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for more wonderful posts- go to Enoch Fellowship Christian Forum (My nick name=Servant Joseph) This testimony is written right after an atheist challenged Christianity. Background: (Common myth) Humans cannot absolutely 100% prove/disprove something in daily life. When we choose to believe something, there are 2 processes. 1. There are ¡§sound¡¨ reasons (good grounds) to believe so 2. We make the final ¡§leap of faith¡¨ to believe it I believe ¡§existence of God¡¨ has greater & better chance than ¡§no existence of God¡¨ Coz, 1. (1st cause) I exist, so someone must have created me. I believe my creator creates me purposefully/meaningfully vs. random existence of me without purpose/meaning (Design) This world is so organized/well designed and I believe my creator creates it purposefully vs. random existence 2. I have soul- morality & a sense of perfection (conscience) in my heart. Everyone has a same set of ¡§perfect standard¡¨ in his heart. For example, everyone hates unjust killing (murder), everyone welcomes love rather than hatred, etc. It is not a product of this material world (random occurring) or socialization. I believe someone (creator) has created/put that in me (in¡Vborn) vs. socialization by world/me 3. My experience: (but maybe the most important: who is God?) I read the Bible. I test it with my PhD. Life (21 years of living). It makes perfect sense to me. It gives me a fair explanation of who God is and who I am, and how to live life happily. I follow its instructions, apply it to life, and I experience an unprecedented joyfulness, peace and life that is full of life and love. Moreover, it provides me with a solution and frees me from addiction to sins. These experiences are as promised in the Bible by God. Therefore, I choose to believe he is my God. Elaborations: 1. Existence of the world & me is so complicated and well designed that I believe it¡¦s more rational to believe there¡¦s a creator. l Random existence probability- 10 to the power of ¡V90 (Science) l 2nd energy law of thermodynamics- things always turn from organized state to chaotic state (complex to simple) and in the process of disintegration (downward trend) (Science) 2. My soul is trans-material. (Science)- Research: a group of research respondents have different parts of their brains stimulated by an electric source, e.g. when the hand area is stimulated, the respondent¡¦s hand will lift up. However, as his hand lifted up, he could tell it¡¦s the electric stimulus, which brought about the action, rather than himself. Therefore, it shows that our soul is not material (controlled by the material brain). Instead, our soul is like an invisible hand controlling the brain cell activity, e.g. an invisible hand playing the piano. 3. I test it with other religions, but the Christian God really gives me ¡§love¡¨, freedom (from addictions e.g. in the past, I was obsessed with my athlete image in others¡¦ eyes; I did not have ¡§real¡¨ security and ¡§real¡¨ self-image, but God helps me overcome it), and a full life that is full of life. On the other hand, you may say, ¡§I don¡¦t believe in the Bible¡¨. But think about it: ¡§Crush Analogy¡¨- When you have a crush on a guy/girl, would you put him/her in a lab to test if he/she loves you too (pure Science), or would you use pure reasoning to prove if he/she loves you too (pure Philosophy); then ¡§OK, his/her love is real, I go love him/her now? No. It¡¦s not going to work. Instead, you go understand her first in order to prove his/her love is real or not. During the process, you use 1) reasoning (rationality) & 2) your life (coz you understand yourself, whether you are truly happy or not) to test it. In the same way, you go read the Bible to understand first and see if he¡¦s really your God and you¡¦re really his dear creation. * Contradictions (lack of rationality + self-deception): Imagine: 1.
While you are walking,
have you ever doubted whether your leg is all right & you can make the next
step? Say, you walk 5000 steps
everyday. 20 years old. You have
taken 36,500,000 steps in your entire life. So, if you choose to doubt your leg, you
will have to choose to believe in 2.74 to the power of ¡V8. However, you would never doubt it coz,
you know it¡¦s irrational & even silly.
But why you choose to discard the 2.74 to the power of ¡V 2. Why do you believe in gravity? Science can¡¦t 100% prove anything. Science just states, ¡§Something is ¡¥temporarily true¡¦ under these conditions¡¨. Why don¡¦t you believe that next time you jump, you will fly up to the sky? Observing your own daily life, we are never 100% sure of anything. We just believe something goes like this or that because there are convincing ground for them. The same goes with science. Why contradiction (self-deception) Why is it almost always hard & uncommon to discuss issues of religion & meaning of life in public or even with your best friends? Because: 1. Every time we talk about the meaning of life, we have to admit/confess to others that we are living meaninglessly and are living miserably without a definite goal/end-point. We need to admit, ¡§I don¡¦t even know what I¡¦m doing for?¡¨ No one wants to look ¡§inferior¡¨. 2. Every time we talk about God (pure, holy, perfect, and beautiful), we have to admit/confess to others that we are terrible and miserably imperfect. Consider how many dirty, evil thoughts in your mind. (Mine too) And we know what is right, but deliberately do what¡¦s wrong; we know what is wrong, but deliberately do it. We fall short of the perfection. We do not want to seem ¡§ugly¡¨ & show our sins to people. To make the decision to believe in God, we need to admit that we are not ¡§mighty¡¨ and can¡¦t make it. We need to be humble to admit our shortcomings, wrongdoings, and sins and open our heart to let God step in. That¡¦s why not many will come to God, especially some academics who ¡§thinks¡¨ they are wise & mighty and do not need God. Human Paradox (here I will say that everyone needs God, no exception) It is obvious in everyone that, we have an ¡§upward¡¨ tendency to search for ¡§meaning of life¡¨ (only from God) and search for ¡§perfection¡¨, true love and God. However, we also have a ¡§downward¡¨ tendency to live an animal life (sinful nature in Bible), say excessive drinking, indulgence in sex, permissive enjoyment¡K However, the downward enjoyment can never satisfy our life. See, how rich people suicide, you¡¦ll know $ and luxurious living are hopeless in bringing ¡§real¡¨ happiness. Only the upward enjoyment (finding God) can satisfy our life fully. We need God. Therefore, atheist is living a life of ¡§irrationality¡¨, ¡§inner-struggle¡¨, ¡§self-deception¡¨ & ¡§paradox¡¨. They choose to believe in something, which is irrational (no good grounds), and they live in constant ¡§self-contradictions¡¨ (referred to the ¡§Contradiction¡¨ section). While others choose to indulge in materialism and sexual permissiveness. They can never satisfy themselves. They aren¡¦t truly happy. But then, they ¡§irrationally rationalize¡¨ that there can never be true happiness out there. How miserable. Clarification of my beliefMany of you might have read some philosophers saying, ¡§we can¡¦t absolutely 100% prove or disprove God, but it¡¦s more beneficial to believe in him. So, let¡¦s believe¡¨ or similar statement. I don¡¦t like this claim. As this is a selfish, self-focused view- ¡§using God¡¨ For me (I choose to believe in the God as described in the bible), I feel his amazing love towards me. He gave me the opportunity to live this life and experience this wonderful world with beautiful creations. Just as David said (1 Chronicles 17-18), ¡§You have looked on me as though I were the most exalted of men, O Lord God. What more can I say to you for honoring your servant.¡¨ I, so imperfect, will never, never deserve this kind of love. I¡¦m in forever debt to his love. Therefore, my belief is: I gave up my own obsessions and rebellion. I surrender myself to God and submit to his will and do my best to (repay) love God with all my life (let God rule in me!). On Philosophy: Philosophy is very useful in helping us thinking clearly and carefully. However, we will go astray or in vain if we ¡§over-use¡¨ philosophy (using it in wrong field/boundary), for example trying to search for the ultimate truth or proving 100%/ absolutely God exists. Life is a process of experience. It is not a philosophy or a mathematical formula. We¡¦d better focus on ¡§living a meaningful/abundant life¡¨ instead of ¡§preoccupied with the search for the ¡§cannot-be-understood¡¨ mysteries. After all, do you need to know everything in order to live a meaningful life, love your bf/gf, etc? No. Imagine: If you find the ¡§truth¡¨, but you don¡¦t have love in your life, your life is just vain, empty and worthless. Paul said, ¡§If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.¡¨ (1Corithians 13:2) Throughout history, there are no one who can 100% prove God exist. And we do not expect there will be one. It¡¦s even not necessary. However, I don¡¦t think it¡¦s sad that we can¡¦t get the ultimate truth. Maybe it¡¦s God¡¦s will, so that people can use ¡§free-will¡¨ to believe in him, rather than forced by the ¡§100% truth¡¨. Therefore, he will know who really loves him and who doesn¡¦t. Thanks God, praise be to you, O Lord. Amen. p.s. this is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long¡K * (Dec1, 04) It is obvious that I strongly stress the use of our Life perception (a set of in-born rules), plus reasoning, in my proof. The reason is we all have to admit we humans face the limit of knowledge and rationality. There exist many mysteries of our life, God, and this world, which can never be understood now and even in the future. We honestly and humbly have to admit this reality. I believe, my approach (life & reason) is the best we can do right now. In pure reasoning, I can never be sure how real our body is and everything I perceive through my eyes is. The only thing I am always sure is that I do have feelings- happiness, sadness, etc. Therefore, using our life conceptions plus reasoning is the best approach, because while sometimes we can be deceived and therefore can be assisted by reasoning and because pure reasoning alone cannot provide an answer and can be supported by experience (We do need experience e.g. you never know how high riding roller coaster is just by intuition. You need to ride it yourself). Besides, I eagerly urge that we do not get confused or worried by the many life mysteries. We do not need to know all things in prerequisite to be a righteous, upright person, a loving husband/wife, a good father/mother, etc. Let¡¦s get back to the concrete reality, stop arguing about the abstract, non-useful, never-ending arguments. Let¡¦s live life fully and fervently and love wholeheartedly. Live 100% out of your life. Finally, Love God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength, as this is the meaning of life, amen. p.s.2 (Dec3, 04) Further Clarification Background:
Analogy 1:
Sickness When you are sick, you have
2 choices: 2. You go
ask the doctor (stage 2).
Now, the question: why does a farmer (uneducated) can believe in God equally well as a philosopher (highly educated)? My argument: believing in God requires life experience plus only basic reasoning. In the Bible, God talks about
life. So how can we analyze his
claim is true? Use pure reasoning
or philosophical thinking? No! Read it, understand it, live it, experience it
& test it. Everyone can do it & test it,
why? Because, everyone has
a PhD.
Life,
so many years of living experiences. You may say ¡§well, what the Bible says are really (or
completely) true, but anyway it¡¦s written by a incredibly wise human being in
ancient times¡K¡¨. I¡¦d reply, ¡§I¡¦d
call ¡§him¡¨ a superhuman. No humans
can ever have such a broad knowledge & write anything like this. Why not call ¡§him¡¨
God¡¨. Therefore, it¡¦s obvious a farmer might take a direct,
straightforward path in proving God while a philosopher can take many extra,
unnecessary (or even wrong) paths & end up in vain. Also, it¡¦s no surprise for a farmer to
have a stronger faith than a highly rational
philosopher. Next time if your friend asks you
reasons for your faith, do explain to him gently and remember to urge him/her to
be patient, humble,
open-minded, and to understand before making conclusions (judging). Lead him to read the
Bible. Give thanks to God from everlasting to everlasting, amen.
p.s. 10Oct04- God's mercy!10Oct04- God's
mercy! God Almighty, I make a vow
today: as today God has saved my best friend Jane from death 2 times, your mercy
is clearly shown and is great, from now on, I will be patient and self-controled
and put all my heart on helping people rather than judging people or complaining
(won't say a blaming word) even if people misunderstand me, doubt me, challenge me or wrong
me. :worship:God, let me continue to find favors in your eyes and totally follow the Holy Spirit. Thanks God for my life.:idea: 9Oct04- Why do I believe in a forever marriage?9Oct04- Why do I believe in
a forever marriage? Dear I study family studies (couple
relationship & marriage). I am
very passionate :flame:on this topic and would like to share with you my
finding. A divorce culture (our culture) is
sweeping all over the world. It's
obvious. The importance of
marriage, the commitment of marriage, and the bond of marriage are
declining. People lose hopes in a
"forever" marriage. Deal to this
fear or insecurity, increasing number of people are cohabiting, or living
together, considering themselves "husband and wife" without actually getting
married. Here comes the question: Why is
contemporary marriage (it's true for dating too) that
weak? *Answering this question, I
will use an "ideology" (first cause) approach. For example, many sociologists focus on
economical reasons, personal fulfilment reasons, happiness reasons, etc They just do not work! We have to get to the root of the issue
to find a solution! Marriage is a process of "2 become
1". Analogy: 2 people are
constructing a building together- one on the left hand side and the other on the
right. If they have different
plans in mind and then they start to build. What happens? The building falls! Exactly the same works in marriage. In making a perfectly strong, harmonious
"2 become 1" marraige, the 2 persons need a same plan! (e.g. same orientation in
life, same meaning of life...) *Watch out: don't mix up
the "meaning" of life with the "expression of meaning" of life. The same meaning can have millions of
expressions! Wait... before making sure that 2 of us have the
same compatible plan, each of us need to first make sure "what's my own
plan?" This question reflects why
contemporary marriage is so weak.
Go ask someone, "what's your definition or goal of marriage". They will probably answer, "um... I don't really know... be happy? lots of sex? allow me to cheat on them? have fun all the time?..." Most of them can't give an exact "solid"
answer!
What does that mean? It means he/she has a "shaky", "always
changing" plan! Therefore, even if
the husband and wife has the "seemingly" same plan when married, they would
easily change their plans during their marriage. So... the building falls again. Marriage breaks
up. Luckily, making a strong, secure
marriage is actually not that hard and doomed to fail as portrayed in the
divorce culture (our culture). The
prospect of marriage depends on " how clear each partner understands his/her own
plan" (their individual purpose of life and marriage). All we need is to meditate on the
question- "what's my plan?"
(purpose of marriage) Once
we figure it out, we can know what type of people is a good
match! So, where can you find the purpose or
definition of marriage which is "solid" and "un-changing"? You won't find it by imagination,
philosophy, "self-help" books, magazines, university study, even family
studies... no no no... "You do not create yourself, so in no
way can you know why you are created" (book: purpose-driven life) We ourselves do not create
marriage. We need to ask the one
who creates us, the same one who creates both wonderful male and female and the
same one who creates marriage. You
need to ask the creator! Analogy:
when you buy a digi camera, you will read the "owner's manual" to make sure you
run it in its "intended" best way, e.g. how to recharge the battery to make it
long-life Exactly the same works
with marriage! If you read the
"official marriage manual", you can have confidence that your marriage will run
perfectly in its best way! This is why the topic of understanding
God (your creator) is indispensable to all mankind. We need it to survive well! Nowadays, we get so busy and distracted
from the most essential thing in our life- reading the official manual. Some might say, "ok, wait til I get a
good job" But, how do you know what
means a good job without first reading the manual? Let's start researching on this
"creator's manual" together and plan for a perfect marriage!
:handshake: Love is just amazing. If you want to further talk about it,
post here or e-mail me joewtc@hotmail.com.
Share the love~ We do
care! Joseph P.S. some "official"
instructions in the Bible: 1 Corithians 13:4-8
4Love is patient,
love is kind.
It does not envy,
it does not boast,
it is not proud.
5It is not rude,
it is not self-seeking,
it is not easily angered,
it keeps no record of wrongs.
6Love does not delight in
evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts,
always hopes, always perseveres. 8Love never fails
1 John 3:16
This is how we know what
love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our
lives for our brothers
8Oct04- Why do I believe in God?"Why do you believe in God?"
I 100% believe it's one of the most meaningful
questions we can ever ask in our entire life. What I mean by
meaningful is that, it's the most basic "first cause" ideology that everything
builds upon it, e.g. meaning of life? why am I here? what is my
purpose? how can I be truly happy? self-worth and
self-esteem. In some sense, I believe this question is a little
bit misleading and needs clarification (a lot of people get mixed up
here) It actually consists of 2
parts
1st
Question: Philosophy/wisdom teaching/human
ideas cannot prove there is a creator, but philosophy also
cannot disprove there is a creator. However, it's pretty
obvious that there must be a creator if you are willing to consider yourself as
a meaningful "real" human. You are being created, so there must be a
creator. Some philosophers then ask the question
"who creates God?" Obviously, no one on earth has the
"superior" (superhuman/like-God's) wisdom to answer this question. Watch
out! This question is actually not related to the issue whether there
is a creator. It is a nice excuse for a distraction or argument.
Analogy: you use your brain without perfectly knowing actually how it
works. Therefore the question "Why do you believe in a God?" can
be translated to "How do you know Christians' God is the real
God?" (Question 2) 2nd
Question: First, I believe it's really essential to clarify one
thing. "Man by himself/herself (specualtion or wisdom) can never
understand who God is, can never reach God, never. Man can only reach God
when God reveals himself to mankind" Among almost all religions, you can find people
claiming God revealed himself to them e.g. Alah reveals to
Mohammad... But only in Christianity,
God himself comes down to earth (as Jesus) and dwell with
humans. This is the most important distinction between
Christianity and other religions. Therefore, there are answers to Question
2: 1. Rely on physical
proof:
2. Rely on personal
experience:
The above are breif answers I can think of right
now. There are actually many professional Christians Reasoning
Organizations (e.g. www.str.org)
which can help a lot. Personally, I beg you really research on this topic (e.g.
the Bible and its archeology) before making the decision to
disbelieve/believe it. Don't follow others. It's your
life! Do your own research and find your meaning of
life! Cheers in God P.S. God has completely changed my life and I found a
"solid" reason to be happy and loving in him. It's miraculous. If
you are interested, e-mail me joewtc@hotmail.com or post here. Let's search for the truth
together 29Sep04- Outreach Essentials29Sep04- Outreach
Essentials Hi
guys, I would like to share some outreach ideas I read from a
book. Evangelism
Styles: l
Confrontational (Peter) l
Intellectual (Paul) l
Testimonial (Blind Man, John 9) l
Interpersonal (Matthew in Luke 5) l
Invitational (Woman at the well, John 4) l
Serving (Tabitha, Acts 9). Outreach
Preparation: 1.
Prepare a self-testimony note to carry with you
1Peter 3:15- always be
prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the
hope that you have. But do this
with gentleness and respect. l
Before & after I decide to follow Christ- the change God has done on
me (so people can see your difference) l
Why I realize and decide I need Christ to survive? What is that? When it happens? Where? How to follow Christ?
(Salvation) 2.
Prepare some Christ-helping-me or Christ-teaching-me
experiences. 3.
Focus on self-testimony instead of bible verses. (People have more
resistance for objective arguments/saying and they tend to doubt or argue with
it; but they rarely argue with personal
testimony/experience) 4.
Make a list of 3 names (non-believers or new-believers close to you) and
share with them! Outreach Essentials: (how
to do) 1.
Care first-Listen first-Support first (show people that you care and have
passion in helping them to be happier- start with showing interest in listening
his/her stories first before sharing your testimony; people usually want to
listen to you after you listen to them) 2.
Attention- Relevance: it’s not how many
Bible verses or stories you remember, but how much/well you can relate Bible
verses to real-life experience (that’s when the Gospel
becomes concrete and powerful instead of an abstract, not-useful
idea) My sharing: I bought a
large (1foot x 1.5foot) aerial scenery book of 3.
How to start? What to
talk? l
Pray to God Almighty, he will prepare l
When you listen first and carefully, the person will give you many clues
on where to start with. E.g. He might talk about
meaning of life (it means he has struggle/interest in meaning of life- start
here) My sharing: I ask my
non-believer friend “what do you think
about church or fellowship?? He then gave me ideas and I was able to expand on
them 4.
Outreach is a simple, normal human activity: (it’s not a
philosophical/theological argument/debate) you don’t have to read
the whole bible first before reaching out, you just have to love and care (every
one can out reach) Analogy- do you have to
read the whole Bible before dating your boy friend or girl friend or making new
friends? If you cannot answer some
bible questions, introduce them to your credible Christian friends, or bring
them back to fellowship/church/bible
study/get-together. Key Point: people around
actually have a burning passion for the meaning of life, God, truth... once we can relate our abstract Bible
ideas into real-life, they will just love it God bless us all to be a
good testimony of you and use love given by you God Almighty and love like
Jesus.
Amen In
God Joseph 29Sep04- Passion to Outreach29Sep04- Passion to Outreach Hi dear, I am
reading a wonderful book "purpose driven church" (Rick Warren) which gives a
vivid example on "Why outreach?" This
question is always raised in a context that people are actively (or passively)
growing in spirituality while placing little focus on the emergency to
outreach. Example in the "Imagine
we are Doctors who discover the cure for Aids or Cancer We will for sure do our
best and do everything to spread out the good news. Now, we
are Christians who discover the Salvation- solution to eternal death and torture
(even worse than Aids/Cancer) and many more things e.g. solution to why bad
things happen to good people, etc Our holy
mission commanded by God is to preach the salvation to everyone. (Matthew
28:19-20, Mark 16:15, Luke 24:47-48, John 20:21, Acts 1:8)"
Example in Pupose-Driven Life p.295: "A
church/fellowship/small group/Christian that doesn't want to catch more
non-believers and grow in numbers are saying to the world 'I don't care, you can
go to hell and die'" When I
first read it, I feel uncomfortable.
But, after all, I can't deny it, :frustrated: coz it's hard truths by our
dear God Almighty. God bless
everyone of us and use us in his blessings and be a good witness of him
today. Give thanks to God.
Amen Cheers:idea:
27September04- Sin Confession27September04- Sin ConfessionThanks God for your miracle :biggrin: I, Joseph your servant, am truly amazed. Bless your words God.
Background: I sinned immorally. I, as usual, prayed to God. In the past, I felt useless even after prayer. However, this time, God listened to my prayer, replied me through the Holy Spirit and raised me up like a miracle! I felt like I get up and get more power from God! I humbly share this experience with you :aww:
1. I sinned immorally again, I felt useless and weak. I felt so sorry as I disappointed God again, especially when now I was a servant of God and serving God. I felt I no longer deserved God's salvation. :cry: 2. I knelt down, prayed and admitted my sin. :cry: 3. I read the bible. As I was saying have mercy on me, have mercy on me?amp;nbsp; in my prayer, I remembered a verse by Jane: have mercy on me, have mercy on me? 4. I read Luke 18:35-43 (Jesus healed a blind beggar) l The beggar shouted to Jesus, “have mercy on me, have mercy on me? The people around (Satan) called him (me) to shut up, as he (I) is a little figure, not worthy of Jesus?(God's) attention and love. l Then Jesus (God) replied, "What do you want me to do for you?" l The beggar said, I want to see! (I want to be clean, have my terrible sins forgiven and be with God again) l Jesus then said, your faith has healed you! (the beggar received his sight) 5. I then read Luke 18:13- But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, God, have mercy on me, a sinner. I was like the tax collector, feeling shameful and not dare to look at God, asking: have mercy on me, a sinner. 6. In the meantime, Satan tempted me and attacked me, saying, Joseph, you are terrible, you won't deserve God's salvation! You are sinful and ugly and God is pure.:cry: I asked, Do I have faith in God's salvation for me? 7. Then the Holy Spirit reminds me of 2 verses. l 2 Corinthians 5:17- if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!?amp;nbsp; God says clearly I can be saved if I decide to follow him by faith! :biggrin: l I then read Hebrews ch.11. (What is faith? How powerful is faith in God?) God says: if we have faith in God, we can do miraculous, impossible things in men! :biggrin: Luke 18:27 Jesus replied, what is impossible with men is possible with God. 8. Finally, I shouted to Satan, Galatians 2:20- I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 9. Thanks God Almighty for his mercy and forgiveness. I prayed God would use me (and you too) :biggrin: for his purpose and as a humble servant and blessing to others.
Why sharing: I just listened to a sermon tape on lust and immorality? The pastor talks about the most powerful trick of sin/Satan- it makes people feel shameful (not willing to talk about it) and then isolate people up. In this way, people are isolated (no support from others/friends? and are vulnerable to Satan's attack and further temptation. Personally, I also thinks it has an implication on the Western Culture of "individuality" and "being independent" either financially or emotionally. Those notions are human created and perverted, as the Bible never encourages people to live on their own. (The media or social values now are always encouraging people to live on their own as much as possibleL E.g. being a doctor-know-it-all, or it's shameful to get help from others) People are meant to be inter-dependent and support one another closely and happily. Proverbs 27:17- As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.?(the need for fellowship)
What's your option about that?
God bless you:biggrin:
9September04- Gospel Camp ReportJoseph¡¦s VCBC Gospel Camp Report Details: l Topic: ¡§End Time¡¨ l 4 days-3 nights in Campsite Jubilee (a peaceful island near deep cove) Participants: l Karen (group leader) l Anita (bull) l
Ankie l Carmen (chi man) l
German l
Jane l Joseph l Kenny (camp organizer) Things
learned: Background: J This letter is written with passion & love to share with you, my experience in the gospel camp. How to say¡K amazingly, this camp opened my eyes. Most of the things I recorded here are inspired and enlightened by our group teacher Ministry Miller Zhuang and the ideas of my fellow group members in many talks and various open and honest, deep sharing with passion. Hope you will enjoy this sharing^^ Thank God Almighty~J 1. The truthfulness of God and the Bible (reference from Kenny¡¦s testimony) l The Old Testament is like a history book with lots of names and people in it. Kenny showed us a genealogy of all the people starting from Adam & Eve to Jesus. The complexity of it is incredible and just super vulnerable to be disproved if it¡¦s fake. (It would be a great idea for anyone to buy an genealogy to read with the OT) l Jesus¡¦ way of life- Jesus performed many many supernatural miracles, e.g. calming down the sea in front of his disciples, healing & bringing dead man alive in front of many people, the 5 bread 2 fish miracle in front of thousands of people¡K No other people in history (who claimed to have super natural power) can do these things like Jesus, who called the sea to calm and the storm immediately ended. Jesus¡¦ miracles are super obvious and most of them were performed in front of a crowd, it is incredible and just super vulnerable to be disproved if it¡¦s fake. l Many people in the whole life try to prove the existence of God. They want to prove it before they believe it. Analogy: ¡§However, they never try to prove if their earthly father is really their real father and right away accept it as true.¡¨ It is obvious we can¡¦t really prove with 100% certainty that our earthly father is really our father 1. (Other¡¦s testimony) We ourselves didn¡¦t watch the process (giving birth) of how we came out of our mother¡¦s womb, we just heard it from many people who saw it e.g. doctor/father¡K vs. We ourselves didn¡¦t see Jesus and we just heard it from thousands of people who saw it back then 2. Someone may be faking my father as a secret plan to something though I do not know the reason why vs. Jesus might be a secret plan though I do not know the reason why e.g. followers of Jesus suffer & die instead of gaining more than normal people l Many people believe in ¡§evolution¡¨. However they never actually realize the most important difference between humans and animals is not ¡§intelligence¡¨. (Human has high IQ while animal has low IQ) It¡¦s morality and spirituality. (Human has morals while animal has NONE) People just confuse the concept of soul with intelligence. Intelligence has its material source in the brain but the soul doesn¡¦t. How can something evolve from nothing to something? We know only God can. Hebrews 11:3 through faith we understand that the
worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things, which are seen, were not made of
things, which do appear. l
Kenny said, ¡§People believe their origin is from a
rock. However, they never question
why they themselves actually born from a human instead of a rock.¡¨ ¡§Plus, many people who doubt whether the
Bible is true or not has not actually read the Bible at
all¡¨. l Some might say a thing that¡¦s non-provable by reason is illogical and brutish, not worthy of believing. We can consider- an ant (if they can think) might believe we humans are big scary monsters instead of highly intelligent social being, we then say- stupid ant. If the Almighty God who creates this incredibly complex, beautiful universe hears us, using human¡¦s ¡§highest wisdom- logic & reason¡¨, disproving him, he might as well say- stupid human. 1 Corinthians 3:19 - For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. Implication: It seems that faith in God doesn¡¦t require philosophy of existence of God or our intelligence in proving him. They are 2 separate dimensions (God dimension & human dimension). E.g. Abraham (our Christian model) doesn¡¦t study philosophy, though he has absolute faith in God. Applause to God Almighty J 2. The danger of limitation by church tradition and contemporary church structure (danger of becoming a Pharisee) (testimony of Ministry Miller Zhuang & inspired by Big Michael¡¦s fellowship¡¦s sharing) This testimony is a shock!!! 1. The theme- constantly check ourselves if our actions are pointing towards the target- serving God and obey his commandments: Matthew
28:19 - Go ye
therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Matthew
28:20 - Teaching
them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with
you always, even unto the end of the world.
Amen. l
As a Christian, we all do a lot
of church serving and duties.
However, WATCH OUT!!!
It¡¦s happening right now!!!
Satan tempts us in things that we least expected- church serving. It tempts us to get super busy in church
duties. We now get easily exhausted
and do not meditate whether what we are doing are actually serving God!!! The scary thing is ¡§we think we are
doing well and serving God!¡¨ We
might just be trapped & turn out to be a Pharisee!!! Miller shared a couple
examples: 1.
How can we know ¡§the best way
to serve God¡¨? We can simply follow
the examples of Jesus & the 11 Apostles in the New Testament. 2.
Back then (it¡¦s
true for anytime like now), the most important thing is to obey God and
share God with other people.
Preaching the good news is essential (we all know) and in an
emergency
situation- like saving people from a flooding river, like saving people right
after an earthquake. Why it is that
emergency??? l
Miller talks about the
movie ¡§passion of the Christ¡¨. Christ died for us and spent his entire
life preaching God. He is super
desperate and full of passion, because he doesn¡¦t want us, his beloved friends,
to die in eternal suffering & torture in Hell. Analogy- today, all of us
have people we deeply care- fathers, mothers, uncles, aunties, grandpas,
grandmas, best friends, boy friends, girl friends, old friends, new
friends¡K who do not believe in
God. They need to know God!!! It is an
emergency because if we do
not act right now and preach the good news now, most probably, we ourselves will
go to heaven while our beloved fathers, mothers, uncles, aunties, grandpas,
grandmas, best friends, boy friends, girl friends, old friends, new
friends¡K will get eternal
suffering. It¡¦s like watching them
having death penalty and torture while we are enjoying our
vacation! Analogy: ¡§Passion of us¡¨: we can¡¦t wait
sharing God with our beloved. We
don¡¦t want to see them die! l
Miller points out the idea
of ¡§build up ourselves-others¡¨ process. If we spend all the time doing Bible
study researching the Bible, having fellowship with our fellow church mates and
Christian friends, we build up ourselves a lot, having a great happy church
atmosphere, while doing nothing to save others who are in desperate
emergency- preach God. If we
spend all the time preaching God, while not knowing anything in the Bible, we
might preach something wrong, not being a good example of God¡¦s
followers. 1.
Analogy:
Fireman- he
definitely needs to learn how to save people; he definitely has the duty to save
people. However in an
emergency, like
an earthquake, can he say, ¡§I am still half way in the reading of CPR, equipment
preparation¡K can I wait maybe like
30 minutes until I finished the book?¡¨
No! Even normal people
without any skills will immediately jump into the rumble and dig people
out! It¡¦s all because it¡¦s an
emergency! Implication: we do need to know
God¡¦s words (Bible) well, but at the same time we are in an emergency situation
saving people. Our final goal is
not to know the Bible perfectly well alone (Fireman knowing all the theories
& techniques of saving without actually going to the fire scene). Our goal is to save people! Bible is not our final target-
it¡¦s a means, a tool, a supplementary to our holy duty of saving &
serving. Implication: We study
the Bible not for the sake of studying the Bible, but for the sake of preaching
God and knowing God. God
doesn¡¦t give us the Bible for us to be a Bible researcher or academics; he gives
us the Bible to learn how to ACT as his follower! He doesn¡¦t want us to stop at the
reading-Bible level; he wants us to practise his words in the Bible. It¡¦s one of the
dangers of being
a self-centered Pharisee. 2.
Analogy:
we all with passion want to be
a true follower of God. We do not
want to be Pharisees, who have great bible knowledge, but never apply
what they know to save. We do not
want to be Pharisees, because they are selfish and self centered
and only cares about their own salvation while watching others suffering in
eternal pain & torture. 3.
On the other hand, nowadays,
churches have become too
self-centered & focusing too much on
themselves. (Church mates) Let¡¦s
consider: what¡¦s the purpose of a church anyway if not as a base for
equipping ourselves with the salvation armor & preaching God¡¦s
words? Analogy- Army
Base: at the base, soldiers
(Christians) train themselves (study Bible), build up teamwork
(fellowship) and are equipped with guns (preaching skills). However, their purpose is not to stay
there (church) their entire life!!!
To fight!!! Implication: it¡¦s
essential to shift back to the ¡§original¡¨ purpose of church in
this
emergency time! We Salvation Army need to act fast
& have swift planning! Save
as many people as we can!!! Implication:
Are we serving ourselves
(thinking we are serving God) or are we actually serving God? 4.
We then asked, ¡§If we do not
have enough techniques, how can we preach?¡¨ Miller said: follows the example
of Jesus. Preaching is not just
¡§believe God, believe God, and believe God¡¨, or reading out Bible verses all the
time. We can simply start
by
reaching
out
&
understanding- make
new friends, listen to their life situations and events, & care about
them. In the Bible, Jesus
didn¡¦t come to earth and prove ¡§I am God, believe in me as ¡K(proof or
reasoning)¡¨ Jesus didn¡¦t spend all his time teaching God¡¦s law and
commandment. Instead, Jesus always
visits people (make new friends), having meals in families, helping the poor,
needy¡K Jesus preaches by
caring, loving and understanding people. l
Miller shared: no one
cares how much you know, they care about how much you care. It¡¦s very true. People won¡¦t be impressed and moved
even by the greatest morality and life teaching by the wisest men-
David & Solomon, they won¡¦t change
their hearts even if we read Psalms & Proverbs to them. They will only be changed &
transformed by God¡¦ love, which is expressed through us. Preaching is full of passion and
love. l
Miller shared: we
Christians is supposed to be full of power and faith. We always doubt- do I have a good
interpersonal skills to make new friends, do I have enough counseling skills to
listen carefully, do the church has enough budget for preaching, will there be
enough people coming to gospel camp, do I have enough bible knowledge to preach
God, do I have enough wisdom to pass the mid-term¡K Millar argued it is
dangerous, very
detrimental to us! Why? Because, it shows that our faith in God
is based on ourselves, rather than on God.
In serving God and doing God¡¦s work (e.g. preaching), we have to realize
that all we need is to be humble, trust God and work as a
tool for his love and peace.
We-tool. It¡¦s God Almighty working, not
our knowledge or skills working. God is almighty, full of power and he
uses us (tools) to work out his miraculous wonders. We do not have to
worry. We just pray & trust
powerfully! If God says 1 and
we trust God, it must be 1.
Implication: we all are able to
pray powerfully and trust powerfully if it¡¦s God¡¦s will. (We may ask many times
we do not know God¡¦s will) But in
this preaching issue, God¡¦s will is clear- reach out and love like
Jesus. When we decide to trust God
completely without doubt, God will give us the amazing things we need (e.g.
wisdom, interpersonal skills¡K) to work out his almighty work. All we need to watch out is- constantly
checking ourselves- ¡§are we relying on our own skills or are we relying on
God, the almighty power (Human power vs. Almighty)?¡¨ Ecclesiastes 7:13-
Consider the work of God: for
who can make that straight which he has made
crooked. Joseph¡¦s testimony- Joseph
always believes he needs to study all the best biblical theories and counseling
techniques in order to be a good counselor to serve God & love people. We can all see that he misunderstands
& relies too much on himself instead of God. So, the solution is- to be humble, lay
down his own understanding, go pray and trust God powerfully and be a tool of
God. Implication: it is essential to lay down our own
understanding & trust God, as God¡¦s work can many times be
illogical. E.g. Consider
Noah building a huge wooden ark on a dry land, how illogical & insane
it is in the world¡¦s sense of understanding. Philippians 4:4 rejoice in the Lord
always (no need to worry all the
time): and again I say, rejoice. 6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by
prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known
unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep
your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. l
Danger
of church ¡§human-made¡¨
values: Miller also points out
that looking back to the NT, we all can clearly see that the greatest
missionaries- Jesus (carpenter), Paul, Peter (fisherman)¡K are all people who
trust God completely. (They are not high in social status, very knowledgeable
(well-read) and well recognized and respected by society) Attention: none of them have
advanced education, e.g. a doctor degree in philosophy or a doctor degree in
Christianity studies. They just use
simple faith in God & their experience with God and reach out
to love and preach and share their God¡¦s experience with people. However, we all see that their published
books (Matthew, Mark, Peter, Apostles¡K) in the NT are perfect. How did they do that? - Because they
work as a humble tool for God and
rely
on the Almighty. So when we see Paul, instead of saying,
¡§hey Paul you are amazing and wonderful, I am proud of you¡¨, we can be more
accurate: ¡§Hey Paul, God is amazing and wonderful in you Paul. Thanks God
Almighty!¡¨ l
Caution: in today¡¦s
contemporary Christian values and church system, we can get
easily
trapped- believing that
we need a Doctor degree in Christianity or some other credentials in order to
preach. According to the Bible, we
can clearly see that, by faith, Peter, an uneducated fisherman, can
preach powerfully. Plus,
Jesus, a carpenter can lead a sermon in a synagogue in Jerusalem. (Jesus is not a pastor!!! However, in our culture, only pastors with Christian Studies degree can
preach in Sunday service!!!)
Applause to God Almighty J Application for our fellowship: Jane¡¦s
sharing: ¡§I think our fellowship really
lacks some concrete
goals and our activities lack a theme. I think, in order for our fellowship to
improve, we must set some
long term & short
term goals like what we do in other aspect of lives~ I feel
like we are just doing our fellowship activities for the sake of having
something to do on Friday nights (very routine)¡¨ l
That¡¦s so true!!! The purpose of our Enoch fellowship is
not just to gather! (Just for fun X)
It¡¦s to save people! We are
God¡¦s chosen Salvation Army -Team Enoch. Let¡¦s make a difference!!! Implication: we can¡¦t wait to have a re-planning of Enoch. It¡¦s emergency. l
Our fellowship can try planning
a ¡§making new
friends¡¨ fellowship, act as a caring
group, go out to a place like ¡§library¡¨ to make new friends- practise loving
in actions. It¡¦s very good as
we learn
love best when we actually love people. Analogy: if A wants to know
how to be a good lover, an essential lesson is to actually be a boy friend or
girl friend, instead of reading love books all the time. If B wants to be a good counselor, an
essential lesson is to actually go out, talk and listen more to
people. 1.
Karen¡¦s testimony: Karen
has tried out talking to people in Central Library. I asked her, isn¡¦t talking to people
depends a lot on conditions, like people¡¦s emotional state, because most people
usually don¡¦t bother to talk to you?
She replied, there are a lot of Chinese new immigrants reading in the
library by themselves on Saturday and Sunday. They usually are not happy because of an
unsatisfactory life in Canada. (e.g. they sold everything in China, hoping a new
great life in Canada and came here)
They like someone listening to them and caring them. Karen said by far, only one person has
come to Christ through this method.
Congratulations!!! Besides,
Karen and her church mates have tried putting Christian flyers under
cars¡¦ windshield wiper. She said,
one person has actually phoned back her church. Thanks
God! 2.
In addition, we can hold
¡§preaching
workshops¡¨ to learn more preaching
skills & techniques. E.g.
listening skills, talking skills¡K 3.
Now, in our Enoch
fellowship, there is a ¡§caring post¡¨ organizing some caring events. Let us all reach out more to fellow
Enoch members (meet, phone, or e-mail) and reach out more to our friends- love,
love, and love. Love is the duty of
every one of us, not just the caring post^^ 4.
Miller also talked that
it¡¦s even better to make friends in a connected manner. For example, Jesus usually visited not
just one single person, but visited the whole family and cared and
preached. In a similar way, A can
introduce A¡¦s new friends to A¡¦s best friends. Sorry: ¡§I do not quite understand this
point- need further clarification.¡¨
In the gospel camp, when I made a new friend, I introduced him/her to our
Enoch group (German, Carmen, Jane, Ankie, Anita)- ¡§Hey I am from Enoch in
Arbutus, here are 6 of them¡K¡¨ 5.
Joseph¡¦s testimony: Joseph
did not understand the meaning of ¡§suffering for God¡¦s sake¡¨. After all, where is the suffering? He can¡¦t feel it. Now, he understands why- because in the
past, he has been a ¡§safe Christian¡¨, just being a ¡§church Christian¡¨
loving his church mates in church (never try to reach out of church to preach
God to others e.g. strangers, friends¡K).
Be careful: a safe Christian might well be a Pharisee, without
salvation. 6.
You say
it¡K Applause to God Almighty J Conclusion:
In
the above, we can clearly see 1.
The truthfulness of
our God 2.
The danger (trap) of
church tradition (doing things for the sake of doing
things) 3.
The danger of becoming a Pharisee
(thinking we are good followers of God) 4.
The basis of our
faith 5.
The importance to
change! ¡§Thank God for your wonderful counsel. I pray that we all can get 100% serious
in following you God. I pray that
we all can be your ¡§salvation army¡¨ and serve you God and take the courage to
take the first step to save people!
God guide us all in this ¡§preaching attack¡¨. Bless us all. I pray humbly in the name of Jesus
Christ our Lord, amen.¡¨ P.S. J It is obvious that Anita, Ankie, Carmen, German & Jane have all learned great lessons in this Gospel Camp! This letter is only my own interpretation. We need to talk to them for further inspirations from this camp. God bless youJ
26August04- abortion & capital punishment26August04- abortion & capital
punishment Background: today, I sat whole afternoon at home reading
abortion articles- pro-life and pro-choice, which one is better? ^^ that's a
hard dilemma and constant controversy in the philosohpy of morality and ethics.
in the past, I concluded only 2 kinds of abortion might be permissible-
1."rape-related" abortion and 2."life-threatening-related" abortion (i.e. if
giving birth, either the mother will die or the baby will die, another dilemma
here). However, today, I meditated on it. I started to doubt. I solved the 1.
abortion dilemma and remained confused on 2. one. Today, I also meditated on
capital punishment. Then in the eveing, I shared my ideas with Jane and we
meditated and analyzed together eagerly and we finally solved the all 2 abortion
dilemmas and the long-lasting capital punishment dilemma. thanks God for your
wonderful counsels 1.rape-related abortion dilemma many people/philosophers/I(b4) believe it might be
permissible to perform an abortion here, a special situation,
why? becoz- the baby is not mine and I haven't planned for
that (I was forced to be pregnant, not my fault). abortion in any case means killing something whether it
is a small small embryo (which has no features as human being), a fetus, or a
baby (which looks exactly like any human being)... proponents of abortion argue, without human features
like heart/brain/lungs, the little embryo doesn't n shouldn't be counted as a
human life . Attention: there are large divisions among proponents on when does
life begin! e.g. some believe the existence of a heart; some believes it's the
lungs; some believes it's the brain. opponents of abortion argue just the opposite way. e.g.
proponents argue a little embryo doesnt count as a human ife while opponents
argue it does count. Attention: there are again large divisions among the
opponents on when does life begins! therefore, the critical point is 1. when does life
begins?. if we can know it, we can solve this issue easily and discard all the
confusing n distracting arguments. Does life begin when the fetus has some features like
brain/heart/lungs which makes them a human life or does it begin even b4 the
girl has got pregnant (God's plan)? we go back to the truth, the
Bible. God said to the prophet Jeremiah, "Before I formed you
in the womb I knew you. Before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as
a prophet to the nations." Jeremiah 1:5 God knew this man before he was born.
(quote from bible.com) Implication: God plans life, life begins even b4 the
girl got pregnant. therefore abortion does kill life!!! However, I can still argue that God gives us free will.
What if I do something not according to God's will/purpose/plan and got pregnant
(a life in my womb), which may or may not be planned by
God? Ecclesiastes 7:13 Consider the work of God: for who can
make that straight, which he hath made crooked? Implication: God's plan can't be changed by human's free
will or wrong actions, consider the Almighty of God ok, I am still not satisfied with it, I still believe
it's human free-will. No problem. 2.What's the value and nature of our life? Can
it be taken away by our decisions? 1 Corithians6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the
temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not
your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body,
and in your spirit, which are God's. Implication: it's clear and obvious that our life is
God's. the decision to take away our life can only be made by God! e.g. I rent a
house. can I sell it to others when you are short of money? no, becoz the house
is not mine (everytime we make decisions, we must pray for God's will before we
decide!). nice, now, we go back to the rape-related abortion
dilemma. is the the reason "I am not prepared for a baby" a
strong enough and justified reason for me to kill a life? (I can see that in the
life-threatening case, the reason- (our life) is way way stronger, we will
analyze that v. soon) No, not at all!!! simply unprepared is no reason at
all!!! other people might still argue that what if the borned
baby will suffer in poverty... so many bad conditions? be careful!!! that's
another argument which is unrelated but v. distracting!!! remember: poverty doesnt mean a bad life- consider so
many people living in poverty in developing countries, should we kill them all
to end their suffering, becoz of their "low living quality"? No! Life on earth
is a test and it prepares us for eternal life! richness and poorness in life is
temporary on earth. we becomes rich when we know God and follow Christ and we
remains miserably poor if we do not know God and choose to stay away from Christ
even when we can earn millions. Matthew 5:11 - Blessed are ye, when men shall revile
you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely,
for my sake. also, God has promised in the bible that those who
suffer for his sake will receive great reward in heaven, which is n times better
than earth's reward like money, entertainment, Olympic record... Let us all not
be short-sighted and focus on our eternal life^^ therefore, our 1st dilemma- rape-related abortion is
settled. thanks God for the counsel 2.life-threatening abortion
dilemma this one is v. v. v. hard as it is not directly stated
in the Bible or we can't find the verse. I shared it w/ my best friend Jane.
finally, we got a solution- we decided to follow Jesus's example- John 15:13
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his
friends. background: after some time of meditating with Jane, we
still have no result or conclusion. we decide to take a
role-play. role-play- imagine I/Jane am a girl being raped and
bitten up badly. then in the emergency room, the doctor tells me/Jane that you
got pregnant but your health is so bad if you give birth you will die and you
can only stay alive and recover by doing an abortion and giving up the life
(baby). What will I/Jane do? both of us concluded "I will rather die!". coz in this
way, the best love (laying down one's life for others) can be fully expressed
and we can fulfil Jesus's commandment to love even if it means giving up our own
life for the sake of love of God and others. then we discuss the accompanying essential issue- Is it
worthy to die simply for love for a seemingly undeserved
baby? we read John, we once again touched by Jesus Christ our
Almighty Lord John ch.15 12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as
I have loved you. 13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his
life for his friends. 14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant
knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things
that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and
ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit
should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may
give it you. 17 These things I command you, that ye love one
another. T.T thanks God for your unconditional, forever love!!!
God dies for us sinners!!! we are n times more unworthy
for his love and Jesus Christ dying for us than me/Jane dying for the
baby!!! God even calls us sinners friends!!! we are so
undeserved!!! in verse 12 & 17, God commands us to love others
like Jesus loves us (lay down his life for us). also, remember: the purpose of our life is not to keep
our life, but love God, obey God's commandments, serve God and other people with
love. God never tells us to stay alive and be safe. Matthew 16:25 - For whosoever will save his life shall
lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it
therefore, it is clear the 2nd dilemma life-threatening
abortion is settled by the love of God it is a decision Are you willing to make a decision today to follow Jesus
and love others in the way Jesus always love you and make a decision to lay down
your life for others? Jane and I have decided so and pray that God will guide
us in this life and gives us courage to lay down our lifes for other people- to
love like Jesus Conclusion: neither pro-life nor pro-choice can solve
the abortion dilemma. as we clearly see, life on earth is certainly not the most
important thing to us (pro-life) and our decisions for our life is certainly not
the most determining factor in our life (pro-choice). let's
pro-God! thanks God for your amazing indescriptable love. thanks
Jane my best friend for the wonderful discussion. reference- a great Christian passage on
abortion 3.capital punishment background: this piece of writing is first inspired by a
Christian passage on capital punishment in bible.com. It concludes capital
punishment (becoz of murder) is clearly God's commandment and God's willwill
with support from the Old Testament. It argues the whole controversy lies on our
misunderstanding of the bible and not reading the bible as a whole- the New
Testament (NT) and the Old Testament (OT). It argues that God will never
contradict himself i.e. the OT will not contradict the NT. Therefore, a solution
must exist. So, tonight Jane and I discussed together and agreed upon it too.
here are our biblical findings Attention: to be clear, this writing is focused on
capital punishment due to murder. not all captial punishments are
justified! the bible does talks about "murder"(to slay someone in a
violent manner unjustly), here are some related bible
verses. OT: Exodus 20:13 Thou shalt not kill. Genesis 9:5-6: "And surely your blood of your lives will
I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man;
at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man. Whoso
sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God
made he man." Leviticus 24:17-22: "17 And he that killeth any man
shall surely be put to death. 18 And he that killeth a beast shall make it good; beast
for beast. 19 And if a man cause a blemish in his neighbour; as he
hath done, so shall it be done to him; 20 Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as
he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again.
21 And he that killeth a beast, he shall restore it: and
he that killeth a man, he shall be put to death. 22 Ye shall have one manner of law, as well for the
stranger, as for one of your own country: for I am the LORD your God."
NT: John ch.8:2 And early in the morning he came again into
the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them.
3 And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman
taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, 4 They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in
adultery, in the very act. 5 Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be
stoned: but what sayest thou? 6 This they said, tempting him, that they might have to
accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as
though he heard them not. 7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up
himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first
cast a stone at her. 8 And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.
9 And they which heard it, being convicted by their own
conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last:
and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but
the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man
condemned thee? 11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her,
Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. Attention: Jesus talks about adultery but not murder!!!
Matthew ch.6: 14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses,
your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither
will your Father forgive your trespasses. for Christians, we can see that the OT and NT actually
talks about different things OT- it talks about the punishemnt for murderers. it
doesn't talk about love, grace or forgiveness NT- it doesn't talk about the punishment for murderers.
It talks about love, grace and forgiveness in the past, my own struggle in understanding is- ok,
now I forgive A for killing my dear family member. I am full of pain but I
forgive, and he no longer has to pay back his life (i.e. his death by capital
punishment). Jesus tells us to forgive too! However, the OT talks about murderers are to be killed
as a punishment. is OT outdated? what is the truth? and I read: Matthew 5:17 Think not that I am come to
destroy the law(OT), or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
implication- OT is not outdated! NT and OT must be read and understood as a
whole. then I clarify my thoughts, I got an inspiration: our
forgiveness for the murderer and the punishment for the murderer are actually 2
separate things!!! it's kinda confusing, but think clearly here- in this
capital punishment case- there are actually 2 distinct relationships-
murderer-victim relationship & murderer-God relationship:
1. murderer-victim relationship- here, in NT, Jesus told
us to forgive other's sin against us. therefore, we must forgive in order to
fulfil God's commandment. 2. murderer-God relationship- here, in OT, Jesus told us
the murderer must be killed according to his work. therefore, the murderer must
be killed in order to fulfil his duty to God *not his duty to us!!!*
the key point here is- capital punishment (becoz of
murder) exists not for us!!! it does not exist to pay back the murderer's life
to the victim as an reimbursement. we all know it's useless and sad to take away
one more life! No. Capital punishment exists for God. It exists becoz God
commands! as a punishment for the murderers. God might seem cruel, is he? No. remember! our life on
earth is a test for the eternal life, it's temporary! the most important thing
is to obey God's commandments instead of keeping our life!
Matthew 16:25 - For whosoever will save his life shall
lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it
therefore, our 3rd capital punishment dilemma is
settled. it's quite hard and illogical as we Chrisitians love one
another and do not want to see cruel punishment- death. but we understand it's
God's commandment, it's God's will. let's read Job Ch. 38, 39 Job 38:4 (Job grumbled about God's illogical works)Where
wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast
understanding. now, we do not understand why this cruel thing- death
penalty for murder exist. But we know God is the truth and love. We need to
uphold the truth and obey his commandment. thanks God for the counsel reference- passage on capital punishment in bible.com
25August04- faith25August04- faith Background: today, Jane and I shared God with our fellow
volunteers in success. our faith was being challenged and we were embarrassed by
our lack of knowledge of the Bible. On a quiet summer evening, I was eager, with
hot enthusiasm. I was on fire! I was eager to search for the truth. I won't give
up! I want the truth! that's my search. Hosea 4:6 my people are destroyed from lack of
knowledge. "Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my
priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your
children. God, I want the truth. I must get 100% serious, 365 days
a year in searching the truth and your counsels reading the Bible is an essential part in being a
complete Christian (it's n times more important than reading your lover's love
letter). it's incredibly critical. I mustn't wait any more. I want the truth
God in my heart, there are 2 questions which I believe that
a faithful Christian must be able to answer them soundly- 1. why do you believe there is a creator(I already
figured it out and had enough proof for it) 2. why do you believe Christianity is the truth(I still
don't have a proof) for Q2, my rough answer is I do believe it's true.
becoz, God is really really really amazing. his love is unconditional ,and
miraculously and incredibly wonderful. consider, he teaches us to love even our
enemy and to lay down our lives for them. God's love breaks down every limits in
this world. No other religion is like that. I pray to God that I want the
truth. then, I meditate, is a good knowledge of the Bible,
God's counsel, enough for being a follower of God? is that after we have read
through the whole Bible and we have analyzed all the proofs and support for
Christianity, we can proclaim that we now have deep unshakable faith in God and
are able to powerfully share the faith w/ others? I pray to God, then I read the
bible 1 Corinthians 2:5 - That your faith should not stand in
the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. Ephesians 3:12 - In whom we have boldness and access
with confidence by the faith of him. o God, what's faith? teach me o
God Hebrews 11: 1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the
evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good report.
3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were
framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things
which do appear. (Evolution Theory) 4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent
sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God
testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.
5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see
death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his
translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for
he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them
that diligently seek him. 7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen
as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the
which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by
faith. 8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a
place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out,
not knowing whither he went. 9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a
strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with
him of the same promise: 10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations,
whose builder and maker is God. 11 Through faith also Sara herself received strength to
conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she
judged him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good
as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is
by the sea shore innumerable. 13 These all died in faith, not having received the
promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and
embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
14 For they that say such things declare plainly that
they seek a country. 15 And truly, if they had been mindful of that country
from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.
16 But now they desire a better country, that is, an
heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath
prepared for them a city. 17 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up
Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,
18 Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be
called: 19 Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even
from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.
20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning
things to come. 21 By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the
sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his
staff. 22 By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the
departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.
23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three
months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not
afraid of the king's commandment. 24 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to
be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; 25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people
of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; 26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than
the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.
27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of
the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible. 28 Through faith he kept the passover, and the
sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch
them. 29 By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry
land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned. 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they
were compassed about seven days. 31 By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that
believed not, when she had received the spies with peace. 32 And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me
to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also,
and Samuel, and of the prophets: 33 Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought
righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions.
34 Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of
the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to
flight the armies of the aliens. 35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and
others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better
resurrection: 36 And others had trial of cruel mockings and
scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: 37 They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were
tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and
goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; 38 (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in
deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
39 And these all, having obtained a good report through
faith, received not the promise: 40 God having provided some better thing for us, that
they without us should not be made perfect. consider Noah building an ark on a dry land. it's
totally ilogical and beyond reason and insane. he's crazy and stubborn and
mentally ill in today's term. how can there be a rain which can cover the world
earth. there can't be a proof or evidences supporting the coming of this rain.
but he has faith in God and decides to believe in God. what a
faith consider Sarah giving birth at an age well past the
conceiving age. that's illogical and can't be supported by medical studies. she
conceived becoz she believes! what a faith consider Abraham. think about it, your loving God
command you to kill you own son as a sacrifice to God. what a totally illogical
act? you can never imagine that! your loving God shouldn't be supposed to make
such a cruel command! but Abraham chose to believe and have faith in God. and
God blessed him forever. what a faith- to perform a cruel command by your loving
God that's faith! Hebrews 11:1- Now faith is being sure of
what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. that's faith! it's not neccessary and even important to
have the logical support or proof for our faith in God! knowledge/logic/reason
is not proportional to faith! it's to believe, to believe wholeheartedly,
without doubt! Hebrews 6:12 - That ye be not slothful, but followers of
them who through faith and patience inherit the promises I believe becoz I believe God is the Almighty creator,
the creator of the whole universe. I believe, through following God, my life has
the best meanings and purposes; everyone can be truly everyjoy; and God's love
can break down all limits and set us all free. thanks God for the epiphany. ^^
23August04- sexual temptation23August04- sexual temptation Background: everyday in life, we are overwhelmed with
sexual temptations and perverted sexual values. e.g.ads, magazines, music
videos, songs lyrics, fashion of clothing... If we do not build up a deep faith
in God and a good understanding of God's commandments, we will easily fall into
sexual temptations and sin terribly. I write it particularly becoz I struggle
with it too. I ask for God's forgiveness and I really hope this reading can help
others too. what's temptation? Temptation is a test of our belief and faith in God
Almighty. Every time we are tempted, we have 2 options- observe God's
commandments or follow Satan/our sinful desires and break God's commandments.
e.g. when we turn on the TV and it's showing a sexually-explicit movie, there
are only 2 ways we can do- watch it or not watch it. Every time we are tempted,
we need to make a decision- yes or no. "Every temptation is an opportunity to do good"
Purpose-Driven Life Ch.26. James 1:3-4,12- My brethren, count it all joy when ye
fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith
worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect
and entire, wanting nothing. Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for
when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath
promised to them that love him. Romans 5:3-4- And not only so, but we glory in
tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience,
experience; and experience, hope. 1Peter 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more
precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be
found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus
Christ. Only in temptation can we see how commited we are in our
belief. Is our belief the kind that is just in words only or the kind that is a
complete belief? Caution: there is a common misunderstanding among young
Christians and non-Christians in John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he
gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,
but have everlasting life.". The belief here is a complete belief- you believe
in God and you lead a Godly life. A complete belief in God includes a Godly character and
behavior with the firm understanding that God is the truth. e.g. if Tom claims
to be an vegetarian(he believes that eating vegetables gives him good health)
but you see him eating steak all the time, you will say he doesn't actually have
a belief at all. TItus 1:16- They profess that they know God; but in
works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work
reprobate. Rejoice, thanks God, as everytime we say no to
temptation, it sharpens our belief and faith in God and strengthen our Christian
values, character and love. It's a blessing and a growth. so, 1. how can we tackle temptation and be able to say
no? temptations always exist. We can prevent and avoid many
of them, not all, by focusing our mind on Godly things and meaningful work.
Luckily, when we are tempted, we can choose not to sin. Ephesians 4:26: Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the
sun go down upon your wrath. when we face temptations, do not be afraid. God has
promised that we have enough power to stay firm and God has promised that he
will always provide a way out 1Corithians 10:13- There hath no temptation taken you
but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be
tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to
escape, that ye may be able to bear it. so, 2.how can we use that power? 1st, we must do our part- do our best to avoid
temptations e.g. never flip through a magazine that you sure know you will come
across temptations- never read a Maxim trying to deceive yourself that you are
just appreciating natural beauty and fashion; avoid sexual-explicit chats and
photos esp. in internet newsgroup. Hey boys, you know, once you are there, you
are not gonna make it, plus there's no point and meaning going there either.
Ephesians 4:27- Neither give place to the devil. 2nd, we must build up a good Godly character and a good
understanding of God's commandments and counsels- read the bible, listen to
preaching tapes, CDs, videos, go to fellowships and sermons, pray... I find it
really helpful and flourishing to share with my friends about our daily
Christian inspirations and ideas and keep a diary recording all these. Having a
good knowledge of the Bible is essential to be a complete, powerful
Christian. Purpose-Driven Life Ch.27: Bible verses are like bullets
in our gun.(a machine gun having more bullets are apparently better than a
pistol) "Every time Satan suggested a temptation, Jesus countered by quoting
Scripture. He didn't argue with Satan. He didn't say, "I'm not hungry," when
tempted to use his power to meet a personal need(when Satan tempted Jesus to
turn stone to bread to feed himself)." God's commandment: 1Corithians 3:16-20: 16 Know ye not
that ye are the "I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust
upon a girl. I know full well that the Almighty God sends calamity on those who
do" (Job 31:1-3, The Living Bible). the more we read the Bible, the more support and
understanding we have for our belief and what a good life is in God and
therefore greater protection against evil Satan 3rd, we pray humbly and truly to God for help. God
answer our prayer when we are asking things sincerely that is according to his
will. Here, it is obvious that God's will is he wants us to ask him for help!
pray pray pray, pray for ourselves and our friends and other
people. Matthew 7:7 - Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and
ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you we have to ask ourselves "are we willing to commit to
make a decision today to follow Jesus forever, make a decision to follow the
truth and commandments taught by God and let go of our selfishness and ungodly
values and surrender ourselves?" God, let us always remember God you love us supremely. You are willing to die for
us. Commiting sexual sins is n times worse than commiting adultery to your dear
husband/wife who loves you totally It also perverts our relationships with other people,
expecially girls(for boys). It leads us treating others as a means to our
selfish desires, rather than respecting and appreciating their values as a
creation of God. Thanks God for the counsel. God grants us all with more
wisdom as you have promised us in the bible. let's walk in the truth, always for further readings- what the Bible says about masturbation & pornography, see Bible.com (answers section)
21August04- biblical counselling21August04- biblical
counseling Background: this piece of
writing is inspired by Jane "It is about biblical
counseling. Unlike any other types of counseling, we are not just to listen.
Counselors are to actually give godly advice to the counselee" Jane's diary-
22August04 what an inspiration? thanks
God a counselor is a person
with wisdoms of life, upright morals & values and a good teacher- a person
with good counsels. A counselor¡¦s role is way more than just listening to and
empowering people(listening and empowering is of coz an essential skills).
counselor =/= & > a supporting person Jane gave us a wonderful
food for thought here: nowadays counseling is picking up a perverting
trend. explain: it is obvious, see
now, in universities, counselors are taught and trained not to give advice and
propose values to their clients. The notion today is everyone's values are of
the same value and importance, and must be respected equally. e.g. homosexuality
is as right as heterosexuality, co-habiting is as good as getting
married. now, counselors' role has
changed from the former "a life adviser with good counsels" to merely "a
supporting worker", mainly focusing on listening and empowering clients.
counselors are trained to let go of their own values (in case their values clash
with the clients' and the session will fail) during the counseling session and
accept the clients as who they are however the fact that we do
have our own individual preferences doesn't mean all our values are just
personal preferences!!! that's dangerous we can let go of our
personal preference during a counseling session, yes we can. but we must never
never never let go of one value- the truth!!! the truth that God's counsel is
the truth!!! we can let go of "I like
going to white spot, while you like going to if we are counselors and we
do believe in God, we must use the truth, God's teaching as the basis of
counseling and helping. contemporary counseling can
bring happiness or relieve depression, but only biblical counseling which is
based on the truth can bring life, freedom from suffering and every
joy!!! John 8:31- Then said Jesus
to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my
disciples indeed; 32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you
free. God, grant us courage to
proclaim your truth and teaching. let us not be afraid of challenging the
perverted values. let us focus our heart on loving people around and genuinely
caring them and praying for them that they can come to know you, instead of
being a men pleaser or entertainer 2Timothy 4:5- But watch
thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full
proof of thy ministry Thanks God and Jane for the epiphany- God bless us all always be a good testimony of you O Almighty Lord, amen
21August04- my 1st testimony to 4 of my best friendsBackground:
On a v. peaceful
August19th evening, I wrote my 1st testimony to 4 of my best friends- Turtle,
Cathy, Jane(hk), and Jane(van). Hi Turtle Hey hey
hey^^ how are you doing? 5 hours of traveling everyday? That¡¦s
crazy^^ Hey I have a great
idea of what to do during the bus ride-> you can't read books coz it's so
shaky, so ->listen to tapes, what kind of tapes? "Christian Preaching
Tapes". Maybe I buy you some and send to u, they are
awesome^^ By the way, how's
the food up there? Is it safe enough? ^^ can you go online?
(The most concern for you la^^) Learn more in
work^^ support you!!!! Hey^^ it¡¦s
good that there is air con in the hall^^ I am sure you will have to live
there someday, you won't be able to stand 5 hours everyday except you have my
"wonderful tapes" with wonderful messages hey^^ I am
doing of coz great here, studying 5 courses family studies & psyc, all my
courses are about setting up relationships. And sometimes biking la, not
too much. I know you know, I
am always good in all conditions since high school (the thing is now- from
couple months ago on- I have been happier and happier!!!!!! Do you have any
interest to know the meaning of your life? How to be ever-happy? (People
are able to feel happy even when they have cancer). I have examined
my/your/our God for a couple months and my/your/our God loves me and takes care
of and protects me even better than Juli. Really good
a^^
^^ ok^^ it¡¦s easy, just reply me if you want to
know^^ ^^ I can tell
you, even if someone gives me lots of money, beautiful girls, Ferrari, Olympic
medal... I won't leave my/your/our God. This gift gimme your phone
no., I can phone you and chat 604 232
1303 V6Y
4B7 BC Many times, life
can be tough This gift "Come to me, all
you who are weary and
burdened, and I will give you rest... and you will find
rest for your
souls" "The kingdom of
heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found it,
he went away and sold everything he
had. Cheers 7
Joe |