Post-It Notes *Random*

Last Sunday during the Youth service's teachings by Aunt Lai Lean somehow inspired me to do this! It was all about memorizing the bible verses in whatever creative ways that you are able to think of. The fact that I am not a very creative and active person, I succumb to drawings and visual association techniques.

Here are some examples. And I hope they help you in memorizing your verses too. =)

#1

#2

#3

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.