Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 26 october 2015
(original script written in 10/25/2015)
If your heart finds the earthly things more desirable than God, God can give it over to them and let you perish with them. But if being enlighened by the truth, you find God exceedingly desirable and you find pleasure in fellowshiping with Him, He shall dwell (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 24 october 2015
(original draft written in 10/14/15)
"O God, You are my God;
early will I seek You;
my soul thirsts for You,
my flesh faints for You,
in a dry and thirsty land
with no water.
I have seen You in the sanctuary,
to see Your power and Your glory.
(... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 18 october 2015
The perfectly loving God doesn't just love mercy - He also loves justice and righteousness (Jeremiah 9:24). God already made a way for sinners to be forgiven and be redeemed from the curse of sin through the atoning sacrifice of Christ on the cross - and this is how the perfect mercy, perfect justice, (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 5 october 2015
(8/21/2015)
God, Who are You in this life of mine?
You are the very Source of it. You are the Creator of all things, and none of all that began to exist existed apart from Your wonderful and unimaginable power of creation. From the farthest stars in the heavens to the abysmal depths of the (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 28 september 2015
A brother in a Christian forum asked this topical question, "If you die right at this very moment, do you have assurance of going to heaven?"
By the following points, I have the assurance that I am saved:
In light of the Scriptures, I know that I am saved because I see in my life how (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 21 september 2015
I was reviewing my Sunday school lesson for September 20, 2015 and the passage that I was meditating on was Mark 5:21-43. To be honest, I was tempted to settle with simply teaching my young pupils that Jesus is the Miracle Maker. But as I was meditating on the passage, I was reminded of these four wonderful (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 7 september 2015
DISCLAIMER: This only applies to the case of those who died in infancy. In no way does this imply universalist soteriology. Remember that God in His sovereignty has an appointed time for the salvation of every individual believer (Acts 13:48) - and that includes the infants.
How does God redeem (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 25 august 2015
"Moreover, the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, so that he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had spoken to Moses."
- Exodus 9:12, MEV
Why did God hardened Pharaoh's heart? Because he committed the only unforgivable sin - to resist and blaspheme (i.e. to be defiantly irreverent (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 9 july 2015
* "Salvation is not a license to sin. A true Christian will continue to do good work, as Christians are not only appointed by God to be saved but they are also appointed to do good works before the foundation of the world. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 7 july 2015
The Trinitarian nature of God (i.e., God existing in three equally Divine Persons, and yet being one God) just one of the incomprehensible teachings in Biblical orthodoxy - meaning, no human mind (which is just finite and therefore limited) can fully comprehend this teaching. As it is written in Deuteronomy (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 2 july 2015
Somebody asked, "Why take so much interest in theology when you're just a children's department teacher? You're not a pastor, are you?"
First of all, in my humble opinion, I think that question is a bit of nonsense. To say that only pastors should study theology is somewhat (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 1 july 2015
Somebody (who is presumably a charismatic "Christian" of cultish kind) called me a "false teacher" just because my view about Christian perfection seems to be different from his own view.
I do agree with him that true Christians strive for spiritual perfection (Matthew 5:48). (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 23 june 2015
A friend in Facebook complains in her post, "Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot, I only exist we you need something." I'm not sure whether or not she actually meant to address it to somebody. But I can only imagine if God will say the same complaint to us. And to be honest, I sometimes wonder (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 21 june 2015
As I start to write this composition, I honestly don't know what to say here. Hmmm... Should I start by saying, "Happy Fathers' Day, Dad"? Or, "I love you, Dad and God bless you"?
Nonsense. First of all, Dad won't be seeing this post for the simple reason that he (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 17 june 2015
♫ Throw a quarter in the sky, before it falls to the ground,
Gotta' call heads or tails
Throw my nickels and my pennies and my dimes
In the wishing well ♫
- Christon Gray
Throwing all that you got in "the wishing well" with hopes of "winning somehow" as you take (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 16 june 2015
As a young learner of history, I have observed that bloodshed is always involved in founding a new nation, kingdom, or state. Figuratively speaking, every kingdom or nation in current existence was founded on bloodshed.
Throughout the history, we learn about kings and statesmen who shed great amount (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 14 june 2015
Somebody said, "Faith is believing in things when common sense tells you not to."
I honestly am not sure what the author of that quote meant by that. But as for me, I believe that a wise believer uses his faith without having to absolutely abandon common sense. And I just can't understand (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 13 june 2015
Somebody asked, "If money is the root of all evil, was it money that caused the devil to be evil? If it was, how was it possible when there weren't yet any form of money in existence back then?"
Actually, it's not the money itself that is the root of all kinds of evil. Because (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 30 may 2015
I read the Bible and learned that God wants to perfect us.
Let's be clear there. I'm not saying God wants us to be perfect or else He'll not love us - that's called legalism. What I'm trying to say is, God, in His great loving kindness for us, wants to perfect us by His grace. (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 21 may 2015
Just keeping it real, it kinda' pisses me off when somebody passes a chain message to me which says, "Share this and you will have good luck; ignore this and you will have bad luck." And what would piss me off all the more is that those who share things like that to me are... *sighs* grown (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 10 may 2015
♪♪ When was the last time you said, "I'm sorry"?
When was the last time you said, "I love you"? ♪♪
This was the song that played in my mind as I was hearing a sermon in the church. The pastor asked the congregation in her sermon, "When was the last time you (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 7 may 2015
Let's say I am a citizen of a kingdom that is under traditional type of monarchy. And I am one of the king's closest friends.
Now, I have a brother who is a rebel. And because I love him, I sent petitions to the king, asking him to grant my brother an amnesty. As my close friend, the king (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 4 may 2015
Before you accuse me of being brainwashed by these people that you call "churchians," please know that I was once like you people who had so many doubts with Christianity.
I tell you what - I grew up in an ideally disappointing Evangelical family. With that kind of environment, I have (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 27 april 2015
A man that I deeply respect once said that "A happy wife equals a happy life." Well, he's married; so obviously, I believe him in that statement.
Problem is, that statement makes me hate the fact that I'm single. To be honest, I want to experience those joyfully painful headaches (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 19 april 2015
I just recently understood why the NYer animal rights activists want to ban balut in their state. I believe that the actual reason behind this is the fact that common sense is exponentially becoming a very scarce commodity in America... or pretty much, in this progressivistic world.
So, to the animal (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 14 april 2015
“Why can’t the rich people just be satisfied with the money that they have?”, a friend asked in Facebook.
First of all, this is not to generalize that all rich people are greedy. We’re not discounting the possibility that there are actually rich people who wish they can’t get any (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 11 april 2015
Let me get this right. So, aborting a human fetus is a woman's right, but cooking an underdeveloped duckling is wrong? Seriously, American liberals?
Okay, so when we Christians and conservatives protest against abortion, you'll say, "That's just a clump of tissue." Oh, well. (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 4 april 2015
Repentance is not only a matter of what one should turn from but also of Whom one should turn to. For repentance is a redirection of what the heart wants or so desires from something to something else. In it, the heart changes its course of direction and makes a half round turn from its former way; for (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 27 march 2015
I believe that only those who do not know what life is should fear death.
First of all, if a person would only observe the diversities in life, he should be convinced that there is one God Who created it. This should cause him to have a conscientious feeling that he might be offending this God in (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 22 march 2015
I remember a time when my Mom asked me to play my song on her phone. After playing it, I jokingly asked her, "So now, you love hip-hop?" She frankly replied (well, she's an Ilocana, so it's very natural that she would), "No, I hate [hip-hop]. I only listened to this song because (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 16 march 2015
(3/15/2015)
COME TO THINK OF IT:
By nature, we don't want a God Who would tell us what to do and what not to do. So, it's either we'll just imagine a version of God Who's okay with everything that we do - after all, He is forgiving; or, we'll just totally suppress the (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 15 march 2015
(1/26/2015)
"In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes." - Judges 21:25, KJV
These past few years, I've been frequently hearing news about people committing some extremely unacceptable crimes. And whenever I hear a news like those, (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 15 march 2015
(1/22/2015)
Well, the "philosophical"/figurative heart and and the mind are essentially one. The "philosophical"/figurative heart is the vessel of thoughts and passions; therefore, it is in the same faculty with the mind.
And here's a problem: the heart/mind of man is corrupted (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 8 march 2015
I just read a post in the Facebook with a statement that says something like this:
"Sa mga nagcricriticize about sa slain in a spirit and speaking tongues:
Remember:
Slain in a spirit and speaking tongues is the evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Kapag Hindi ka nagpabaptize in the Holy (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 28 february 2015
"Piety towards God and servitude towards men."
That is the code of honor that I'm trying to live up to. But I'll be honest - it's very difficult code of honor to live up to; at least, in two parts.
First part is the "piety towards God". In philosophy, piety (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 2 february 2015
As most of those who are acquainted wth me knows, I was a terrible porn addict when I was younger. And as a former porn addict, I believe I have the legitimacy to say that porn is NOT for real men.
But then, what is my definition of "being a real man" at the first place? As a Christian, (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 21 january 2015
Truth is, if God is Who really He says He is, we don't want God to be wholly true. We all want God to be just loving and just merciful, but we don't want Him to be perfectly merciful and at the same time, perfectly just. Because that's what He says He is and therefore, what He really is; (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 19 january 2015
As an underground contemporary Christian music (particularly, hip-hop) artist, I believe that Christians have a right to do so. And I also believe that only a spirit of legalism would tell him that rock is of the devil and therefore Christians shouldn't listen to it.
The Bible says "The (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 10 january 2015
Before you use a term in sharing the Gospel message through literature, you have to be careful in doing so. Before using it, you have to be sure of what it means exactly. It's even wiser to first define the term properly for the readers before the further use of it. Otherwise, an audience might (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 6 january 2015
To all my Protestant brothers who are unwittingly embracing doctrinal relativism,
Greetings!
First of all, let me clarify that I have no problems with the idea of Protestants and Catholics living together peacefully in a community. As a matter of fact, I have Catholic friends and I love (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 6 january 2015
An Eastern thought says, "No religion is above the truth." Well, it's true! And I tell you what, followers of the Eastern thought: Jesus is the Truth!
He is far greater than all the teachings and philosophies of man which are in confusion. For in the midst of the dark forest of human (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 26 december 2014
"I love haters."
This is the slogan that became a trend among some of my fellow artists in the hip-hop industry. With this slogan, these artists glorify people who hate people with, may they be haters of cops, women, rival gangs, etc.
Having been once a diss-track rapper, I am so disgusted (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 26 december 2014
"For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ."
- John 1:17, KJV
The law, which was given to Israel through Moses, presented strict yet just rules for men. It demands justice and shows no mercy to the violator.
But grace and truth, which were given to (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 24 december 2014
"For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich."
- 2 Corinthians 8:9, KJV
In the richness of His grace, Christ the Son of God and Heir of all things subjected Himself to the poverty (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 13 december 2014
I have always thought of philosophy as simply “the love of wisdom” (Gk. “philosophia”). And by wisdom, I mean “the ability to judge correctly and to follow the best course of action, based on knowledge and understanding” (Lockyer p. 1103). On these bases, philosophy for me is carefully knowing (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 5 march 2014
Just to keep it real, I don't consider myself a feminist. As a matter of fact, I still consider myself a conservative in spite of my hatred towards legalism and hyper-traditionalism. But it's just that I am so marveled at the beauty that God has made in the entire creation. And what I admire (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 4 march 2014
March 4, 2014
To every lady out there,
A blessed day to you, sister!
Before anything else, I want you to know how much I appreciate that God made you. For me, you are one of the most special creations that God made in this world. Why do I say so? Remember the story of creation? In the (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 13 february 2014
The poem "In Our Own Eden: A Prince's Song To His Young Wife" is another reflective work that I wrote for Song of Solomon, after 'Love And Purity.' It shows the beauty of sex within the boundaries of marriage, as God designed it to be.
"Let marriage be held in honor (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 12 december 2013
As some of my former Facebook posts indicate, I'm a that's-what-we-get-yaggin'-about Gospel hip-hop artist. I love listening to some boombastic, 'bass-ful' beats. And what I love the most about those moments that I listen to instrumental hip-hop tracks is when I imagine myself (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 20 september 2013
When I was a little boy, I had a habit of browsing my elder brothers’ textbooks to look for anything interesting to read. I remember seeing a drawing of a dog in one of those textbooks. The dog had a bone clamped in its mouth as it stares at its reflection through a probably deep river. Under the picture (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 26 august 2013
Part III: Final Thoughts - When In Trouble
It has been said that if being a Christian doesn't cost you anything, then you are probably not being a Christian at all. So true is this saying, for truly following Christ will surely involve facing toils, hardships, persecutions, and troubles.
(... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 26 august 2013
Part II: The Church Persecuted
A. Great troubles happen to the church usually when great things are happening to it.
- When the church was born, many great things happened to it: (a) the baptism in the Holy Spirit of the believers (Acts 2:1-11, 9: 17-18, 10:44), (b) the sudden and continuous (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 26 august 2013
Part I: Background - General Insights from Acts 9-12
A. Where the word of God is preached, the Holy Spirit moves with power.
- Jesus told us not to be anxious with what to say when we proclaim His testimony but just let the His Spirit give the right words to our mouth (Mark 13:11b)
- It (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 26 august 2013
- The dread of God that drives one away from Him (3:8) as resulted by shame and guilt.
- Religion and self-righteousness, i.e., trying to please God with good works (3:7b, 4:28b).
- Pestilence and poverty (3:17-19)
- Faultfinding (3:12)
- Insecurity (4:5)
- Hate, which means coldness in love (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 13 may 2013
The Tagalog word for hero, which is "bayani", is derived from another Tagalog word "bayanihan." "Bayanihan" literally means "the community helping one another." So in some sense, being a "bayani" has something to do with helping.
Now, the root word (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 11 may 2013
Passage: Genesis 1:26-27, 2:7
Memory Text: Psalm 8:5-6
Have you ever thought about your real worth?
We humans are the most special creations of God among all His creations. We are so special to Him that Jesus once mentioned the worth of a single soul is greater than all the riches of this world (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 13 february 2013
(Read Psalm 79)
Let me share to you a short story that I once constructed in my mind some months ago. I actually am about to write it down as a literary work but totally forgot about it. But now that the Word of God reminded me of it, I have now put them here in letters.
There was once a wise (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 2 february 2013
My 'former ministry leader' *Kuya Jhuart Dizon had this dream which he told me through a series of SMS texts. And he instructed me to type it in this note. So, here it is, as told by him.
"As I was sleeping, I dreamt of the church. And it was so devastated. There were no more chairs (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 2 february 2013
(Read Psalm 27:13-14)
I remember a scene from a film about Alexander the Great’s life where he caught one of his soldiers sleeping at the time of his duty.
After waking up the soldier, the king asked the him of his name. And then it happened that King Alexander found out his soldier’s (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 2 february 2013
(Read 1 Corinthians 1:27-31, 2:1-5)
As one who has interest in history and literature, I sometimes find myself being fascinated by the famous speeches of some great statesmen of the world history. I would admire them for the words of wisdom that they used and for the convincing effect of their speeches (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 29 april 2012
England has sonnet, rondel and limerick. Japan has haiku, tanka, renga, and katuata. And Philippines has tanaga, dalit, and pisiya.
If you are familiar with Filipino poetry, then you might be wondering, "Uhm, Yehoshua, pardon please? What in the world is pisiya?" Well if you do, I'm (... więcej)
Yehoshua ben Peleh Shim'onai, 29 april 2012
As a Filipino poet, it is my responsibility be familiar with the Philippine culture. It is a prerogative to me to know the hidden treasures and precious heritages of my own country (especially the special features of its literature), to treasure them, to be proud of them, and to show the world their (... więcej)
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