Christmas - Blessed Be God

It was a good Christmas Day yesterday. I do not like all the commercial gifts and non-christian christmas carols. I just like a quiet time to remind myself of God's goodness.

Just a wonderful, simple song like this will make my day...
 

Blessed Be God.

God was not there !

The 12.12.12 news headlines screamed "Gunman killed 26 in US suburban Connecticut School " - 20 young children and 6 teachers.

As a christian, I need to reflect on this in relation to my belief in an all-powerful, all-knowing, all-present God who is loving and kind.
My conclusion is that, if God was there at the time of incident, God would have stopped the killing.

God is kind and loving and will not allow innocent lives to be taken away this way. My conclusion is that, during the few minutes of killing, God was not there. Although He is all-present, somehow, I cannot explain why, He was not there during that few minutes.

My conclusion is the only way my finite mind can justify both the existence of God, and the existence of disasters like this, concurrently at the same time.

Now He is there in Connecticut to comfort those who pray.
Alleluia ! Photo From Roving-light.com

Ineffable - that's the word

Not many people know the word 'Ineffable'.

"As Christians, we believe that the first thing we need to affirm is that God is ineffable. God escapes our thought. That means, while we can know God, we can't imagine God, can't conceptualize God, and can't speak with any accuracy about God. God is infinite being and that, by definition, is beyond the categories of our thought and imagination."

 (words by Father Ronald Rolheiser)
Photo From Roving-light.com

Veneration of Mary - Why?

I am a protestant. The following answer has helped me. Maybe it can help you to understand too...

Question: How do you suggest we Catholics explain our veneration of Mary to Protestants who ask us about her and her role in the Scriptures?
Answer: Sacred Scripture is clear on Mary's significance and her honored place in God's plan of Salvation. The Incarnation could not have occurred without Mary's obedient "Let it be with me according to your word"(Lk 1:38b). But as important as Mary is, she always points away from herself and to her Son, "Do whatever he tells you"(Jn 2:5b). This makes her precious to us, because she leads us to her Son. We also know that, as the Mother of our Lord, Mary has an honored place in God's kingdom. Like all saints whom the Church believes to be in heaven, she is a tremendous intercessor for us. As our Lord was dying on the cross, he gave his Mother to "the disciple who he loved," as our Mother (John 19:26). After all, if you need a favor from someone, who better to have pleading your case than your mother? This is another reason we have profound respect for Mary. As a Redemptorist, I could not close without mentioning one of Mary's most revered titles, Our Mother of Perpetual Help. We do not pray to Mary, we pray through our Mother Mary, and like any good and loving mother, she is always there to help us.

(From Dear Padre, 30 Dec 2007 Issue)

God has Plan A, Plan B, Plan C ...(I think)

Jesus said to those around Him: 'Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words shall not pass away...' Matt 24:34.

I think the Apostles believed this literally. Paul and the other apoostles kept telling the early christians to watch out for Christ imminent return. Read Rev 1:3, Phil 1:10, etc, and you can feel the sense of urgency.

But 2000 years had come and gone, yet Christ has not returned. A bit puzzling right? People (including myself) started to ask whether Jesus made a mistake with the timing. The generation that was with Jesus Christ had all passed away, but 'these things' were not fulfilled yet.

I think God has Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, etc. If this is the situation, then adopt Plan A; if a different situation, then adopt Plan B, if yet another situation, then adopt Plan C !!! God can do contingency planning, right? After all, He is God!!

When Jesus spoke to the people in Matt 24:34, His plan was to return before that generation expired. But along the way, situation changed, so God adopted Plan B...He will come again much later.

Haha !! Photo From Roving-light.com

The Lucky and The Gifted

PSY's Gangnam Style success is phenomenal. People started to ask whether Singapore could ever produce a PSY.

It sets me thinking - when do you say someone is lucky? When do you say someone is gifted or talented?

I think the test is whether that someone can produce 'consistent results' or not.

If Mr. Sim Mong Hoo produced a soundcard that sold like hotcakes, and launched Creative Technology into a successful tech company, he may be just lucky. If he can repeat that success with another product, another 3 products, then he is talented.

If Warren Buffet makes a lot of money, ONCE, by choosing the right investments, he is just lucky. If he consistently do it over many years and many times, he is gifted and a true guru.

If PSY can come up with another video that is 'liked' by 1 billion people worldwide, he is talented. Now, he is just lucky.

In the world, there are lots and lots of lucky people who find fame and success ONCE. After all, there are 7 billion people on Earth. 0.001% lucky people means 700,000 lucky people.

Scattered Thoughts: Where Where?

Search the Internet, and you will find many people asking "Where is God in Hurricane Sandy (USA), or Typhoon Bopha (Philippines).
Sure. Hundreds of church congregations knelt and prayed to God for deliverance from natural disasters. -- Yet the Hurricanes and Typhoons still came... There is no direct answer to this Question. We know God is there to comfort the aggrieved when the disasters were over. But we do not know why God allowed the natural disasters to take place, anyway.

God is with us,though sometimes He appears to be not with us. In His time, His will be done...

Know God, and Make Him Known

Actually, how much of God do we need to know? To receive the Gift of Salvation, we just need to know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that He is the Way for us to go to the Father. Hence, do not have to know much, a little knowledge is suffice. If we want to receive lots and lots of Heavenly Rewards, we need to know God a bit more. We need to know what to do while on Earth so as to 'accumulate' treasures in Heaven. But then, all heavenly treasures and trophies will be laid down on Christ's feet finally - we do not need them finally. So why do we need to be diligent in knowing God? Know a little is enough right? Well sometimes its just Vanity. We just want to know. It makes us feel good !!! By the way, our finite brain will never able to understand the infinite God, fully.

Do it all Day, Everyday !

The newspaper headline says that "Psy, his job is to 'Gangnam Style' all day and everyday". Thanks, no thanks, to his phenomenal success to achieve 900 million views on Internet. Now the best job can be boring, if you do it all day and everyday. We love Cat Mountain King durians. But eat it everyday? (even if it does not make you ill?) Even the most difficult job would become easy if you do it over and over again for 10,000 times. Even the most interesting job would become boring if you do it over and over again 10,000 times. There are 3 exceptions: Firstly, some politicians love their jobs so much that they willingly hold on the job for 30, 40, 50 years ! They cannot let go Power ! Power is Addictive! Secondly, some people do the same job for 30, 40, 50 years ! They cannot let go Passion. Passion is Addictive, including passion to earn more money! Thirdly, some people hate their job but slave on for 30, 40, 50 years! They have Lost the ability to live on their own.

Scattered Thoughts: Not for longer Life, But for Shorter Length of Disability

My mother has Dementia due to Alzheimers for about 10 years. Her prolong illness has affected the well-being and the quality of life of family members negatively. Man's average lifespan is 79 and woman's is 83. The length of disbility prior to life-end is 6.5 years for man and 7.5 years for woman. I see many people doing all kinds of health-enhancement activities, like food supplements, morning exercises, Qigong, etc, to live longer. Really, to live longer should not be the key objective. Reducing the length of disability, perhaps from 6.5 years to 1 year, should be the key objective. There is no use having a longer lifespan, when the length of disability remains the same. In fact disability is even more painful when the lifespan is longer. Increasing lifespan, without reducing the length of disability, is the curse of longevity. Sadly, modern medicine aims to prolong life, at the same time prolonging the length of disability !

Scattered Thoughts: Not About Wisdom

Christianity is not a religion about wisdom. Wisdom is about being human, how to live in this world of humanity. Christianity is about God. About God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. If we want to learn more about wisdom and humanity, then other religions offer much more. But if we want a personal relationship with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, then come to Jesus Christ. Jesus can touch your life when you accept His grace and reciprocate with faith.

Scattered Thoughts: Vanity of Vanities! All is vanity!

I wholeheartedly agree with the Preacher in the Book of Ecclesiastes. He said All is vanity! It's school holiday! People booked plane tickets to visit touristsy places. Visit Taipei's night market. Visit Paris. Go Hokkaido... Quench the desire to go somewhere, experience something different ... Finally, finally, its just vanity. Several New Musicale/s came to town. There was the J Lo's concert. The SM Town concert. Go, go.. Queue up for the ticket. $200 per ticket? never mind, its worth it...Quench that desire to see my favourite idols...Finally, finally, its just vanity. Yes, life is mostly vanities. Besides food, lodging, clothes, human relations, all else is vanity. The Futility of Desires.

Scattered Thoughts: Christ's Return

Today is the first Sunday of Advent. We are reminded of Christ coming to Earth, quietly as a child in a manger. He will come again, this time gloriously, loudly, decending from heaven, on his second coming. It has been 2000 years since His first coming. On average, one generation is 20 to 25 years. There are 100 generations since Christ's birth. An every generation looked forward to His second coming. 100 generations waited and did not experience it. I believe in Christ's second triumphant coming. I am ready for it. However, I am not hopeful that it will take place in my lifetime. It matters. It does not matter. The timing is not important anymore.

It's about Grace and Faith, not Wisdom

I have spent much time reading about religion. A lot had been written about Buddhism. It's a religion about life and living, about wisdom and meaning, about human response to things of this world. Christianity is about God reaching out to humans and about God's calling. About human's choice to accept God's grace and to exercise faith without and before full understanding. At the human level, it is not easy to be convince that Jesus is the Son of God, and through Him, is eternal life. It's Amazing...Only By The Grace Of God...

You light up my life...

Hi readers, I have not been blogging for some time. You can track me -- just 'friend' me on Facebook www.facebook.com/SchoolOfTshirtPrinting. This is one of my favourite song. Enjoy..

Sadness, make it short... then continue with life.

Lately I have been watching a number of fine documentary programmes on TV about nature and animals.

Last night's programme about the annual migration of animals was a very good show. Wilderbeest, sperm whales, monarch moths migrate thousands of miles, over treacherous territories every year.

The programme showed wilderbeest crossing thousands of miles, over meat-eating predators and hungry crocodiles-infested rivers in search for green pastures. Only three-quarters of the herd reached their destination. A quarter died along the journey, right before the eyes of the more fortunate survivors.

In one scene, a mother wilderbeest crossed the river with her calf. Crocodiles always hunt for the less defensive, more succulent calves. The mother reached the opposite shore with the calf 2 metres behind. A ferocious crocodile snatched the struggling and crying calf. The mother looked on helplessly. For several moments, she stepped forward intending to help, but stepped back knowing that she was no match for the crocodile. I could feel her anguish, pain and despair. The calf was torn apart right before her eyes. She walked away to continue her journey.

Obviously the mother had feelings. Obviously she was sad. But she continued her life's journey.

The lesson is, in life, there are always suffering, pain, death and disappointment. We will encounter these again and again. We will experience excruciating sadness and pain -- but like the mother wilderbeest, we need to carry on. Let sadness lasts for only a short duration -- then we must continue with renewed strength. Life goes on.

In the programme, I saw the hundreds and thousands of wilderbeest stood on the bank of the river before crossing, with full view of ferocious crocodiles waiting for them below. After moment of hesitation, the wilderbeest bravely tumbled forward, down the river like an avalanche -- knowing full well that many would be eaten alive.

But they still proceeded on despite the danger.

Our lives are also like that...do not be paralysed by grief... live on... God with us.

What did Paul say ???

Some people think Jesus had 12 Apostles. One, Judas, committed suicide, and so left eleven. Why did Paul called himself an Apostle then?

Paul claimed that he was also an Apostle as he met the Risen Christ on the road to Damascus.

Paul wrote almost half the 27 books in the New Testament.

Paul wrote with great erudition. He must be a learned person, a scholar, someone who had a flair for writing. I am very impressed by the way he expressed his thoughts.

In 1 Cor 1, he wrote: "The Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ's crucifixion. We did not preach or convince others through logical reasoning or our own experience. To those who are called by God, it is Christ's death on the cross that led them to believe, not sound reasoning or clever argument." (paraphrase is mine).

Believing in Jesus Christ starts with a calling from God. If you are not believing yet, you should ask God to start calling you. (Sounds like convoluted thinking right?)

In moments like this, I need You, Lord

I am not sure whether this is too personal to be captured in my blog. But I shall write anyway.
My eldest sister has just been diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. She is feeble, and the illness appears to be terminal with months remaining.

She is not prepared to died. In fact, she hopes to live for another several years. She is a non-christian. She does not have the assurance of salvation through Jesus Christ. She has little hope.
It is a trying time for her children, and us her siblings. None of us are rich enough to manage the cost of advanced medical treatment.

In moments like this, I could only pray for her. Lord have Mercy. Grant her a miraculous recovery. Touch her heart. Grant her your grace.
In moments like these, we ask God "Why she was inflicted?". "Why my family, Lord?"
In moments like this, we want God to be more real, to be nearer, to answer "Yes" to our prayers. Not "No" or "Maybe". We want God to take charge and grant us the miracle that we pray for. Not to let nature take its course.
In moments like this, Lord, You are Sovereign, have Mercy...

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