Family-Friendly FM Stations

When my dad passed away last June 25 2009, I was literally devastated inside. One thing God used to help me recover and stay in focus is by listening to godly music; music with lyrics that really inspire me to move on.

Today, I'm going to share to you some of the great Internet-radio stations that you can listen while online. To get started..

1. Click this site AR On The Air
2. Choose a station from the list. Yes there are bunch of good family-friendly FM stations on that site.
   

My favorite for now is 89.5FM KTSY. Their Christmas music is soooo cooool! Truly, this station is family-friendly, all Christian-filled lyrics, meaning no "sexy, naughty, bitchy", hatred, suicidal, racist, and ghetto type of lyrics.


3. Just click the "Listen Now" link from that site and you're done! Of course, you need media player installed in your machine.
   

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In my case I installed a Firefox toolbar which makes it easier for me to listen to those stations.

1. Download and install this excellent and free program from Applian Technologies: Freecorder
2. Once the toolbar is in your browser (please do not use Internet Explorer as a support to the Open Source community), you have to add the URL of the stations you want.
3. So go back to the AR On The Air page
4. Click "Listen Now" button-link. It will open a new browser window and a media player installed in your computer.
   
5. Copy the URL from your browser's address bar

6. Click the dropdown list in your Freecorder toolbar to add the URL of your station

7. Click Define Your Own Station button

8. Paste the URL in the URL box
9. Write the name of the FM station, not necessarily the exact name of the FM station
   
10. Choose Windows Media Player (or whatever media player you have in your machine)
11. Click OK.
    

That's all. Happy listening while browsing the net! :) By the way, A BIG THANKS for all who prayed for me and my family during those hard days.

Right Attitude To God's Law

“The Ten Commandments is so incomplete. There are sins that are not covered in it, such as drug abuse, gluttony, abortion, dishonoring grandparents, etc.”

"Where is the mandate to be baptized in the Ten Commandments?"

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The Letters Of The Law
The statements above are so common for preachers who avoid the keeping of the seventh-day Sabbath. The Sabbath is in the middle of the Ten Commandments, and thus to avoid it is to get rid of God's Moral Law.

When I was young I never heard of a preacher that considered the Ten Commandments as literally ten precepts alone. Even at that age, I understood that it is not only the letter that one should follow but also the spirit of the law (principles behind each precept). Maybe I'm not yet exposed to those kind of teachings then.

This legalistic view of the law, strictly following every letter of the law without considering its spirit, is actually an old problem of humanity. Man always wanted to enumerate the "do's and dont's" and try to find holes in it.

This was exactly the mentality of the people when Christ came to this earth. Obeying the law became a burden to them. Consider the story of the rich young man in Matthew 19:16-30 and another story with the one "well-versed in the Law" in Matthew 22:35-40.

Young Man: “What good things should i do to have eternal life?”
Jesus: “..keep the commandments.”
Young Man: “which?”
(In Tagalog, “Alin-alin?”)

Pharisee: “Which of the commandments are the most important?”

You see? That is how most humans regarded the law. They want it to be enumerated to them, just like a checklist. But that is not what God wants us to do. God wants us to obey His law in SPIRIT and in TRUTH (John 4:23).

It is the 10th commandment that the young man disobeyed.

Exodus 20:17 "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's." KJV

Maybe somebody will ask, "Where is the 'giving of wealth to the poor' in the 10th commandment?" Yes, we cannot read it word-for-word but the essence, the spirit, the principle is there. The 10th commandment is about contentment or being satisfied.

Jesus followed the young man's way of thinking toward God's law by enumerating it for him, and immediately the young man said "All these things have I kept from my youth up..". At this very moment it is evident that the young man regarded the law in letters only.

When the young man continued with "what lack I yet?", Jesus steered his mind towards the "keeping of the law in spirit". The story tells us that the young man "had great possessions". So Jesus told the young man to "go and give your wealth to the poor", the young man was saddened.

Thus, the story tells us that giving wealth to the poor is another way of obeying the 10th commandment. If we are satisfied to the blessings that God is giving us, then don't "covet others' possessions". It means be satisfied. And the result of this is by "giving our wealth to the poor" especially if we are "in great possessions". This is how the spirit of the law works.

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The Spirit of the Law
James told us that the Moral Law should be regarded as one entity (James 2:10). The first four is about loving God, and the next six is loving co-creatures. So the Moral Law is all about love. “Love your God..and your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-40). This is the ultimate spirit of the law: LOVE.

Many said that this is the new commandment of Christ as a replacement to the Ten Commandments. But it is not.

Deut. 6:5 “Love Jehovah thy God with all your heart..”
Lev. 19:18 “..love thy neighbor as thyself”.
Lev. 19:34 “..the stranger that journeys with you..thou shall love him as thyself.”
Zech. 8:17 “..and let none of you devise evil in your hearts against your neighbor..”

These are texts from the Old Testament, and Christ connected it to the Moral Law as what we had read from Matthew chapters 19 and 22. So both in the Old and New Testament, the spirit and letters of the law are in effect.

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The Example of Jesus
Isaiah 42:21 "The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable."

Matthew 5:17-19 "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.."

Keep this in mind: Destroying or abolishing the law (Ten Commandments) is not making it honourable.

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Examples of the Godly Man Both From Old and New Testament
David: “Great peace have those who love Your law..nothing causes them to stumble..Your law is my delight. The law is perfect, converting the soul..” Ps 119:165,174; 19:7.

Paul – “the law is holy, just, and good. For I delight in the law of God.” Rom 7:12,22

James – ‘it’s the law of liberty.” James 1:25

How did they arrive in such statements if their thinking of the Moral law is that it is limited and burdensome?  The answer?

They viewed the Ten Commandments in a broader sense, not word-by-word, not as checklist, but even in its spirit. This is how God expects us to view it also.

Mr. Eli Soriano and his 2010 Prediction - Contradiction

Mr. Eli Soriano (before): "I don't believe that we will still be there for that very long time (referring to year 2010)".

Mr. Eli Soriano (recently): "It is not true that the end of the world will be on 2010...Those people who are guessing or predicting that the end of the world will be on a specific time..is misled by their thinking. They are misguided, misinformed..it's another stupidity.."




Mr. Eli Soriano is the presiding minister of his founded group: Members Church of God International. They are commonly called in the Philippines as the "Ang Dating Daan" (The Old Path).

Whose end will it be when year 2010 comes? His group "Ang Dating Daan" (The Old Path)? or the world?

Either, the sure thing is that he set up a date, which is year 2010, and arrogantly proclaimed that it is his belief.

Another false prophet? See for yourself. Watch also my sources below if you wish.

TheOldPath
EliSORIANOsa2010

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If you think i misquoted him or misinterpreted him, please show me your proof and if you're right I am willing to erase this article and the one in the YouTube. Thank you for being an open-minded children of God.

Meanwhile...

Galatians 4:9-10 and the Sabbath

“But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? You observe days and months and seasons and years!” Galatians 4:9-10 ESV

Many pastors are using this passage to imply that Paul is criticizing the Galatians for keeping the [seventh-day] Sabbaths and other holy days. These pastors are putting their own words to Paul’s lips.

First, nowhere we can find a word “sabbath” in the book of Galatians. It’s quite ironic that those who never accept the word ‘rest’ in Genesis 2:2-3 as the ‘rest’ pertaining to seventh-day Sabbath by reasoning that the word ‘Sabbath’ is never mentioned in that verse, are strongly arguing that Galatians 4:9-10 pertains to the seventh-day Sabbath, where in fact the word ‘Sabbath’ is never mentioned in Galatians 4:9-10 nor in the whole epistle to the Galatians. That is why to come up with their own interpretation of Galatians 4:9-10, they took outside verses from the book of Galatians such as Colossians 2:16-17.

There is no problem with doing a “precept from here..and a precept from there” for as long as both precepts are having of the same context or thought, and that the final thought will not contradict the fundamental truths.

Galatians 4:9-10 and Colossians 2:16-17 are not of the same thought or topic. This erroneous method is what we call “OUT-OF-CONTEXT”, taking the verse out of its original or real context. Colossians 2:16-17 pertains to the ceremonial days observed by the Jews. Yes, there is a word “sabbath” in that verse but it is the ceremonial sabbath. A separate article gives more details about this.

Galatians 4:9-10, however, talks about pagan holidays.Verse 8 gives us the clue.

Gal 4:8 “Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods.” ESV

Here we can see that Paul’s audience were not of Jewish background, people who observed sabbaths. Rather were converts but of pagan origin, people who observed days, months, and years for their pagan gods and goddesses. In verses 9-10, Paul continued with this

“…how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? You observe days and months and seasons and years!..”

Paul’s audience can only turn back to what they had previously, and that is not the sabbath-keeping. They were pagans so they can only turn back to pagan holidays. Therefore, it is only sensible to conclude that the “worthless and elementary principles of the world”, the observing of days, months, seasons, and years are not the sabbaths but rather the pagan holidays.


Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Let’s look at the life of Paul. He was an enthusiast Jew, so no doubt he respected the Sabbath so much (Acts 17:2). But how was his attitude towards the Sabbath after his conversion to Christianity?

On his first journey (around 46-48 AD), Paul visited several cities within Galatia (Turkey today). He wrote his epistle to the Galatians at some point after that first journey. This means that Paul was already converted to Christianity on this account. Another writer, Luke, recorded interesting facts regarding Paul’s journey; and from there we can see Paul’s attitude towards Sabbath after his conversion to Christianity. Acts 13:

• Paul participated in Sabbath services at the local synagogue (v14).
• Paul, as a guest and scholar, teaches in the synagogue (v15-41).

So instead of condemning or reprimanding the believers on their Sabbath-keeping, Paul even used their Sabbath-keeping to participate and teach them about God’s kingdom. Let’s continue..

• At the conclusion of the service, “the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath” (v42).
• When that next Sabbath arrived, “almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God” from Paul and Barnabas (v44).

If one assumes that Galatians 4:9-10 condemns Sabbath-keeping, the following will be their headaches:

• Why would Paul participated and taught both Jews and Gentiles on the Sabbath and then, after departing, write a letter reprimanding them for observing the Sabbath day?
• When the Gentiles “begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath,” why didn’t Paul simply tell them he would teach them the very next day—Sunday—or any other day since Sabbath-keeping is already a bondage?

If in Galatians 4:9-10 Paul was attempting to condemn Sabbath-keeping as bondage, then his actions in Acts 13 will show that Paul would be very confused or hypocritical.


Ceremonial Laws Are “Weak and Miserable Principles”?

Again, some see Paul’s reference to “days and months and seasons and years” as pointing to the sabbaths, festivals, and jubilee years given in the Old Testament (Leviticus 23, 25).

They view these God-given ceremonies or observances as the “weak and worthless elementary principles” to which the Galatians were “turning again” and becoming “in bondage” (v9).

Although I agree that ceremonial laws of the old covenant are not binding anymore, but this kind of thinking reminds me of what happened during the fall of men where “Adam pointed the fault to Eve, and Eve to the snake, and the snake to its Creator (impliedly)”; all faults pointed back to God.

Likewise, with the way these pastors are interpreting Galatians 4:9-10, it appears that Paul is attacking God’s way of planning and thinking. How arrogant Paul would be if he referred to these God-given ceremonies (though obsolete already) as “weak and miserable principles”! Yes, he called it “nailed to the cross” and “shadows of things to come”, but never he referred to it as “weak and miserable principles”. Indeed, Galatians 4:9-10 never refers to Jewish ceremonial laws.


“Years” As The Sabbatical Years

Again, some assume that the “years” referred to in Galatians 4:10 are the sabbatical and jubilee years described in Leviticus 25. I might say that this is wrong for the following reasons:

• The jubilee year was never observed anywhere in Paul’s day.
• The sabbatical year was not being observed in areas outside Palestine (Encyclopaedia Judaica, Vol. 14, p. 582, and Jewish Encyclopedia, p. 666, “Sabbatical Year and Jubilee”).
• The fact that Galatia was in pagan Asia Minor, far outside the land of Israel, makes it illogical to imagine Paul could have been referring to the sabbatical and jubilee years.

So how can Paul condemned believers in Galatians for returning to “observing of sabbatical and jubilee years” where in fact it was never observed during his days?


Civil Periods of Time

The Greek words Paul used for “days and months and seasons and years” are also used throughout the New Testament in describing normal, civil periods of time.

When Paul refers to “years” in Colossians 2:16 specifying the ceremonial sabbaths and other festivities, he used very different Greek words compared to the words he used in Galatians—a clear indication that he was discussing altogether different subjects.


Bottomline

Using immediate verse (verse 8), we saw it plainly that it is not logical to conclude that Paul was criticizing the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath, since his audience were of pagan background. Instead, he was attacking erroneous efforts to achieve salvation through unnecessary superstitious pagan observances.

If your pastors are using Galatians 4:9-10 to prove that Paul is condemning seventh-day Sabbath-keeping, then please wake up. You don’t need to move farther away from Galatians 4:9-10 to get the real meaning of the context. Verse 8 is enough. Don’t be fooled by their chaining of unrelated verses to come up with their twisted doctrine.

The Purpose of Israel

Rom 3:1-2 "What advantage, then, does the Jew have, or what value is there in circumcision? There are all kinds of advantages! First of all, the Jews have been entrusted with the utterances of God."

Exodus 19:3-5 “..Say to the children of Israel, if thou shall hear my voice, and keep my covenant..ye shall be my own possession’..”.

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No doubt, God had chosen the Israel from the very start through Abraham (Genesis 17:4-5). God entrusted them to be the keeper of His laws and covenants. Immediately after the bondage from Egypt, God gave them instructions and ordinances for them to exist as a nation even before they entered Canaan. God does not want disharmony and lawlessness for His chosen people. From religious activities, to healthful living, to civil orderliness God gave them all they needed for them to be a nation, a model nation indeed.

These laws (moral, ceremonials, dietary, civil, etc.) were all written into a book. All of these were put in a book and was sometimes called as “laws of God” or “laws of Moses”. In matters of giving distinctions between Moral and Ceremonial laws, the Bible is very clear on that that the moral laws can be separated with the ceremonial laws. (See “Moral Law vs Ceremonial Laws”)

The giving of the Moral law to the Jews after they were moved out of Egypt does not mean that the moral law started only that time, else it would only mean that God created the world without giving standards of behavior for mankind.

Others may argue that God gave "other laws" , not the moral itself, for each generation or period of time. They believe that God gave a separate moral law for Adam and Eve, another one for Noah and his generation, for Abraham's time, for Moses' time, for the new testament era, etc. But I believe that God has one set of standards for all humanity. A trustworthy judge should not have so many standards, after all we are all one family, i.e. the humanity.

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What was God’s plan for the Jews?

Ezekiel 5:5 “.. This is Jerusalem; I HAVE SET THEM IN THE MIDST OF NATIONS, and countries are round about her..”

Why setting them in the midst of all nations?

Deuteronomy 4:6 “Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of all the peoples, that shall hear all these statutes, and say, surely this great nation is wise and understanding people.”

Isaiah 60:1-3 “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of Jehovah is risen upon thee...but Jehovah will arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee. And nations shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.”

Exodus 10:5-6 “Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be mine own possession from among all peoples: for ALL the earth is mine. and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation.

From the verses above it is clear that God had chosen the Jews to be "the light that shines among the nations", i.e. the model nation for humanity.

The other nations were not excluded in God’s plan of salvation. The choosing of the Jews is part of God’s plan for saving the fallen humanity.

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Was the keeping of the laws for the Jews ALONE?
Leviticus 17:8, 10; 20:2 Ezek 47:22; 14:7

Leviticus 19:34  "But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God."

“For every  one of the house of Israel, or of the STRANGERS THAT JOURNEY with them, that separates himself from me..I, Jehovah will answer him by myself..”

The laws were not meant for the Jews alone. They were supposedly to keep it as an example for other nations, so that even the strangers will proclaim that Jehovah is God.

Ruth, as well as Rahab and her family were some of the ‘fruits’ from the Israel’s ‘evangelization’ of the other countries. In Jonah's time, Nineveh (a gentile nation) was spared from punishment because they turned back to God. God sent Obadiah as a prophet for the Edomites, not Jews.

Read the books of Jeremiah and other minor prophets (as what they called it). You might be surprised that most of the contents of these books are warnings and admonitions to the gentile nations. And the reason why God rebuked them is that these nations did not adhere to the message of salvation; and it is all evident by their actions which were all against the universal law of God, the Ten Commandments.

If the set of the Ten Commandments were not meant for the gentile nations as well, then there's no reason for God to rebuke these nations THROUGH the prophets from His chosen nation, the Israel.

If God has separate standard of character for the gentile nations then God should use the gentiles' prophets and prophetesses in rebuking them.

The strangers were part of the blessings and curses that come from obeying or disobeying God's moral law.

Of course, there were also civil laws in the Jewish nation which were made only after they were moved out of Egypt which only apply to its citizens. As such other nations were not obligated to obey it. But the Moral law is a standard that shows God's characters and He gave it to humanity even from the very start of this world. Not a single Jew even existed then. (See The Ten Commandments Exist Even Before the Israelites)

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Israel Failed To Keep Its Promise
Israel should have acted as a role model. As such, they had the responsibilities; and some of these were the keeping of the Moral Law, observing Hygienic and Dietary laws, etc.

Time came that this entrustment of God's covenant to the Israel came to an end. See Hebrew 8:7-13. The Israel failed to hold on to their promise of keeping it.

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So whose group are now expecting by God to be the role model for this earth?


1Peter 2:9 “But ye are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that ye may show forth the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:”

Matthew 5:14, 16 “Let your light shines upon all men that they might see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

One can only show "good works" by fulfilling the moral law of God.

The Jews were chosen by God as a model. As such they were entrusted with God's standard of character, the Moral law. It is not for them alone. But since they failed in keeping their promise, God is calling us, Christians, to continue to the obedience of His Moral law. By obeying God's law, Christians are reflecting His light to this darkened world.