My Tribute: Give Thanks

Today is the last day of 2011.

I am very grateful to God for being with me for the year. When I have been unfaithful, He has remained faithful.

That's God. Once we made a commitment to recognise each other - that I am His people and He is my Lord, He will remain faithful, even if I am unfaithful.



In the year, it has not been smooth sailing for me.
My business has been growing, but has not been successful yet.
I have been plaqued by small ailments, but no major health problem.
I am not full, just half full, but never lacking in anything because He has sustained me. I even had a good vacation in December.

God is majestic and merciful. He has taken good care of me for the whole year.

Give Thanks...
Give thanks with a grateful heart.
Give thanks to the holy One,
Give thanks because He's given
Jesus Christ His Son.

And now, let the weak say I am strong,
Let the poor say I am rich,
Because of what the Lord has done for me.

Man's Search For Meaning - book by Viktor E Frankl

This is a very good book, also a bestseller.
Let me quote:
Life is not primarily a quest for pleasure, as Freud believed, or a quest for power, as Alfred Adler taught, but a quest for meaning. The greatest task for any person is to find meaning in his or her life. Frankl saw 3 possible sources for meaning: In Work (doing something significant), In Love (caring for another person), and In Courage during difficult times. Suffering in and of itself is meaningless; we give our suffering meaning by the way in which we respond to it.

What would a Christian say about his meaning in life?

The Impossible Encounters of Betty's Grandma (aka 135abc) - Part 3

By and By, 135abc remained in the Normalrealm. On the 21st day and 49th day of her arrival, she was allowed to return to visit the Physicalrealm. And after a few months, it was the QingMing period, she was allowed to visit the Physicalrealm again.

By and by, 135abc met her fellow soul-mates again.
"While in the Physicalrealm, we talked so much about religion. Religions divided the people. So many different ideologies and beliefs. So many groups trying to recruit more people to join their beliefs. People in the Physicalrealm did not know that in the Normalrealm, different beliefs could co-exist!" 135abc commented.
"Yes yes. Here, you go to the continent of your belief and reside there." agreed another soulmate.
"In the Physicalrealm, some people performed good deeds hoping that their good deeds could be translated to treasures in the Normalrealm. They did not know that treasures are not important in the Normalrealm." 135abc commented again.
"Haahaa. They were driven by their beliefs. They did not know the truth until they come back to the Normalrealm again." another soulmate agreed.
"In the Physicalrealm, some people worshipped this and other worshipped that. Some people worshipped everything. But in the Normalrealm, it really doesn't matter. Whether you have worshipped correctly, or have not worshipped at all, really does not matter." concluded 135abc.
"Yes yes. It does not matter." chorused the soulmates together.

This was Betty's Grandma's (also known as 135abc's)Impossible Encounters in the Normalrealm. They were there, still fluttering around.

Impossible...Impossible.

The Impossible Encounters of Betty's Grandma 135abc (fictional) - Part 2

As Betty's Grandma (aka 135abc) stepped through the door, she was 'zapped' to the Taoist-continent in the NormalRealm.
"I didn't know that NormalRealm is like Earth." She repeated to herself again. Then she saw Chinese soul-beings, India soul-beings, in fact soul-beings of different races, just like the different races on Earth.
A group of soul-beings fluttered to her and greeted her. She recognised them immediately. "Hi soul-mates 135aba, 135abb, 135abd, glad to see you again!" "Hi 135abc, now our soul-cellgroup is almost together again." one of the soulmates replied.
"But 135abe is not with us yet. She is also part of our cellgroup. She is still in the PhysicalRealm. One day she would return here to join us." said another.
"But by that time, some of us may be re-incarnated and not here." mentioned another.
"How long have you been in the NormalRealm, 135aba, 135abb?" BG asked.
"I have been here 150 years, and 135abb has been here 300 years already." 135aba replied.
"Yes, I'm a bit bore here. If there is opportunity, within the next 30 years, I would return to the PhysicalRealm for a change of environment." said 135abb.

- to be continued...

The Impossible Encounters Of Betty's Grandma (fictional) - Part 1

Betty's Grandma (BG) was 92 years old. One day, she coughed, then developed bronchitis. She knew that the time was near for her to 'go'. Her 'third-eye' on her forehead started to open, and she could see 2 familiar faces of bygone relatives peeping in through the window. She said 'Hi' to them.
By and by, after another 2 days, she breathed her last. Her soul left her body and hovered above the deathbed for a while.
By and by, there was a tunnel before her and she could see bright light at the other end. She drifted to the other end of the tunnel and a Warm- Voice greeted her.
"Welcome back to the NormalRealm soul-being number 135abc. You have been in the PhysicalRealm for 92 years. Now here are 10 doors. You will enter one of them."
BG looked. Sure enough there were 10 doors. One was marked "Christian", another "Taoist", another "Buddhist", another "Muslim", another "Freethinker", etc, etc.
BG asked the Warm-Voice "I am not sure whether I am Taoist or Buddhist. While on earth, I visited both Taoist and Buddhist temples! In fact, I don't know which is which."
The Warm-Voice laughed. "Hiyah, they are almost the same. From my records, you went to Taoist temples mostly. So you should go to the Taoist-door".
"If I go in, will you let me come back out again? You see, I am supposed to re-visit my people in the PhysicalRealm on the 21st day and on the 49th day, and every year during QingMing Festival."
"Don't worry." said the Warm-Voice. "You will be subjected to the Taoist- Procedures if you go into the Taoist-door."
BG said "But some of my relatives are not Taoist. Some are Buddhists, some are Christians. Once I enter the Taoist-door, will I see them again?"
The Warm-Voice replied "Hey, this is not the PhysicalRealm, you are in the NormalRealm. It is no longer physical. Sure you can see every soul in this Realm. The 10 Doors lead to 10 different continents in the NormalRealm."

At this time, another soul-being appeared and queued up behind her. The Warm-Voice greeted the new soul-being in the same manner.

BG moved towards the Taoist-door. She mumbled to herself "Looks like there is one door for each religion. How come the NormalRealm is duplicating what on earth ?? Impossible. Impossible!"

-- to be continued---

Nicene Creed and the shorter Apostles' Creed - wordings

Nicene Creed:
I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.
I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the given of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.
I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Apostles' Creed:
I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; he descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.

Understanding the 2 Creeds: Nicene Creed and Apostles' Creed?

What we call the Nicene Creed arose from a baptismal rite from the territory covered by Paul and Barnabas in their missionary journeys. But Roman Catholics also know another confession of faith, the Apostles' Creed. It originally came from the baptismal ceremony of the Church of Rome, founded by the apostles Peter and Paul.

Both creeds have 3 main parts, mostly all expressions of faith coming from the early Church. That is because our faith is not a list of tenets common in a political platform, but a statement of personal commitment to the 3 divine persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Both creeds also mention the Church, the sacraments and eternal life.

While both creeds started out as simple professions of faith in 3 divine persons, they were forced to expand. Various heresies arose, challenging the Church's teaching. In both the East and the West, a popularheresy of the 2nd century taught that the material world was disgusting, that God, the Father of Jesus, did not create it, and that the body of Jesus was only an appearance.

So both creed had to add that God the Father was creator of heaven and earth, and that Jesus was truly born and had truly died. In the fourth century, powerful heresies arose primarily in the East that denied the divinity of both Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

The Nicene Creed was expanded by the first 2 ecumenical councils, which took place in the East, to emphasise the equality of Jesus with the Father and the divinity of the Holy Spirit. The Apostles' Creed, however, underwent no such official expansion. (Hence the Nicene Creed is much longer than the Apostles' Creed. See separate blog entry for the Creeds.)

I was puzzled...till the parable was explained

Parables are just stories to drive home an idea.

I was puzzled by this parable for a long time:

There was a landowner who planted a vineyard and put a wall around it and dug a wine press in it, an built a tower and rented it out to vine-growers and went on a journey. And when the harvest time approached, he sent hus slaves to the vine-growers to receive his produce. And the vine-growers took his slaves and beat one, and killed another, and stoned a third. Again he sent another group of slaves larger than the first; and they did the same thing to them. But afterward he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.' But when the vine-growers saw the son, they said among themselves, "This is the heir, come, let us kill him, and seize his inheritance." And they took him and cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. Therefore when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers?

They said "He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and will rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons."

Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures, THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER STONE; THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE LORD AND ITS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYE?" (Matt 21)
-------
The parable explained: The protagonists in this parable refer to:
Landowner refers to God
Vineyard refers to Israel
1st tenant looking after the vineyard refers to pharisees and sadducees
Sending 1st group of servants refers to the early prophets
Sending 2nd group of servants refers to the latter prophets
New tenant looking after the vineyard refers to the apostles
Sending his son refers to Jesus
1st lease refers to the old covenant
New lease refers to the new covenant

This parable refers to how patient God is with His people, Israel.

Sharing Life's Experience: Constipation can kill a weak heart

This is a true story.

Today is Wednesday. Two day's ago, on Monday, was Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival.

A friend's mother was 77 years old. She cooked a big dinner for all her children and grandchildren to celebration this festival. The dinner ended around 8 pm.

About 9 pm, she went to the toilet. She had constipation and had to "nngggg" to pressure the stool to come out. Her weak heart probably could not take the strain and she suffered a heart attack. She was sent to the hospital and died just after 1 pm.

So, friends above 55 years old, please watch your health. Do you still want to work so hard beyond 65 years old?

Oh Numbers Numbers, Mesmerising Numbers !

The Bible is never shy of stating numbers. Examples:

-The exact ages of Adam's descendants were given in Genesis 5.
-The exact dimensions of Noah's Ark were stated in Gen 6.
-The exact dates of beginning and end of flood was given in Gen 8.
-The 7 years of abundance and 7 years of famine in Gen 41.
-The 1000-year millenium in Revelations 20.
-The 144,000 remnants of Israel in Rev 7.
-Forgiving 70 times 7 times in Matt 18.
-The number 666 in Revelations.
Etc, etc.

Now Now, some people like to play around with these biblical numbers. They predicted all kinds of things using these numbers. They think 7 years of bad luck will be followed by 7 years of prosperity. These numbers are so specific! It's so easy to interpret -- cannot be wrong !

But please please, stop using the numbers in the Bible or be mesmerised by them.

You will not be able to make any quantitative predictions from them.

Cultivate a personal relationship with the living God is most important. Not the numbers, no matter how real they appear to be.

Misinterpretation...

I was helping a nursery school girl write her name.  "You're like my daddy," she observed.
"Does your daddy help you write your name too?" I asked.
"No,"she replied.  "But he's got hairy arms."   (Just an anecdote)

I am guilty of misinterpretation too. We misunderstood people, we misinterpret the Bible too.

Haa Haa!  Better not assume we are always right !

Seeing is Believing...

One day, I told my son the story of Noah and the Ark.  I gave him the full treatment, complete with animal sounds and detailed descriptions of the beasts arriving two by two.  At the end, I asked him if he had any questions.
He had just one: "Where were you hiding?"
--------- From Reader's Digest April 2007 Issue

How many Humans on Earth?

Since 40,000 BC - the dawn of modern man - an estimated 58 billion people have died, according to a study by the Netherlands-based International Statistics Institute.
The current world population now stands at less than 6 billion, so the dead outnumbered the living by about 10 to 1.
Excerpt from Reader's Digest April 2007 Issue

Cannot Take the Bible Word for Word

We cannot read the Bible and interpret it word for word.
For a long time, I was very confused why the Bible said that there were Adam and Eve, and we all came from this pair.  I was confused that the Bible said that by just believing in His name, a person could become a child of God (so simple ?? John 1:12).  I could believe a camel could go through the eye of a needle.  (how can ?? doesn't make sense, Matt 19:24)

Now I know we must not interpret the Bible word for word, or word by word.  For two thousand years since the books of the Bible were written, language had changed and the understanding of words had changed.

It is better just to understand the idea behind the words that were written. 

William Shakespeare and His Romeo and Juliet

Most of us know the story of Romeo and Juliet.  Romeo and Juliet met and fell madly in love. 
Within days, they wanted to get married. 
Another suitor X came along. 
Juliet did not want to marry X, so she faked that she was dead.
Romeo thought X caused Juliet's death and killed X.
Juliet was distraughted and died (really died this time).
Romeo killed himself.
All these events happened within 3 or 4 days !!

Surprisingly, Juliet was only 12 years old and Romeo about 15 years old.  Do girls and boys of age 12 to 15 understand the profoundness of love ??? Why did Shakespeare write such a play?

Is Shakespeare simply mocking and satirising the weakness of human emotions in terms of juvenile love.

Are we still juveniles in terms of understanding God and God's love too?

Maker of Heaven and Earth and all that is seen and unseen

Today I recited the Nicene Creed.

There are a few variations of the Nicene Creed.  One version is:
"We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is seen and unseen. ..."

You may be wondering why we say God is the creator of "all that is seen and unseen".

Is God the creator of cockroaches, bed bugs, lethal viruses, etc?
Is God the creator of hatred, selfishness, ill-will, etc?
Most of all, is God the creator of Satan and his horde of helpers?

The Nicene Creed says YES.  However, when God created these 'bad' things, they were created 'good'.  It was later that they turned bad and harmful and 'go against good'.

So perhaps when cockroaches were created, they were beautiful.  Along the way, they became ugly and became nuisance. 

And when God created, it was good-will.  Along the way, good-will changed and became ill-will.

As we know, all things change over time.  Mostly from good to bad.  Sometimes, with effort, from bad to good.

Only 3 things remain unchanged to the end of time ... Faith, Hope and Love; and the greatest of these is Love... (1 Cor 13)

My Favourite Chapter: John 14: Let not your heart be troubled...

John Chapter 14 has always been my favourite chapter.  It captures the most comforting words, direct from Christ to me and to all believers. This chapter is loaded with promises to us, and Christ's self assertions that he is God - the crux of Christianity.
Verse 1:  Let not your heart be troubled... He comforts us!
Verse 6:  I am the Way, the Truth and the Life... He claims!
Verse 11: Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me...He claims again!
Verse 16: I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper that He may be with you forever..He promises!
Verse 27: Peace I leave you; My peace I give to you...He gives!
Christ was talking to His disciples who were just like me!  They were all confused and could not understand, like me. They kept asking Jesus:  What do you mean? what do you mean ?? explain to us again ??? v5, v8, v22.

Even though I accept that the Bible is written in the inspiration of God, I do not automatically accept everything it says because there are always translation errors and many cultural contextual norms of bygone era and societies are not applicable to us today. 
However, the words of Christ, the Son of God, I will always hold fast and believe 100%. The words that came forth from Jesus' lips - they are the primary basis of my belief.

You can read Jesus' words too - probably just a few thousand words in the Gospel only.

Mathew Henry's

Just bought "MATHEW HENRY'S COMMENTARY - whole bible in one volume". 

Almost 2000 pages of small print.

Interesting, but the small print is a bit hard to read for long.

Anybody like to borrow it from me, just let me know.

Some people are guessing when the Rapture will take place (They all failed)

Straits Times - Saturday 21 May 2011

Apocalypse not: Doomsday prediction falls flat
The sun sets over the horizon near Changchun in north-eastern China's Jilin province. The world went on as usual as the prophecy of the world coming to an end ended with a whimper, not a bang. -- PHOTO: AP
WASHINGTON - THE prophecy of the end of the world ended with a whimper, not a bang, on Saturday as life went on as usual despite warnings of Judgment Day by a US preacher which provoked panic in some quarters and parties in others.
Televangelist Harold Camping had insisted the so-called 'Rapture' would begin with powerful earthquakes at 6pm local time in each of the world's regions, with worthy souls transported to heaven.
According to the 89-year-old and his religious broadcasting network Family Radio, the not-so-good were to suffer hell on earth until October 21, when God pulls the plug on the planet once and for all.
One of the first places to be hit, according to Mr Camping, who first wrongly predicted the end of the world in 1994, would be New Zealand - but 6pm came and went with no earthquakes and little local media attention. Similarly in Europe and the United States, the deadline arrived with little fanfare, and even fewer people ascending dramatically to heaven.
Internet users, meanwhile, joked about creating a fake Rapture if Mr Camping's prediction did not pan out. On Twitter, non-believers suggested laying out old clothing and shoes on pavements and lawns to give the impression that someone had indeed been beamed up, or releasing inflatable dolls into the sky.
In the US capital, at least 400 people were expected to the celebrate the rapture not occurring, at an 'End of the World Party.' Suicide prevention hotlines meanwhile had been set up, according to the Washington Post, amid fears despondent Family Radio followers would be depressed if the apocalypse fails to materialise. -- AFP

Sometimes I wonder --- *** !!! (1)

Today is Easter Sunday.  Nobody is home except me.  I have some time for reflection.

I wonder how many people ever lived on this Earth since eternity.  Perhaps 100 to 200 billion.
I wonder how many people, since eternity, ever truly believed in Christ as their personal saviour.  Perhaps 1 to 2 billion.

So I am 1 out of 2 billion.  I am just a drop in the ocean, a small grain of sand on the beach, a blade of grass in the forest.

How does God manage to listen to my prayers when He has another 2 billion people/souls to listen to??  How does He know my thoughts?

Unimaginable !  Cannot imagine the power of the One who is All-mighty !

Unconvinced, or just refuse to believe

This blog entry is somewhat long.

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been born blind. His disciples asked him "Teacher, whose sin caused him to be born blind? Was it his own or his parents' sin?"
Jesus answered "His blindness has nothing to do with his sins or his parent's sins. His is blind so that God's power might be seen at work in him..."
 After he said this, Jesus spat on the ground and made some mud with the spittle; he rubbed the mud on the man's eyes and told him "Go and wash your face in the Pool of Siloam". So the man went, washed his face and came back seeing.
His neighbors, then, and the people who had seen him begging before this, asked, "Isn't this the man who used to sit and beg?"
Some said, "He is the one," but other said, "No he isn't, he just looks like him."
So the man himself said, "I am the man."
"How is it that you can now see?" they asked him.
He answered, "The man called Jesus made some mud, rubbed it on my eyes and told me to go to Siloam and wash my face. So I went, and as soon as I washed, I could see."
Where is he?" they asked.
"I don't know," he asnwered.
Then they took to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. The day that Jesus made the mud and cured him of his blindness was a Sabbath. The Pharisees said, "The man who did this cannot be from God, for he does not obey the Sabbath law."
Others, however, said, "How could a man who is a sinner perform such miracles as these?" And there was a division among them.
So the Pharisees asked the man ONCE MORE, "You say he cured you of your blindness - well, what do you say about him?"
"He is a prophet," the man answered.
The Jewish authorities, however, were NOT WILLING TO BELIEVE that he had been blind and could now see, until they called his parents and asked them, "Is this your son? You say that he was born blind; how is it, then, that he can now see?"
His parents answered, "We know that he is our son, and we know that he was born blind.  But we do not know how it  is that he is now able to see, nor do we know who cured him of his blindness.  ASK HIM; he is old enough, and he can answer for himself!" His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish authrities, who had already agreed that anyone who said he believed that Jesus was the Messiah would be expelled from the synagogue.  That is why his parents said, "He is old enough; ask him!"
A second time they called back the man who had been born blind, and said to him, "Promise before God that you will tell the truth! We know that this man who cured you is a sinner."
I do not know if he is a sinner or not," the man replied.  "One thing I do know: I was blind, and now I see."
What did he do to you?" they asked. "How did he cure you of your blindness?"
"I have ALREADY TOLD YOU," he answered, "and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Maybe you, too, would like to be his disciples?"
They insulted him and said, "You are that fellow's disciple; but we are Moses' disciples. We know that God spoke to Moses; as for that fellow, however, we do not even know where he comes from!"
The man answered, "What a strange thing that is! You do not know where he comes from, but he cured me of my blindness! We know that God does not listen to sinners; he does listen to people who respect him and do what he wants them to do.  Since the beginning of the world nobody had ever heard of anyone giving sight to a person born blind.  Unless this man came from God, he would not be able to do a thing."
They answered, "You were born and brought up in sin - and you are trying to teach us?" And they expelled him from the synagogue.
When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and asked him, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"
The man answered, "Tell me who his is, sir, so that I can believe in him!"
Jesus said to him, "You have already seen him, and he is the one who is talking with you now."
"I believe, Lord!" the man said, and knelt down before Jesus. 
From John 9: 1-38.