He said, “Are we being drowned that we all have to be saved?! Why do we need a Savior?”

Here’s an image why:

That guy in the image above badly needed a repair! You might not even have the faintest idea of how I’d terribly lived my life way before I personally encountered God. Well, the image above basically tells you how I’d lived for myself and surrendered myself to earthly things like alcohol. I was a slave to it. You might not have discerned my troubled life at first but I’m telling you now that my heavenly/Derek Ramsey looks could effectively deceive you and I can be the most unforgettable person you’ve ever met whom you might love to say these words in my heavenly face, “You are actually the LEAST person I’d expected who would do such a shameful thing.” I admit, I messed up my life in ways you can hardly imagine. I even brought some people with me to that wonderful or pleasurable mess I created or more appropriately to a trap which Satan actually designed for you and me. The enemy has been a great entertainer, even greater than Michael Jackson! And that taxi driver even had the moral fiber to implicitly say that we DON’T need a Savior. I’m telling you, taxi driver, that I wasn’t blessed in almost every aspect while submitting myself wholeheartedly almost on a daily basis to the temporary and intoxicating bliss which an alcohol provides. Instead, my life was ruined. My work, in particular, was ruined. In fact, I personally encountered God when I was still lightly suspended from work due to habitual tardiness. Before my encounter with Him, I was full of angst and there was even a slight bitterness in my heart particularly towards those people who hurt me. But since that spiritual revival, I’ve come to know the value of forgiveness, eventually surrendered my heavy baggage to Him, and finally come to know my personal Savior. I began to realize in those special moments of growing with the knowledge of Him that no matter how I messed my precious life up, I could still be forgiven, saved, and loved by our Sovereign God. Even the sinful singer, R. Kelly, put it melodically this way in his popular song, I Believe I Can Fly: “And now I know the meaning of true love. I’m leaning on the Everlasting Arms.” I needed to be saved during those times when I could hardly find the meaning of life. Jesus found it for me and He’s my sole comforter now.

DOPE!! Extreme unbelievers might exclaim that.

Atheists claim that religion is the opium for the masses/people. Opium, as we know it, is a drug. Karl Marx whom I used to adore plainly because of his economic philosophy used that phrase. Marx’s contention is that religion, like opium, only provides people artificial or illusory happiness. This is a fairly common argument used by those people who are extremely against any religion which, according to them, is simply an illusory/unreal happiness or a comforting teddy bear in which people must free themselves from in order to build a better or even perfect society. Although there are many religions in this world and to some extent, religion has clearly divided us all, religion (no matter what it is) has basically been our natural response to the truth that an invincible God exists and the heightened awareness that we need to be saved in stark contrast, once again, to the taxi driver’s view. We are in need of repair, very badly…

We indeed need to be saved. If we DON’T, how would one explain this particular event in human history: Just days before the “Southern Decadence,” an annual homosexual celebration in New Orleans wherein drunk homosexuals perform sexual act in public that attracts thousands of people, hurricane Katrina destroyed the city leaving many people utterly hopeless!? Pure coincidence? I believe NOT (Nahum 1:3). This is an annual celebration of SIN which they were so proud to proclaim! Unbelievable! We need to be saved, if we only allow Jesus to enter our hearts and minds. Again, Jesus is our sole comforter.

I already shared quite lengthily in my previous entry on how to get to heaven. It was quite clear in that post that we have already been SAVED from eternal damnation or simply hell for God loves us so much that He gave us His Son, Jesus, who already claimed victory over sin and death. Salvation, simply put, is freely available for all of us through genuine faith in Christ Jesus.

Sadly, religion has been divisive. History has countless accounts on how lives were put to an abrupt end because of religion. Just recently, a 32-year-old Norweigan Anders Behring Breivik killed at least 92 people in his country, Norway, and professed afterwards that his act was atrocious yet necessary. He’s an extremely radical Christian who wants a crusade against the spread of Islam. A true Christian does not kill people! This Norweigan guy is simply a madman who loves a shooting spree. It’s really saddening and puzzling to witness the division which world religions have created. Overall, major religions disagree on the part of salvation. Islam has its Five Pillars. This is collectively some sort of an instruction manual or a step-by-step guide in order to attain salvation. Even those who believe in Jesus being truly God have come into a great disagreement both in doctrine and structure throughout history since the Protestant Reformation. I shared the gospel to my friends and a couple of them asked me the difference between a Catholic and a Christian. Honestly speaking, I’m beginning to grow tired of this question haha. Certainly, there are glaring differences especially on the critical part of attaining salvation between a Catholic and a Christian. But can’t we find a common ground just for the meantime? What if we dismiss the whole idea of religion that separates us and replace it altogether with the word “relationship?” In this way, I believe we can be united. But still, we must be cautious of false religions which could only provide us false security (1 John 4:1). Jesus is truly God incarnate and not just a prophet nor an enlightened person.

Simply put, we can grow with the knowledge of God by actually studying and meditating on His words. The bible is God’s love letter to us. This love letter is so difficult to read. It’s so cryptic YET we must be thankful because although God is infinitely indescribable, He still wants us to understand His ways and know Him. Again, according to God’s love letter, we’ve been saved already. Our sins were already paid IN FULL by Jesus when He was crucified on the cross. If we sincerely want a genuine relationship with Him that would last eternally, we must be willing to live our lives according to His will and free ourselves from the bondage of sin that has overwhelmed mankind from the very beginning. I believe that both Catholics and Born Again Christians agree on our need to be saved through a radical reorientation of our lives with Christ Jesus at the center. If the previous statement has bled your nose, it is simply a change or conversion of heart. I personally encountered Jesus with a great aid from an evangelical or a pastor. It was His plan (John 1:48). Yet in Pope Benedict XVI’s new encyclical letter, Spe Salvi, I’ve just encountered Him as well:

Life in its true sense is not something we have exclusively in or from ourselves, it is a relationship. And life in its totality is a relationship with him who is the source of life. If we are in relation with him who does not die, who is life itself and love itself, then we are in life. Then we live… Our relationship with God is established through communion with Jesus — we cannot achieve it alone or from our own resources alone.

It’s not about your religion as long as you have faith in Christ Jesus. It’s not about you being a devout Catholic or a holy Evangelical, brother. It’s about your relationship with Him that will mature in time, save you and give you the true meaning of life. And finally, your faith or relationship with Him must altogether be genuine (James 2:14-26).

Right after reaching our outing venue which was at the Little Bridge Resort in Taal, we played a couple of games on the beach.  I can’t really describe how fun the games really were especially the first game wherein we have to cross ourselves to the other side of the beach just using two folders.  The rule in that particular game was pretty straightforward: Don’t step on the sand.  With just a single rule, strategies came into play and our team won that game.  After the games, I went straight to our room and took a bath.  I felt so clammy.  A hot chocolate spilled over my pants and the lower part of my shirt while we were heading to PEC3.  The resort was so spacious that you could barely notice that we were actually more than 80 who joined the outing.  After taking a bath, I went out for lunch and then took a catnap in our air-conditioned room.  That quick siesta energized me for my favorite activity (for any outing) and that is drinking session haha.  I was gladly invited.  One of the POS guys actually opened a beer for me.  I sat down with a beer on hand and enjoyed little talks with the guys.  I was definitely a newbie in THEIR drinking session as I come from the Finance Department where girls have been abundant and they come mostly from Operations.  But it really doesn’t matter for a guy who has a high tolerance level to alcohol, does it haha?  I really have no idea of the exact number of beers I consumed but I think it went double digit in the whole duration of the outing.  But I didn’t get drunk.  I was sober most of the time as I was still very much aware of what I was doing.  I didn’t send ridiculous text messages to anyone on my phonebook nor did I dance like a macho dancer on the bar table haha.  So I was very much sober.  I was, most of the time, hanging out with the guys, drinking booze with them, and playing basketball with them.  It was quite funny that we could still play basketball while there was already an alcohol in our system haha.  But still I made 4 points, a follow-up and a lay-up respectively.  I wasn’t actually rusty at basketball even if I was a little intoxicated haha.  That was a good discovery.

I was frequently absent in most photos of the Finance people.  They were actually dismayed by my lack of appearance as I was hanging out with different people haha.  But I think there’s nothing wrong about stepping out of my shell while they were just staying inside their comfort zone.  But of course, I made a conscious effort to finally be with the Finance team in the swimming pool.  You still have to love your own haha.  I enjoyed swimming with them but technically speaking, I really don’t know how to swim haha.  I was actually a laughing stock during swimming lessons in my 4th year high school.  My Finance pal taught me how and I was a fast learner.  I just have to employ effective breathing techniques.  I was sporty back in the day but swimming isn’t simply my thing.  I believe I have to be tossed into an open sea so that I could learn how to swim.  I think my brilliant athleticism will come out under an unforgiving predicament haha.

After dipping myself into the swimming pool for just a short time, we ate our dinner.  Shortly after eating dinner, my Finance pal and I went to the videoke area.  For me, an outing without a videoke is a terrible outing haha.  It’s like a cone without the ice cream.  Videoke, therefore, is logically the Cookies ‘n Cream haha.  Personally, it’s still the most enjoyable thing to do because I love singing.  I was quite surprised when my Finance pal and I arrived at an almost DESERTED videoke area.  Almost all people were on the swimming pool and some were probably in their rooms having bondings.  My friend and I just spotted two people at the videoke area.  One is our Marketing Manager and the other is his very captivating Marketing Assistant.  Believe me, that chick, the Marketing Assistant, is a topnotch.  She’s a Serendra Mall type of beauty who usually strolls on a Saturday with a poodle haha.  If given a chance (which probably won’t arrive haha), I will not only seize the stars for her, I will also give her my cute pitbull (no pun intended).  Yes, I didn’t get the chance to seize the stars for her nor did I even loosen the leash on my pitbull’s neck but when “Bakit Ngayon Ka Lang” splashed on the videoke screen, I asked her if that’s her song.  She said it’s not hers.  And then I asked her if we could sing it together since that song is a duet.  I was quite surprised when she consented haha.  I really could not believe why and how I did it especially in the presence of her manager haha.  Perhaps, the alcohol in my body had already taken effect.  Or perhaps, I was just depressed that night.  I’d like to believe that it wasn’t really the alchohol that made me confident to ask her if we could sing that song together.  It was mostly my love for singing.  And besides, I already had experienced singing in duets before.  And so we sang together and boy was I amazed by her pleasant voice.  It was a cool duet song and she knew how to blend.  I was blown away haha.  Eventually, more people arrived at the videoke area.  I sang three more songs and yes, I felt their love haha.  People from the swimming pool even clapped their hands after I had sung a Stevie Wonder hit haha.  I also saw the pretty Marketing Assistant clapping her hands while she was browsing songs on the song book.  After the outing, I was teased profusely by my officemates if I could sing another song haha.  At the washroom in the office, I bumped into my Finance Manager and he said that I’m such a singer haha.  Then I replied, “Really sir?  Am I?” Then he answered, “You were probably too drunk to remember.” Hahaha.  Thanks really for appreciating my little talent.  I’m so grateful, you may not have an idea.  But seriously, I’m not that exceptional haha.  Sometimes, I tend to pick songs NOT right for me and as a result, I sing poorly at times.  But most of the time, I know what song is right for me haha.

Overall, our company outing was a blast.  I even forgot that I was down on those days.  It was rightly timed.  It was an infinitesimal part of His plan.

Please help me rise above the pain that’s been stinging in my heart.  My heart has been running tirelessly for many years now, hoping to find the right one who would keep it with the greatest care it can ever experience.  Everytime it is about to jump high with utmost joy, it would instantly fall back and hard to its usual dwelling called Sorrow.  It’s been crushed enough to be SO vulnerable to another aching.  It’s defenseless.  It’s never been a good feeling.  So painful that it has relegated my self-worth to its all-time low.

God, You know, I can’t do this all alone.  At this very point when I’m at my lowest, I’m humbly seeking for Your guidance.  I badly need Your help.  Please guide me to Your way.  My heart has grown really tired and I guess it severely needs a refreshing shower of Your love and grace.  It now wants to rest with You.  I know You are just there listening to this prayer.  Yes, my heart has become too tired that it now wants to rest with You.  With sheer anticipation, I believe it would wake up to a new morning with vigor and life.

God, if the sorrow I’m experiencing today is just Your sign of the greater things that would come tomorrow, then I would put all my trust in You.  I would surrender myself to You.  I am all Yours now.  That’s who I am.

It’s really not surprising to me that this kind of motivation usually comes from a kind of guy who enjoys collecting girlfriends like NBA cards.  For the record, I don’t mean it though in a negative way.  This guy from the Operations ‘perhaps’ has been truthful in all the relationships he entered into regardless of the number.  He was actually very helpful to me.  He was even advising me not to be serious all the time.  And I became, all of a sudden, enlightened.  I began asking myself, “Have I really been TOO serious in my approach to get the girl I like?” In these modern times, do nice and SERIOUS guys still finish last?  Do I have to be a little lighter by asking the girl I like after just a couple of dates, “Can we be boyfriend-girlfriend?” Haha.  Damn, I don’t know if I can be that light.

The approach to attract girls highly depends on the guy’s personality.  It also depends on history, well to a certain degree.  The guy would most probably rely on the same old ploy that effectively worked for him in the past.  But the problem on this premise is that girls are also different from one another.  But the approach, at the end of the day, would not matter so long as it is sincere.  If the gal likes the guy so much, I think in these modern times, it’s been so prevalent to bypass the mushy courtship segment and just get into it right away.  But this is way too risky.  Life is too damn short to make such a costly mistake.  Courtship is the getting-to-know stage and bypassing it seems to be a foolish move.  It sounds a little desperate to me haha.  At the end of the day, it’s still our CHOICE that would greatly matter.  For the guy to choose the approach he believes would work and for the girl to choose the guy she believes is genuine.

It’s our sheer freedom to choose that separates us from the brutes.  We must choose the right person whom we think is suitable for us, for a long-term.  We always have to be a hundred percent on all the decisions we try to make.  Yes, we are free to make our choices but we are not free to choose the consequences

While we were eating, we mainly talked about a girl at his office he’s so presently into.  I intently listened to his stories about his girl.  You know what?  When it comes to love matters, I’d just listen to you most of the time.  Don’t really expect me to give you precious tips on love.  ‘Cause, come on, how can you possibly believe in a guy who really sucks at it BIG TIME no matter how wordy he has been?!  So I was just telling him to go pursue that girl ’cause really, she’s so damn fine and when I saw THEIR photo, I honestly thought that they look good together haha.  I just kept on telling him to go for her ’cause I could barely give even a single valuable advice on anything related to that potential heartbreaker called love.  But as you already know, RC is a totally different person as a blogger or writer in general haha.  In person, I’m also talkative but I can be contended just listening to you especially when love is the topic.  Love, after all, has been the most desired topic of all time.   I could hardly argue with that.  So let me try to talk about love in a less sentimental form (’cause it can’t be fully rationalized) until my nose bleeds haha.  This would really take a lot out of me.  Good luck haha.

I’d like to believe what most people believe that love starts with that mystery called attraction.  Attraction is such a mystery that even gays can be attracted to me, seriously!  I really don’t have an idea what particular body part of mine they’re after.  I mean, come on, I’m not really that good-looking.  I just look like Johnny Depp, that’s all.  Well seriously now, how mysterious attraction can be?  You can be attracted to a person you hardly know OR you can be attracted to a person you had not initially known you can be attracted to until that person said the words or did something that swept you off your feet.  It’s really difficult for me to say this but let me say anyway that without attraction, love is impossible.  No matter how deep you are, attraction always starts with the physical aspect.  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and that’s why every single person has a DISTINCT taste on what is beautiful or handsome.  For instance, in China, a tan or a brown color is considered unattractive, if not ugly.  No matter how good-looking you truly are with that perfect nose and cute lips, but if you have a brown skin, that can be considered unattractive to some.  It sounds a little racist, but that could qualify as the synopsis of attraction.  I still remember the time when arguably the prettiest girl in my Elementary years told me that I’m handsome but I have a brown skin.  That was totally SOUR!  Unbelievable.  From that moment, I began whitening my skin by any means possible but to no avail.

As a guy, it’s so hard for me to say if the girl I like likes me too.  As I said in my previous entry, I’m generally unassuming when it comes to girls and in the first place, how could I know?  I’m not just speaking to myself but to the guys as a whole.  Never ever assume so never ever expect!  ‘Cause you know what?  Girls would still be girls.  They would never, as much as possible, express their feelings to a guy clear enough to be noticed.  In other words, the first move is not theirs.  And if that’s the case, the girl would feel forever damned while the guy she likes continues to chase other girls ’cause guys could hardly read a gesture.

In a more personal note, I don’t know a thing about attraction or even love until it hits me.  It has to be felt.  There’s really no need to explain it.  And if the person I like doesn’t feel the same way, then everything becomes a misery.  There’s no more reason for me to stay put or linger, I have to stay out of the thing that’s slowly killing me.  There’s one thing I know about love though that I’d just like to share: Love isn’t about pure chance or pure destiny, it’s more about bridging yourself to the one you love like simply showing up in the right place where you can possibly meet him or her and it also has to be rightly timed.  Attraction is a pleasant feeling and love is the greatest thing this world has to offer.  So it’s safe to say that this thing can’t be offered to the one who bums around

Many people say that second chances in life are rare but for me, they don’t exist at all or do they haha?  Now that I let that out of my system, it’s blogging time haha.  I’d really love to tell a more detailed story about her but she might discover my blog.  I mean, after all, I found out her Multiply account through Google and she might do the same thing to me haha.  No one knows right haha?  But let me go back to that seemingly confident statement when I said that I had my chance but I just didn’t take it.  I mean, come on, did I really have a CHANCE with her?  That’s actually the big question haha.  To begin with, what’s the real meaning of chance?  It certainly does NOT mean that if I did take it, then we could’ve been together.  I honestly don’t mean that way.  It’s not the real meaning of chance, it’s absolute cockiness.  I may be smug most of the time but when it comes to girls, I’m unassuming haha.

Perhaps, many girls would say that if they had a choice, they would have chosen to be born a guy than to be a gal.  Simply because, at the outset, it’s way easier to be a guy than to be a gal in almost every aspect.  To be completely honest, I find it hard to believe especially in the aspect of courtship haha.  I believe that God created a man and a woman equally.  So it’s not fair to even compare a man and a woman ’cause God has always been fair.  A guy’s natural role is equally laborious.

One of the universal truths is that a single guy is on a thrilling and seemingly endless chase until he finds the suitable one.  The one who could fill his emptiness inside.  By the way, was that a song?  Anyway, I find it quite funny when girls view this damn guy’s chase as a bad thing haha.  I have to say that it is MORE than just a pursuit driven by sexual appetite.  It’s ordinarily a guy’s role.  It’s a guy’s role to chase or to take his chances, definitely considering the sacrifices involved, until he finds the right gal for him.  It’s just like a guy was given money in perpetuity solely to buy lottery tickets assuring that one day he’ll hit the biggest jackpot of his life.  Well, in my modest opinion, that’s the real meaning of chance.  It certainly does NOT mean that if I buy one lottery ticket, I will hit the jackpot right away.  I honestly don’t mean that way.  There is nothing to lose, it is just for a meager sum, a meager sacrifice.  But if the losses are accumulated, it could really be frustrating.  With the almost ideal girl I was talking about, the combination had long been drawn and I was too damn cynical to even line up at the ticket booth. One very lucky guy, perhaps, already won her.

I used to be fascinated with computers back when I was in 2nd year HS, particularly computer programming.  So fascinated that I wrote a computer program that basically tests the user of his/her fundamental Math skills in the same year when Y2K was laughably the scare of the era.  I also started to be damn fascinated with writing that I still continue until now.  When my father was preparing for his Bar Exams when I was in 3rd year HS, I became fascinated with Law that somehow sharpened my logical thinking and at the same time, my communication skills.  THESE all started out as simple passions and then very soon enough, I somehow planned systematically to make them as plausible long-term careers.  But look at me now, did I become a computer programmer?  Did I even become an editor-in-chief of our school paper?  The answer to both questions is I DID NOT.  And currently, I don’t have plans to take up Law!  As you’ve already known, I’m practicing a career which I didn’t even plan to take in the first place.  So what’s now my point aside from not thinking too much about the unknown future and fully living life in the present?

The popular boxer, Mike Tyson, has been credited for quoting this up in spite of his crazy tirade after dominating one fight that he wants to eat your children: Everybody’s got plans… until they get hit.  Finally, Iron Mike made sense on this one.  More recently, the devastating defeat of England’s Ricky Hatton to the feisty fists of our very own, Manny Pacquiao might put a period to the Hitman’s great career in boxing.  And don’t tell me that Hatton, before the fight, had no gameplan.  As you’ve already known, it only took one thunderous left cross to shock the boxing world.  It definitely came as a big surprise to those who witnessed it live.

This actually is one of the striking things I’ve learned from life that I just want to share: Don’t plan too much.  Just plan to be surprised.

You were on a jeep and after getting your change from the driver, you noticed that the change given to you was over by a certain amount.  Eventually, you just kept the whole change.  Was that a form of dishonesty to you?  At the outset, it’s definitely a form of dishonesty, isn’t it?  But as we all know it, the study of ethics has been further complicated by various circumstances especially in this changing world.  So allow me to complicate the same scenario a little.  Right after you had noticed that you were given an extra change, you began asking some passengers on the jeepney about why you were given a “fare treat” and most of them said that the price of oil has steadily decreased by a huge margin.  You were, of course, pleased by that good news.  So you just shrugged it all off and kept the whole change.  But as it turned out, there was really no oil price decrease.  Now, was that still a form of dishonesty to you despite the fact that you didn’t totally remain silent about your extra change by asking some passengers?  Dear readers, I would greatly appreciate your comments.  But for the meantime, read my point of view on the jump

Like any other ethical issues, it’s really difficult to brand a person as DISHONEST simply because it would all boil down to that person’s true intention.  And how could you know his intention if it’s scientifically impossible to read his mind?  It’s, of course, impossible to read one’s mind but one’s intention could somehow be deduced through outward actions.  The only mistake that the passenger did in this scenario was that he just asked some passengers about his spare change instead of the jeepney driver who had all the rights in the world to know.  But dishonesty?!  I think it would be too much to brand the passenger as totally dishonest considering the fact that it would still boil down to his true intention.  And if his real intention weren’t bad or let me just say that he just acted that way out of sheer ignorance, then labeling him as totally dishonest would be a grave injustice on his part.  F*cking ignorant?  A resounding yes!

Well, this whole jeepney scenario was just my analogy.  DAMN, this is my first taste of trial at work!!  It’s hyping the HELL out of me, to tell you honestly.