligation or “my parents told me to go to church every Sunday.”  To many, it has become an obligation and somewhere along the line the devotion had been lost. Those involved in multi-level marketing even disrespect a sacred place by turning the church into a hunting ground to recruit potential MLM members. Worse, some come to church for the food that a church member volunteered to bring in. This is a totally different spirit.  Probably we can call it as the “prospecting spirit” among MLM sales people or the “spirit of eating” if we must have a description of this anomalous postures of some church members.

Know God in the Word

            Now that we know what correct worship in spirit should be in contrast to the superficial, we must now combine this with truth to witness the dynamic changes and spiritual growth in our hearts and in our minds. I quote an author who said, “To worship in truth means to be properly informed. Unless we have knowledge of the God we worship, there is no worship in truth.”  

            If I may add my own commentary to this, it is equally important not only to know the Word of God but also to know God in the Word. This line alone explains that worship must be in truth (to know the Word of God) and simultaneously in Spirit (to know God in the Word).

             The intertwining of spirit and truth is necessary to satisfy a true God-honoring worship. Spirit only without truth becomes a shallow exercise. It can be likened to an emotional encounter that when it cools down is nothing more than an emotional high. Likewise, truth without spirit could have a dry spell on us with a passionless, joyless exercise of utter debate of legalism and semantics. Spirit and truth must be combined in our worship so we can witness their dynamic effect- manifested in the changes in our very own person and character, our changed minds, emotions, beliefs and more importantly the ever-changing, ever-improving and ever growing personal relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ.  

            In closing, let me summarize the dynamics of worshipping God in spirit and truth in a nutshell. The more we read and learn our Bible, the more we know about God. The more we know about God, the more we love Him. The more we love and appreciate God, the more fervent, depth and meaning we put in our worship. The more fervent, depth and meaning in our worship, the more God is exulted and glorified.

            And all together we come as one and say, “To God be the glory!”  

 

 

 

 

 

              

 

         

 

 

 

        "We are saved. We are being saved. We will be saved"    

                                        By: Art Javier

         INTRODUCTION   

     Not too long ago my eldest sister had asked me in many occasions, “do you know if you are saved?”  Are you sure that you are going to heaven?" It was always a moment of silence, on my part, whenever she throws me this question at me. Thank God and He deserves all the glory—today, that silence is now finally broken.                

     The Bible teaches us that grace is the only hope for salvation and the only pathway to heaven. A lot of contemporary people particularly in advanced countries cannot understand and will never comprehend such a position. Followers of success-oriented  financial gurus nowadays, which I will not name here, will find this hard to believe.

     The Hebrew word “yesha” as it refers to salvation, also means,” deliverance, rescue, safety, to help one in distress.”  The biblical implication of salvation which is synonymous to “saved” is like an anathema to these people since it implies “one needs help” or “you can’t do it on your own.” For the record, the word “salvation” as many authors assert appears 101 times in the Bible.

          SALVATION IS FREE

     In societies where Republican governments are established and democratic principles are the order of the day, the people believe in human goodness and confidence in human nature. Therefore, the overriding theme of the entire Bible that salvation comes to us as free, is a slap to the faces of these people and negates their human pride. These people honestly believe that they have the intellectual aptitude and the abilities to work for their own salvation.

    Religion has reinforced and fortified their belief that through their good works they can attain salvation. They believe that they can do everything what God wants them to do primarily because of their abilities.

   This is contrary to the teaching of the Bible. The fact is, we should not be ashamed to challenge and stand vehemently against this erroneous belief. Paul and the full force of the Reformation stood vigilantly against this position and spread the word that salvation is a sovereign act and belongs only to God and that the gospel is the power of God to salvation.

     We quote in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the good news of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation.”

     This is the good news of the Gospel that we don’t have to work for our salvation. Our human goodness and good works intended to attain our own salvation are like filthy rags in the eyes of God. We quote from Isaiah 64:6.. “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags.”

     Our Lord Jesus had already paid the price at the cross for us to have salvation. Salvation is given to us free.  It is what God does to us, not what we do to ourselves.  At the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed and asked the Father, if there is any other way that man can be saved. There was none. It was only through His sufferings and His death on the cross that can save mankind. That is why, “Jesus is the only Way, the Truth and the Life, for us to attain salvation”

     Salvation is such an all-encompassing word that rolls into one the various concepts and words that describe the redemptive work of our Lord Jesus Christ. If we study salvation deep enough or what it means to be “saved” we realize its comprehensive meaning and is such an overwhelming word that actually connotes, “justification, redemption, imputation, sanctification and glorification.”  All these words are contained in this one word “salvation.”

        THE THREE PHASES OF SALVATION

      There are three phases of salvation. Some refer to this as the three stages of salvation.   But to explain it more simply, salvation can be conjugated in three tenses. We must understand this very well since if we cannot comprehend this we will miss a lot of blessings and we will deprive ourselves to take our spiritual growth to the next level. 

     The first is, “We are saved.” It is in the past tense. We quote in Ephesians Chapter 2:8, “For by grace you have been saved by faith, not of your works it is the gift of God.”

     And in Titus 3:5, “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.”

     Once we put our trust and faith in Jesus Christ, we are immediately saved. So to answer my sister’s question, in the introductory part of this article, I know I am saved and I am confident that I’m going to heaven, not because of my good works but because after I put my trust and faith in our Lord Jesus, He has imputed His righteousness in me and I am able to stand legally, pure and blameless, in the eyes of God.

        JUSTIFICATION

     The technical word for this is “justification.”  Justification is the instantaneous act of God whereby He forgives the sinner of all his sins, -past, present and future-and declares him perfectly righteous in His sight. Justification is predicated on the “gift of righteousness” that God freely imputes to the believer at that instantaneous moment of salvation.  Justification is always by grace and never by works, as the sinner is “justified” as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.

     We quote in Romans 3:24, “and all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”  To be justified therefore means, “to be saved from the penalty and the guilt of sin, which is damnation.   In sin, I have been separated from God and had become spiritually dead. But in Jesus, who has justified me, I have been reborn, regenerated in spirit and now I am spiritually alive.  Therefore, I know I am saved.

        SANCTIFICATION

     The second phase of salvation is, “we are being saved.” It is in the present tense.

 We quote Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:18: “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.”

     Is there a contradiction in this sense because Paul said elsewhere that we are already saved in the past tense and now he is saying here that we are being saved or we are in the process of being saved, in the present tense?

     Some people historically did see that this is a contradiction and added more confusion by only taking this aspect of salvation in the present tense and totally excluded the others. This is manifested in classic religion theology where they zeroed in on the present tense aspect of salvation by teaching us that we are presently being saved by Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, by the ministry of Marian and the saints, through our adherence to the sacraments and leading a life in accordance with the teachings of religion. This classic theological doctrine only believes in the present tense of salvation, “that we are being saved,” and does not believe in and totally dismissed the past tense phase of salvation that “we are saved.” They totally missed and disregarded the ‘justification” part of salvation. They have confused, “sanctification” with “justification.”

     To be an adherent to this kind of religion, or any religion for that matter, will never give you confidence that you are presently “saved,” especially given, that you are still alive here in this world.  The fact is, as they teach, that no one can actually say that one is presently “saved.”  To believe that one is presently “saved” according to religion is presumptuous because the only way we will know we are saved, as they say, is when we have led a good life here on earth, have done good works, obeyed the laws of their religion - and lastly we have to die - and then we will know if we are saved or not.   

     We understand their position because they do not understand the Gospel.  First and foremost, “gospel” means “good news.” The good news is, salvation is free. When we repent of our sins and accepted sincerely that Jesus is our personal savior, then we are immediately “saved.”  It doesn’t sound good news to me at all if I have to do good works to be able to attain salvation.  Therefore, I am completely confident that I am “saved” after I have accepted our Lord Jesus, not because of good works but because of His righteousness, that He has justified me and imputed His righteousness in me.

     Let me re-emphasize here why there is confusion between “justification” and “sanctification.”  You see we are presently being saved without necessarily excluding the fact that we have already been “saved.” We have already been saved from the penalty and guilt of sin. So what are we being saved from? We are being saved from the pollution and corruption of sin. Simply put we are being saved from the power of sin. This is a continuous process which the Bible refers to as sanctification. This is the process whereby a believer moves from spiritual infancy to spiritual maturity over time as he learns God’s word and makes good choices to live God’s will. We must constantly affirm and tell ourselves, “I am not yet what I will be but thank God I am not what I used to be..”

      The true Christian who will advance to spiritual maturity can only do so through the power of the Holy Spirit and on the basis of God’s Word which he daily learns and applies.

     We quote Romans 10:17, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” This means that, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of and about Jesus Christ.

     In brief, therefore, sanctification is never instantaneous, but a life-long process until we leave this world and ultimately go to heaven.

          GLORIFICATION

       And now we come to the final phase of salvation, the future tense. “We will be saved.” We quote from 1 Peter 1:5, “and through your faith, God is protecting you by His power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see..” and continuing in verse 9 ..“for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”  

     The technical term for this last phase of salvation is glorification. This is the time when we finally leave this world and come home to our Father in heaven, either by death or rapture. The Christian never really achieves a sinless perfection until he is given a glorified and perfect body in heaven. This final phase of salvation is the stage where we are saved from the presence of sin.

     These three phases of salvation is never a contradiction. They are truly harmonious with each other. The problem arises when people pit each phase of salvation against each other. We shouldn’t do that. Some will say, “Ok I’ll go with Paul and you can go with Peter.” There is no contradiction between what Paul said and what Peter said, in the same manner as there is no contradiction between what Paul had said that “we are saved by faith” and what James had said that “faith is dead without works.”

        CONCLUSION

      The born again Christian should study these three phases of salvation even more closely and deeply and realized that these are harmonious to each other. I therefore reiterate and conclude these stages of salvation truly complement one another.

We are saved from the guilt and penalty of sin (justification), we are being saved from the power of sin (sanctification) and we will be saved from the presence of sin (glorification).