Here’s one of the nicest verses I’ve ever read.  It’s calling on men, but I believe women should seriously take it, too.

The World Needs Men…

Are you the man (or woman) the world needs?

If you’re a Christian and you are tired of the old-fashioned styles of one-on-one evangelism, you might find the life-and-death ambigram useful in your next sharing time.

The life-and-death ambigram is a presentation of the words “LIFE” and “DEATH” in one symbol.  It is called an ambigram because on one face you see the word LIFE, and when you turn the symbol 180 degrees, you see the word DEATH.  See illustration below.
              

When used in evangelism, the ambigram could offer a quick sharing of the message of salvation.  Here’s how:

First, show the ambigram to your prospect starting with LIFE.  Ask him if he can read it.  Usually he can read it.  Now turn it 180 degrees and show him DEATH.  Some people have a hard time reading it, but when your prospect does read it, congratulate him for doing so.

Now turn the ambigram just 90 degrees.  It can be read upwards or downwards depending on which side you turn.  But this time ask your prospect to read not upward or downward but sideward.  He could not read anything here.  From this position turn it 180 degrees and ask your prospect to read again.  He could not still read anything because there’s really nothing readable in those positions.

Now explain to your prospect that we only have to destinies: life or death.  A destiny of life is a life lived with and for God.  A destiny of death is a life lived without and not for God.  There’s nothing in between, that is why he can’t read anything sidewards.  It is just a choice between life and death.

Now ask your prospect which one he would choose.  He will, of course, choose LIFE if he is serious, not joking.  Others may choose DEATH, no joke.  If this happens, all you can do is to pray that that person would come to his senses.  If he jokes, ask him not to joke about it.  Tell him he can receive eternal life if he accepts Jesus Christ into his heart as Lord and Savior of his life.  At this point, you may opt to explain the fact that Christ died on the cross for his sin.  Yes, He died but He rose from the dead and is now alive.  If your prospect accepts Him as Lord and Savior of his life, he can have the eternal life that Jesus promised.  When your prospect chooses life and you have told him the meaning of his choice, ask him to pray.

Tell him to pray the prayer of acceptance.  Give him a sample prayer if possible.  When he says he’s willing to pray, lead him to the prayer.  While you say that you will lead him to the prayer, tell him to follow you and say the words sincerely from his heart.  When he does so, you have a new brother born in the family of God, all in five minutes, more or less.

Of course, it is necessary that you have a copy of the ambigram.  Try this evangelistic style and see the results.  God bless you.

This time it’s the Bogota type of Encounter God Retreat that the Solid Rock Bible Congregation (SRBC) will conduct starting next month. This development occurred after five SRBC EGR staff went through a dry run Encounter held at the Masagana Mall along Taft Avenue, Corner Kalaw St., Manila last April 4-5, 2008.

Yes, the Bogota type of Encounter is a 3-day Encounter God Retreat designed especially for the local church. The recommendation of G12 Philippines Director Rev. Oriel Ballano is to do away with the 2-day EGR of the Pangasinan EGR Network. The 3-day Encounter is really custom-designed for local churches so that they can conduct their own. They don’t have to go somewhere else for the Encounter part of PEPSOL.

The five SRBC staff who went to the 3-day Macro-Encounter are: Rev. Charlie Loranza and his wife Tess, Ptr. Jess Paragas, Sis. Kess Malicdem and Sis Angelita Fernandez.

May 14-16, 2008 is the tentative schedule of the Macro-Encounter here in Pangasinan to be conducted by SRBC. Member pastors of the EGR Pangasinan Network are expected to go through this 3-day Encounter for them to see how the Bogota Encounter works and how they can do the same in their own churches later on.

At the time Jesus was hanging on the cross, He uttered seven sentences which in the Christendom is popularly known as the 7 Last Words.

In the Good Friday of 2008, 2:00pm at the Solid Rock Bible Congregation in 151 Samat, Bugallon, Pangasinan, more than a hundred people heard seven inspirational messages highlighting the value of the 7 Last Words of Christ in the life of each person in attendance.

Then when Resurrection Sunday came, the church went to Tobuan Beach and at exactly 5:30am, the Sunrise Service was celebrated commemorating the triumph of Jesus Christ over death when He was not found in His tomb three days after He died.

Rev. Charlie Loranza stressed in his sermon that the Resurrection of Christ is the bedrock of our hope of an eternal life with God in His kingdom.

After the Sunrise Service, the church witnessed the water baptism of 33 brethren, all of them products of the G12 Vision of the church.

Rev. Charlie, assisted by his associates, Pastor Jess and Pastor Joel, and by church and cell leaders, led the baptismal rites.

I got what I wanted when Manny Pacquiao beat Juan Manuel Marquez for the WBC Superfeatherweight Championship but, honestly speaking, I was not impressed by my countryman’s victory.

It was a close fight, close enough for everybody to see it in three ways: win for the Pacman, triumph for Dinamita, or still an “unfinished business” in a draw. Although the judges saw my countryman the winner, it is not easy to dismiss the fact that it could have gone the other way around.

For all his sacrifices and claims to be the winner, I give credit to Juan Manuel Marquez for giving Pacquiao another hell of a fight. He has the tools to neutralize the Filipino dynamo. He’s got the correct technical skills to slow down the onslaught of Manny; he’s got the quick wits to improvise at every moment of danger; he’s got something that neither his two compatriots, Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales, don’t have in facing up to attacks of the one they call “The Destroyer of Mexican Legends”.

Despite his age, Marquez was able to give Pacquiao a tough duel which the Filipino seems to put immediately to oblivion. Those right hand leads, uppercuts and counterpunches were like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that Pacquiao almost did not make to show us a victory picture.

The Pacman’s power was there. It floored Marquez once and probably twice more had Marquez failed to adjust properly. But what was missing was Manny’s speed and the improved right hand. Yes, there were moments when his speed was shown but only a few times. His right fist didn’t get to the target most of the time and there were occasions in which Manny seemed at a loss as to how to penetrate JMM.

See it again, folks, but during the time the winner was being declared by Michael Buffer, Manny Pacquiao went over to Juan Manuel Marquez to congratulate the Mexican. He knew he did not do enough to crack the Mexican nut and he thought it was well to accept the “fact” that he lost this time. He thought he failed his countrymen. He wouldn’t be surprised at the declaration of a loss unlike the first time they met when the mention of the word “draw” was for him a victory for Marquez and a defeat for him considering that he dropped the Mexican three times in the first round.

But when he was declared the winner, he painted a face of surprise, an amazement, some kind of unbelief in the pronouncement of his triumph. Noticeable also was the kind of moderate cheers from among the fans. There were many Filipino spectators there but half of them seemed to have been surprised also at the judges’ decision. They wanted to cheer but there was a question in their minds if it was right for them to cheer at the victory of their countryman.

No, I’m not impressed with Manny Pacquiao’s victory against Juan Manuel Marquez.

It’s not because I am a Filipino that I have this bias in favor of Manny Pacquiao.  I believe that the odds favor a victory for the Pacman, racial  and other factors counted out.

First, in terms of hunger, Manny has more.  Although he is the acknowledged king of superfeatherweights, Pacquiao’s not the legal king, and the man he will fight on March 16 is the recognized crown owner.  Manny feels that the crown should be in his hands, and to remove all doubts about his status as the numero uno, he will give all he’s got to legitimize his status.

Second, Manny has shown tremendous improvements in his skills as a boxer since his first meeting with the Mexican warrior.  He has grown more powerful and refined in his boxing craft.  Up to this point, no one has really solved the puzzle that is Manny Pacquiao, except of course, Marquez.  But the Pacquiao he fought that time is not the same Pacquiao he will meet on Saturday.

Third, Juan Manuel Marquez has not really shown much since he fought Pacquiao.  He only got the belt from Marco Antonio Barrera not really through his own efforts but also because of some misdeeds of Barrera himself during their match.  Had Barrera not hit Marquez while the latter was on the floor, Marquez would not have snatched the belt from the Baby Faced Assasin.

Lastly, Juan Manuel Marquez is old.  There’s no question about excellent technical skills but the age factor will take its toll on him especially against the younger and much more improved Pacman.  Pacquiao’s speed and power will wear down Marquez with his aging body.

I expect a knockout win for Manny Pacquiao.

The Encounter God Retreat (EGR) set on February 22 & 23, 2008 at the Villa Narcisa Vinoya Resort in Labrador, Pangasinan has been cancelled.

The next EGR is tentatively scheduled in May. Everyone is adviced to keep posted to The Postman for developments.

Meanwhile, the Solid Rock Bible Congregation (SRBC) graduated eight School of Leaders (SOL) students last February 10, 2008.

Those who finished the SOL curriculum and who comprised the 2nd Batch of SOL Graduates are:

1. Charisse Pearl Fajardo - Valedictorian
2. Maria Cristina Maneclang - Salutatorian
3. Trixia Maneclang
4. Ptr. Joel Maneclang
5. Juanito Maneclang Jr.
6. Julie Cervantes
7. Precilla Ayson
8. Elizabeth Reyes

These graduates went through the tough 10 lessons in each of the three levels of the SOL program. They also prove to be fruitful Christians because they already have their respective cell groups.

Congratulations to the new SOL graduates!

The first Encounter God Retreat of the EGR Pangasinan Network has been set on February 22 & 23, 2008 at the Villa Narcisa Vinoya Resort in Labrador, Pangasinan.

The Postman invites all who have not been to an EGR to take advantage of the February EGR which is likely going to be the last 2-day EGR of the Network. The next EGR is tentatively scheduled this coming May 2008 and it is a 3-day EGR.

The 3-day EGR is patterned after the EGR of Rev. Castellanos of Bogota, Colombia.

Interested parties should make sure they go through the Pre-Encounter Lessons. For more inquiries, please contact Rev. Charlie Loranza at cell no. 09203290415.

By now everyone has gotten back to normal day-to-day life.  The Christmas and New Year breaks gave us probably enough time to “escape” from the routines of our lives.  Parents get back to the usual office, business or home activities and look after the children’s classes.  Children resume schooling and make their teachers buzzing again.

But as we get past the first week of 2008, may we learn to look back one more time to the past years and thank God for whatever we had gone through.  Anyway, life is a matter of being grateful to our Maker whether we received more blessings or not in the past. 

Life is an enormous blessing in itself whatever your attitude toward it.  Your way of looking at the happenings of life does not affect the fact that you are alive. 

One thing that we should all learn to do is to live life to the fullest and this can only be done if we connect this life to its Author.  Only the Author knows the full extent of a life lived fully and only the one who confides to the Author knows if he/she is living a full life.

The year 2008 is the Year of the Lord, not the year of the earth rat.  Every year is the year of the Lord and if everyone just lives each day of the year for the Lord, then this year shall also be called the Year of the Lord’s favored ones.

I pray that you reader belong to the Lord’s favored ones this year and to eternity.

This is a rather late post but just the same, it is to the delight of The Postman to tell everyone that there was a December EGR which hosted 88 delegates from Zambales, La Union and Pangasinan.

The December EGR which was not actually in the schedule was held last December 21 & 22, 2007 at the Villa Narcisa Vinoya Resort in Labrador, Pangasinan.

It was thru a strong request that the December EGR was held.  The next EGR is tentatively scheduled on February.  Specific days are still withheld at the moment because there is a proposal to make the EGR a 3-day activity.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and may God make 2008 a year of breakthroughs, triumphs, blessings and hope.