THE MUSIC AND THE BIBLE

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 Mindanao Daily News

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May 20, 2026

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I grew up with both. I was born in a  parish, and allowed to play the organ there. Pairing music with your Bible reading is a beautiful way to center your mind and deepen your spiritual focus. Many find that ambient instrumentals, scripture-based songs, or curated Praise and Worship Playlists help block out distractions while reading.

The Bible highly values music as a powerful tool for spiritual expression. It is depicted as a way to worship and praise God, express emotions (joy or sorrow), and teach others. The Bible does not restrict the style of music, but warns against music that promotes ungodly behavior. 

Music is intentional — designed by God to move both spirit and mind, as we see in 1 Corinthians 14:15, “What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also.”

What is the biblical explanation of music? The principal direction of congregational singing is to the Lord (Ps. 96:1). Music is made first of all to the Lord and only secondarily to each other. Music should communicate and express a sense of awe and wonder in the presence of God; it should lead our thoughts toward God rather than toward ourselves.

Music has a way of piercing into the deep parts of our soul, that assists in our expression and response to God and to the church. Singing helps unites us to the church. The gospel alone unites believers to one another.

The music and the bible. Strategies against darkness. Sure, you are able to listen to the wonderful music I select for my daily music column. But there is something more… .

“Why am I so sad? What am I so troubled about?” (Psalm 42,11).

If it’s becoming dark, we usually turn on our lights. But, it’s still daylight. It’s a magnificent and wonderful  day! The sun shines with might in the sky. The trees are blossoming and the flowers are ablaze with amazing colors; the birds are chirping cheerfully. – “Yet, why am I so sad? Why am I so troubled?”

We experience feelings, as if darkness lies onto our souls, and light cannot get through any more. Yes, we make head or tail o it, because some really bad things happened since a couple of weeks or months in many of our life and surroundings:

A good friend passed away unforeseen; a wish, carried with us in our hearts never became true; all doors seem to be locked forever; financial problems bother us and don’t allow the chance for three daily meals; and arduous illness seems to become incurable.

Why are we so sad? Why are we so troubled? The psalm’s poet voices out innermost feelings and emotions during those times.

Music accomplishes many things. It has practical utility that can be applied to many endeavors, it can be used to communicate information and emotions, it plays a substantial role in culture, it provides entertainment, it gives people an outlet to be creative, it helps us understand beauty, and it has value on its own.

Music unites the congregation so that God is worshipped with one voice. A wide variety of music is used in Christian worship including hymns, psalms, choral music, gospel songs, contemporary music and instrumental music, played for meditation and reflection.

I was trained how to survive such periods of life. Be patient and wait!

Pray!

Or: “Quarrel with your soul!” No, it’s not nonsense, it really works.

“Don’t make such a fuss; get out of your dump and be happy!”

Or, read Psalm 103: “The Love of God”.

 

SONG OF SONGS

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 Mindanao Daily News

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May 19, 2026

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The Song of Songs (or Song of Solomon) is a collection of Hebrew love poems celebrating the intensity, beauty, and intimacy of romantic and marital love between a man and a woman. It emphasizes mutual desire, commitment, and the goodness of physical intimacy within marriage, often interpreted as a metaphor for God’s love for his people. 

US musician and author Ted Gioia argues in his excellent book Music: A Subversive History (2019): “At every stage in human history, music has been a catalyst for change, challenging conventions and conveying coded messages – or, not infrequently, delivering blunt, unambiguous ones. It has given voice to individuals and groups denied access to other platforms for expression. Pop music has often been dismissed as “lightweight” given its young audience, simple snappiness and mainstream status, but those elements are really where its strength is concealed. Pop songs don’t originate themes of mental wellbeing, equality, liberty, activism – but they do transmit them to the broadest platforms possible”.

Snap the radio on, zip to any station, and what are you likely to hear? Love songs. Songs of new love, songs of disappointed love, songs of grateful love, songs of crazy love. I still remember my time as a radio host in Davao City several years ago playing the Hits of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. Nothing has changed. Times change, but through history the flow of love songs is a constant.

Plenty of people are surprised or even shocked to find an explicit love song in the bible – complete with erotic lyrics. But “Song of Songs” is exactly that. It shows no embarrassment about lovers. Consequently, intermittent attempts have been made  to rule “Song of Songs” out of the bible. It’s like making it “for adults only”. Imagine, my dear reader, in 16th century Spain for instance, professor Fray Luis de Leon was dragged out of his classroom and taken to jail for four years. His crime? He translated “Song of Songs” into Spanish.

If you start reading “Song of Songs”, you will find out that this book conveys a very different atmosphere from most modern love songs and pop music. Since love songs are always popular, many people approach “Song of Songs” with great expectations. However, readers often find the book much different from what they had expected. One is the poetic imagery. Second: “Song of Songs” is hard to follow. One part  doesn’t seem connected to the next.

Song of Songs is a well-known but little-understood book of the Bible made up of eight chapters of ancient Israelite love poetry. While there is an introduction and a conclusion, the book doesn’t have a rigid literary design

Try to explore the “Song of Songs”. One thing is for sure. You’ll learn a lot about the love between God and His people.

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OUR BREAKING POINT IN LIFE

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 Mindanao Daily News

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May 16, 2026

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A breaking point is the critical threshold where prolonged stress, emotional strain, or exhaustion outpaces your ability to cope. It is not a failure, but rather a warning sign from your mind and body that your current situation or way of carrying the load is no longer sustainable.

A breaking point is a moment of greatest strain. Interestingly enough, the breaking points are the moments in which we need to stay calmer. Research shows that trying to control every event increases our stress.

A breaking point is a moment of stress in which we break down — it feels like you are never going to get back up again. We are more than under pressure — the situation becomes critical for our survival. Everyone faces a breaking point — we all get there in distinct ways.

A breakeven point is when total costs and total revenue are equal. It’s the sales level you need to reach to cover all of your costs. Your business cannot be profitable until it has reached this point.

When I hear the word breaking point I usually think that it’s like a bomb that could explode. For me, to be in my breaking point is the state of being exhausted in everything. Thinking that it’s time to end something… Most people think that when we say we are in our breaking point it’s easy to come up with a negative idea yet sometimes breaking point is not only to end something because you are exhausted, we can revise it in a positive thinking like breaking point can be a new beginning for us to be able to begin a new life with a weapon and that is our learning from our breaking point.

In human psychology, the breaking point is a moment of stress at which a person breaks down and is unable to cope with it. This obviously varies from individual to individual.

I got my first breaking point as a German expatriate in the Philippines as a result of culture shocks. This was a long time ago and very much different from today’s situation.  Meanwhile I have been living here smooth and sound for several years.

Nowadays, many people are  experiencing mood changes. Indeed, the emotional effects of stress can have a serious impact on your day-to-day mood and mental health. Firstly, you may find that you’re feeling more irritated or pessimistic than usual. This mood change can then begin to affect your motivation to work, socialise with your loved ones or complete the things on your to-do list. If left unchecked, these feelings can threaten to completely overwhelm you, leaving you feeling apathetic, depressed, frustrated, panicky or trapped.

If you’ve been asking yourself, “How do I fix my relationship?,” you may already be at a breaking point. A breaking point is when an argument or disagreement starts to become invasive in your life. Is it impacting your other relationships? Is it impacting your work? Is it impacting your health?

A lot of people around me can’t seem to focus or concentrate properly. If you’re battling to concentrate, keep focused or remember certain things, this is a good indication that you’re feeling the effects of anxiety. These changes in thinking and memory (also known as “brain fog”) can occur when you’re trying to manage several stressful situations at once, which can make you confused and forgetful. These situations may include demanding jobs or emotionally-taxing tasks. Unregulated emotional exhaustion can really impact your attention, executive functioning (organizing and planning), and memory.

A lot of people are expressing  difficulty with personal relationships. You’ll often notice emotional exhaustion from prolonged stress manifesting in your relationship and your capacity to connect with your family on a meaningful emotional level. You may find yourself picking fights over small things, feeling angry at or unsatisfied with your partner or being overly judgemental. Tension in your close relationships can cause you to feel anxious, detached, and withdrawn which can make it difficult to ask for emotional support when you need it or be there for those you love.

Low self-esteem is being reported a lot these days. If lately you’ve found your mind overwhelmed with negative thoughts, you’ve probably also noticed their impact on how you view yourself. Perhaps you’re feeling more cynical and hopeless than usual? Or maybe you’ve lacked confidence in situations where you would normally speak up. At times, you may even have found yourself wondering if what you’re doing even matters anymore. It is important to recognise these changes. If left unchecked, these feelings may progress into symptoms of depression.

To stay in balance you need to turn these behaviors around. The smallest changes make a difference, but pay attention to changes that aren’t so small, like getting enough sleep (without drugs), dealing with your anger and anxiety before they erupt, moving around during the day, making time to play, eating sensibly and simply being with yourself.

I learned that prevention is the best medicine. Reaching your breaking point means that you’ve crossed into the red zone, from which it’s hard to return. You won’t get to your red zone if you apply the habits of self-care I’ve just listed. The choice is really yours. Medical research has abundantly validated that being in balance is the healthiest way to live. Spend the next two weeks getting back into balance. You’ll be amazed and pleased with the results. I adopted a certain “Bahala-na”-emotion especially when it comes to “bad news”. I enjoy playing my piano and listening to wonderful relaxing music. I enjoy staying together with my family. I talked to God… .

CONFLICTS – PART OF OUR LIVES

 

• As of mid-2026, major ongoing conflicts causing significant global instability include the Russia-Ukraine war, the Gaza-Israel conflict, the Sudanese civil war, the Yemeni crisis, and widespread violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). These wars involve major humanitarian crises, displacement, and geopolitical shifts.

We are in conflict with ourselves many times during life. Our future gives cause for concern; the past is captured, therefore we miss the future.

The grief and sorrow asked the hope, “How are you?” The hope answered, ” I am a little bit low and sad today!” The sorrow replied sarcastically, “I hope so!”

Conflict is the result of opposing thoughts, actions or ideas disrupting the status quo. Conflict is seen in everyday life, and is a natural, often selfish, and sometimes productive phenomenon. Because it can lead to violence and war in certain situations, the word ‘conflict’ often appears with a negative connotation.

Conflict is in our very nature. Every day, large or small, human conflicts are all around us. But conflict is simply a result of problems being tangled up with the darkside of human nature emerging from innate protection and competition motivations that have evolved over millions of years to help us survive, and that come with difficult tradeoffs. 

When conflict is mismanaged, it can cause great harm to a relationship, but when handled in a respectful, positive way, conflict provides an opportunity to strengthen the bond between two people. Whether you’re experiencing conflict at home, work, or school, learning these skills can help you resolve differences in a healthy way and build stronger, more rewarding relationships.

When people get angry with each other, they often say or do things without realizing the cause of their feelings. Understanding the dynamics behind a conflict can make it easier to resolve issues. This insight also can help you mediate a conflict between friends and relatives. Many experts break personal and professional conflicts down into basic types, based on the underlying causes of disagreements and the dynamics.

Nobody really knows what might happen after reaching the retirement age. Sure, if we can observe our neighbors and all other people in our surroundings, we really don’t like to know it. If we treat ourselves with care, our real age will not be shown. I won’t make any secret about celebrating my 72nd birthday sometime this year.  I am proud to reach this age with God’s help.

It seems that the respectable treatment of our beloved seniors around us are disappearing into the past and are forgotten by the younger generation. Praising the elderly nowadays means to attest to their impudent and imperishable youthfulness.  I am sure, with His help many seniors are still strong, still indefatigable, still a phenomenon, still intellectual and still spiritual on top!

Let’s not forget our respect, when sometimes just being artificial or  affected by stammering, that “our old lady” or “our old gentleman” hasn’t become senile yet.

On our way to an honorable and respectful age we should try to fulfill some of our greatest longings in life.

During the last decades, I met many people around the whole globe. Unbelievable, I found out, no matter where in this world, the conflicting attitude is everywhere. “It’s an absolute certainty, those doubts are the main certainty!” stressed already the German author, philosopher and dramatist Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956).

Please allow me, once in a while, to be able to say NO. Please allow me to delete inferior and defeatist feelings. Please allow me to admit that I can’t do everything during a single day. Please allow me to no longer be afraid about other people and their spiteful comments about me.  

Please allow me to accept my silence. Please accept me being terribly tired from time to time. Please allow me to be excused even without having an intelligent reply. Please allow me to be carried by salvation and bliss.

Hopefully, we may have enough understanding people with us to accompany us during the voyage of our sometimes very conflicting life.

Trust or Reliance?

 

rust or reliance? What is faith for you?

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 Mindanao Daily News

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May 13, 2026

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To say it clearly: without faith we are really nothing. Faith is belief; believe in us, beliefs in our works, talents and personalities.

We also should believe in our parents or better, in the whole family including the black sheep, who can be found everywhere. We should also believe in our friends, even sometimes it seems to become a very difficult task. A friend? A real friend? An expatriate friend…?

Without faith, we will be reaching the rock bottom. Please don’t say, it’s a likely story. The German poet Johann Christian Friedrich von Schiller (1759-1815) mentioned in his drama “Maria Stuart”: “Even the word might be dead, but faith keeps it alive.” Yes, I can live with this.

Faith and hope belong together. In his book “Through the Valley of the Kwai”, Scottish officer Ernest Gordon wrote of his years as a prisoner of World War II. The 6’2” man suffered from malaria, diphtheria, typhoid, beriberi and jungle ulcers. Many circumstances quickly plunged his weight to less than 100 pounds. Lying in the dirt of the death house, he waited to die. But every day, a fellow prisoner came to wash his wounds and to encourage him to eat parts of his own rations. As this fellow prisoner nursed Ernest back to health, he talked with the agnostic Scotsman of his own strong faith in God and showed him that, even in the midst of suffering – there is hope – and faith!

Faith is indeed tantamount to convincing and conviction. Richard Wagner, a German classical composer and poet found the following lyric: “Blessed are those people, who know how to live their life in humility and faith!”

Well, let’s even continue believing in our government. Faithful hope is loyal, reliable, exact and honorable.

Faith looks beyond the transient life with hope for all eternity. The hope we read in scripture is not a wishy-washy optimism. First and second Chapter of Thessalonians, for example, give encouragement to all Christians, who have been undergoing persecution for their faith. And, Corinthians 13:2 says: “If I have faith it can move mountains!”

Faith is one of those words that is commonly used but not always understood. Some of that confusion comes from the many different ways the word faith is used in everyday conversation; a quick look at Dictionary.com shows seven different uses! One common way that people use the word faith is to refer to belief in something despite lacking any evidence for it. But is that what the Bible means by faith? The answer is a resounding no! So what does faith mean?

The closest that the Bible comes to offering an exact definition is Hebrews 11:1 – “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” From this particular passage we see that the central feature of faith is confidence or trust. In the Bible, the object of faith is God and his promises. A clear example of this is Abram’s encounter with God in Genesis 15. In response to God’s promise of countless descendants, Abram “believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.” (Gen 15:6). Commenting on this, the Apostle Paul writes, “No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.” (Rom 4:20-21). Thus faith means putting your trust in God and having confidence that he will fulfill his promises.

Faith is more than intellectual agreement. To use an old illustration, imagine you are at Niagara Falls watching a tightrope walker push a wheelbarrow across the rope high above the falls. After watching him go back and forth several times, he asks for a volunteer to sit in the wheelbarrow as he pushes it across the falls. At an intellectual level you may believe that he could successfully push you across the rope over the falls, but you are not exercising biblical faith until you get in the wheelbarrow and entrust yourself to the tightrope walker.

Genuine biblical faith expresses itself in everyday life. James writes that “faith by itself, apart from works, is dead” (James 2:17). Faith works through love to produce tangible evidence of its existence in a person’s life (Gal 5:6). Put another way, the obedience that pleases God comes from faith (Rom 1:5; 16:26) rather than a mere sense of duty or obligation. There is all the difference in the world between the husband who buys his wife flowers out of delight and one who buys them simply out of duty.

Faith is so important because it is the means by which we have a relationship with God: “For by grace you have been saved through faith” (Eph 2:8). Faith is how we receive the benefits of what Jesus has done for us. He lived a life of perfect obedience to God, died to pay the penalty for our sinful rebellion against God, and rose from the dead to defeat sin, death, and the devil. By putting our faith in him, we receive forgiveness for our sins and the gift of eternal life.

So what does faith mean? Simply put, faith means relying completely on who Jesus is and what he has done to be made right with God. Are you considering a faith-filled call to Christian ministry? The programs at Grace Theological Seminary will ensure you grow in your faith on your way to equipping others to do the same.

To walk by faith, it’s not enough to believe that God’s word and promises are true, we must act on our belief and stand on the Truth. When what we believe overflows into how we live then our faith is made complete—and is counted to us as

HOW MUCH LONGER … ?

 

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 Mindanao Daily News

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May 9, 2026

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The phrase “How much longer, Lord?” echoes the plea in Psalm 13, where David cries out in distress, asking how long he will feel forgotten, overwhelmed by sorrow, and persecuted by enemies. It is a raw expression of anguish and a cry for God’s intervention in difficult times.

“How much longer” would only be used in a situation where the event was in progress and already considered to be taking a long time – i.e. ‘longer’ meaning an addition to the already long time period.

Have you been praying to God about the same challenge for the longest time? Are you asking, “How much longer, Lord?” or even, “Will it ever happen, Lord?” Perhaps you’re just so DONE with waiting and want to make things happen with your own hands. But my friend, as @hillsongworship’s song, “Seasons”, goes: “Though my waiting is even greater… I believe that my season will come.”

How much longer will You forget me, Lord?

During many times of darkness when I thought again, that the whole world is against me, I opened my Bible. Suddenly I found Psalm 13, also entitled a Prayer for Help: “How much longer will You forget me, Lord?”

I was born on a Sunday in 1953 – a so-called “Sunday-Child”. There are sayings that those kinds of people will have a life of great success without  problems, worries and trials. This is -excuse me! – nonsense!

I also experience difficult, problematic and questionable times, where I am really losing all my strength to get down to work on those problems. Life’s path becomes narrow. Fears grow: it’s enough, it’s enough!

I still feel how I started becoming awkward and jerky. I struggled against everybody around me. I was reluctant against the good ideas of others. I felt driven into a corner. I started to hurt and insult people in my surroundings with arrogance and unqualified comments. Everything became a problem and my voice bellows and my groans grow louder.

But admittedly groans lighten our burden. For even a short moment only, I do feel how my inner life and inside pressure ease off. But sometimes, more trials and problems overwhelm our families and ourselves: illness, death-threats, bankruptcy, war at the working-place, efforts to give us a bad name, intrigues … .

“How much longer will You forget me, Lord?” We stop groaning. We shout already to God, especially if nobody in our surroundings likes to listen to us anymore. If we are deep in fix, God must have forgotten us already, right? A terrible situation! We see faces of those people, who show us hostility.

But I also experienced how God put me into life’s “re-conversion plant” and freshened me up: Little but meaningful and important cares suddenly happened. After a hot day and a refreshing thunderstorm, let’s enjoy the following night; the person, who insulted us, suddenly apologized; the illness wiped out.

“You prepare a banquet for me, where all my enemies can see me!” (Psalm 23:5). I am glaad, because I really don’t know about more and new spitefulness through my next “enemy on duty” in future. I actually really don’t want to know it. I learned that negativism blocks life and its plans.

But I know Psalm 23. I read it every time I have a problem. Psalm 23 should be printed in everyone’s heart, mind and soul!

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WOULD YOU BELIEVE IT?!

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 Mindanao Daily News

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May 6, 2026

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“Would You Believe It!”  is a 1929 British silent comedy film directed by Walter Forde and starring Forde, Pauline Johnson and Arthur Stratton. It was made at the Nettlefold Studios in Walton-on-Thames and released as a supporting feature. It was later re-released with added sound effects and music. A British inventor develops a new high-tech tank and is pursued by foreign agents who wish to capture the design.

In a world as vast as ours, anything that can happen will likely happen. The only thing that can limit these possibilities is your own imagination. Experience the oddest, the fantastic, the downright impossible parts of history that the textbooks left out. Be prepared — it will expand the limits of your wildest imagination!

It is almost a ridiculous fact that man wants to know certain truths about mundane things. But really he seems least interested in even mundane truths as can be read many times in newspapers for example. There seem to be too many rash judgments, and the readers absorb these and make these their own. A fatal attraction!

This is sometimes referred to as journalistic mentality and social media comments wherein accusations are generously made without proof. Evolution started this trend, when scientists stated for example that man evolved from the apes, without proof. The only proof they had was the missing link, and if I am not mistaken, it’s still a missing proof until now.

To look for proofs is a mental activity, which is no longer a common thing nowadays, because it takes really time, effort and is too serious to think about. Yet, in Christian education, thinking right is very important.That’s why Philosophy is important in Christian life. To avoid error in thinking, the rules of right reasoning must be studied and mastered. Is it really totally neglected in today’s modern education?

Thinking is actually an enjoyable activity but when one is pressured to get a good job for one’s sustenance, then the other more mundane becomes attractive. After all, great thinkers often do not get (good?) jobs… .

Spiritual writers like the British Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) noticed that mankind had stopped thinking even two centuries ago. That was during his age. Man probably stopped thinking even earlier. He has ceased many times to search for the truth. It’s easier to listen to gossip and believe in it. What a sign of weak minds!

Too often are we blind to the truth and as a consequence we easily believe in lies we only have to like it. Too bad, if people always like to close their eyes and ears especially while experiencing the delusion of error.

THE POWER OF LISTENING

 

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 Mindanao Daily News

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May 4, 2026

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Great leaders are great listeners, and therefore my message today is a simple one – talk less and listen more. The best leaders are proactive, strategic, and intuitive listeners. They recognize knowledge and wisdom are not gained by talking, but by listening. Take a moment and reflect back on any great leader who comes to mind…you’ll find they are very adept at reading between the lines. They have the uncanny ability to understand what is not said, witnessed, or heard. In today’s post, I’ll quickly examine the merits of developing your listening skills. Warning: this post isn’t going to coddle you and leave you feeling warm and fuzzy – it is rather blunt and to the point.

Want to become a better leader? Stop talking and start listening. Being a leader should not be viewed as a license to increase the volume of rhetoric. Rather astute leaders know there is far more to be gained by surrendering the floor than by dominating it. In this age of instant communication, everyone seems to be in such a rush to communicate what’s on their mind, they fail to realize the value of everything that can be gleaned from the minds of others. Show me a leader who doesn’t recognize the value of listening to others and I’ll show you a train-wreck in the making.

Do you sometimes feel like this, my dear readers, that you want to discuss something, but the people opposite to you simply cannot listen to you? Sometimes, I would love to tell them, “first, learn to listen”!

Listening is indeed the key in effective communication. A person does not have to speak all the time to be the smartest person in the room. Lack of listening may result in frustration, disappointment, and resentment in our relationships. When we listen, we are able to create stronger emotional connections with people.

Many times during my teaching, I’m happy when my students have one or more questions for me – so, I can listen to them first. Active listening promotes mindful thinking, which can reduce anxiety and depression in students. It can also help students build relationships because as they engage themselves in conversation, their peers are more likely to view them as open and interested.

However, every time you use active listening, it gets a little easier. It can help you to navigate through difficult conversations. More than that, it helps improve overall communication, builds a better understanding and ultimately leads to better relationships with family, friends and co-workers too.

Listening is an active process by which we make sense of, assess, and respond to what we hear. The listening process involves five stages: receiving, understanding, evaluating, remembering, and responding. Not only in school or at the workplace. But especially talking about the workplace: Listening helps managers to solicit feedback and proactively find out about problems before they escalate. It’s also the only way for management to get to know people as individuals and ensure that they feel genuinely valued.

Listening and the supreme gift of wisdom belongs together. You can only become a wise person, if you know how to listen. Do you still remember the university lectures in your old student days once upon a time? Anybody can become wise, Proverbs says. Wisdom is not reserved for a brainy elite. Becoming wise requires self-discipline to study and humbly seek wisdom at every opportunity. And allow me to repeat: and, first, learn to listen.