Fall

This morning, amidst the din of children bouncing around, much like the stuff physic students learn in the area of nuclear power. Din is very much like sin, they rhyme, well din is more likely to produce more noise ... and much like sin, we only behave after a fall.

*Thud*
Followed by a cry.
Ah yes, peace and quiet ensues... even if it was only a matter of time, before the children do what they do best.

I do appreciate the temporal bliss, but reflecting back, how am I any different?
What right do I have in condemning the Israelites for their lack of faith, so often portrayed in the Old Testament?

Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye,
and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?

Matthew 7:3

How many times do I have to fall before I learn to listen to You?
*Thud*

Cry

We had discipleship class today, and during a session (encounter the word Matthew 26:69-75) this little passage which I so often overlooked just hit me.

This passage is about Peter's denial of Jesus, and I used to just pass it off as just a moment of Peter turning into a kitty cat. But I think there's more to it than just him playing transformers.

In Matthew 16:16 Peter said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God".
Peter saw Jesus feed thousands, heal the disabled, raise the dead, exorcise. Jesus' teachings were radical, enlightening... and Peter knew and acknowledged that Jesus was the messiah.

But to give Peter credit, he DID wait for Jesus at the courtyard. It is so easy for us isn't it? To proclaim our undying faith for Him, ...to follow Him to up to a certain stage.

But trials and temptation crept in. Peter's life was threatened when several persons questioned him about His relationship with Jesus. Of course the human tendency is to protect oneself whenever danger arises... or should I say, it is human tendency to look out for ones best interest. This is the human rational for committing sin.

Sin exists when we put ourselves before God.

More often than not, we sink deeper, deeper, and deeper.
First he said, "I don't know what you are talking about."
Then again with an oath saying, I don't know the man.
Finally, he began to call down curses on himself then denying Jesus.

You see, the point is.
We all have head knowledge.
But it takes more than that to fall in love with Jesus.
It takes more than just our part to repent!
It takes...

A crow from the rooster,
Listen to the call from God.

Blogger's Block

Well, haven't been able to come up with anything inspiring lately, seems like my brain turned itself off right after my exams ended :)

I was going to write about radical discipleship, I mean like... Jesus was preaching some radical stuff, hate your mum and your dad, sell all your property, give your enemy your tunic after he has taken your cloak. I know all this is subjected to our interpretation, but then that's why we Christians are so divided on different issues! But then again, Jesus did say that he did not come to bring unity to this world, but to bring division (Luke 12:49-53). Welcome to the merry-go-round. Behold~ how good it is... when believers live in unity~...

Anyways, I seriously doubt that I'll ever reach my first century of posts :( I'll try to at least update once a week, and even that sounds too taxing when you're down with...

BLOGGER'S BLOCK

We Need Girlfriends Episode 9

Yay~! The long awaited episode 9.

Click here to watch :)

The Bible

Having read through the four gospels, I must confess that I was troubled due to the presence of inconsistencies. To my surprise even the genealogies are different!

Why is this a problem? Imagine in court where the witnesses give different accounts relating to supposedly the same thing, even if it were only minor details, would you have reason to doubt them? Surely! Although the bible has never directly claimed that it was perfect word for word, probably the closest thing is this verse:

All scripture is God breathed,
and is useful for teaching, rebuking,
correcting, and training in righteousness.

2 Timothy 3:16

Try to answer this one :) What were Jesus' last words?
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Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34
"My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" followed by a loud cry afterwards.
Luke 23:46 "Father, into Your hands I commit my spirit."
John 19:30 "It is finished."

You should have looked it up, lazy! :p
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So there I was, in my bathroom aka Areopagus... pondering and pondering. Then I looked at myself. I struggle to remember what I ate last night. The earliest gospel written, Mark was produced 40 years after the death of Jesus!

Let's look at it this way, if you and your friends were asked to memorize some gospel songs for the whole afternoon, then you guys sang the songs together for another week. Then your gang was scattered around. Try producing the same songs after 40 years! Considering this, I would say that on the contrary, the four gospels are remarkably similar!

Now, the gospel songs were inspired by God right? Can we, on account that some inconsistencies exist with your lyrics and mine claim that God does not exist?

God does intend for everything to be perfect, just as He intended to spend eternity with Adam and Eve playing catch in the garden of Eden, but somehow us humans have to mess things up!!!

You pick up the papers, and on the front page it is an article about the women going to the tomb 3 days after Jesus was crucified. Would the headlines scream,

"Was it an angel, a young man, two young men, or two angels?"

or

Jesus has risen!!!

I'm not saying, let us neglect the small picture, but
Let's not make the small picture the
big picture.

Never Enough?

James 2:22
"You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did."

It's easy to understand that faith without action is dead. As stated in James 2:19, even demons believe in God. So what would separate us and demons?

.:Faith + Works = Righteousness:.

Someone brought up a question today as to how would we know how much work(s) is enough?

So we refer to Matthew 25:14 for The parable of the Talents. The master will reward the servant who utilized his talent(s) according to their ability. I'd love for God to tell me "Good and faithful servant ^_^".

But you see, I have a certain issue with this. Not only do we not know what is the extent of our talents, but I'm sure many of us focus on how to do works, instead of righteousness.

So let's turn to Luke 10:41-42
"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only ONE thing is needed.

What was it that Jesus wanted? Wasn't Martha working her socks off to make preparations for Jesus? But hey... we see that the one being commended was Mary, was it for just sitting at His feet?

Jesus doesn't need you to do things for Him, come to think of it, God is all-powerful! He created the universe, He commands the winds, He can make earth reverse its course, He can raise the dead... *Yawn* (for God that is :p)

Jesus wants you to do things with Him.

"For the husband is the head of the wife
as Christ is the head of the church,
His body, of which He is the savior."

Ephesians 5:23

There You'll Be

I'll need you guys to really be honest with yourselves on this one :)

"Would you still worship God if there was no concept of Heaven or Hell?

No reward, No punishment involved."

What does it mean to truly be a friend to someone? According to the definition found in the Yahoo! dictionary, a friend is:

NOUN:

1. A person whom one knows, likes, and trusts.

2. A person whom one knows; an acquaintance.

3. A person with whom one is allied in a struggle or cause; a comrade.

4. One who supports, sympathizes with, or patronizes a group, cause, or movement:
friends of the clean air movement.

5. Friend A member of the Society of Friends; a Quaker.

Basically a friend is someone you are willing to relate to.

Unfortunately there exists some who will coerce or take advantage of another by pretending to be a friend. Simply said, it's a relationship bound by condition. I'll be your friend because you buy me lunch all the time, or I'll be your friend because you'd bully me if I wasn't.

Is that real friendship?
Of course not !!!

You see, the problem here is how often us Christians view God as merely a "ticket to heaven".
What if heaven or hell didn't exist? What if there was no afterlife?

Would you still worship Him?

Jesus was sent down to bridge the gap between us and the father.
We were meant to be in heaven to be with God for eternity.
If you feel empty, if you feel hollow, if you feel meaningless, it means something...

It's time to let Him come in and fill you. Just as friends cater to our emotional needs, He is the only one who can satisfy the spiritual side of us. No strings attached, love God for who He is, doesn't He love you for who you are? Be sincere.

Don't go to heaven for the sake of escaping hell.

Not everyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord",
will enter the kingdom of heaven,
but only he who does the will of
my Father who is in heaven.

Many will say to me on that day,
"Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your Name,
and in Your Name drive out demons
and perform many miracles?
Then I will tell them plainly,
"I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers."

Matthew 7:21-22

.: The purest thing we can offer Him, is not our works, but our love :.