LIFE’S INSPIRATIONS: “… For God so loved the world He Himself came down from heaven in human likeness and form, so that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but will have eternal life…” (John 3:16, The Only Way Translation, the Holy Bible).
-ooo-
EXCLUDING GOD FROM THE HOLY WEEK, THE FILIPINO WAY: As Philippine Christians prepare to commemorate Holy Week 2016, I hope they would focus more on the Word of God, the Bible, rather than on vacations, traditions, and useless religious ceremonies, in keeping with the plan of God to save sinners from the eternal penalty of sinfulness through His coming to earth in human form and enduring physical mutilation and death on the cross.
Even now, many of those who profess to believe in God are leaving out God in their preparations for the Holy Week, choosing instead to plan for bunny egg hunts, beaches, food trips, high tech entertainment, movies, and a host of other activities which have nothing to do with Jesus as God and Savior, or at least remembering His great love that took away from those who believe in Him the penalty of being burned and then eaten by worms forever.
And then, even those who consider immersing themselves in annual religious activities that aim to commemorate the passion and death of Jesus on the cross are plunging into those activities purely out of traditions and practices that are in fact abominable and greatly detestable to God, and not out of understanding of what God really aimed for or intended to do.
-ooo-
WHY IS THERE A “HOLY WEEK”? So, why is there a “Holy Week”? It is to remind everyone that God so loved the world that He Himself came down from heaven in human likeness and form, so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but will have eternal life. Believers have to be reminded that because of their sinfulness, inborn and acquired, there is no way for them to escape the penalty of eternal hell of fire and worms.
As the Word of God is saying, everyone has sinned and has fallen short of the glory of God. And because everyone has sinned, we are doomed to die the death of a sinner—which is the death in hell, where sinners would be burned with unquenchable fire and eaten by millions of worms, for eternity, with no more salvation.
Yet, in His great love for all creation, God devised a way to rescue us from our sins. He Himself accepted the penalty for our sins. He did this by coming to earth, in human form, enduring both physical and verbal assaults, and dying on the cross as well. He had to do this, because there is no man who could save himself or his fellow men, on account of man’s being mired in sin.
-ooo-
HERE IS A WAY TO COMMEMORATE THE HOLY WEEK: One would think that sinners would be eternally grateful to God for His great sacrifice in saving them, and that sinners would henceforth try to change themselves for the better, by knowing what God’s commands are, and then sincerely obeying them. But man, as God rued in the Bible, is naturally imperfect and sinful, and incapable of stopping his mischief.
It is for this reason that man must be constantly reminded of what God did for them. Indeed, it is for this reason that Christians must commemorate Holy Week, or the week in which Jesus, our God and Savior, saved mankind from death in eternal fire and worms. At the very least, what every sinner—or what every man—should strive to do during Holy Week is to be acquainted with God by furiously reading His Bible.
Can man be fully acquainted with God and His great love for all of us by splurging on the beach, going on fancy vacations, indulging on physical entertainment, or even by religious practices? We all know the answer to this. Nevertheless, for those who have been touched by the Spirit, the way to commemorate Holy Week is by staying in our homes, studying the Bible, and praying to God!
-ooo-
PLEASE LISTEN: “Ang Tanging Daan” (The Sole Way): a Bible study and prayer session online could now be heard, 24 HOURS a day, in the Philippines and the world at www.facebook.com/angtangingdaan or www.facebook.com/ANDKNK (and look for “Ang Tanging Daan” broadcasts).
