22nd August 2008
April 25th, 2007
Recently it has been agreed that some form of emo-ness is taking over the world. When I have time and when I’ve prayed more about it we’ll see what the bible says about being emo and whether being emo is good or bad or it really doesn’t matter.
April 8th, 2007
Well, as some of you might have noticed, Rod Keng dropped by this week to visit. He’s a very nice guy in his mid 40-ies and is so easy going and nice that he really seems much younger than he is. I wasn’t ever going to see him but due to divine providence, we bumped into each other more than we would have expected.
Firstly, he arrive in the dead of the night at 3 and due to some mixup nobody went to pick him! So pastor went to pick him up and sent him to my place at 4am. After a week when he was supposed to go back in the afternoon, I arrived home after school that day thinking he had already left.. but he came to my house to stay one more night cos he missed his flight thinking it was 3:15PM when it was actually 3:15AM. So in this extra God given day, I showed him around his computer esp with videos and photo stuff… then we went to get a 320GB maxtor to store his stuff at home cos he had a small 60gb drive already, ate some jap food at downtown east cos the chatterbox chicken rice ran out already.
Overall it was great to have him here. I just wish that as I grow older I’ll be as agreeable and have a meek spirit like his. Don’t wanna become some hard-assed-stuck-up-proud-know-it-all old person I see around me all the time.
Oh yes, My ESV CD came! And I never expected them to ever send it. Just thought the bible already paid for, might as well get the CD. SO i requested ages ago.. and it’s finally arrived. haha..
March 30th, 2007
Anyone can remember anything about John the baptist asking for proof of repentance before baptism or something? Something about him condemning the Pharisees at the same time. Hmm.. suddenly came into my mind and had to get it down before I forgot to ask someone
March 19th, 2007
Well, now some of you would have seen the pretty tooltip pop-ups when you mouse over a reference to a verse. This is much for the readers sake. Why ESV? Simple, there’s no online KJV or NKJV bible that has an API which will allow this kinda functions. While we can debate over bible versions, it would be easier to just go to biblegateway and search up the verse in your favorite version. I do not favour the ESV over the KJV or NKJV, the 3 are pretty much identical except when it comes to certain verses where some manuscripts differ. I like the ESV because they include everything (the stuff of conflict) in the footnotes. So in effect, you have everything but they tell you why some stuff is not included in the main text of the ESV. Hope it makes things much more readable.
March 7th, 2007
Ezra: Such a nice book.. God provided his people with the resources to build his temple right from the pocket of those who took them into captivity!
February 26th, 2007
Was telling Ze Gang about the promises I highlighted in the previous post and then noting that they were all (or mostly) conditional statements. At a glance it means God says “I will do this, If you do this”. Examples are as follows:
In fact, even salvation is a conditional statement
Does this seem to contradict the notion that by grace we are saved? and not of works? Since we have to do something before God does something?
I think the whole problem lies with the definition of works.
Is calling unto God in Jeremiah works? how about
Don’t these reflect attitudes more than an action? and if any promise does mention action, don’t they arise from attitudes?
For example, the attitude of seeking with all your heart leads to reading the bible and then you “find” him. Reading the bible in itself doesn’t do anything because the action of reading is a work. Reading without a seeking attitude is useless and a seeking attitude will never manifest itself by not-reading. Illustrated by “I am tired but have no desire to sleep”.
Consider the following very apparent contradiction also:
Yet, if you actually read on it would say this
22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”[g]And he was called the friend of God. 24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.
In conclusion, I don’t really have anything conclusive to say. It is suffice to say that the promises I have looked at(10/1260, less than 1% of all the promises according to agards-bible-timeline.com) being conditional, are not conditional requiring action, but rather requiring a right attitude. Can you tell a person to be more Patient? Loving? Unselfish? No. Can you ask him not to kick his sister? Steal a car? share what he has? Yes. Why? because they are actions. Only by grace (romans 12:13) is paul humble (an attitude), which leads him “not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think” (the action or more accurately, non-action). If you do come across something in the bible which does not follow this, I’d like to have a look and be made aware of it.
February 3rd, 2007
I went to visit benji along with David Ong during after our trip to the Wilds which I kept quiet for quite a few reasons that I see as not important anymore. I think I should at least get it out here so people who will read it can read it and I can share some of the blessings I obtained there. Its long, culminating in a lengthy sermon I wrote in the plane on the way back, essentially compressing the conference they had there into one one sermon. Take time to digest, flip though the bible yourself to see if I have made statements which are amiss and feel free to clarify. I’ll update again with photos. but first, Click on”read more” to.. uh.. read more
January 16th, 2007
Here ya go.. Some history behind that church in revelations where the scripture is so often out of the geographical and temporal context. Its wonderful knowledge!