The Name Above All Names

Went to work this morning at one of our shops, and behold what greeted me...one of our staff a Yemeni Muslim, wearing this!

His t-shirt screaming 'JESUS' in boldface certainly is no ordinary sight in this part of the world . What was he thinking? Surely he has not come across yet a mutawa who would have gifted him some less generous amount of lashes had he met one. Judging from his lack of reading skills on anything apart from his beloved Arabic, he certainly had no clue he was promoting the name above every name; or he could sprint towards the nearby Citimax to gift himself a new one and obviously to give that 'dreaded' one a worthy dunk in the trash bin. But wait, he was adamant to keep it on his back even after I gave him some friendly tips that people would be displeased with what he is wearing. Guess what, he replied "no problem", as "I love to wear it and have been wearing it daily since few months as it was a gift from my older brother." Haha, I thought it has yet to have its first date with the washing machine given its "favorite tag" for, come again, few months already?

Humor aside, I thought it could be the best time for me to introduce the Lord Jesus to him. I just waited for the customer to leave and aided with my crooked Arabic, I started to actually tell him that 'JESUS' is written on it, the one they know to be Isa in their Koran whom the Islamic faith recognizes to be of a lesser prophet than their very own prophet. Though a lot of people (especially Rick Warren) are convinced that Jesus of the Christian faith and Isa of the Koran are the same person, true born again believers do not buy this belief as there are stark contradictions between the real Jesus and the one in their book...very different. And that warrants another blog entry albeit long and tedious topic it is to write, that is if we really want to know the truth. Just a little snippet of what I may probably write on the topic, the links below could be helpful if we are to delve into this completely different topic -- the deity of Jesus, that is.

Links: The Deity of Jesus (Scriptural Proof), 10 Prophecies About Jesus' Birth, Ancient Prophecies About Jesus Christ.

Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, 

and given him a name which is above every name: 

That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, 

of things in heaven, and things in earth, 

and things under the earth; And that every tongue 

should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, 

to the glory of God the Father. 

~ Philippians 2:9-11

My 6th 'No Smoking' Anniversary

This day marks my 6th year of being smoke free. 

Thank You Lord Jesus!

I can do all things through Christ 

which strengthens me. 

~ Philippians 4:13

Another Blessing

Another decorating job was again given to us by a friend, whose brother's wife gave birth to a baby boy yesterday, the 13th of January. This was our third time to do this kind of "job" all from the same family, the last time was just 2 or 3 months ago. We were kind of nervous every time we decorate hospital room doors because our knowledge and skills are very limited, but we made it through. Thank you Lord Jesus for helping us and for this blessing. Halleluiah!

A Night of Fellowship

Just a few days ago we had an amazing evening of fellowshipping with our brethren Kuya ER and Kuya Jhun. It was on January 5th, Kuya Neil and I went to Kuya ER's apartment straight from work, and there we had an emotional and inspiring evening. He shared to us his wonderful testimony of how he encountered our Lord Jesus Christ, he's in tears most of the time and so was I...well, almost. 

After an hour or so, we went to have dinner at a Chinese restaurant just a stone throw away from his apartment, and there Kuya Jhun joined us from work to have dinner with us. Here are some of our photos from the restaurant.

A "Kabayan" waiter took this photo for us.

I don't eat heavy dinner, so we ordered the same thing.

We ordered Lomi, a kind of noodle soup.

Time to call it a night.

Bye Kuya ER and Kuya Jhun, God bless you!

That which we have seen and heard declare we to you, that you also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. ~ 1 John 1:3

There's Nothing New Under The Sun

The thing that has been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. ~ Ecclesiastes 1:9

Thumbs Up: Donate To Haiyan Victims in The Philippines

For donations, news and updates: 

THE PHILIPPINE RED CROSS

Got My New Residence Permit!

Amid the anxieties that continuously befall expatriates nowadays, I want to speak of the blessings and God's never-ending mercies toward His children and here it is: I just received my new residence permit (Iqama) yesterday just in time before the 4-month deadline elapses given by the Saudi Government for those who need to change their job status. Thank you Jesus, You alone are great! Hallelujah!

*I edited some of the important information from the photo of my Iqama above for security reason.

Bye Big Bike! (with Update)

"Darrajah" (Bicicleta) by Pepe Cabrera, January 7, 2010.

I just saw the Saudi Gazette news on the internet today about the world's largest bicycle here in Jeddah. The iconic landmark will soon be taken down to give way for a new overpass. In fact, there are yellow fences already in place around the roundabout where the big bike is located, as you can see in the photo below which I took a week ago.

Photo of the big bike with yellow fence around roundabout. September 10, 2013.

I often pass by this iconic structure for more than 10 years now, in fact my apartment is just a stone throw away from it. The bicycle is at a roundabout on Rawdah and Sitteen streets intersection. I hope the government would have a change of mind and at least transfer the bicycle to a new location here in Jeddah. It's a shame that they are demolishing this iconic landmark. Bye Big Bike!

"Dusk at Dawara Darrajah"  January 6, 2010.

Trivia: The Bike is 15 meters high and was created using scrap metal. It's  by Julio Lafuente, a Spanish artist.

Update - December 31, 2013

It seems like the big bike is here to stay after all, according to pictures which hang around the construction site like the one you see below. Great.

I took this photo of one of the pictures from inside my car.

Close up look shows the giant bike is incorporated in the final plan.

In My Opinion: The Possible US Strike on Syria

I was supposed to blog about the 'leche flan' that I made the other day, but weird as it sounds, could my leche flan be of more significant than the current tension that is happening now here in the Middle East? I'm talking about the possible US strike on Syria. As an expat here in Saudi Arabia for over ten years, and a born again Christian at that who is familiar with some Biblical prophecies, I'm not anymore shocked about the news, in fact, it's eagerly anticipated, at least for me.

I believe that the US strike on Syria could possibly become a proxy war between different Middle Eastern countries. We all know that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, (a Sunni Muslim) and the Islamic Republic of Iran (a Shia Muslim) are arch-enemies (as both love to battle in unending word war). Iran and the Muslim world at large want to obliterate Israel from the the face of the earth - though only the former brazenly expresses so. Russia and China have always been  allies of Syria from the start.  And not to mention the instability in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan could also contribute to  triggering the World War 3.

I'm against the US strike on Syria, but honestly, the thought of it excites me in a way because of the end time prophecies in the Bible and the second coming of our Lord Yahoshua. Everything that is happening right now in our world (wars, famine, earthquakes and the increase of wickedness) had been prophesied before in Daniel, Ezekiel, Revelations; and Yahoshua said in Matthew 24:6:

"You will hear of wars and rumors of wars,
but see to it that you are not alarmed.
Such things must happen,
but the end is still to come."  

A lot of questions come up in my mind every time I think about the situation, like, what will happen to me if the war in Syria spilled over to Saudi Arabia and a full blown war broke out in the entire Middle East? How about the other 3 Million Filipino expats in the Middle East? Can my government afford to repatriate all 3 Million of us? And how about my family back home, will they be affected too? (That's actually the Devil trying to mess up with my mind and injecting me with fear.)

Every time there is unrest in the Muslim world, Christians have always been a natural collateral damage as the chaos precipitates into a war on the 'infidels' - as Egypt epitomizes. It scares me sometimes when I think about what the consequences might be, but then again, I'm not like the heathen anymore as the Bible says, whose concerns are the material things on earth rather than putting their trust on the only true God. I have to fix my eyes on things which are unseen, rather than the physical things. I'm a new creation now, I should not be afraid of anything, God is in control. I just have to put my trust on Yahweh. And in this time of uncertainties, what a relief and comfort to ponder on God's promises in Psalms 91!

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High

will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,

my God, in whom I trust.”

Surely he will save you

from the fowler’s snare

and from the deadly pestilence.

He will cover you with his feathers,

and under his wings you will find refuge;

his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

You will not fear the terror of night,

nor the arrow that flies by day,

nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,

nor the plague that destroys at midday.