Friday, March 5, 2021
The God Of Glory
None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 1 Corinthians 2:8
Over 500 times the Bible refers to the glory of God. God is called the “Father of glory” (Ephesians 1:17). Twice Jesus is called the “Lord of glory”. And the Holy Spirit is called the “Spirit of glory.” Coming to understand who God is and how He has shown us something of Himself is akin to watching a small child unwrap a Christmas or birthday gift as his eyes are filled with wonder and excitement. I will long remember watching a grandson rip open the box containing the drum set that he had so wanted.
Understanding who God is and what He has done for us as His children means deepening our knowledge and understanding of what He has done and His care for us.
God’s glory is something like a multi-faceted diamond that is held under a bright light against a piece of black velvet that reflects the light many different ways, depending on how it is held and rotated.
Obviously God’s handiwork reflects the glory of Him who created our beautiful world. David cried out, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” When the Apollo 8 astronauts orbited the moon on Christmas Eve, they took turns reading from the Genesis account of creation. John Glenn, who made two trips into space, said, “To look out at this kind of creation and not believe in God is to me impossible.”
We live on a beautiful planet. Whether you love the beach, delicate flowers, the vastness of an Alpine landscape, or the foliage of a rain forest, our world is beautiful and reflects the glory of its creator.
And what of Him who is called the Lord of glory? At His birth, angels proclaimed the glory of God as they hovered over shepherd’s fields in Bethlehem. At the age of 30 He came to the Jordan to be baptized, and there God spoke audibly, saying, “This is my beloved son.” Then He took Peter, James, and John into a mountain and there His face was transfigured and shone with the glory of the Father.
And how is the third person of the Trinity, one we call The Holy Spirit, also imbued with glory? Simply because He is God—very God of the very God.
So how does what I’ve shared in the past three minutes relate to the world in which we live?
God has given us a foretaste of what heaven is about, and touched our lives with His presence. Thus it can only follow that our lives should reflect His glory as well. Long ago the psalmist said that we are to “declare His glory,” which means the message our lives should bring to the world is that this marvelous God has touched our lives with His presence, making a difference, healing broken hearts, forgiving our sins that separate us from Him; and in response He wants recognition and thanks!
When movie star and entertainer Kathy Griffin accepted an Emmy award, she held up her award and proclaimed, “This award is my god now!” No, she’s not the first to insult God’s Son not will she be the last. Raised as a Catholic, Griffin has come a long ways from her moorings.
Paul told us that our accomplishments should bring glory to the Father who has given us the strength, health, and ability to get to the top. He wrote, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God”. What God has done for us is all part of what the Bible calls grace, something we neither deserve nor can demand.
I, for one, would rather opt for the great God who created our world, sent His Son to show us the way back home to heaven, and sent His Spirit to indwell our lives, than to claim a statue for my god. How about you?
Resource reading: 2 Corinthians 3
TV5 to simulcast ABS-CBN’s Primetime Bida starting March 8
Starting Monday, March 8, ABS-CBN primetime offerings led by the long-running “FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano” will be simulcast on TV5, through an expanded partnership between the networks and Cignal.
The Coco Martin-starrer, which will not end in April 2021, contrary to a media report, will air on TV5 at its usual 8 p.m. time slot, to be followed by “Ang Sa Iyo Ay Akin,” “Walang Hanggang Paalam,” and “Pinoy Big Brother: Connect.”
The simulcast will allow “Ang Sa Iyo Ay Akin” to reach a nationwide audience on free TV as it airs its last two weeks. Similarly, “PBB: Connect” will be seen by more Filipinos as it counts down to its March 14 finale.
“We welcome the inclusion of ABS-CBN entertainment shows in our roster of programs. We believe that this content deal will benefit Filipino viewers across the country because of TV5's extensive coverage," said Robert P. Galang, Cignal and TV5 president and CEO.
Prior to the primetime programming of ABS-CBN Entertainment, which is popularly branded as “Primetime Bida,” the network’s long-running concert variety program “ASAP Natin ‘To” as well as the afternoon film anthology “FPJ: Da King” have been airing Sundays on TV5 since January 24, through the same partnership.
TV5 chairman Manny V. Pangilinan earlier confirmed ongoing talks with ABS-CBN to air more shows on the Kapatid network.
He also said that ABS-CBN shows now being aired on TV5 have helped TV5 in terms of ratings.
"The content of ABS-CBN that's so far been shown in TV5 has helped a bit and talking to them about further showing of their content on TV5," Pangilinan said on Thursday.
“Primetime Bida” had been the No. 1 programming block on national television, through ABS-CBN’s Channel 2, until May 5, 2020, when a congressional panel voted to reject the network’s bid for a fresh broadcast franchise.
The country would keep GMA as the sole TV network.
Despite the crisis, ABS-CBN found new venues to continue its service to Filipinos through its widescale digital migration, bringing its rich content library to free live streaming via Kapamilya Online Live, and to on-demand streaming via iWantTFC.
“Primetime Bida” has been available to watch on those digital platforms, in addition to cable via Kapamilya Channel; and free and digital TV in Metro Manila and nearby provinces through A2Z Channel 11, through ABS-CBN’s blocktime partnership with Zoe Broadcasting Network.
PSA eyes 70 million national ID registrants by end 2021
The Philippine Statistics Authority is aiming to register 70 million Filipinos for the national ID system by the end of 2021, an official said Friday.
"Our registration is ongoing in all provinces in the country," Philippine Statistics Authority Assistant Secretary Rosalinda Bautista told TeleRadyo in Filipino.
The first step of the registration process for the Philippine Identification System started in October 2020 in 32 select provinces, which were considered as low-risk areas for COVID-19 transmission.
In a press release, the PSA said some 20 million registrants have completed step 1 of the registration, which involves the collection of demographic data such as name, permanent address, date and place of birth, and blood type.
This involved the house-to-house collection of demographic information of low-income households, added Bautista, also the deputy national statistician of the PhilSys Registry Office. Low-income families were prioritized to allow faster distribution of future government subsidies.
Operations for the second step of the registration process continue to roll out on a gradual basis in the 32 provinces, she added.
Step 2 involves the validation of supporting documents and capture of biometric information, such as fingerprints, iris scans, and front-facing photographs at registration centers as per the registrants’ appointments.
As of Feb. 27, more than 162,000 registrants have completed the process.
The third and final step is the issuance of the PhilSys Number and the physical ID. The PSN is a randomly generated number and will serve as a permanent identification number for every registrant.
"It can't be changed and be given to anybody, even after death," Bautista said.
On Thursday, President Rodrigo Duterte received his national ID card, years after he signed into law the PhilSys Act that mandates the government to create a single official identification card for all citizens and foreign residents.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/05/21/psa-eyes-70-million-national-id-registrants-by-end-2021
Metro Channel schedule (March 5, 2021)
6 am - Good Morning Hong Kong
8:55 am - CGTN - NPC Opening: Premier's Government Report
11 am - Eternal Love
11:30 am - TV Easy and News Headlines
11:35 am - Inside the Stock Exchange
11:45 am - My Life As Loan Shark
12:40 pm - TV Easy
12:45 pm - Inside the Stock Exchange
12:55 pm - Protect Yourself And Others Get Vaccinated
1 pm - Saksi
1:20 pm - Big City Shop
2:10 pm - All Things Girl
2:35 pm - TV Easy
2:40 pm - Inside the Stock Exchange and SHHK Connect
2:45 pm - Finding Her Voice
3:45 pm - PinCode
4 pm - PinCode and Inside the Stock Exchange
4:15 pm - Shinkansen Henkei Robo Shinkalion
4:50 pm - Kids, Think Big
5:20 pm - Yowamushi Pedal
5:50 pm - Financial News
6 pm - News
6:05 pm - Viewing Guide
6:10 pm - Top Facility
6:25 pm - News Files
6:30 pm - TV Patrol
7:20 pm - Global View
7:25 pm - Weather Report and Protect Yourself And Others Get Vaccinated
7:30 pm - Scoop
8 pm - Innovation Nation
8:25 pm - 101 Easy Japanese
8:30 pm - News
8:35 pm - Viewing Guide
8:40 pm - Britain's Got Talent
9:20 pm - Shaun the Sheep
9:30 pm - Zhifujing
10 pm - Finance at 10
10:55 pm - Global Stock Indexes
11 pm - The World Tonight
11:30 pm - Studio 930:Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Out of the Shadows
1:22 am - Financial Bulletin
1:25 am - NEWS ROUNDUP (PEARL)
1:40 am - Earth Live and Today In History
1:45 am - Entertainment Tonight
2:15 am - Why Women Kill
3 am - CHINA 24
3:45 am - Music Power
4:30 am - My Life As Loan Shark
5:25 am - Academia Without Borders
Comelec assures pre-poll info drive for Palawan plebiscite
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Thursday said it would tap local radio stations for the last leg of its information campaign on the Palawan plebiscite to address the alleged lack of awareness of voters on the said issue.
The poll body, however, said it may be unable to arrange a debate between the supporters and those opposing the proposed division of Palawan into three separate provinces as requested by election watchdog, Legal Network for Truthful Elections (LENTE) due to pandemic curbs.
Currently, Comelec Spokesman James Jimenez said their info drive in Palawan remains “hyperlocal” since it is still being conducted through pulong-pulongan, or townhall meetings.
“But once we start airing our campaign, we will be hitting radio stations in Palawan throughout the week before the plebiscite. So look out for that,” Jimenez said in an online news briefing.
Comelec made the assurance after LENTE expressed concern over reports of limited knowledge of some voters in Palawan regarding the issues about the plebiscite.
Both pros and cons of the division of Palawan will be presented in their radio-based info drive, according to Jimenez.
However, he noted, they could not conduct the requested debate by LENTE due to quarantine restrictions.
The information campaign of Comelec for the Palawan plebiscite is set to end on March 11, 2021.
The plebiscite to be held on March 13, 2021 aims to determine if Republic Act 11259 or the Act Dividing the Province of Palawan into three provinces will be ratified or not.
Over 490,000 people from Palawan, except those from Puerto Princesa City, are expected to participate in the plebiscite.
https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/03/05/comelec-assures-pre-poll-info-drive-for-palawan-plebiscite/
Thursday, March 4, 2021
Why You Should Live One Day at a Time
Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” James 4:13,15
Have you ever stopped to think that today is the smallest division of God-given time? Seconds, minutes, hours are artificial, man-made time divisions, but the period of time from dawn to dusk is the shortest division of time on God’s clock. Time is a strange thing in itself. It is something like fence posts or telephone poles you pass as you drive down the highway, but like a fence it encloses our lives, and between the two poles of life and death we are very much prisoners of time.
The perplexing part of it is that we all know when time began–at least for us individually, since time is reckoned from the date of your birth. But we are never quite sure when God will press the stop-watch, and time will have become history–at least, for us.
Have you ever thought much about the way that time governs your life? Possibly as no other generation, we are slaves to the clock. We are bound to schedules and deadlines, and we think that the world will stop unless we make those deadlines. Sometimes it is good for us to realize that when our schedules go awry, life will go on.
That painful realization first was driven home in my life, the day following a speaking engagement in Cardiff, Wales. My wife and I took the overnight train to London where we were to meet a tour group which was about to depart for the continent. When we arrived at the station in London, we thought there was plenty of time to transfer from one station to another. Being young and not having much money, we decided to take the underground. We bought our tickets and boarded. But a few minutes into the journey, the underground train coasted to a stop, and we were 100 meters or so underground.
How were we to know that the engineers were to go on strike–and we had to be caught in the middle of it? We sat there, and stewed and fumed. If we didn’t get there, we would miss the train and miss the tour which had been paid for. The longer we sat there, the higher was my stress level. I think I learned a lesson that day–a painful one. What we believe is so important at the time, really is not as important as we think. Life goes on when your plans go awry.
There is a reason why you must learn to live one day at a time. God has promised guidance and direction for just today. Time and time again, the Bible emphasizes the importance of today. God promised, “As your days, so shall your strength be” (Deuteronomy 33:25,NKJV).
When Christ taught His disciples to pray, He said, “After this manner, therefore, pray ye, ‘Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread!” There you have it again. Give us this day–not tomorrow–not next year–but meet our needs today.
You may be frustrated because your schedule and your goals haven’t worked out the way you planned. There’s good news! God promises help for just today. He said, “The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knows them that trust in Him” (Nahum 1:7). Living in the present does not mean a total disregard of the past nor a nonchalant attitude toward the future. It means that you find God’s grace to cope with the flight that is cancelled, the stock that collapses, the loan that doesn’t get paid, and the hopes for tomorrow that don’t materialize. Yes, God help us to find His strength for today.
Resource reading: James 4:13-17.
https://www.guidelines.org/devotional/why-you-should-live-one-day-at-a-time/
Comelec to utilize radio for Palawan plebiscite campaign
By Ferdinand Patinio
The opposing camps in the forthcoming Palawan plebiscite will be given a chance to present their sides to the voters through radio airtime, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said on Thursday.
Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said holding of broadcast campaigns would be better as they cannot hold debates due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
“The Comelec will be conducting an air campaign starting next week, where we give the platform for pro and anti referendum. There will likely no debate as we are accustomed to thinking of such things. We have to be very careful because of the pandemic but we will be making sure that the opposing sides are given an opportunity to reach the public via radio,” he said during a virtual press conference.
He added that radio is the best medium for the plebiscite campaign in the province as it is experiencing problems with internet connectivity.
"We will make sure that during our air campaign we will have pro and anti together with our information delivery,” he added.
He said once they started the campaign via radio, they will be visiting every radio station in the province to be able to reach out to the people and for them to know about the March 13 plebiscite.
“Once we start the air campaign, we will use the radio. Comelec will be hitting every radio station in Palawan through the week before the plebiscite. Look out for that,” Jimenez added.
The campaign period for the plebiscite has started last February 11 and will run until March 11.
On plebiscite day, voters will be choosing to divide the province into three areas namely: Palawan Oriental, Palawan del Norte, and Palawan del Sur.
LOOK: Duterte gets his national ID
President Rodrigo Duterte has received his national ID card, photos from Malacañang showed on Thursday, even as some officials face a graft complaint for the project.
In photos shared to reporters, Duterte can be seen getting his ID from National Economic and Development Authority Acting Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua.
Authorities hope the Philippine Identification System ID would boost public service delivery, reduce corruption, and curtail bureaucratic red tape.
Duterte in 2018 signed into law the PhilSys Act that mandated the government to create a single official identification card for all citizens and foreign residents that would serve as a de facto national identification number.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) is mandated to lead the ID system, with support from a policy board chaired by the National Economic and Development Authority and composed of various government agencies.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno and other officials are accused of graft and violating the Government Procurement Act for allegedly awarding the P1.75-billion supply contract for the nationals ID without public bidding.
"Naninindigan po tayo sa integridad ni Governor Diokno," Duterte's spokesman Harry Roque said in January.
"At alam naman natin na karapatan ng kahit sinong magsampa ng kaso. Pero kampante po kami at nagtitiwala na magbibigay-linaw po si Governor Diokno sa issue na ito," he told reporters in an online briefing.
(We stand by the integrity of Governor Diokno. And we know that anyone has a right to file a complaint. But we are confident and trust that Governor Diokno will clarify this issue.)
Duterte and his Cabinet in December approved a "3.52-billion additional budget for 2021 to register 20 million more individuals (on top of the 50 million target) to the Philippine Identification System," said Roque.
PSA had said it aims to initially register 5 million heads of low-income households from the list of the Department of Social Welfare and Development. This year, PSA will register 45 million people, and another 42 million by 2022.
Registration steps include going to registration centers and submitting biometric details.
The PSA aims to register majority of Filipinos by the end of Duterte's term. The IDs to be issued are free of charge.
Signed into law in August 2018, the National ID system will provide a valid proof of identity for all Filipinos and residents, making access to services simpler and faster.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/04/21/philippines-national-id-system-rodrigo-duterte-gets-his-card
Amihan continues to bring rains across Luzon
The northeast monsoon (amihan) affecting Luzon will continue to bring rains across the island, the weather bureau said Thursday.
In its 24-hour forecast, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said Cagayan Valley and Cordillera Administrative Region, and the provinces of Aurora and Quezon will have light rains.
PAGASA said the Bicol Region may also experience light to moderate, with at times heavy rains. Flash floods or landslides are possible.
Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon will experience isolated light rains.
The rest of the country will have isolated rain showers caused by localized thunderstorms.
Meanwhile, moderate to strong winds and moderate to rough seas will prevail over Luzon.
Elsewhere, winds will be light to moderate with slight to moderate seas, PAGASA said.
Wednesday, March 3, 2021
What’s Your Goal In Life?
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33
What’s your goal in life? And if you get there, will you really be satisfied? Tough questions, right? But isn’t that what fulfillment in life is all about?
“Success Doesn’t Suck,” was the title of the Rolling Stone Magazine article featuring Kurt Cobain in January of 1994. The American musician, artist and songwriter changed pop music, fashion and art through his band, Nirvana, and his connection with his listeners. He had gone from a quiet, unhappy boy after his parents’ divorce, to massive success and means by the age of 26, when the Rolling Stone writer subtitled his article:”Our man in Nirvana rages on (and on) about stardom, fatherhood, his feud with Pearl Jam, the death of grunge and why he’s never been happier in his life.” Yet three months later, his heroin kit lying beside him on the floor of his home, Cobain had taken his own life with a revolver, leaving behind a one-year old daughter.
If having plenty of money is your goal in life, consider George Vanderbilt III, a millionaire sportsman, philanthropist and playboy. Money, sex, and fame were all his, yet he ended his life leaping from the tenth floor of a hotel. What many seek in life, he had, yet with it all, happiness eluded him.
If accomplishment in life is your goal, then consider the life of Ernest Hemingway, one of the heroes of my youth. When I was in college I thought, “If I could ever write like Hemingway, wow, I’d have it made.” Hemingway won the Nobel Prize for literature. He was famous for his pungent character descriptions in works like A Farewell to Arms, The Old Man and The Sea, and For Whom the Bells Toll. Still in my possession is a yellowed newspaper, the front page of the L.A. Times dated July 3, 1961. The headlines read: “GUNSHOT BLAST KILLS HEMINGWAY.” The story reads: “Ernest Hemingway, Nobel Prize-winning novelist who wrote of violence and death, shot himself fatally in the head Sunday with a 12-gauge shotgun at his home near here.” Obviously, a person can be tremendously talented and yet unfulfilled and miserable.
If fame or beauty is your goal in life, consider Marilyn Monroe. On August 5, 1962 newspapers told how this gifted and beautiful woman overdosed on Nebutol–a drug which stopped her heart. Her psychiatrist finally smashed down the door to find her lifeless body. My hometown newspaper editorialized, “Marilyn Monroe died Sunday proving that even $10,000 a week won’t buy peace of mind.”
I’ve just mentioned some of the most commonly sought goals of people: money, achievement, and fame. There has to be more, something which brings a quality to life beyond these. Long ago, Augustine wrote that there is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every person which can be met only through an encounter with the divine.
Friend, what’s your goal in life? If you reach it, without God, there will always be an emptiness which will never completely satisfy. Fame, wealth, and accomplishment are often like a mirage on the desert, and when people finally arrive, they are disappointed only to find that happiness has eluded them.
There is a place in the human heart which only God can fill, and nothing short of a relationship with him will satisfy. Want to know more about it? Pick up a Bible and read John 3 from your New Testament. There you will discover a man who had an encounter with God which changed his life. A relationship with God is all that will ever give lasting meaning. It’s the only real answer to the loneliness of your heart.
Resource reading: John 3
https://www.guidelines.org/devotional/whats-your-goal-in-life/
Lorenzana tells retired soldiers, cops not to rush gov't in release of pension amid pandemic
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Wednesday appealed to retired military and police personnel not to rush the government in the release of their pensions as the country continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic.
A P172.9-billion fund was originally allotted for the Pension and Gratuity Fund (PGF) for retired uniformed personnel under the 2021 General Appropriations Act, but the budget was slashed by P20 billion to boost the country's fund for COVID-19 vaccines, Lorenzana told reporters in a chance interview at the House of Representatives.
"The government is not backing away from its obligation at tulong lang natin sa gobyerno na huwag muna natin silang pilitin na hindi kaya," Lorenzana said.
(The government is not backing away from its obligation and we should just help our government by not forcing them to release it at a time they could not.)
"Kung pwede lang po sana ay maghintay lang tayo ng konting panahon dahil ‘yung pera, kinain ng COVID at marami tayong pagkakagastusan dito. Bibili pa tayo ng vaccines, so baka hindi kayanin," he said.
(I hope we can wait for a while because the fund was used for COVID and other related expenses. We still have to buy vaccines so we might not be able to release it immediately.)
"There’s no harm done" with the delayed release of the 2018 pension differentials to retired military and police personnel, the defense chief said.
"Dinoble naman ang pension ninyo since 2018... So palagay ko, hindi kayo mahihirapan," he said.
(Your pension was doubled since 2018... So I think you will not suffer much.)
"Kung hindi niyo makuha 'yung arrears niyo na 4 months ay maghihirap kayo? Hindi naman siguro, kasi hindi naman tumigil ang pension niyo, hindi naman nababawasan," he said.
(Will you fall into poverty if you can't claim your arrears for 4 months? I don't think so because your pension was neither cancelled nor reduced.)
Sen. Panfilo Lacson, former chief of the Philippine National Police, said the fund for their retirement benefits have always been enough in the past 8 years.
"Sapat at kadalasan ay sobra pa ang pondo para sa mga benepisyo ng ating mga retiradong pulis, sundalo at other uniformed services," Lacson said in a statement.
(Most of the time, the fund for the benefits of our retired policemen, soliders and other uniformed services are enough, if not more than sufficient.)
Between 2014 and 2019, the unspent sum from the uniformed personnel's pension and gratuity fund totaled P110.24 billion, according to data from the senator's office.
The national government has yet to disburse the P116.19 billion and P152.89 billion allocations for 2020 and 2021, respectively, data showed.
Lacson called on retired uniformed personnel to get in touch with his office if they failed to receive their pension benefits.