King of Kings

I am constantly amazed at how wonderful the Kingdom of God really is. It is the only kingdom where every citizen has the ability AND opportunity to be kings -- simultaneously! I think it was Dr. Myles Munroe who said, "If you don't become a king, he won't be King of kings." Wow! What an insight. Jesus calls us to a higher standard of living, kingdom living. As a matter of fact, thisis the only way one can live on earth and succeed in every sense of the word.

The Kingdom of God is a violent kingdom. The Bible says that the kingdom suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. Too many people think that the Kingdom of God is a kingdo of peace. It is true that he is the Prince of Peace and that he is the source of peace. Through Christ we have peace with God, and by that the peace of God. But the kingdom is a kingdom that suffers (an old English term which means "allows") violence. Another version says that it advances forcefully. And the citizens lay hold of the kingdom or operate in the kingdom with violence -- or forcefully. Point of clarification: I am not advocating violence against man as in terrorism. That's reserved for another religion. Neverhteless, there is a battle we are waging; not against flesh and blood, but against powers and rulers of darkness in the spiritual realm. And this is by no means for the faint-hearted. Some say that Christianity is a religion for the weak. And I say try walking by faith and let's see if they can handle it.

The Kingdom of God is a kingdom of faith. Faith is the currency of the Universe. It's the one currency that will trade in any nation, at any time, under any circumstances. A friend once said, when the faith of man touches the grace of God, miracles happen. How true. God's grace is always available and sufficient. All you and I need is mustard seed faith. That means you we don't need great faith in God. Just faith in a great God. It's one thing to talk about faith. It's another thing to live it. but that's for another blog. Enough said.

Keynote 3

For all you Mac users out there, I'm happy to say that iWork '06 has been released. For those of you that are still in purchase limbo, let me say it will be worth every penny you spend on it. Not only are the transitions better and smoother, you have greater control over the stills and videos you include in your presentation. Click the title of this blog and it will take you to the Apple website so you can navigate your way to taking the app for a spin. I'm thoroughly happy with it.

In the Philippines it will cost you about PHP5600. Go for it!

Why Democracy Can't Work (Yet) in the Philippines (Part 2)

What do I suggest? I'm glad you asked. Mind you, I'm not a politician, so don't bother me with details. But here's what may work in the Philippines. Whether we like it or not, the concept of family is here to stay for a while -- at least till we grow up in maturity and discipline. Therefore our minds and emotions will operate on that level. I believe we need a "dictatorship" - a benevolent dictatorship -- something like a Mahathir or Lee Kuan Yew or Bolkiah. These are strong leaders who are perceived to be good by the general public and therefore loved and followed. In President Arroyo we have, for the most part, a strong leader. But she isn't perceived to be good. For now she is seen to be anything but good -- except by her immediate family and all those who stand to benefit from her being in office. Truth to tell, I didn't vote for her last 2004. But of all the choices we had (and have), I have to agree with her, she is the best person to lead our country. But she has to get her act together. There are certain things she will have to do:
1 Settle the cheating issue once and for all,
2 Get Mike Arroyo out of the country. He is perceived as Mr Corruption, and
3 Don't listen to FVR too much. He is anything but good for the country.

Will this solve the problem? Heck, no, not by a long shot. But I think it may get the ball rolling in the right direction. Do we drop our attempts at working on a viable and workable democracy? No way. I think we need to continue. But we need to understand what we're up against so we don't always lock horns with one another. We need to work together. This is the only country we have.