Rest

It was quite stupid, trying to find fulfillment in other things / people rather than the source of all... >.<

Interesting how Worship encourages a clear frame of mind...

Conservative

I don't think there is anything called conservative, moderate or liberal Christianity (or for that matter, any other religion). There is only one right one, and that is called True Christianity.

Aware

I never knew that Aware was a "liberal" organization.. No wonder there are talks of this being a "coup" or a "takeover". This new bunch of people are probably really those you would call, conservative (Anglicans if I am not wrong)

Then again, who is to say by which methods women's rights are better secured?

It will be an interesting event to watch ;)

Chesterton

Urgh.. Can't find Chesterton's anywhere!

War

There was a question asked during World War 2. It was, in the context of the war, and the fact that people can die anytime, why should people still continue to do things like, say, learning chemistry or literature?

One answer given was that the question is not whether people should learn literature during war, but whether people should learn literature at all. The war had "merely" heightened (and perhaps increased) the fact that people can die anytime..

"The border to eternity is never ahead of us. It is always parallel to us" said Reinhard Bonnke during the conference on Good Friday.

Things worth doing in the face of death are always worth doing. And things not worth doing in the face of death.. probably are not worth doing in the first place..

Baptized

Congratulations to all who are baptized today! Hope the photographers managed to capture the image of the dove on your shoulders! =p Happy Birthday!

Prayer..

Interesting view..

It would be even worse to think of those who get what they pray for as a sort of court favourites, people who have influence with the throne. The refused prayer of Christ in Gethsemane is answer enough to that. And I dare not leave out the hard saying which I once heard from an experienced Christian: 'I have seen many strik-ing answers to prayer and more than one that I thought miraculous. But they usually come at the beginning: before conversion, or soon after it. As the Christian life proceeds, they tend to be rarer. The refusals, too, are not only more frequent; they become more unmistakable, more emphatic.'
Does God then forsake just those who serve Him best? Well, He who served Him best of all said, near His tortured death, 'Why hast thou forsaken me?' When God becomes man, that Man, of all others, is least comforted by God, at His greatest need. There is a mystery here which, even if I had the power, I might not have the courage to explore. Meanwhile, little people like you and me, if out prayers are sometimes granted, beyond all hope and probability, had better not draw hasty conclusions to our own advantage. If we were stronger, we might be less tenderly treated. If we were braver, we might be sent, with far less help, to defend far more desperate posts in the great battle.

- C S Lewis, The Efficacy of Prayer

Back

No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.

I think I had became a pillar of salt many times over already... >.<

Who is this??

Lets start with, say, the gospel of John being factually and historically accurate.

We have a very interesting chain of implications as a result.

From the gospel itself, we can see that Jesus did make claims to divinity. Which leads us to a problem.

Is this claim true?

If it is not true, then there is only 2 choices. Either Jesus knew that he was not divine and yet made the claims, or that Jesus thought he was divine (though he is not), and thus made the claims. The first is the characteristic of a liar (consider how his teachings emphasis morality, yet if he himself does not follow it...) The second is characteristic of a mad / deluded man.

But we find that both choices run into a problem when we note that he predicted his death and resurrection, and we see it happening towards the end of the gospel. Saw any mere human making these types of predictions and meeting them lately? Or met anyone who died publicly and resurrected in this manner? (Nevermind the idea that this man matches the characteristics of a person predicted in many areas of an even older book)

Are we forced to take His divinity? I think so. His claim was true. He is divine.

But in that case.. we have a second problem. What are we to do with Him? He says "Follow me". Can a mere human reject the divine?

I think not.

And we run into a third problem. We find this divine one, this King, washing our feets. Not exactly my idea of a King. And dying. Voluntarily.

Difficult teaching.

Come and see

John 1:38-39

...Jesus saw them following and asked, "What do you want?"
They said, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?"

"Come," he replied, "and you will see."
So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour.

Grace

Grace is amazing. It triumph over Justice and Fairness itself, though both are Great (I mean Great in the sense of Greatness, not niceness). In fact, sometimes, by going beyond Justice, it may just produce Righteousness, fulfilling Justice.


PS: If this post is a little cryptic, well... erm... Its not really meant to be, but it turned out this way. Anyway, its inspired by the song I see Grace. I loved it.

Absolutes..

Interesting how people solemnly and confidently declare that there is no absolutes. What is right for you, may not be right for me...

Dear sir, so is that idea right for me? Or is it just right for you?

Prophecies

Here is a little sampling of the prophecies which the Christ fulfilled:

Lineage: Son of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, David.

Location: Born in Bethlehem, goes to Egypt, be called a Nazarene.

Time: Will enter the temple (Temple was destroyed in 70AD, never to be rebuilt, even till today)

Ministry: Healing, dealing with sin, bear burdens of people, King riding on a colt (donkey)

Death: Betrayed for 30 pieces of silver, abandoned by everyone, silent before accusers, does not resist arrest, pierced through hands and feet, bones not broken, but dislocated, pierced by the side, without descendants

Burial: In a rich man's Tomb

End result: Does the will of God, became a guilt offering, bear people's iniquity, will live.

Analogical..

Hmmm.. I explained the analogies in Narnia to one of my friends today. Certainly didn't expect that I would have to explain them actually.. I thought the Christian message behind it was quite obvious, especially for the movie production of the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (forget Prince Caspian).

Goes to show things are not always that clear to everyone alike.. >.<