Frederick V. Genese August 1, 2013 at 4:33 pm CONFESSIONS OF A SINNER Frederick Genese / July 31, 2013 / KSA After so long a time, I am writing again. And of all topics, I cannot believe myself writing this. Months ago, I would just browse continuously my FB account ignoring and even blocking all biblical quotes posted on “hypocrites’ wall”. I prefer that term, and I disgust in them that love the world to see their pretenses. Imagine, flaunting the words in the Holy Scriptures for self glorification?! Never gonna buy that! Not a slim chance. I was quite certain or more appropriately, even sure to myself, that no church of this day has really come to the knowledge of what the Bible speaks of. All religions, without exclusions, as I see them, are just up for profit. The idea even bumped me, “MAKING RELIGION” a feasibility study topic during college! This business is good! You just got to put up your own religion and yeah you’ll be a millionaire in no time. No need to worry about ROI (Return of Investment) ‘coz you won’t be investing a penny! Tadaaan! No fuss at all! I have never, in my entire life, been inclined to any religious organization. You might have concluded that by now. Don’t be slow! I supposed just like you, and most people do, regard religions as the same flashy white feathers masquerading as heaven’s gateway, but not actually flocking together. But then it hit me. Or should I say, He hit me. And hit me real hard! For me, that time, I could not ask for anything more. I have great and loving parents, siblings and a family of my own. I am surrounded with best friends and good people. But still, I felt a deep emptiness within me. Ok I’m starting to sound weird, so just look at my title again. Yeah, it’s “Confession” right? So bear with it! This feeling I have never felt my whole life. It’s like a fire within me that I needed to extinguished – an overwhelming desire for things I do not know. Then I remembered a promise I made. Years before this, I curse God for giving my brother an illness he does not deserve. I challenged Him to bring his health back and maybe I’ll “reconsider” believing in Him. This, I guess is one of the many, if not the major reason for my non-existent faith. Eventually my brother, after almost a decade, regained his health slowly. And as they say, promises are meant to be broken and all in between were forgotten. This, I say to myself, could be the unexplained feeling within me. In my heart, I know He’s calling me. I know I need to make up for that broken promise. Then I began to download a Bible. I read a chapter but honestly did not understand a thing. All I see are senseless paragraphs in the printed PDF. Instantly afterwards, I decided to join a small religious group in our accommodation. Me, the atheist and skeptical guy, joining a “Christian” gathering? They were actually shock to see me there. I myself was shock I was there, so you could just imagine their faces. That day was liberating. I finally found myself amidst God-believing people. I will forever remember that day. My quest to discovering the truth did not end there, but rather marked the beginning of my search. I continually read the bible and attended twice-a-week gatherings. After months of being with the group, I still felt a hole in me. A desire to unravel the mystery of the prints. While surfing Youtube, I came across a video by Bro. Eli Soriano. Out of curiosity, I watched the video. He was asked “How do we know that our sins are being forgiven?” I was struck by his answer directly from the bible. Then I knew that I am far from being forgiven coz I am repeatedly committing the same sin over and over again. I pitied my soul and came to understand that I needed someone to guide me, someone knowledgeable enough to fully explain the texts. As I study the bible, I came to stumble a verse in the book of Daniel 12:10 “Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried. But the wicked shall do wickedly. And none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand.” This verse emphasizes that NO WICKED SHALL UNDERSTAND. It pushed me to make background checks on Bro. Eli Soriano. To my shock, I found that this guy has a lot of cases filed against him – from swindling, rape to attempted murder! Waaah! As a natural skeptic, I do not accept written documents without facts. Wikipedia can be edited by anyone anonymous who could not be held liable or questioned for the things they write on the net. So for someone learned enough, to believe in everything you read in the net, simply equates to believing that Martians made the marshmallows! I began to further investigate. I found that those cases filed (mostly by Iglesia ni Kristo) were baseless but still accepted in court with the help of the corrupt Arroyo government. Election, block voting, favors! Read between the lines. It further strengthened my belief when I read this verse from the book of Matthew 5:11 “Blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you, and shall say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for My sake.” Preachers sent by God will be persecuted and reviled, but will keep saying the words of God. Because of this, I made a stand to finally study their doctrine and was baptized last April. Probably all mysteries asked by men all throughout the history was given clear and biblical explanations by Brod Eli. Whenever he speaks I do not hear him but HIM! And to God be the glory for He has sent a preacher so honest, so frank so loving that even me, thousands of miles away from him could still feel his love for every brethren. I am a sinner all my life. I have made countless transgressions even up to now. I have nothing to boast of my life except the fact that I have come to the understanding of the purpose of my existence. Ecclesiastes 12:13 “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Fear God, and keep His commandments. For this is the whole duty of man.” I do not know how everyone would react to this. But hopefully, with God’s help, grace and mercy, you my family, friends and colleagues, will be my testimony to this ministry. May we all see the truth and be set free from religious deception/business. Call me hypocrite, block my posts, revile our Church. But I will continue and still be glad to have my small share of Jesus’ sufferings – to partake a sip from His cup. To God be the glory! marksoftheseer.wordpress/dropbox/
Posted on: Fri, 09 Aug 2013 11:29:40 +0000