14. Back to the Roots 4

Remember the tower of Babel from the last post? =) People of one common speech, united and decided to build a tower up to the heavens, so that they can make a name for themselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.

Then lets read Gen 11: 5-9. Focus on the bold letters.

But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel†—because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

The word CONFUSION is LUAN, 乱. Separate 乱 you get 舌(tongue) and 乚.
Next, the word SCATTER, in chinese is FEN SAN, 分散. Let's see them both separately. First we have 分. Remember I told you that there were 8 generations united in builiding the tower of Babel? From Noah down to Jobab, from Gen 10:21-29 , tracing from the descendants of Shem. So eight generations divided.
Then we have 散. We have 共 from 中华人民共和国（People's Republic of China). This illustrates that a group of people(now the Chinese in the East) gathered and followed in flesh, all the way to the East, the place we called CHINA today.And so both word together, we can see that they tells about the story of 8 generations divided and a part of it followed each other all the way to the east. Because these were Chinese writings, so they were the ones who scattered and settled in China. In other words, they migrated to the east.

The word MIGRATE is QIAN, 遷. That tells about the big division happened in the west. Because at that time, Israel is in the west relative to China.

13. Back to the Roots 3

Genesis chapter 4 tells us about two brothers, Cain and Abel, sons of Adam and Eve.

• Abel worked on the flocks.
• Cain worked on the soil.
• In the course of time, Abel and Cain brought offerings to the Lord.
  
• Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock.
• Cain brought some of the fruits in the soil.
• The Lord looked with favor on Abel's offering but not with Cain's.
• Cain got angry and dissatisfied.

• Gen 4:6-7 > Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

• Cain called Abel, went out to the field, there Cain attacked and killed Abel.

So, this is what half of Chapter 4 tells us about. Point to take note is that God prefered Abel's offering over Cain's,; later in the Old Testament both animal and agricultural offering were accpeted by God. So its quite possibly that it was Cain's attitude problem. Cain certainly became instantly angry with God when things did not go his way.

• So then God knew and punished Cain.
• God said to Cain,

  Gen 4:12 > ''When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”

• Cain begged for mercy, he claimed that the punishment was more than he can bear, and that whoever finds him will kill him.
• So God put a mark on Cain, so that no one who found Cain would kill him.

Notice the words in bold, So from thiose, we have, brothers=XIONG,兄， where one of them became the murderer=XIONG,兇 who was fierce=XIONG,凶, all three with the pinyin xiong of different intonations. This one picture tells you all. =)

Next, chapter 6, The Flood. This was when the population of mankind increased, as well as the wickedness in them.

Gen 6:5-8 > The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. So the LORD said, “I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.

God commanded Noah to built and ark. God saw righteousness in Noah and so God built a covenant with him. God gave Noah instructions how to built the boat and what or who to put into that boat. All from Gen 6:13-22 and Gen 7:1-5. Keywords are in bold. We have, an ark, and who to put into the boat? Answer is in Gen 6:18 and total number of people is 8.

Gen 6:18> ''But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons' wives with you.''

Ark, is a BIG BOAT=CHUAN,船.

Next is Chapter 11, The tower of Babel. Now in chapter 1o, there we can get the family tree of Noah's covenant. Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, and from them came the people who were scattered over the earth. Now right before the happening of the Tower of Babel, there were 8 generations down from Noah. Read and count from Gen 10:21-29, tracing from the descendants of Shem.

Chapter 11: 1 >Now the whole world had one language and a common speech.

With one language everyone was united. UNITED=HE,合.
With the same language, unity ignites ambition. The people decided to build a tower up to the heavens.

Gen 11:3 > Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

And we have the word TOWER=TA,塔. In unity, they used bricks(clay) and grass to build the tower up to the heavens.

Are you excited? Well I was when I first learn about these. The Chinese did worshipped God way long time before Buddhism, Daosim, and Confucianism came up. And now, whoever that came up to you saying you forgo-ed your ancestors' traditions, beliefs and teachings, tell them these. That's all for today. Be prepared for a few more! =)

12. Revision to BTR 1 and 2

Hi there. So my mom wrote my previous two posts, and commented that my explanations weren't in detail. Hence I went back to my previous post and find that there is no way I can summarize Genesis chapter 1 and 2. Each sentence and each word is important enough for you to know who God is and how did man sinned.

So I figured out to put things this way. All I can add on is by telling you that

1. Genesis is the first book in the Bible.
2. Genesis chapter 1 describes the seven days process of the creation of our mother Earth, and all living beings and elements. The order of the creation goes like this according to each subsequent day: light, night and day> water and sky> seas and dry land producing vegetation, plants,trees,fruit with seed in it> seasons,day,years, sun and moon> sea creatures and birds, both with reproducing powers> livestocks on land, wild animals> man> on the 7th day, God rested.
   
3. Chapter 2 talks about Satan or devil in the form of a serpent, deceiving Eve to break God's command, that was by eating from the tree of the knowledge, which God commanded them not to, or they will surely die. Now the word DIE, means dying spiritually, being separated from God, because man now is with sinned, hence they cannot live together with God anymore. And because they broke God's command, God punished them and cursed the serpent.

So basically, these are the main points you need to know. Do put the Bible in front of you or open an online bible site if you are not familiar with it, it will just take you around 20 minutes to finish up two chapters. =)

So my upcoming words are related to Genesis chapter 4, 6, and 11. After finishing relating those few Chinese words I've learnt from Pastor Kong Hee, we will then see the similarities between the Chinese SHANG DI, and the Hebrew JEHOVAH or YAHWEH, the Lord our God. Taking documents and records from the Chinese history, we can clearly see that the Chinese people , way back 4500 years ago, believed that same singular supreme God that I am believing right now, the God who is our Heavenly Father, and Father to Jesus Christ.

11. Back to the Roots 2

Now let's continue to Genesis Chapter 3.

1. Gen 3:1- Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. The word serpent, in Chinese is MO, 魔. Firstly, we focus on the word GUI,鬼， which is a character contained in MO, 魔. DEVIL=GUI,鬼=With movements, in the garden, a man came, secretly. So, the devil came among the tress, under cover=SERPENT=MO, 魔.
2. Genesis 3 describes the fall of man, where Adam and Eve, SINNED, they ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge, deceived by the serpent. Here the word SIN=ZUI,罪, which reminds us of the four contradictions in the Bible that led to the fall of mankind.
   What are the four contradictions? (see #1 till #4)
   
   #1 : The serpent contradict God's word, God did not say Adam and Eve cannot eat any tree, God said they can eat from any tree except one.
   
   Gen 3:1 > The serpent said to the woman, "Did God really say,'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?''
   THE FACT IS, Gen 2:16-17 > And the Lord commanded the man,'You are free to eat from any tree in the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die. ''
   
   
   #2 : God did not say they cannot touch it, just do not eat it.
   Gen 3:2-3 >Eve said, ''But God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.''
   THE FACT IS, Gen 2:17 > but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die. ''
   
   #3 : Gen 3:4 > "You will not surely die,'' the serpent said to the woman.
   THE FACT IS, Gen 2:17 > God said,''.........for when you eat of it you will surely die.''
   
   #4 : The serpent claimed that God did not want us to be like God.
   Gen 3: 5 > The serpent said, ''For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.''
   
   
3. So after eating from the tree of the knowledge, both Adam and Eve realised they were naked and were hiding from God when they heard Him coming. Gen 3:10 > Adam answered, 'I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.' The word naked in Chinese is LUO,裸. After consuming the fruit, the 'clothing' is gone. The word HID is DUO,躱. The body is the tree. In other words, the body was superimposed to the tree. Adam hid behind the tree.
4. Adam hid because he felt the guilt and shame of sin. Now GUILT is KUI, 愧, which illustrates the result of the heart of men being invaded by the devil.

10. Back to the Roots

My roots, the Chinese culture, with the Chinese History and Writings,　ｏｆｔｅｎ a question to myself and those who do not have at least some formal education about it. Despite the fact that I grew up in a family which ignored Chinese language much, and with no one receiving any formal education in Chinese medium, I have always love to learn the language myself, bit by bit.

So the Chinese letters mesmerize me every time I learn a new word, or a new phrase; because each and every singular Chinese word is a picture that symbolizes something in the past or a story. With a few words, became a phrase that's even more sophisticated!

So, I've learnt a few associations from singular Chinese words that are related with Christian stories in the Bible. All these credits goes to Pastor Kong Hee, from Singapore's City Harvest Church. So it was documented that Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism came since 5-6BC. However, Chinese began to write, and had their writings assembled way longer in the past, around 2500BC. With the Chinese words created, the Chinese people are able to document history. Emperor Huang Di, worshipped a supreme God that has the same character and power as the Jehovah or Yahweh. The Chinese called the God as SHANG DI,上帝 or TIAN, 天.
It is a STROKE, which means One（一) in Chinese, above the word BIG(大）. Hence, the One thing that is bigger than everything else, GOD.

Here, we are gonna related a few words with the a few great happenings in the past that was mentioned in the Bible, starting from Genesis.

1. Gen 1:1-26 - In the beginning God created the heavens, and the earth. And God said, "Let there be light...''
   
2. Gen1:26 - Then God said, ''Let us make man in our image, in our likeness...'' Here, the word 'MAKE' is to CREATE ，ZAO, 造．When God spoke(告), there were creation, hence movement(辶)
   
3. Gen 2:8 - Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden, and there he put the man he had formed. The word Prosperity，FU(福) illustrates this. God and a man having fruitful relationship, living in the Garden of Eden.
4. The word Garden in Chinese is 園. Gen 2:7- The Lord God formed the man from dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became living being. Gen 2:22- Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. With dust from the ground, or clay, and a breathe from God, he create man, and out of the man He created woman, and God brought them together into the garden, hence this whole word YUAN，園.
5. Gen 2:16- And the Lord commanded to the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat it you will surely die." Hence, God forbids the eating of the tree in the middle of the garden. Hence FORBIDS in Chinese is JIN, 禁. Gen 2:9- In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God talks about the revelation of the two trees, forbidding man to eat the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

....to be continued.

9. Living under His Lordship

They say when you accepted Jesus Christ as your LORD, living under His Lordship will be by obeying Him in the daily affairs of life. In John 13:13, Jesus declared that He is the teacher and the Lord. This name, Jesus Christ, is a name given by God, that at this name, every knee shallbow, in heaven and on earth, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord to God's glory (Phillippians 2:9-11).

Everyone, good or evil, angelic or devilish, can call Jesus as Lord. What significantly tells if Christ is truly Lord of your life is by DOING WHAT CHRIST SAYS TO YOU (Luke 6:46 - ''Why do you call me Lord, Lord and do not do what I say?'').

The three basic requirements when we decided to follow Christ:

1. Deny ourselves; to put God as the top priority through Jesus Christ. We must put behind all things on earth, which does not limit to our parents, family and loved possesions.
2. Take up the CROSS daily; well, for a moment, i thought. When I read this myself, thoughts of Jesus, His crucifixion, and persecutions are in mind. Firstly, he cross gave us significant pictures of Jesus's sufferings and death, from this view, I know that calling Jesus as my Lord, I have to suffer for His sake and be persecuted on earth. Secondly, the cross also reminds me of the cleansing of my sin and the death of my past and renewal of my spirit after receiving Jesus on the cross. So 'taking up the cross daily' also tells me that I need to confess daily, and repent of all new sins and be purified in His blood daily.
3. Follow Jesus Christ. Very subjective and strict. Which standards and what to follow? The Word of God and His Holy Spirit is guiding us on this.
   

I've been telling myself and people around me that I am living under His Lordship for 4 years now. And reviewing about His Lordship gave me doubts on myself, again, as usual. Every single time I asked myself, did I put the Lord first today? Are my actions according to His ways today? And yes, the answer will be no, and I'm ashamed. =/

Putting God as the top priority seems affordable from the beginning. But as I lived and breathed, I learnt that God requires so much discipline out of me. Acknowledging the Lordship of Christ in my life from these areas based on two BIG questions.

1. Am I willing to do whatever Christ desires in this area?
2. Will I be able to thank God sincerely for whatever may happen in this area?

Areas:

• Self-fulfilment
• Financial Management
• Family Relationships
• Use of leisure time
• Friendships
• Possessions and Addictions
• Work Habits
• Helping other people
• Life Goals and Motivations
• Physical Health and Wellness
  

I have uncountable flaws, and I really need the Potter daily. I need to be beautiful before Him when He comes to pick me up.

8. Cognitive Dissonance

Romans 7:15-20 ''I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. ¹⁶And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. ¹⁷As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. ¹⁸I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. ¹⁹For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. ²⁰Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. ''

As much as I wanted to be saint and holy, I fall and trip quite often too. Growing up like everybody else, I do struggle a lot with things I want to do, and what I did. In short, the body is fighting the mind, the flesh is in a war with the spirit.

Habits like procrastinations, attitudes of impatience and insensitivity, and routines resulting from laziness are really what I am ashamed of myself. The weaknesses of this soul, sometimes, draw me apart from the crowd or people I love. At times, I chose to run away and hide, I chose to keep it in dark than to fix it. It is bad and I am getting old, I foresee that it'll get worse if I do not do anything about it. At my age, I can differentiate what is good and what is bad, as to what my surroundings perceived to be, and what God told us in the Bible. However, it is not that I can snap my finger and be person without sin at once. Situations where I did what I know is not right happens. The body will try its best to go against the spirit. Plus, there is so much more I've never experienced. Sometimes, sin is just right in front of us, preparing to swallow us in because of what we do not know.

From Romans, Paul, the author, offers himself as an example of the struggle involved when an imperfect person commits himself to a perfect God. He admits his own anguish and despair at failing even when he has good intentions.

''How can I ever get rid of my nagging sins?''

Romans 7:21- 25 ''²¹So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. ²²For in my inner being I delight in God's law; ²³but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. ²⁴What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? ²⁵Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!

So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.''

Romans 8:9-11 ⁹You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. ¹⁰But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. ¹¹And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

By faith, I know He came to make me a better person and to fix me right. "For I take no pleasure in death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and Live!'' (Eze 18:32). But for every part that he fixed, if I were to condemn it repeatedly, then I will be punished. ''Righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.'' (Romans 3:22) I need Him more than the next heartbeat.

I Need You More

7. The God I Know

''In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.''(John 1:1).''The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth (John1:14)''

''The true light that gives light to every men was coming to the world'' (John 1:9).

The Song I Learnt and Share

When the stage is bare tonight
There’s no one else
Just You and me
When the curtains close behind
There’s no pretense
I’m on my knees

I will lay down my life
For the love sacrifice
You gave to me
It’s all because of You
All because of You

The God I know
Righteous and Holy
The God I know
Faithful and true
The God I know
My tower of refuge
Hearts are healed
Christ revealed

The God I know
Light of the City
The God I know
Strengthens the weak
The God I know
Your heart beats within me
As You are, so are we

6. Malachi

Younger generations, with not much thoughts of the spiritual growth often say things like '' It is futile to serve God. What did we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord Almighty? But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly the evildoers prosper, and even those who challenge God escape.'' (3:14)

Malachi speaks about the on-going faith, when we live and go through so much, especially when we are on either extremes of high and low. Success and failure has their dangers. When we reach the top, we might slack and our spiritual life might deteriorate too. When we fall to the very bottom, we questioned about fairness and justice. Whether or not you are believer, the questions revolved around the similar few.

Can the simple minds learn? Are careless attitudes alright? Is it always a blissful ignorance? Are the evildoers and troublemakers good in the eyes of the Lord? Is God please with you? Are you luke-warm?

'' So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against the sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud labourers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me,'' says the Lord Almighty. (3:5)

''Surely the day is coming, it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day is coming will set them on fire,'' says the Lord Almighty. Not a root or branch will be left for them. (4:1)

But who can endure the day of His coming? Who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, He will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. (3:2-3)

Simply, Malachi urges believers to take obedience seriously and fear God, believing that He is to come soon to judge each and every of our thoughts, actions and decisions. Both the mind and the mouth can be efficient verbal dynamites. Your hands can do wonders, both good and evil. Hence we are reminded to remind ourselves to continuously practice our faith, seriously.

1. Do not offer to God whatever that is unpleasant or impure to you. If you do, ''I will accept no offering from your hands. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to my name, because my name will be great among the nations,'' says the Lord Almighty. (1:10-11)
2. Do not marry a partner of other religion. ''As for the man who does this, whoever he may be, may the Lord cut him off from the tents of Jacob, even though he brings offerings to the Lord Almighty. Nowadays, more often with much consistency, people look for common interests and compatibility in their marriage partner. A believer and unbeliever cannot be seen as being compatible. Our spiritual standing before God is the most important aspect of our lives. You may go against this and asked, "If I marry an unbeliever, will not I be in a good position to turn them to God?" But God’s commandments are based on wisdom. God knows that, usually and in fact, the unbelieving spouse causes the believing spouse to drift away from God.
3. Do not commit adultery. ''Has not the Lord made them one? In flesh and spirit they are His. And why one? Because He was seeking for godly offsprings. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth.'' (2:15) But if you did commit it, as a punishment for your partner's suffering, the Lord will cut off His relationship with the one who've done wrong. He will come to regret for what he did: "You flood the Lord’s altar with tears. You weep and wail because He no longer pays attention to your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands."(2:13).
4. Do not choose divorce, do not choose to sin, and do not give excuses or compromise with wrong-doings. ''I hate divorce, says the Lord God and I hate a man's covering himself with violence as well as with his garments.'' (2:16).
   

So yes, even minor decisions are able to shake your faith and cause you to be weary in the presence of God and backslide. Malachi is seriously urging us to practice our faith seriously and continuously. He reminds us to not do things that will cause us to be shaken. Do not put the Lord to test for he says, ''test me in this, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.'' (3:10)

God tells us that he keeps a scroll of remembrance (3:16), on which he records those who fear him, and that sometime in the future He will come as judge, destroying the wicked, and perservering those who feared Him. The value of serving Him will be obvious someday, even if it is no today.

''A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am the father, where is the honor due me? If I am the master, where is the respect due me? says the Lord Almighty.'' (1:6)

The bitter truth? Or a pleasant righteousness meant to be discovered? I say the latter. Keeping God's commandments is way off our scope and strength. But remember God the Provider is always there, awaiting for us to go Home.

5. Obadiah

'' Nah, you are not of my business, not in my area of concern. You should be fine. Bye, take care =)''

This is the most often used conversation to erase guilty conscience when someone or a friend came to me for help or a favour. At times, even only once, I tend to ignore these people as it would inconvenience me.

I am aware that often I am ignorant and, probably an egoist. I will not just simply put any acquaintances into my area of concern. I am insensitive and forgetful. Indeed, my inter-personal relationship is bad, my social scope is narrow, I am unfriendly. So many a times, I will say, '' It's none of my business,'' and leave or ignore totally, especially to people I particular do not like. Yes, I know, I should love everyone as I love myself, but hey, I am not an angel of love, not as loving as you think, I am human.

So, it never occur to me as much significant as now that I have read the book of Obadiah. It is the shortest book in the Old Testament. This book tells and reminds me that justice will be done., mainly referring to the feud between the twins, Jacob and Esau. ''As you have done, it will be done to you; your deeds will return upon your own head.'' (15) Obadiah mainly gives the final word on a blood feud. A family betrayal is uniquely offensive to God and people.

'' ....you who say to yourself, ''Who can bring me down to the ground?'' Though you soar like an eagle and make your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down.'' declares the Sovereign Lord. (3-4)

Very well, I admit, at times I do think high about myself, being smarter, or more advance and thus tend to ignore those who are less capable.

'' Because of the violence you did to your close relatives in Israel, you will be filled with shame and destroyed forever.'' (10)

I remember, most from the past, that often I cursed and hit my two younger brothers, even blamed my mom for nagging me.

''Dear children, let us not love each other with words or tongue, let us show the truth by our actions....For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.'' ( 1 John 3:18,20) " Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.'' (Galatians 6:10)

From Obadiah, we are constantly reminded that everyone is under God's ongoing protection from their enemies. And of course, God's standard extends beyond His chosen people. Every nation, every soul will be judged by their own standard, and likewise under the protection of God too. Do not underestimate your own standard, for we do not know what God has for us or He sets us apart from others. Do not curse those that treated us badly. It is too difficult?I know, trust me. Some people just make us so sick. BUT, the start of the cursing suppression and restrictions will make significant differences. Day by day, bit by bit, we will mould to be just as pure and innocent as a dove if not like Jesus.

Readings from this, made me think, a lot. Often I were tempted to turn a blind eye to some needs of others. I chose rather not to know than to help. It is bad. And now, it felt even worse when I am assured that God is offended by this bad habit. So I must say, I am stepping out in love today! Easier said now, but I accepted the challenge so I must change.

4. Hebrews 11:39

''These were all commented for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised.''

Words ain't enough! You can believe all the right things, yet still be dead wrong. To survive, beautifully till the end, we do not only based on reality. Sometimes, we need to count on faith and what we perceived to be deceptions too. Ironic but true. Most often, not even giants of faith get exactly what they want.


Faith. A big word in my life. Often illustrated as the lubricant for an engine that's about to break down. That picture of faith emerges from my experience are phrases like persevere, endure, don't lose heart, keep up with the challenging, keep running on track, just keep swimming, just keep swimming..........but how long do I need to swim? There is no end in the ocean and up on the earth! The world is round, the world is small. Yes, but when it comes to having faith, the world is enormous and border-less. '' Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.'' (Heb 11:1)

Some people think of faith as an almost magical force. A magic word that you cling to and muster up. They say, if you muster up enough of it, you'll be awesome, wealthy, powerful, stay healthy and live a contented life. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. Yet, how do we muster up faith? Faith or true faith? What are the signs for it? I suppose each individual has his own definition of faith.

I define my faith as a constant commitment to hang on and believe God against all odds, no matter what. Difficult race, a tough one. The process of living by faith in Jesus Christ builds strong character and resiliency. This life race has nothing to lose. But if I finish it, I'll be rewarded with what I perceived to believe in. A place to belong afterlife, and of course heaven not hell. '' Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God promised to those who love Him.'' (James 1:12) Living in the world but not of the world is hardly simple. However, the constant test of faith and temptations develops perseverance. And perseverance must finish its work so that I am mature and complete, not lacking anything (James 1:4).

''But someone will say, 'You have faith; I have deeds.' Show me your faith without deeds and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that__ and shudder.'' (James 2:18-19)

Living in Christ for 4 years now, I must say, I've learnt a lot through both the Bible and aging. LOL. Yes, I do not deny that aging plays an important role in teaching each sane soul to comprehend much further from the abstract view. So far, I am not severely executed or casted out by the society for what I chose to believe in, yet. However, people around me often make me think about how firm is my stand in the Lord. I must say, it does feel alone at times with the fact that often people that I get acquainted with have different beliefs as we Christians have.

Picture credit to JonWoon

Moreover, faith cannot stand alone. ''As a body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead'' (James 2:26). It is worthless and useless to just have faith and a religion. Christianity with much faith and deeds is a teaching and guidance upon my life. It is hardly simple to run this race, but hey, live life dangerously, no? =)

Word of the day : Faith, deeds

3. Proverbs 16

Proverbs 16 caught my attention for a few days now. My favourite few are :

1. 16-2 : All a man's ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the Lord.
2. 16-3 : Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.
3. 16-8 : Better with a little righteousness than much gain with injustice.
4. 16-9 : In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.

These few verses are what caught my attention most in the mean time. To walk in the right way as God sees it is hardly simple if we do it by ourselves. Plans, motives, goals, actions, results, gains, incomes, outcomes, etc. are all independent variables.



Motive, is the one word that stands out in my view. Human are so manipulative, some humble and wise, and others devious till the very end. With motive, we say we can do things in higher rates and we say, ''I know what I am doing, it is just it, I feel it.''. Without motive, we say, '' I don't know man, I can't, I don't feel like living anymore, nothing beats my heart, I feel like shit!''.
Motive, indeed a big word. It initiates your first moves and it encourages you to take all the other steps to reach your goal.

These words and verses made me ponder and I remembered this picture.

The prize-winning image: A vulture watches a starving child in southern Sudan, March 1, 1993. ( Kevin Carter/CORBIS/Sygma).

The photographer, Kevin Carter, a Pulitzer winner for credits of the photo above. And then, commited suicide due to depression suffered from critics and realisation that he should actually help that girl.

''Photographers and journalists put themselves through so much in order to capture that one moment, that one story or that one photograph. Is it really fair to bring it all down to good versus bad and right versus wrong? Isn't such a Manichaean view of the world problematic?''

The motive to show the world the plight of the Africans - right?
The motive to be proud of this picture - right?
The motive in leaving the girl just like that after seeing her - right?
The motive to leave the world after realising he should have save or help the girl - right?

Ambiguity of the border line between right and not right. It is purposeful and constructive to share with the world what is actually happening out there. Sometimes, doing things we think is right will lead us to do just that one thing. Because we think it is right, so we care less about other things we need to do. So, yes, taking that photograph is right. But taking that photograph only and leave is not right. So i guessed, when Kevin Carter took this photograph, his ultimate motive was ''doing good by showing it through pictures only'', and later only that he realised his motive should be ''doing something good by showing and doing it''. But easier said than anything. Circumstances often push us to do something unexpected or illogic. We cannot judge, not even if we face the exact same situation. Different people, different motive, different perception, different ways.

A few will ask, ''How can I keep my motives right? ''Whatever we do, remember the Almighty and have fear. ''The highway of the upright avoids evil, he who guards his way, guards his life.''(16:17 ) Be Meek and WISE, then the motive will be RIGHT. ''Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for, through the fear of the Lord a man avoids evil.'' (16:6)

Word of the day: Motive; Meek; Wise

2. Esther Complete

I continued with Esther, and realised it has only 10 chapters. LOL. =)

1. Mordecai - Apart from being caregiver of Queen Esther, he became the second Jew ranked after King Xerxes. He saved the king's life and was rewarded much later. He was given the authority to stop Haman's plot and saved the Jews in all provinces of King Xerxes.
2. Haman - Son of Hammedatha, the Agagite. Honored a set higher than all other nobles of King Xerxes. Bible did not state why. He had a plot to destroy all Jewish people in the provinces of King Xerxes because he was dissatisfied with Mordecai. Mordecai simply did not pay any respect to him after his promotion.

3. God is not mentioned in this book.

4. Purim - is a festival that commemorates the deliverance of the Jews living throughout the ancient persian Empire from a plot by Haman the Agagite to annihilate them. This festival got its name from a purim stone, which was used to choose date and time. Haman, with the evil plot, chose a date to establish his plans by using that stone. Hence, Purim it is, a remembrance.
   

With happenings about the plan of Jews' destruction, their rising up and how they avenged on their enemies, the book of Esther is pretty much like a story book. With nothing much written about how God helped the Jews, this is has little historical validity too. However, the writer, unknown, did mentioned that all these happenings were recorded officially. Hence, convincing the readers that what's written are true.

1. Book of Esther Chapter 1-8

Indeed a blessed day. God is there with me, helping me to cope with what I intended to do. The Book of Esther, indeed an interesting book with many happenings.

1. King Xerxes - ruled over 127 provinces; India-Cush; throne in citadel of Susa.
2. Queen Vashti - Queen preceding Q. Esther. Disobeyed the king's command to appear in front of the people and nobles, because all of them were drunk, so was the king himself. Hence, punished to be restricted from entering the presence of King Xerxes and her title was stripped.
   
3. Mordecai - Benjamite; Jew; caregiver of Esther/Hadassah, his cousin.
4. Hadassah a.k.a. Esther - An orphan. Cousin to Mordecai. Queen to King Xerxes. Also a Jew. But kept her nationality in secret, as told by Mordecai, even after becoming the Queen.
   

How Esther became Queen? How did she helped her people despite her abilities and position? Why God rewarded Haman? Why is Mordecai rewarded much later after his contribution in saving the king's life? Interesting chapters and stories ahead!

Till then, I still need to understand what was written up to chapter 8. =)

40 days Chasing after Him

This blog is to share the my journey and to help keep me in track. Being a christian for 4 years, I have not read the whole bible yet. It is an embarrassed case.

And I did feel the urge to seek God. End times will be scary. How will I be fit to stand in His presence? Idk, but at least, if He comes, I will not be perish. Following His ways are hardly simple, so I challenge myself to persevere through His guidance and moldings.

So, I am starting off my first 40 days rally with God by reading His Words and messages in the bible. 40 is just a number. =)