“A Prayer for 2010″
By Lola Ruthie

Of the year 2010,   we now have begun
Come enter his gates with thanksgiving
into his courts with much praising ! ! !
Be ye thankful unto him and bless his name !

Praying:  our eyes and ears be open
To  the Son  who is begotten
answer to this,  among many,  He gives,
This we know,  because he lives ! ! !

Oh,  for the  calling…. and us be willing,
To die to ourselves  and be alive  unto him!
At a time and place    all possible, by his grace
Saying His Words,  doing His bidding ! ! !

We love His promise that He paves the Way
Only for us to    ‘NOT get in the way’
Of all the good Works He has in His plan
For us to execute guided by His hand ! ! !

Together we’ll walk;   listen to his talk,
Where to go,  no matter how slow.
Trusting in His Sovereignty and grow,
Learning His love,  hope to others we’ll show.

Thank you Lord,  for the past Year,
For many blessings we hold so dear.
Some in disguise for our lack of trust.
Gift us with more faith;   forgive us you must!

Then in gratitude,  let our lives be,
One that gives You the honor and glory !
‘Cause without You,  our lives are lost,
In the name of our Father, the Son and Holy Ghost !

Happy New year!  We are  sending this to a few people like you who may want to join us in this prayer that Ruth VEGA-NORTON composed.

by: Joel Marcaida

On June 5, 2009 the participants of  OEWF Bayanihan Youth Camp in Calamba, Laguna met again for the second time after the camp. The first meeting was held on May 29, 2009 during which the youth leaders planned to conduct a number of BSV workshops in their respective spheres of influence. The output of the workshop are the following:

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Everybody wants to be President.

On the eve of last day of filing for the 2010 polls, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has received 99 certificates of candidacy for president. Among them were a quantum physicist, a retired teacher, an insurance agent, some politicians, and many other characters ranging from genuine to Jokerish (and it’s the Heath Ledger-type!).

For many, it’s not easy to pinpoint who among those who run for office are sincere and who are just fooling around. But that’s secondary.

Supremely important is an electorate that is not fooling around with the leadership standard it upholds. More than ever before, Filipinos must be dead serious on not committing another mistake of bequeathing the reins of power to another two-faced megalomaniac who will treat the Philippines as his/her own moneymaking corporation.

After two EDSAs (and their corresponding triumphs and disappointments), we’re supposed to be wiser by now. But I’m afraid wisdom that depends on pure human information alone is frail. No matter how wisely we think we have voted, the Philippines would still head south if our concept of “voting wisely” precludes inquiring of God’s will.

God’s will is often sought on a personal level. “Who is God’s will for me to marry?” “What college course is God’s will for me to take?” “What career path is God’s will for me to tread?”

But we must realize that God also exercises His will on a national level (2 Chr 7:14). In the same manner that our cooperation is necessary for His will to be accomplished in our personal lives, there must also be collective national alignment to His purpose so that His will to snatch the Philippines from the quagmire it’s in would be accomplished.

Voting without regard for biblical standard of righteous (Pv 16:12) and just (1 Ki 10:9) leadership is to be trapped in the deception that the systemic corruption dragging the Philippines to hell is not a moral and spiritual issue as well.

It’s time we realize that our vote and God’s standards should be indivisible. Our national woes must be addressed on moral and spiritual levels, aside from practical ones. Practical solutions that do not bring about change to the human mindsets that run government institutions breed superficiality, insincerity, and, ultimately, temporality to the supposed transformation.

As we cast our votes in 2010, let them be decisions that are produced by serious inquiry of God’s will. Call it absurd. Call it unbelievable. But yes, seriously praying about who to vote for is a big step for change in the Philippines.