Volume 10 / Issue 39 / 2013
mind&spirit Christmas Superstitions
make a difference My God, My Guide
body&soul A Christmas Checklist
love&money Christmas Gifts A Christmas to Remember
just asking Consulting Horoscopes
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Editor’s Page From My Heart
To Start a Relationship with Christ
Dear Readers, It’s Christmastime again! For most of us, the season is a celebration of God’s greatest gift to mankind, Jesus Christ, and a reason for gift giving. But for some, the birth of Christ holds a more significant value than gift giving. It means that the Christ Child, who holds the key to freedom, was born. Because of the power of Jesus, we can be free from hanging on to oracles, horoscopes, fortunetelling, superstition and false beliefs! God sent Christ, one we can truly trust with our future! There is a Way to lead a peaceful and honorable life if we choose to. In this issue, we will read stories about how people lived their lives with uncertainty and subsequently how they experienced true freedom and escaping the chains of false beliefs. I pray that this issue will strengthen your faith in Christ Jesus, the one true answer to your quest for 2014. Merry Christmas!
Admit you have sinned. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23
Believe in Jesus. “For God so loved the world that
He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish; but have eternal life.” John 3:16b
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onfess and leave your sin behind. Stop sinning. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just, and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9 To continue growing in your relationship with Christ, fellowship with other believers, read the Bible and pray!
Evelyn Damian, Editor
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Thank you for your financial help! • UEC-General Santos City • Christ the Great Shepherd Christian Min. • Anonymous
MOMS EDITORIAL STAFF Chief Editor Kimberly Snider Editor, MOMS Evelyn Damian Editor, MIP Alvin Tud Distribution Johnson Li Cover & Layout Patrick Tan
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Photo by Johnson Li
Photo by Don David MOMS Editorial Staff (L-R): Johnson, Evelyn, Kim & Patrick
MOMS/MIP Creative Team 2013: Top row (L-R): Peter, Nathan, Rone, Jeanne, Alena, Mary Grace. Second row: Gem, Revo, AM, Jesse, Grace. Not in the picture: Hazel, Kendrick, Zaldy
Published quarterly by Asia Pacific Media Ministries Unit 2608 Raffles Corporate Center, Emerald Avenue, Ortigas Center, 1605 Pasig City, Philippines Telephone: 914-9767 E-mail: moms@apmedia.org Reproduction of photos and articles is prohibited without permission.
Mind & Spirit
Why Christmas Superstitions Might Do Us More Harm Than Good by Nathan M. Maliwat
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hristmas is one of most-loved traditions among Filipinos. It’s a season of blessings and gift-giving, a reminder of the fruitful year that is about to end and a way of ensuring that the coming year will be more bountiful than the last. It’s no wonder that many Filipinos have come to believe in superstitious beliefs about Christmas. Here are some of those beliefs: • In Samar, folks are forbidden to talk aloud from 12am to 2:00am of December 25 to avoid waking the infant Jesus. • In Mindoro, some elders believe that bathing on Christmas day washes away the blessings that God has given on that day. • Children are told to jump as high as they could on the eve of Christmas so they would grow taller. • In some villages in Pampanga, a sticky dessert called misalubong is served to give luck to those who eat it. The more one eats of this snack, the more blessings he or she will receive in the coming year. • Babies born on Christmas day are said to bring luck to their families. Most of these beliefs have been ingrained in our culture that some people no longer think about the merits of these superstitious sayings. Is there any harm in believing in superstitions or sabi-sabi? Superstitions are based on luck or chance. Some people think that certain objects or actions have brought them good fortune and they spread the word around until their stories become superstitions. Sadly, many people believe these stories to be true. Trusting in superstitions is like believing gossips. Superstitions may seem harmless, but when important matters such as business decisions, career choices or money problems are involved, believing in luck can cause serious trouble. That is because luck has no real basis. Everything in this life happens for a reason that is according to a grand plan created by God. God is a God of order and not chances. Putting our hopes in chance teaches us to disbelieve God and the principles he has set in his word. Without a firm belief in God, we easily doubt his word and lead our lives in chaos. A successful and blessed life is built on timetested principles such as discipline, hard work, and perseverance. We cannot learn these principles if we put our hopes in chance. Waiting for fortune to come to us weakens our will to be better individuals. We become lazy and dependent, easily swayed by hearsay
and superstitions. Principles give us strength to face life challenges. Superstitions promise to bring us blessings in life, the easy way. But these are empty promises because real blessings come to those who work hard. This is what God has promised in his Word. To be free from wrong beliefs, we must first learn to trust God. And, trusting God is a result of knowing who He is and what he has promised those who obey his Words. The Bible says that if we trust the Lord with all our heart and depend not on our own understanding, God will direct our ways. Aside from discovering God’s principles in the Bible, reading enriching books that teach virtue like discipline and hard work, will help us replace the misleading ideas we get from sabi-sabi. We must renew our minds if we are to escape the chains of false beliefs. Being grateful to God also releases us from the prison of superstitious beliefs. When we thank God for blessings we receive, we acknowledge Him to be the source of all good things that happen in our lives. We begin to see every circumstance we go through to be part of his purpose for us and not a result of the alignment of the stars or powerful objects we wear around our bodies. Our faith in God deepens as we learn to be thankful for his blessings. Whenever we express our gratitude to God, we live with hope that He will provide for our needs in the future. On the contrary, we live in fear and uncertainty whenever we put our trust in superstition or horoscopes because none of these things have stood the test of time. This Christmas season, let us be reminded that blessings come from God and are given to those who live according to the right principles of work, honesty, integrity and other virtues that have been tested by time. Superstitious beliefs are simply hearsay based on chance and luck. We can only look forward to a better year if our hope is in God who has a definite plan and purpose for us to prosper.
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Make a Difference
as told to A.M. Bernal-Dela Rosa
Leonida Verges, “Lola Nida”, is a 57-year-old widowed housewife. She used to believe in oracles, until potential tragedy transformed her beliefs.
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ever was my trust in the Lord tested so much as it was during the time I “lost” my firstborn son for six years. In fact, I felt as if I had not only lost my son, but I had lost myself as well. My firstborn had always been secretive and didn’t share with me what was going on in his life, for fear of being reprimanded. That’s why it came as such a shock to me when he left home because he had a problem with his family. No one knew where he went, not even his wife.
Here’s what the Bible has to say: (NIV) “The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.” – Matthew 7:25 “Let no one be found among you who…practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD… Deuteronomy18:10-12 “Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.” – Leviticus 19:31 “When someone tells you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?” – Isaiah 8:19
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Of course, I was devastated and kept crying. I wondered, “Lord, where could my son be?” For a full six years, we didn’t have any communication at all. I was scared thinking that he might be roaming the streets, or in prison. But, at the same time, I knew my son knew how to survive and he was smart. I prayed God would take care of my son. It was hard to keep my spirits up. My husband had passed away the year before. The sorrow was still fresh. With this additional trouble, I grieved like I was going to die. I could barely sleep. My Bible study leader told me I looked like I was 70 years old. The holidays were especially hard. My Christmases were empty and I couldn’t see the joy in celebrating. At that time, I claimed to be a Christian, but I had only a shallow and shaky relationship with Christ. My faith was at a low point because I was so worried about what might be happening to my son. I had lost my “foundation”. Because of loneliness and desperation, I gave in to temptation. When a lot of people urged me to consult seers to find out where my son was, I did so. I began to depend on fate. I thought I would get my desires by knowing my fortune. I went from seer to seer bringing pictures of my son and inquiring about the future of my other children. One of them told me, “Your son is dead.” I could not believe what she said. I told God, “Lord, please don’t let that prediction come true.” In addition, I took up the folk healing or pagtatawas and other superstitious practices of my mother and grandmother. Whenever my children got sick or had cramps, I always brought them to the witch doctor (albularyo) before bringing them to the medical doctor. For about three years, I adopted those habits, little knowing what the consequences would be.
Make a Difference As time passed, I realized the witch doctors didn’t really provide cures. Furthermore, I didn’t see tangible results from my superstitious beliefs. I noticed my problems only got worse and I was not getting the answers I needed. These realizations made me hang on to the Lord more. God gave me strength and I trusted Him that He would take care of my son, and would bring him back. I decided finally to pray, because I somehow knew that only God could help me. I said, “Lord, I couldn’t bear it if anything bad happens to my son…Please, bring him back to me as a gift on my birthday.” One afternoon, we held a Bible study at home, led by one of the moms in our church. She shared the wisdom of the Bible and that enlightened me. I prayed, “Lord, please forgive me because what I’m doing is wrong.” I re-dedicated myself to the Lord and asked for prayers from the moms’ fellowship. I prayed to trust God with my son’s welfare. In time, God answered my prayers. The best surprise of my life came a year and four months ago. While I was at one of our women’s meetings, my granddaughter came rushing to me and said, “Lola, Tito is here!” I could not believe it. I ran home and finally saw my son in the flesh! It felt so great to hold my son again! I cried tears of joy! He was okay—healthy, and normal. He told me, “Ma, I just went away and sought new things.” I told him to never do that again. I was so thankful because I finally saw him, alive. I told God, “Lord, forgive me for not trusting You. Thank You because You granted my prayer.” I didn’t have any interest in oracles anymore. My trust in them was a failure and a scheme of the devil. Last Christmas was the happiest one of my life, because it was the first one we spent together after my son’s six-year absence. I had especially missed his cooking—he cooks the best among our family members. I missed his sweetness as a son—everything about him!
We have no plans yet for this Christmas, but it doesn’t matter, as long as my son is here. God taught me certain lessons because of my circumstances. When I came back to the Lord, my son came back to me. God placed a conviction in my heart to look for my questions’ answers in the Bible, unlike before, when I didn’t read it at all. I started to attend our women’s Bible study group meetings and Wednesday prayer meetings. Those helped me grow stronger in the faith, and I continue to attend them. I’m thankful to God because He rescued me from belief in myths and superstitions. I know He has a great plan for my family. My prayer is for my whole household to have a relationship with Him. I have no dream other than that my family has a peaceful and contented life, not asking for a lot of material things, but trusting in God alone. I am thankful to the Lord because He used my Bible study group leaders to bring me back to my faith. Now I entrust all my children to His care. I feel sorry for many people who still rely on oracles. I hope they will know the love of God and stop believing in such things. I hope they will open their minds and seek a relationship with Him. When you are faithful to the Lord, He will not fail to bless you, because He knows what your desires are. I’m very thankful to Him because He never let me go. He took care of me and protected my children.” I don’t regret that I came back to the Lord. The joy and security I feel is priceless. Instead of worrying about the future, I thank God for His goodness every day. I prioritize my relationship with God. I consult only Him. I pray that His will be done in our family, because I know His will is beautiful. It is good to have the Lord lead your life—you don’t delight anymore in things apart from His will. I tell Him, “Lord, thank you because I can share my secrets with You. You are my only guide. You are my everything.”
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Body & Soul A Christmas Checklist by Gema Viana
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lthough the Christmas season in the Philippines unofficially begins on the first day of September, some people want to do things at the last minute, not wanting to lose the feeling of spontaneity. They actually thrive in the hustle and bustle of the moment. Other types of people are detail oriented. They need to be as organized as possible and would prefer not to get caught up in all the stress that the holiday brings. As adept you may be in multitasking, it will be very helpful if you plan ahead, make a list (and check it twice) of things that you need to accomplish as you count down towards Christmas day so that you don’t forget anything. This way, you have the things that you need to accomplish right in front of you— organized in bite-sized, doable tasks and you can estimate whether you have enough time and manpower to complete these undertakings. There are many organizing resources available in the internet. One website for example has downloadable checklists. I have modified some of their helpful tips as follows: Two Weeks Before Christmas • Shop for non-perishable items like canned goods, pasta and chips.
One Week Before • Give your house a good general cleaning. Three Days Before • Shop for fresh ingredients (fruits, vegetables and baked goodies like the chiffon cake that we will be using in our recipe below). • Prepare what you need for the Christmas dinner table including the dinnerware, table cloth, flatware and those special occasion glasses that you seldom use. • Prepare the things you will need for family games, arts and crafts. Two Days Before • Recharge camera and video camera batteries. • Do your last minute gift wrapping. • Start prepping your ingredients for the meal. One Day Before • Finish cooking and adding the finishing touches to the meal and the house. Lastly, take time to relax and anticipate the precious time you will have with your family and friends. Organizing is one way for us to prevent the busyness of the season to overwhelm us and make us forget the real treasure of Christmas – remembering the birth of our Savior with our family and friends. http://www.realsimple.com/holidays-entertaining/holidays/christmas/ ultimate-christmas-countdown-checklist-00000000002153/index.html, Real Simple, accessed August 15, 2013.
Nutty Yema Cake Ingredients:
Procedure:
1 store –bought round Chiffon Cake (8x9)
• Place unopened can in a sauce pan filled with water. There should be enough water to immerse the whole can.
1 can-300 ml Condensed Milk
• Bring the water to a boil and let it simmer for 3 hours. Always check the water level while simmering making sure that the water level is enough.
Unsalted Cashew Nuts, chopped
• Remove the milk and allow it to cool before opening. • Spread the cooked milk on the top and sides of the chiffon cake. • Add the chopped nuts to cover the top and sides of the cake (You may use different kinds of nuts, candy sprinkles or fruits as your topping).
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Love & Money
A Christmas to Remember Choosing My Christmas Gifts
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by Maria Reyes with Grace Felizardo
by Evelyn Damian
ne of the things I love during Christmas is seeing the happy faces of my loved ones as they open the gifts they receive. My family is generous in gift giving but I am not, although I wish I could be. I live on a tight budget. This makes it hard for me to find stuff my family will like and I can afford. So…I have created a little system for my gift buying. First, I have discovered it is important to know the character of the persons I am giving gifts to and to understand what they value, and what they need. From these observations, I list possible gifts, both expensive and cheap, that I could buy for them, and note my budget for each person. Sometimes, I spend more on needy relatives or friends than on those who are well off. When I finally do my shopping, I find it difficult not to get the more expensive items. For many years, I spent more than what I could afford on Christmas gifts, and the repercussions from this unwise spending punished me for many months the following year as I had to slowly pay off my credit card bills. Some of my relatives do not really care about the price of my gift, but there are those who think that the price of the gift shows how much I value them. In these cases I am careful not to offend them and yield a little. After all Christmas is but once a year!
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ur family had a very meaningful Christmas when my husband, Henry decided to end his five year separation from his youngest brother, Gerald. As the eldest in the family, Henry is responsible and strongwilled. When Henry had the opportunity to work in Australia, he sponsored Gerald to go there as a student in 2004. Sadly, only a year before completing his degree, Gerald went AWOL. Gerald kept his distance from his brother, probably because of his promiscuous and homosexual lifestyle but, after years of secrecy, Henry finally found out that Gerald was being pursued by Australian immigration. In 2010, although Henry really didn’t want any more to do with him, Henry offered to help process Gerald’s visa. Gerald refused. This angered Henry so much so that he decided to cut his brother off completely from his life. After this decision however, at Christmastime in 2012, Henry had a change of heart. He realized just how much God had blessed him. The more he thought of God’s goodness, the worse he felt for being angry at his brother. He then decided to swallow his pride, forgive his brother, and forget the past. He excitedly bought Gerald a Christmas present. With our kids, Henry went to Gerald’s apartment and eagerly knocked at the door, but there was no answer. Henry’s heart sank. They all came home very disappointed. Just after Christmas, we visited Henry’s parents in the Philippines. They told us that Gerald was in a miserable condition. We learned that Gerald had been diagnosed with AIDS, and that his partner had recently died. Gerald had no visa, no home, and no money. When we returned to Australia, Henry looked for Gerald and took him into our home. Henry hired a good lawyer to process his visa. Now, Gerald has a visa, a medical entitlement for his daily medications, a job, is renting his own place, and currently attends our church. Henry is thrilled that their relationship is growing. It is heartbreaking that shame for what we do, and what we think we are, and pride, prevent us from asking for, and giving help. We don’t deserve God’s favor, but He gives it to everyone who asks anyway. And for those of us who receive His grace, extending the same to those who we feel do not deserve, become possible.
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Q A
In the past my friends and I were deeply involved in astrology, particularly using the horoscope to chart our everyday lives. But now that I have committed my life to Christ, I no longer consult the horoscope. The year is about to end and the New Year is just around the corner. Am I losing an advantage now that I stopped consulting the horoscope?
Congratulations on your decision to commit your life to Jesus Christ! That means you have aligned your life with God’s original design for you. He wants you to completely trust Him with all the details of your life. You are not losing anything by giving up horoscopes. You have actually stopped consulting lifeless created things like the stars and planets and are now consulting God the creator alone. The Bible says: They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. Romans 1:25 Horoscopes are astrological charts representing the positions of the Sun, Moon, planets, astrological aspects, and sensitive angles at the time of an event, such as the moment of a person’s birth. They claim to predict events in your everyday life. The Bible condemns this practice. All the counsel you have received has only worn you out! Let your astrologers come forward, those stargazers who make predictions month by month, let them save you from what is coming upon you... All of them go on in their error; there is not one that can save you. Isaiah 47:13,15b
God has not left you in the dark. He gave the Bible as your guide for life, career, family, finances and most importantly eternal life in Jesus Christ. The Bible says: The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law. Deuteronomy 29:29. God has revealed His will in his word the Bible. Consult it, read it, and prayerfully meditate on it. Let me challenge you to respond to this invitation from God: ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’ Jeremiah 33:3
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Holiday Family Bonding
ne great holiday activity for the family to do together is to sit down with a bowl of popcorn and enjoy a really worthwhile movie. We have two—Ama, Anak , the sweet story of family forgiveness, and Ang Sugo, the powerful story of freedom from darkness.
PURCHASE THESE VIDEOS AT: House of Praise, PCEC, or Asia Pacific Media Office, Unit 2608 Raffles Corporate Center, F. Ortigas Jr. Road (formerly Emerald Ave.) Ortigas Center, Pasig City, 1605 Philippines Tel. no.: +63-2-9149767 E-mail: distribution@apmedia.org www.apmedia.ph.
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