HENERAL LUNA

This movie emphasizes the issue that has plagued the Philippines since before Spain colonized it hundreds of years ago – it is divided & weakened by regionalism & inordinate commitment to the family clan. Both Spain & the US recognized this & exploited it.

This problem is not limited to one nation.

One of the strategies that socialists use to advance their agenda is to divide groups of people based on race, gender, & economics. We can see this very effective weapon being used on many levels throughout our culture.

Maybe you never thought about this, but Jesus is the answer for the divisions in our nation today. He doesn’t change our class (race, gender, socioeconomic etc.) when we surrender our lives to Him.

What He does is make us part of His all-inclusive, all-encompassing, ever-expanding Kingdom. 

There is no better answer to what divides us!

CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION

This is not about politics or even about the death of the ISIS leader al-Baghdadi. It’s about communication.

Some people are upset about what they call the crude way the President described it. 

But rather than being offended, it helps me to see that he understands how other cultures communicate differently than we do in North America. He used terms, figures of speech, & images that speak loud & clear to people outside North American & Europe.

While those things seem crude & offensive to us (read “unpresidential”), they speak very loud & clear to the people (both our friends & enemies) in the culture in which al-Baghdadi lived. And that’s what’s important to understand about this.

It wasn’t just a major blow to our enemies. It also spoke to the people in that culture. So rather than criticizing the way he communicated these things, it’s better to have an intellectual curiosity about why he did so & what he was trying to accomplish. It was to instill fear in our enemies & confidence in our allies. We are in a war, you know.

He was speaking a language that we may not understand or appreciate, but he was speaking a language that our enemies & allies in the region easily understand.

And that’s what it means to communicate cross-culturally.

SHOW & TELL

It’s been 9 months since my last blog. A lot has happened during that time, some good & some not so good. But thru it all I haven’t lost the desire to share my thoughts with you.

Have you ever heard of show & tell? Kids do it in elementary school, but it’s not something that someone just thought up in an education course. 

Let me explain...

There is a story of a man who had spent time persecuting & killing those who followed Jesus. He actually thought he was serving God by doing that.

But one day Jesus got hold of his life & used him to travel the known world & bring the message of Jesus to places where they had never heard of Him.

That man was the Apostle Paul.

His life was a show & tell of what God can do in the life of even the most deceived & evil people.

No matter your background, your life can also be a show & tell for others about what God can do in the life of a person who will let Him.