Who's the Terrorist?

I read in the amNY paper this morning, then again on DNAInfo.com, that a Muslim teen girl was threatened and spat upon while riding the Q88 bus to school Tuesday morning. Her bag accidently brushed up against a middle-aged, white man, who then proceeded to call her "terrorist". To him, her hijab was a dead giveaway. What makes this situation even worse was that no one bothered to stop him. Who's the terrorist in this situation?

Reading that this morning gave me a flashback of watching a YouTube video of a social experiment performed by Yousef Saleh Erakat a.k.a fouseyTUBE. It was done this past Dec and ever since I saw it, I could imagine what would happen if that social experiment was done in my home city of NYC. Well, this news story shows that such an experiment isn't needed.

If you'd like to watch the experiment, it's below.

Active vs. Passive Faith

It troubles me that many have what I would like to call "passive faith". I'm troubled by the fact that many Christians think that God is just going to take care of everything and they can just sit back. That isn't always the case, though. Yes, there will be situation where there is nothing we can humanly do to change it, but many lack the wisdom to discern when those situations arise. For example, someone may have inoperable cancer where doctors can no nothing, where it's out of human hands. Praying for healing, believing for that healing, and walking as if you have been healed will bring the healing. That is the spiritual active part of having faith for something to happen. We all can have that spiritually-active faith but when it comes to situations like finding a job in a slow economy or a married couple trying to have a child, one needs to have that active faith but spiritually and naturally. One cannot pray for a job and NOT look for one online, in the classified in the newspaper or even applying in-person, resume in hand. One cannot pray that s/he passes his/her final for their Master's WITHOUT studying. A married couple cannot pray for a child WITHOUT being physically intimate (i.e., Abraham & Sarah) and/or looking into adoption.

While praying and believing for a miracle is great, there's an underlining factor -- believing in the One who gives the miracle. Many believe on the name of Jesus of Nazareth as Savior but don't always walk in His ways in their daily lives, just on Sundays. One cannot save the souls of the household, workplace, etc., if one does not live in Christ (meaning following His teachings). One cannot say to another: "hey, can I tell you about Jesus?" when they aren't even rooted in Jesus themselves. Passive faith in Jesus is praising Him in church on Sundays (if you have the desire to go) but being angry and miserable, neither praying nor reading the Bible Monday through Saturday. Active faith in Jesus is praising Him in church on Sundays, including while you're getting ready to go, on the way there, and when you leave, AS WELL AS living in His joy & love while praying and reading His word (and doing what it says) Monday through Saturday. Think about that phrase "actions speak louder than words". If you want someone to come to faith in Jesus, let that person see your actions and joy as a true worshiper of Christ and tell them what He had saved you from. If you wish to have others in your household to know the Savior, be sure your actions DO speak louder than your words.

Now I just want to leave you with this: Romans 12:2 says "do not be conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that ye may prove what is the good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." Psalms says "as a man thinks in his heart, so is he." The Bible also says to "put on the mind of Christ.:" Therefore, if we are to think and ponder on His ways constantly, we are transformed in Him. Let us also "walk by faith and not by sight," meaning, in a way, to walk with our faith in Jesus and not by what we see in this world. You will not only discover the truth about yourself but also of Christ Jesus. Call upon Him and He will show you (Jer. 33:3).

God Bless!

PS, for more biblical teaching on active faith, read James 2:14-26

Mercy Christmas

I just want to thank those who kept the true meaning of Christmas this year by celebrating the birth of our Lord & Savior Jesus. May God bless you all for keeping the CHRIST in CHRISTMAS.

We starting saying in my church "Mercy Christmas" because God showed mercy on us that day by the birth of His only begotten Son. Jesus knew that He came to this earth to suffer, but it was to suffer for our sins. He knew what would happen 33 years down the line. Jesus came to complete a mission, and He did just that. He came down to save us from our sins, from the evil one who had control over our lives. Jew and Gentile alike, He loved us so much that though we were sinners, He died for us (Rom. 5:8). Let's stop trampling people over for those crazy sales in the mall as the "after Christmas" sales come upon us and just show the love, grace, and mercy unto others that Christ showed unto us at His birth, ministry, death, and resurrection.

Mercy Christmas!

Wake Up Call

This is part of a 9/11 memorial in New York's Port Authority Bus Terminal. I know I walked by it many times but didn't really notice it until Wed (10/16) night when I took this photo. In fact, it was this poem that caught my eye. Sept 11th 2001 was indeed a wake up call to return to God -- both for the nation as a whole and for individuals. I was too young to understand that at the time, but I now know how much of a wake up call it is -- that the nation has yet to answer. Sure, many flocked to churches in the weeks and months following the terror attack, but not all stayed faithful to God these 12 years past.


Time to wake up, 
America.

Nothing Can Separate US From the Love of God!

Romans 8:38-39 NKJV

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Pray for the Persecuted Church

While today is the Primary Voting Day for NYC mayor, I'll be praying for God to place the right person for the job -- whomever He wills. Not only that, I'll be praying for Nigeria. After you see the video below, you'll want to do the same.

Courtesy of The Voice of the Martyrs (persecution.com)

Al-Jazeera America aka CurrentTV (thanks to Al Gore)

On Aug 20th, I read in a local NYC paper that Al Jazeera America had become a new channel on cable, airing via companies like DirecTV, AT&T U-verse, Comcast and Verizon FiOS. Turns out, after only a few hours of being on the air, Al Jazeera America loses a huge chunk of its major advertisers and has been left with a handful of non-profits. U-verse even dropped the channel all together!

If you don't know much about Al Jazeera, see my previous blog here. (The YouTube video I had embedded in this post has been taken down.)

When I saw the list of cable companies that would air Al Jazeera America, I wasn't surprised when I didn't see Time Warner Cable on that list. I was in fact quite glad. Other than cutting off CBS recently, TWC cut off CurrentTV in Dec 2012 when Al Gore, who created the channel some 5 or 6 years ago, sold to the Al Jazeera network, who is based out of Doha, Qatar. Al Jazeera is rather anti-American and anti-Semitic.

You can also find a little more info here.