Wala nang mas mahalaga pa kay baby, kahit patak lang, kahit haplos lang, dapat masubok ko muna, Johnson's Baby! Masubok ko, masubok ng mommy ko at marami pang mommy, Clinically Proven Mildness na napatunayan ng mga doktor. Johnson's Baby: Tested by doctors, trusted by mothers.
Original video courtesy of eatbulaga1979
© 2007 Johnson & Johnson (Philippines), Inc.
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2 There is an amazing exchange between two friends tucked into the Bible book of II Kings. Elisha, the prophet, and his ministering servant find themselves in a very bad situation. Israel’s enemy, the Arameans, have snuck up and surrounded their hometown of Dothan. The Arameans are led by Ben-hadad and he and his force intended to kill Elisha and the entire community. In the morning, the servant went outside to gather water and light the fire for breakfast. Suddenly he saw an overwhelming number of horses and chariots ringing their town. He rushed to Elisha’s side and shouted out his fear: “Oh, my lord, what shall we do?” Let’s stop the story for a moment. We’ve all no doubt been in situations where a friend or co-worker has sought out our counsel in the midst of a very tough spot. In their fear and frustration, they likely shouted out a similar question, a question formed in their panic. And how did we respond? Maybe it wasn’t a convenient time to deal with someone else’s problem. It’s easy to be quick to respond with a solution, to try to “fix” their problem with a Bible verse or even a Christian platitude. In a hurry to “counsel” someone, we might answer in haste, “Calm down—everything will work out!” But look at the example Elisha gives us in this story. (II Kings 6:16-17). His response to his panicked friend has three parts to it. He starts by recognizing the intense fear that his friend has, and he encourages him by reminding him “Do not be afraid.” He doesn’t ignore the intensity of the moment; he enters right into it. And then Elisha offers the servant some Godly advice out of the scriptures. He assures him that, “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” (2 Kings 6:16) After his patient encouragement, Elisha shares some Biblical facts with his friend. And finally, he stops and prays a simple prayer for the servant, “Lord open his eyes so he may see.” (v. 17) When God did so, the servant saw the multitude of angels also surrounding the town. The hills were full of horses and chariots of fire, an incredible symbol of God’s power. If you read the story, you’ll find that God had an incredible solution to the situation which resulted in Israel’s enemies blindly marching into captivity, getting a meal and being sent home! Even in the midst of a dire situation, Elisha took the time to console and encourage his servant. He demonstrated the direction the Apostle Paul would later give to the Christ-followers in New Testament Galatia, saying, “Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2) Elisha’s actions point forward, to Christ’s others-centered law. In the words of the great Christian reformer, Martin Luther, “The Law of Christ is the Law of love. Christ gave us no other law than this law of mutual love: “A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another.” To love means to bear another’s burdens.”[1] What a great example Elisha gave us of how to “bear another’s burdens, through encouragement! So, this week, if a friend seeks some help or counsel, slow down and take some time to care for your friend. Acknowledge and address their need. Take time to encourage them. Then share a scripture or thought out of God’s Word. And don’t forget to pray. Pray simply and with heart. This is what it means to “bear one another’s burdens.” And then watch what happens as God lifts their burden. What Elisha told his frightened friend is true today for us in our distress: “Greater is He that is with us, than He that is in the World.” (1 John 4:4). Resource reading: 2 Kings 6:8-23 [1] Luther, Martin. “Martin Luther’s Bible Commentary New Testament Only,” 2020. https://www.christianity.com/bible/commentary.php?com=luth.
https://www.guidelines.org/devotional/how-to-encourage-a-friend/
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1
“What is faith?” asked the writer of the book of Hebrews in the New Testament. Then he answered his own question, saying, “It is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen. It is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead” (Hebrews 11:1, LB). Two words express this reality. The first word, translated “confident assurance,” is a very positive expression; but it is the second word which gives us a picture which enlightens us.
In the first century this Greek word elegchos was used of a title deed. For example, you buy a piece of property which you have never seen, but when the transaction is completed you are given a title deed—a legal piece of paper that says you own the property. “But you have never seen the property!” someone exclaims in surprise. “True,” you say, but then you add, “I own that property; I have the title deed in my possession.”
In a very real sense that is how faith functions in relationship to God. There are two aspects to biblical faith, and apart from both of these, faith is defective. The first ingredient is belief which relates to knowledge; the second is trust which demands commitment and action. Believing is important, very important; but it isn’t enough.
Let me illustrate. Suppose you wanted to hire a person for a position in your company. After an interview, you make a proposal. In your letter you offer the individual a position, outlining the benefits of working for you. But you never get a response from the individual. Then you call asking, “Did you receive my job offer?” Hesitantly, the person admits that he did. “Well then,” you ask, “why haven’t you responded?” Reluctantly, the person admits that he believes you can make good on your offer, but then adds, “But frankly, I just don’t trust you!”
How would you respond? There is no way you would bring that person into your firm, right? At times, we treat God the same way. We believe He exists, and we even believe His word is true, but we don’t really trust Him enough to commit ourselves to Him and walk with Him.
Unlike employers who make promises and don’t keep them, or friends who forget what they tell you, God is never remiss on coming through with what He says He will do. The foundation of our faith in God is His very character. Because people fail us, we often bring God down to their level, wondering if He really can be trusted as well, forgetting the times when He has met us in the past.
The father of a little boy about five years old stood his son on a table and said, “Son, jump and I’ll catch you.” The boy hesitated and the father repeated his command: “Jump, son, and I’ll catch you.” Finally, the little boy leaped, and as he did so, the dad withdrew his arms and the little fellow landed in the floor. Picking up the crying boy, the father said, “Son, I’ve just taught you a very important lesson: Never trust anyone. Do you hear? Never!”
Okay, your earthly father may be untrustworthy, but our Heavenly Father isn’t like that. The Bible puts it pointedly: “God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?” (Numbers 23:19). And the obvious answer is, “No!”
The Quaker scholar, David Elton Trueblood put it so well as he said, “Faith is not belief without proof but trust without reservation.” Believing is important but trusting is what brings the promises into our lives and our families. Real faith includes both.
Resource Reading: Hebrews 11:1-7
https://www.guidelines.org/devotional/why-faith-is-more-than-just-belief/
May bagong matunog, sa kainang pambahay! Bagong Crispy Fry from Ajinomoto, ang breading mix na may tamang timpla ng spices at seasonings, huling-huli ang sarap at crispiness na matunog sa panlasa ng pamilya! Crispy Fry Breading Mix, Crispy Sarap with every bite! Ubos na?
Original video courtesy of Trevor Hone
© 2004 Ajinomoto Philippines Corporation
And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” Mark 15:39
Is it possible for you to believe in Jesus Christ as your Savior, but without getting too radical about it? Putting it another way: Are there different kinds of Christians? Can you be a Christian by degrees, believing some things but not really becoming a fanatic?
Long ago a young man struggled with this very issue. In his youth his sexual escapades were well known. We might have labeled him a sex addict today. According to his own admission, he was trapped, as he put it, in "the swirling mists of lust" that thrust him into the "whirlpools of vice." He went to church and maintained a facade of religious respectability, but as he later reflected on his behavior, he considered his life to be an intolerable moral contradiction. The man's name? Today we know him as St. Augustine, but a saint he was not in the early years of his life. Eventually Augustine was attracted to a famous preacher who was the Bishop of Milan, and listening to him, Augustine began to see himself as he really was. Eventually he was convicted and his life was changed completely.
Augustine didn't believe that you could be a Christian apart from bowing in submission and recognition of Jesus Christ’s right to rule in your life. We call this willingness discipleship. Writing of Augustine's concept of discipleship, Richard Foster said, "Augustine did not believe, as is so common today, that one could be a convert to Christ without being a disciple of Christ. For him, conversion and discipleship were two sides to the same door‑‑both were necessary for one to pass through the doorway. He knew that “receiving Christ” required a radical re‑ordering of his life. He had counted the cost and understood that conversion meant a lifestyle without his mistress and a profession other than rhetoric, which he believed taught “the arts of deception.”
"Even more, he knew that turning to Christ meant turning from the arrogance and intellectual pride that had driven him so fiercely... For Augustine, conversion was not assenting easily to a few propositions; it was restructuring his whole life."
What does it mean to be a Christian today? Go to church? Watch your language? Try not to cheat? Before you answer, think about a few of these statements from the Bible. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:17). Then reflect on Jesus' uncompromising words to His disciples: "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money" (Matthew 6:24).
As you grow in your understanding of your new life in Christ and your knowledge of the Bible, your commitment and your love relationship should affect every part of your life. But, if your attitudes and behavior show no change, your faith is only theory. Again, Jesus challenged the disciples and He challenges us with a question: "Why do you call Me Lord and do not the things I command you?" (Luke 6:46). “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today,” wrote Brendon Manning, “is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, then walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”[1]
Surrender of your life to Jesus Christ is not a decision to make lightly. But, in Jesus’ own words, “If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?” (Matthew 16:25-26).
Resource reading: Luke 18:18-30.
[1] Simpson, Ben. “The Ragamuffin Legacy,” June 7, 2017. https://relevantmagazine.com/god/ragamuffin-legacy/.
https://www.guidelines.org/devotional/are-there-different-kinds-of-christians/
Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Luke 12:32
Bernadette Grey was the editor-in-chief of a women's magazine. Her work-related responsibilities kept her in contact with some of the world's most successful businesswomen. In one editorial she analyzed four factors which lead to success among her colleagues. She mentioned 1) optimism, 2) uniqueness, 3) a strong work ethic, and 4) fearlessness.
While her four observations relate to successful executives who are women, they apply equally to every person who succeeds. It was that fourth facto - fearlessness - which was especially intriguing to me. An individual who is afraid of failure almost always fails, yet fearlessness is not bold brashness.
There are two ways you can be fearless: You can have a daring and audacious disregard for reality, or you can have a greater inner strength which assesses the failure factor yet confidently moves ahead. Individuals who disregard reality are usually not fearless but brazen and often crash and burn, while those with inner strengths move forward with confidence.
I plowed through two biographies which consumed more than a few hours of reading on airplanes. One was a biography of General Douglas MacArthur, the liberator of the Philippines and the man who did more to shape the future of Japan after World War 2 than any other person. The second was on the life of the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, a contemporary of MacArthur's.
Both of them faced tremendous dangers--both personally and collectively. Both had the responsibilities of vast numbers of people on their shoulders, and both of them knew full well the great consequences of making wrong decisions. Both of them, incidentally, on occasion exercised poor judgment and - yes - failed at their tasks, yet - and this is what made them successful - they had enough inner strength that when a decision had to be made, having considered all the factors, they moved ahead without fear.
Is this something which you can do, or is this a quality of only truly great men and women? Everyday, contended William Manchester, MacArthur's biographer, he read his Bible and prayed. As pugnacious and sometimes as belligerent as a junkyard bulldog, Churchill believed that God fought against the tyranny of Hitler and Stalin, whom he hated almost as much as Hitler. Their fearlessness came from an inner conviction that they were instruments in God's hands. Perfect, no. They made mistakes and plenty of them, but confident that God would see them through.
OK, you aren't leading an army or a nation. You, however, may be boss in your family, a single mom, or a husband who is trying to do a good job in your company. Can you as an individual also be fearless, even when the doctor says, "You've got melanoma," or your accountant says, "If you know how to pray, you had better pray for a miracle!" Can you be fearless when the circumstances of life seem to bully you?
Fearlessness doesn't depend on your strength. Knowing that God is in control, that someway, somehow, He will see you through, lets you move into the future without fear.
Safety is not the absence of danger as much as it is the presence of the Lord. In an Upper Room, Jesus told the disciples, "Stop worrying; stop being afraid." He says the same thing to you today. "You trust God," He told them, "Trust Me as well."
How about it? Fearlessness always relates to the future, and when you get there God will already be there. Make sure you acknowledge that it is He, not yourself, who brought you through the storm. He still says, "Don't be afraid; don't worry. Trust Me."
Resource reading: Psalm 46:1-11
https://www.guidelines.org/devotional/move-ahead-without-fear/
 |
| Stuffed Dear Daniel |
 |
| Stuffed Hello Kitty |
 |
| Stuffed Hello Mimmy |
 |
| Stuffed Kuririn |
 |
| Stuffed Kuromi |
 |
| Stuffed toy Cinnamoroll |
 |
| Stuffed toy Little Twin Stars Kiki |
 |
| Stuffed toy Little Twin Stars Lala |
 |
| Plush My Melody |
 |
| Stuffed Pochakko |
 |
| Plush My Sweet Piano |
Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. John 14:1
Jesus was meeting with the disciples in an upper room, behind doors which hid him from public scrutiny--at least for the moment. His words flowed from His heart. He said--probably quietly and with great confidence--"Stop letting your hearts be troubled!" Verbs in Greek convey a definite kind of action that they do not convey in English, and the one that Jesus used indicated that worry and concern had begun a long while before and was continuing. But He says, "Stop doing it."
The Greek word which is usually translated "to be troubled" means to be disturbed or upset. It can also mean terrified or frightened. Used of water, it meant to stir something up. If you put two ingredients in a glass and shook it vigorously, you would use the same word.
Simply put, the word describes someone who is really bothered and upset by a situation. The disciples who met with Jesus in that upper room had plenty of reason to be disturbed. Earlier in the week Jesus had evoked the anger of the religious community as He went into the temple and dumped over the tables of the money changers. They were angry and now consider Him to be an enemy.
Moments before, Jesus had taken off His outer garments, draped Himself in a towel, and then washed the feet of the disciples. Then, looking into their eyes, He announced that one of them was a traitor who would deny Him. Peter, making sure which side he was on, announced that he would never deny his Lord, yet Jesus said that before the cock would crow, Peter would deny Him three times.
I'm convinced, however, that as Jesus looked at the twelve and said, "Don't worry; don't be afraid," he looked far beyond those who sat around that table. He saw the young couple whose child was born with Downs Syndrome. He saw the husband whose wife of ten years would succumb to cancer, leaving a bewildered, confused husband with two small children. He saw the widow whose husband was buried shortly after he had just reached retirement age, thinking that, at last, they could travel and enjoy life.
What troubles you today? Is it a matter of indifference to God, or does what Jesus said speak to the need of your heart? Can you apply what Jesus said--"Stop worrying; stop being afraid" to your life? Why not?
He then gave them reason for confidence: "You believe in God; believe in me." It was true! They did believe in God. From the days of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob their forebears had believed in God. It's no different today. Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and Christians all believe in God. What politician won't end his speech with a hearty, "God bless our great country!" But, said Jesus, "Believe also in me."
If the record is true, stating explicitly that Jesus lived, died and rose again, He is alive today and can do something about the circumstances which distress you. Far too often we struggle with issues as though there were no God, as though Christ had never stilled the troubled waters and said, "Peace, be still!"
How often we toss and turn at night and struggle with depression by day because those words have not penetrated our hearts. He still stays, "Stop worrying, stop being agitated over the circumstances of your life. Believe in Me!"
The faith factor can make all the difference in your life. Listen, and in the quietness of your prayer closet, you will still hear the echo of Jesus' words, and it will bring peace to your heart.
Resource reading: John 14:1-14.
https://www.guidelines.org/devotional/the-only-thing-that-stops-fear/
By Severino Samonte
Do you know which local government unit (LGU) in the National Capital Region or Metro Manila is grossly under-represented in Congress compared with the other 15 cities and one municipality in the region?
The answer to this question can be gleaned from a review of the special Ordinance appended to the 1987 Constitution for the election of members of the First Congress of the Philippines under the new Charter drafted by the 1986 Constitutional Commission.
Another vital source of information is the population data gathered by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) from the provinces, cities, towns, and barangays nationwide.
The special ordinance of the 33-year-old Charter provided that the four cities and 13 towns of the Metropolitan Manila Area as of 1987 were entitled to 22 congressmen apportioned according to their population at the time.
These LGUs and the respective number of their lawmakers for the purpose of the May 1987 congressional elections were: Manila, six; Quezon City, four; Caloocan City, two; Pasay City, one; Malabon and Navotas, one; Mandaluyong and San Juan, one; Marikina, one; Makati, one; Pasig, one; Paranaque, one; Las Pinas and Muntinlupa, one; Taguig and Pateros, one; and Valenzuela, one.
It is important to note that Metro Manila had only four cities (Manila, Quezon City, Caloocan City and Pasay City) during the promulgation of the new Constitution. The populations of the adjoining towns were still insufficient to deserve a separate congressional district.
That was the reason why Malabon and Navotas had to share the representation of just one lawmaker, along with Mandaluyong and San Juan, Las Pinas and Muntinlupa, and Taguig and Pateros.
Only the then more affluent towns of Makati, Pasig, Marikina, Parañaque and Valenzuela had one congressman each.
The creation of new cities in the region began during the incumbency of President Fidel V. Ramos. During his six-year term from June 30, 1992, to June 30, 1998, at least seven cities were created in the NCR.
These were: Mandaluyong (Feb. 9, 1994); Makati (Jan. 2, 1995); Pasig (Jan. 21, 1995); Muntinlupa (March 1, 1995); Marikina (Dec. 8, 1996); Las Piñas (March 26, 1997); and Parañaque (Feb. 15, 1998).
The proposed cityhood of the former town of Novaliches, now divided between Quezon City and Caloocan City, was also signed by President Ramos as Republic Act No. 8535 on Feb. 23, 1998, but it lost in the plebiscite held in the whole of Quezon City on Oct. 23,1999.
There were no cities created during the six-and-a-half year-term of President Corazon C. Aquino from Feb. 25, 1986 to June 30, 1998.
A close look at the present data on population and congressional representation of the 17 LGUs in the NCR will reveal that only Manila and the 58-year-old Caloocan City have not undergone any change in their representation in Congress.
Caloocan, which became a city in 1962, continues to have only two congressional districts and the same number of congressmen although it now has the third biggest population in the region after Quezon City and Manila.
This shows how the people of Caloocan City, numbering 1,583,978 as of 2015 (PSA data), are grossly under-represented in the House of Representatives at present. Caloocan has a land area of 55.8 square kilometers.
Former Caloocan Rep. Enrico Echiverri, while representing the city's first district in the 16th Congress (2013-2016), filed House Bill No. 5569 entitled "An Act reapportioning the 1st legislative district, thereby creating two additional legislative districts and 12 Sangguniang Panlungsod seats from such reapportionment."
The bill was referred to the House Committee on Local Government, where it remained until the 16th Congress adjourned in 2016.
In the current Congress, Rep. Dale Gonzalo Malapitan, son of incumbent Caloocan Mayor Oscar M. Malapitan, has filed a similar bill (HB 6746) which is now pending at the committee level.
There has also been no increase in the number of lawmakers for Manila but its six congressmen at present are deemed sufficient in terms of the city's population of 1,660,714 and a land area of 38.3 square kilometers.
In Quezon City, the number of its congressmen has been increased from the previous four since 1987 to six with the creation of two new congressional districts in the Novaliches area of Quezon City in 2013 under a law signed by then President Benigno S. Aquino III.
At present, Metro Manila has 43 congressmen distributed as follows (in alphabetical order): Caloocan City (4); Las Pinas City (2); Malabon City (2); Makati City (2); Mandaluyong City (2); Manila (6); Marikina City (2); Muntinlupa City (2); Navotas City (2); Paranaque City (2); Pasay City (2); Pasig City (2); Pateros (2); Quezon City (6); San Juan City (2); San Pedro City (1); Taguig City (2); and Valenzuela City (2).
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9
As a boy growing up in China, William sang about the grace of God, but it was not until the cold reality of solitary confinement in prison sank in that William began to understand what grace really means. William's mother was an American missionary who married a Chinese medical doctor, and they worked together in China, raising their family to know and follow God.
Then came the Cultural Revolution beginning in 1966 that tried to expunge capitalism and tradition from China. Thousands of families were torn apart by Mao Tse-tung's Red Guard, who functioned as hangman, judge and jury all at the same time. The "Revolution" claimed the lives of several million people and inflicted cruel and inhuman treatments on hundreds of million people. William's mother and father were sent to prison, where his father died mysteriously in what prison officials termed a "work related" accident.
William and his sisters were considered guilty by association and sent to prison for the crime of being followers of Jesus Christ who would not renounce their faith in Him. For that, William was confined in total darkness for a period of nine months.
How do people like William cope, you may wonder? Are they just stronger than the rest of us? Or is there some sort of special and support for God's children which gives hope and sustains in their darkest hour? The answer is Yes, there is, and for two thousand years, God's children have called it "the grace of God."
After he was released from prison, William wrote to a friend and said, "What I miss more than all else are the intense, quiet moments with Christ that I have not known since the anguish of the days while I was in solitary confinement!"
There is a facet of God's care and concern that we experience in times of pain and loss which we can never have apart from times of testing. It is the comfort of God's Spirit that lets us sense the warmth of God's care and concern. Jesus said, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted" (Matthew 5:4KJV), and when he said that He was not merely passing out verbal bouquets as meaningless platitudes. He was saying there is help for our hurt, relief for our pain, and hope for our despair. That is a facet of this wonderful thing called the grace of God.
But there is something else which needs to be explained which makes the grace of God even more remarkable. Grace is not something which is given out in response to our moral goodness, as though God instructs an angel to keep track of our good deeds and when we hit a certain level, God rewards us like we've won a prize.
That is the difference between rewards which are due on the basis of merit, and the grace of God which is given to anyone who will seek God with all his heart. Long ago God said, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:13). Still true? Yes. God hasn't changed, and grace is still there--free, undeserved, and completely sufficient.
Have you ever tasted of the grace of God? When trouble knocks at your door, you've got to be willing to trust Him to provide the grace that He freely offers. When you get to the end of yourself, the point of desperation, you're ready to experience this wonderful help called grace.
Sometimes the best thing in our lives happens because God allowed a bad thing which resulted in a very, very good thing as we tasted richly of the grace of God. Then we learn what God told Paul long ago, "My grace is sufficient..." (2 Corinthians 12:9).
Resource reading: Psalm 46:1-11
https://www.guidelines.org/devotional/what-you-need-to-know-about-hardship-and-grace/
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men. Colossians 3:23
"Exciting" says Webster's dictionary, is "to call to activity; to rouse to an emotional response" or "to increase the activity" of something. There are certain words which are made to get down on all fours and walk, or should I say, crawl. They are so overworked by the media that they become trite, superficial, and really without much meaning at all.
Recently I've seen real estate, bathroom fixtures, rock concerts, and--yes, church functions and activities described as exciting. I think what irritated me the most was several churches describing their morning worship hour as exciting. No, it isn't that I think worship should be boring, something to be endured such as a trip to the dentist for a root canal, or a vaccination against a dreaded disease.
I'm wondering, however, if this is really the appropriate word to apply to an encounter with the Almighty. When I was a kid and a Roman candle went astray and caught my dad's storeroom on fire along with starting a medium sized grass fire, that was exciting. When we were awakened at 2:48 AM with an earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale, I suppose you could describe it as a few moments of excitement. When a volcano erupts or the pilot announces that he is flying at an altitude of 3,000 meters because the pressurization of the airplane is malfunctioning, I suppose you could describe those moments as exciting.
But must the worship of the Almighty, who deserves our praise and adoration, be painted in the same terms as the latest, most stimulating ride at an amusement park? Does the pastor or worship leader see himself as an exciter who must constantly invoke enough spiritual adrenaline to produce a level of spiritual high or is he one who simply leads the congregation into the presence of the Almighty?
The fact is that much of life is neither exciting nor very stimulating. There's a lot of humdrum associated with getting the kids off to school, opening your business, going over the monthly reports, and covering your bases. A friend says that in life you are either shoveling the pile, underneath the pile, or on top of the pile, and that's not very often. Life is often a routine, even to the point of boredom, but you don't walk away from your responsibilities when they aren't very exciting.
Have we become so entertainment orientated that if the level of excitement we expect doesn't materialize, we either become disappointed with God or the one who should lead us into His presence in worship?
Yes, I acknowledge that getting people excited about a commodity is good for sales. Enthusiasm is the yeast that raises the dough, but the fact is that the church is not in the business of entertainment nor should it try to compete with what I see on the screen or in the theater.
If the unique purpose of the church is to edify and build up the saints, to proclaim the distinctive message of the King and to lead worshipers into a relationship with the Almighty, perhaps we should forget about evoking excitement and focus on authenticity and genuineness.
A closing thought. Excitement should never be confused with enthusiasm. Excitement is for the moment; enthusiasm can go for the long haul. When you really understand who God is and what He will do for you, there comes an enthusiasm and joy which endures long beyond the moment of excitement. Grant us the reality of genuineness and the assurance that God will receive us and welcome us into His presence. That is the stuff that makes life worth living, even when it is not terribly exciting.
Resource reading: Titus 2:1-15
https://www.guidelines.org/devotional/does-god-need-to-be-exciting/
When energy-trading company Enron declared bankruptcy in 2001, it was the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history. The company’s demise was tinged with scandal, as it was revealed that Enron execs were pocketing millions while knowingly overstating the company’s earnings to shareholders through fraudulent accounting.
Although Enron became the poster child for corporate scandal, it’s far from the only major company to fall from grace. These 25 other corporations were once at the top of their games — worth millions and even billions of dollars — but crashed and burned due to crooked execs, poor management, changing times or a combination of the above. Take a look at how these companies lost it all.
Standard Oil
No list of corporate downfalls is complete without a mention of Standard Oil, which was the most dominant oil company in the world from 1870 to 1911, according to NBC News. Although the Sherman Anti-Trust Act was passed in 1890, it wasn’t until 1911 that the Supreme Court found Standard Oil guilty of violating the Act through its practice of using low prices to eliminate its competitors. As a result of the Supreme Court ruling, Standard Oil was broken up into separate companies that are now known as Chevron, Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips.
Blockbuster
There was a time when Blockbuster was everyone’s go-to place for movie rentals, but Netflix changed all that. Although Blockbuster initially dismissed Netflix’s looming threat, execs at the rental company soon wised up and took steps to compete. Blockbuster discontinued late fees, invested in an online platform and created a Total Access program that let customers rent videos online and return them in stores. The program was successful, but investors didn’t like how expensive it was to operate, and franchisees thought it could threaten their businesses. In 2007, then-CEO John Antioco was fired after a salary dispute. His replacement, Jim Keyes, reversed the company’s online strategy to focus on retail. Three years later, Blockbuster went bankrupt.
Allied Crude Vegetable Oil Refining Corporation
Commodities trader Anthony De Angelis was the mastermind behind what came to be known as the salad oil scandal. In the 1960s, De Angelis’ Allied Crude Vegetable Oil Company took out bank loans secured by his inventory of soybean oil. However, he filled his containers with mostly water and claimed that he had $175 million worth of salad oil that didn’t actually exist. A whistleblower tipped the scheme to American Express, which was one of the company’s biggest loan providers. Shortly after, in 1963, Allied Crude Vegetable Oil Company filed for bankruptcy.
Borders
Borders was the second-largest bookstore chain when it announced that it would be liquidating its assets in 2011. Borders initially thrived thanks to its giant stores that could hold more inventory than smaller bookstores and its superior inventory system, but sales began to decline in the mid-1990s. The company invested big in CDs and DVDs at a time when the music and movie industries were largely going digital. Another mistake was outsourcing its online sales to Amazon and focusing on refurbishing its physical stores. By 2007, Borders was no longer turning a profit, NPR reported. Four years later it filed for bankruptcy.
Texaco
In the 1980s, oil giant Texaco got hit with a giant civil lawsuit by Pennzoil for interfering in the latter company’s imminent acquisition of the Getty Oil Company. The court ruled that Pennzoil was owed punitive damages of $10.5 billion (though Texaco ended up paying only $3 billion). In 1987, Texaco filed for bankruptcy protection. Roughly a year later, the company was acquired by Chevron.
DeLorean Motor Company
Thanks to “Back to the Future,” the DeLorean is forever ingrained in pop culture — but the car manufacturer itself ended quite abruptly. John Z. DeLorean left General Motors in the late ’70s to create a new American sports car, backed by $200 million in investment funds. In 1981, production began on his creation, the gull-wing DMC-12, in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Due to rising costs, DeLorean ended up having to rush the car to market and sold it for more than twice the original asking price. The high price, coupled with bad reviews, led DeLorean Motor to sell only half of what it expected to sell. The company declared bankruptcy in 1982 after its founder got embroiled in personal scandals, including an arrest in a drug-smuggling scheme.
Woolworth
Woolworth was once the biggest retailer in the world, but the combination of poor performance and market dynamics forced it to close its namesake U.S. stores for good in 1997. The company’s department stores had been moving from stand-alone stores to malls, but the setup costs were higher than what the stores were making in returns, according to The Woolworths Museum. Fortunately, the F.W. Woolworth Company spent much of the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s buying out specialty stores, including Foot Locker, so the company continues to live on through its other properties.
TWA
TWA was once one of the world’s most recognized and respected airlines. Its roots trace back to 1930 when Western Air merged with Transcontinental Air Transport to create Transcontinental and Western Air. The airline expanded and modernized under the leadership of aviation pioneer Howard Hughes during the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s, and fared well after U.S. airlines deregulated in 1978. However, deregulation also made TWA a takeover target, and in 1985 it was purchased by corporate raider Carl Icahn. Icahn’s focus was on short-term profit rather than long-term investment in its systems, and TWA ended up going into debt. It filed for bankruptcy in 1992 and again in 1995, and was purchased by American Airlines in 2001, USA Today reported.
Enron
Energy-trading company Enron collapsed after a major accounting fraud scheme was revealed in 2001. In October of that year, the company admitted that it had overstated earnings dating back to 1997. In December, after being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Enron’s bankruptcy filing was the largest in U.S. history at the time, CNN reported. In 2008, a class-action lawsuit filed by shareholders and investors was settled in federal court, and it was ruled that the banks involved in the accounting fraud scheme would have to pay out $7.2 billion.
Tower Records
Before you could access any song with the click of a button, music stores like Tower Records were immensely popular with music lovers. The chain started as an offshoot of a Sacramento, California, drugstore owned by founder Russ Solomon’s father and eventually expanded into an international empire. However, Tower’s rapid expansion was a major contributor to its downfall as it took on $110 million debt to become the dominant chain in the music biz, NPR reported. The debt — combined with Tower’s inability to compete with lower CD prices at big-box stores and the rise of online music sources like Napster and iTunes — led to the company’s eventual demise after more than 40 years in business. Tower Records declared bankruptcy in 2006.
Lincoln Savings & Loan
Charles Keating’s Phoenix-based construction company acquired Lincoln Savings & Loan in 1984 and made billions by selling Lincoln customers $200 million worth of unsecured “junk” bonds. The good times didn’t last long, though. Keating was convicted on federal racketeering charges related to defrauding investors, though those charges were later thrown out, according to NBC News. His company went bankrupt in the process. The demise of Lincoln Savings & Loan was the costliest savings and loan debacle of the 1980s, NBC News reported.
Pictured: Charles Keating during a hearing for Lincoln Savings and Loan
Pan Am
Pan Am was one of the premier names in the airline industry during the 1970s, but things took a turn for the worse over the next two decades. Rising fuel costs, a fleet that was too big for the market and a series of missteps led the airline to begin selling off some of its major assets through the ’80s, including the famous Pan Am building in New York. The airline was still losing money in 1988 when one of its flights was bombed over Lockerbie, Scotland. Pan Am failed to reach potential deals for a buyout by Delta and TWA, and the company shut down for good in 1991.
E.F. Hutton
Investment firm E.F. Hutton was best known for its advertising slogan, “When E.F. Hutton talks, people listen.” The company was well-regarded during the early 1980s but ran into trouble midway through the decade when it pleaded guilty to 2,000 counts of mail and wire fraud. E.F. Hutton admitted to taking part in a check-kiting scheme that involved making bank withdrawals and deposits that gave it illegal access to millions of interest-free dollars. It paid more than $10 million in penalties as a result, Money reported. Following the 1987 stock market crash, the E.F. Hutton brand disappeared amid a series of mergers. Although E.F. Hutton has made numerous attempts at a revival — including a 2018 foray into the world of cryptocurrency — the company has failed to return to its former glory.
Arthur Andersen
Accounting firm Arthur Andersen LLP got caught up in the Enron scandal. In June 2002, the company was convicted of obstruction of justice for shredding and doctoring documents related to Enron audits, ABC News reported. Two months later, after 89 years in business, Arthur Andersen told the SEC it would no longer audit public companies. That same year, 23 former Arthur Andersen partners founded a new tax practice under the name WTAS and changed the name 12 years later to Andersen Tax.
Pictured: Arthur Andersen executives testify on the shredding of Enron documents
Compaq
When Compaq emerged on the personal computer scene in 1982, IBM was already a giant in the field. Despite the odds against it, Compaq quickly rose to become a Fortune 500 company just four years after it was founded thanks to its range of portable PCs, PC Guide reported. Several missteps led to the company’s eventual downfall, including the 1998 acquisition of Digital Equipment Corporation for $9.6 billion — which ended up being a bad match — and a shift in focus from retail to direct marketing. By 1999, Compaq’s sales were declining. Two years later Dell had taken Compaq’s place as the leader in PC systems. In 2002, HP acquired Compaq for $25 billion but continued to manufacture products under the Compaq brand. In 2013, HP officially discontinued the Compaq brand.
Pictured: Eckhard Pfeiffer, chief executive of Compaq Computer Corp., left, shakes hands with Robert Palmer, chairman and CEO of Digital Equipment Corp
WorldCom
At its height, telecommunications company WorldCom handled 50% of all U.S. internet traffic and 50% of all emails worldwide, according to How Stuff Works. But in 1999, the company’s revenue growth slowed and its stock price began to fall. To boost earnings — on paper, anyway — CEO Bernie Ebbers began cooking the books. WorldCom started classifying operating expenses as long-term capital investments and accounted for $500 million in computer expenses with no documentation to back them up. These changes made the company appear more valuable than it was by turning its losses into $1.38 billion in profits. The SEC grew suspicious about the numbers — especially since another telecom giant, AT&T, was losing money — and requested more information from WorldCom. After an internal audit, WorldCom admitted to inflating its profits. Shortly after the audit began in 2002, WorldCom filed for bankruptcy. Ebbers was found guilty of fraud and violating securities laws. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Adelphia Communications
Adelphia Communications was one of America’s largest cable companies before fraudulent behavior pushed it into bankruptcy. The company was founded by John Rigas, who also served as its CEO and chairman. He and his three sons all sat on the company’s board, as did his son-in-law. The family used Adelphia funds to buy back company stock and used it to purchase perks off the books, including vacation homes, corporate jets and several cars, CNET reported. It all went downhill on an earnings call when a Merrill Lynch analyst questioned how the family could afford to buy back over a billion dollars of company stock. CFO Tim Rigas, one of John Rigas’ sons, had no explanation. Two months later, all of the Rigases had resigned and the company went into bankruptcy stemming from an estimated $3.1 billion in debts the family had accrued. John and Tim Rigas were sentenced to 15 and 20 years in prison, respectively. In 2005, Time Warner and Comcast officially purchased all of Adelphia Communications’ assets.
Refco
Commodities trader Refco was valued at $3.5 billion shortly after its IPO in August 2005. Just a couple of months later the company filed for bankruptcy after an internal audit discovered that the CEO, Phillip R. Bennett, owed $430 million in debts that he kept hidden through a series of undisclosed transactions, Forbes reported. Although Bennett paid the money back and stepped down from his position, the damage to Refco’s reputation had already been done and it collapsed after the bankruptcy filing.
Bayou Hedge Fund Group
Samuel Israel started the Bayou Hedge Fund Group in 1995 and a year later the company had already raised $300 million. What investors didn’t know was that it was basically a Ponzi scheme. The company suffered heavy losses from the time of its founding through 2002 — roughly $55 million, according to The New York Times — but it used a fake accounting firm to audit its financials so that Bayou could hide the losses from investors.
Then, in 2004, Israel drained Bayou’s accounts of $161 million over the course of six days and wired the money to different banks in an attempt to hide the stolen funds from authorities. An SEC suit filed in 2005 alleged that over the course of the fund’s existence, Israel and his CFO had misappropriated millions of dollars for their personal use, CNN reported. Israel pleaded guilty to fraud in 2005 and Bayou filed for bankruptcy the following year.
Bear Stearns
Investment bank Bear Stearns was one of the first casualties of the 2008 financial crisis. It had survived the Great Depression and the economic downturn that occurred following the September 11 attacks, but the bank took a knockout punch when its clients and trading partners started fleeing because Bear Stearns had made huge bets on toxic mortgage loans. In March 2008, after operating for 85 years as an independent company, it agreed to a government-backed fire sale and was acquired by JPMorgan Chase to avoid bankruptcy, CNN reported.
Lehman Brothers
As with Bear Stearns, the subprime mortgage crisis led to the demise of fellow investment bank Lehman Brothers. At the time of its collapse, it was the nation’s fourth-largest investment bank, with around 25,000 employees across the globe, according to the History Channel. By 2007, Lehman Brothers had $111 billion in real estate-related assets and securities, so when the real estate market took a tumble, Lehman reported its first losses since 1994. In September 2008, Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy with $639 billion in total assets and $613 billion in debts, making it the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history.
Washington Mutual
Toxic mortgage debt also led to the 2008 collapse of Washington Mutual. WaMu was shut down by the U.S. government, making it the largest American banking failure in history, Reuters reported. At the time it was closed by the federal Office of Thrift and Supervision, Washington Mutual had $307 billion in assets and $188 billion in deposits. Its assets were sold to JPMorgan Chase for $1.9 billion.
Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities
The name Bernie Madoff has become synonymous with “Ponzi scheme” ever since the financier was found guilty of defrauding investors of billions of dollars. Madoff founded his namesake investment firm in 1960. In December 2008, he reportedly told one of his employees that he had been operating a Ponzi scheme that lost about $50 billion. Madoff was arrested for securities fraud the next day.
Madoff’s “business” was bound to fail at some point. The way his Ponzi scheme worked is that he would use funds from new investors to pay off promised returns to older investors. But when clients requested $7 billion in returns, Madoff only had about $200 million to $300 million in the fund, Business Insider reported. Madoff was ultimately charged with 11 counts of fraud, money laundering, perjury and theft and sentenced to 150 years in prison.
Hummer
Inspired by the Humvee military vehicle, Hummers had a cult following of off-road vehicle lovers before GM shut the brand down in 2010. The gas-guzzling vehicles were always shunned by environmentalists, but even fans of the car stopped buying them when gas prices rose above $4 a gallon in 2008. Sales of the Hummer dropped from 27,000 vehicles in 2008 to just 9,000 in 2009, CBS News reported. GM discontinued the brand after a deal to sell it to a Chinese company fell through.
Kodak
Iconic camera and film company Kodak, founded in 1888, earned a reputation over the next century as an innovator and even pioneered the development of digital photography in the mid-1970s. Although Kodak’s downfall is largely blamed on its failure to pursue digital sales on a mass scale, that isn’t really the whole story, according to Inc. Kodak did invest in a line of EasyShare digital cameras as well as digital photo printing. However, it was a little late to the game, and the company still relied too heavily on developing film, a service that became mostly obsolete. Kodak declared bankruptcy in 2011 but continues to operate.
Multiply
Multiply added to the lineup of social media sites back in 2003 where users shared media content through their personal profiles. It started out as a social networking site but switched to e-commerce in August 2012 when Multiply gained millions of unique visitors. But when Multiply didn’t make enough profit on the following year, the site had to close down its operations on May 31, 2013 and soon closed as a company on April 1, 2015.
At that time, the website's social networking portion had a network of 18 million users. Liquidity problems, however, affected earnings. Sales declined from its peak of P20 billion in 2013 to just about P5 billion in 2017.
“We regret to announce that Multiply will be closing on May 6, 2013, and ceasing all business operations by May 31, 2013,” it announced last April 26, 2013 on its website.
After May 6, the rest of the month will be used to ensure that all accounts are settled and merchants get full payment for their transactions, it said.
Multiply said the month-long grace period will provide its users enough time to find and migrate to alternative e-commerce platforms, settle all payments on items bought and delivered, and minimize disruption to businesses of its users.
“Multiply will ensure that you receive all funds you earned on the platform no later than May 31, 2013. We will close the actual marketplace sooner, on May 6, 2013, to ensure that all orders have sufficient time to complete and be delivered to your customers before the end of the month,” it said.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/enron-24-other-most-epic-184839865.html
Multiply gives you an easy way to share all kinds of digital media, including photos, blogs, videos, music and more, all in one convenient place: your own personal web site. With Multiply, you can share and discuss your stuff with everyone in your “social network,” and also be alerted whenever they have something new.
Your personal web site on Multiply – http://YOURNAME.multiply.com – is the one place where you can share many different types of content. No longer do you, or your friends and family, need to learn how to use separate sites (and keep track of separate IDs, passwords, and links).
