8/7/12

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As God remembered Noah during the Flood,
He remembers us in most devastating
times.

I just checked my Twitter, and I became curious on one worldwide trending topic. It's a passage in the Scriptures. Genesis 8:7-12 is the 2nd top-trending topic right now on the social media site as I write this. The ironic reason is that the numbers are exactly in the same order as the date of the worse-than-Ondoy storm in month-day-last 2 digits of year numeric form (8/7/12).

I looked up at Bible Gateway, a website full of Bible verses, and read the verses. In the Scripture passage, Noah sent two birds, a dove and a raven, to check out if the floodwater have subsided. The dove just wandered in the sky until the water dried up, while the dove, because the trees were all drenched by the Great Flood, decided to return to the ark Noah built. After a week, he brought the dove out again, and the bird returned with a leaf, signaling that the trees were re-appearing. One more week past, and Noah sent the dove out again, but it never returned. It meant that the flood has completely subsided.

I actually read the entire Chapter 8 of Genesis, and at the first verse, we are given a promise by God. The verse says, "But God remembered Noah (and his family) and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and He sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded." As He remembered all the people and animals in the ark, He remembers us too. As my former cell group leader quoted, "The times you think that God is far from you are actually the times God is just near you." Also, like what He said to Noah's descendants Moses and Joshua, the Lord will not leave us and even forsake us. He said that a number of times in the Bible.

The final verse of the chapter is also a promise to us. God said there, "As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease." The Lord is saying that we may experience storms, trials, and everything not that pleasing to us, but be assured that He will bring a new day full of breakthroughs and blessings to us. God showed that when He sent His Son Jesus Christ to overcome the biggest storm in our lives, the storm of sin.

Again, this storm is just temporary, but if we hold on to God's promise that He remembers us, we will get lasting breakthroughs and reliefs. For further Bible study, read Genesis 6-9. I hope that as we praised God during the times we were devastated by Ondoy, we continue to praise Him during the wrath of Typhoon Haikui.

Coincidence

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Sa Legend o sa Youtube Sensations? Sa'n Ka? Kampihan Na!

Last night was one of the most confusing nights I have on Twitter. It started when a fellow blogger tweeted that Rodolfo Quizon, more popularly known as the Comedy King Dolphy, passed away at 8:34 PM. "It came from an anonymous source," I said. "Maybe he received a hoax." Then a tweet from ABSCBN newscaster Karen Davila came. "We will miss you, Manong Dolphy." Now we became sad. That came from no less than a renowned broadcaster. Then Yahoo Philippines stunned the Tweeps (Twitter People) when they tweeted, "Don't believe on the tweets. Dolphy's still alive!" Kim Atienza, another ABSCBN newscaster, told his followers not to believe on the feed of a fake ABSCBN Twitter account. Karen reiterated that she got the news from Dolphy's wife Zsa-Zsa Padilla. I didn't know what to do. Should I finish up my new The 10 Electrifying post on my sports blog? I waited for GMA's news instead (with Dolphy affiliated to ABSCBN and TV5, I would rather get the official news from GMA, a neutral side). Then it was official. Dolphy Quizon died half a month shy of his 84th birthday.

But it so happened that it was Michelle Linggayu and Jam Sebastian's 50th monthsary (Wow, ah!). The real-life couple, popularly known as Youtube sensations JaMich, posted that it was a mere coincidence and said their condolences to the Quizons. Curiously, instead of getting sympathy from their fans, it created a buzz because many thought that's unethical for a tweet. Some even called the pair famewhores.

I don't stand here to support JaMich. I'm here to tell all of you, from the newborn haters to even the likers since the start of their road to fame, that you should have not taken the coincidence as a big deal. Of course we all mourn Dolphy's death, but should we even get to a point where you want JaMich dead too? OK. Maybe they're wrong to include the coincidence there; I also understand that you (mis)interpreted the tweet in that way, but that doesn't mean you turn your sadness to anger. In fact, there are other occasions nationwide that coincided with Quizon's death--birthdays, anniversaries, etc. Of course they would tweet about it. They might also say, "Sad day. My (occasion) coincided with Dolphy's death." Would their friends rant about it? More likely, nope.

Here's Jam's latest tweet: "If we think about worldly ways, we would have been so upset. We lift them up to You, Lord. I hope they will know You." They admitted his fault on not further reiterating his tweet, but he, instead of throwing back words at the commentators, he let go and let God. Sebastian let the Lord enlighten the haters. The actor, a Christian like his girlfriend, kept the promise of Philippians 4:7 (And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus).

If you think this is all about JaMich, I also have a touching story on Dolphy. I attended a church service 3 years ago, and his son, Rodolfo Jr., aka Dolphy Jr., was the guest preacher. The younger Quizon shared his story from a riotous showbiz career to how God transformed him. But the conclusion moved me, even now that his father gave his final bow. It was at a restaurant somewhere in Quezon City, according to Dolphy Jr. He brought his dad along, and the younger Quizon was the keynote speaker. He shared the Gospel along the way, and the best part was about to come. Dolphy Sr. was touched with the Word, and right there Rodolfo Quizon Sr. came to know God. Right now, I'm pretty sure Dolphy Sr. is up there together with God. THNKS FR TH MMRS, Pidol. See you there!

PS: Do not judge others. Try always to encourage them. If you rebuke, rebuke in LOVE! Be gentle with them as Christ is with you. Love one another. -Jesus#Followers (@Jesusfollowsu)

Another PS: It's not an accident that someone's death came at the same time as another's celebration. God allowed such events to coincide so that we could realize that we need to live our lives to the fullest. Dolphy lived his life to the fullest by using his acting skills to make us laugh.

Here's one of the greatest Dolphy scenes. Grab your popcorns, and prepare to laugh out loud.