Finger troubles

News Flash:

I sliced off part of my finger on Monday 10/22 with a box-cutter/exacto. The blade ran off the ruler and onto my finger and took a whole chunk off. That night I had NO sleep because of the pain. On Tuesday it hadn't stop bleeding, so the doctor had the wound carterized (cooked with a pointed flame, like a welding tool). It's OK now, no pain, just numbness around the tip of the finger. (Click here to see a pic)

Isn't this amazing how the finger is such a small part of your body that when it is injured or dysfunctional, the entire body hurts!

So it is the same way in the body of Christ. We all have a place to be, a role to play and a reason for existence. All these senseless bickering in the body is pointless.

Lesson from Matthew

Matthew 6:25-7:28

Do not worry.
God will take care of you.

Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.
Everything else will be taken care of.

The way you measure others
will be how you will be measured.

A sk. It shall be given.
S eek. You shall find.
K nock. It shall be open.

Dont ask, won't get.
Don't seek, won't find.
Don't knock, won't open.

Do unto others what you will have them do unto you.

People are known by their fruit.
Who you truly are will be revealed by your fruit.
So bear good fruit.

Build your life on God the Rock, not on man.
Listen and do what He has to say.
He knows more than you anyway.

Change the world

Inscribed on the tomb of an 11th century Anglican bishop inside Westminster Abbey:

When I was young and free my imagination had no limits, I dreamed of changing the world. As I grew older and wiser, I discovered the world would not change, so I shortened my sights somewhat and decided to change only my country. But it, too, seemed immovable. As I grew in my twilight years, in one desperate last attempt, I settled for changing only my family, those closest to me, but alas, they would have none of it. And now as I lay on my deathbed, I suddenly realized: If I had only changed myself first, then by example I would have changed my family. From their inspiration and encouragement, I would then have been able to better my country and, who knows, I may have even changed the world.

Our Hellhouse experience

Last night we decided to preview Hellhouse before we took our youth group on Wednesday, which happens to be halloween night here in the US. We thought that we might have a better picture of what to expect if we attended it first.

We left our apartment at 7.10pm, and arrived at the location 7:30pm. The temperature at that time was about 60F (16C). There was already a line at the ticket counter, so we waited. The information on the website indicated that we should be there one hour before our planned entry into the house. So we expected an hour's wait before we actually got to enter. We waited in line for 20 minutes to buy the tickets for $10 each.

After that, we were directed to wait in another line. So we went, and patiently waited. We were sandwiched between 2 youth groups. The group behind us talked loud the whole time, and their attitude and language was rather obnoxious and questionable. By the time we reached the end of the line, we had waited for 3 hours standing in line in temperature that had dropped to about 55F (14C). Although we had our jackets on, we were cold, and my back was already hurting from standing for so long. When it was time for us to be grouped, I asked an official if we could be with the group ahead of us, since it was just the two of us. He then moved us to the group twice ahead of us. Yes, we GLADLY moved ahead!

Finally, we're standing in another line and ready to go through security check before we got on a hay-ride to the house located in a remote location. When the van with the trailer finally arrived 15 minutes later for our group's turn, we got in and enjoyed a short ride through an off-road trail behind a hill. That short ride saved my back. By the time we got off the trailer, the pain was gone.

So we arrived at the remote location...lo and behold, another line awaited us. I confess, I rolled my eyes. It was 11:20pm. We were still in the open cold as we snaked through that line. What an ordeal. I was beginning to think, what have I done to deserve all this trouble? Waiting in line felt so hellish already. Talk about going to a hellhouse...!

We finally stepped into the Hellhouse at 12:05am. We were led through various scenes of murder and death. There were scenes depicting a school shooting, drug usage, cutting/self-injury, witchcraft, abortion, murder, heaven, and hell. We were escorted by "demons"-actors dressed up like grim reapers wearing halloween masks. In each scene there were more of these demons influencing the actors into making terrible decisions.

Personally, I felt that the demon characters were annoying, and frankly, quite cheesy. There was a couple of them that actually had their faces painted; those were the best and more convincing ones. Some of the scenes were well enacted, namely witchcraft and cutting scene, the abortion scene, the molestation scene, and the hell scene. These scenes had the best effects and were most convincing. The rest were just so-so, in my opinion.

We were led to the final room where a short challenge was presented to the group. I thought the preacher did a good job wrapping things up in the short time that he had. Lynn thought he could have done better, but considering the time restraint he had before another group arrived, he did OK. He gave an option to go to another room if anyone wanted to get right with God. Then he dismissed the rest of us.

The whole journey inside the Hellhouse took us about 45 minutes. We got out at around 1am, tired, cold, and not really that impressed. Our concluding impression was that the 45 min show was worth the $10, but definitely not worth the 4.5 hours of waiting in the cold. This was undisputedly the longest line we have ever been in our lives.

So, if you're wanting to go, be prepared to WAIT....LONG.

Political lies

I am liking my American Government class by Prof. Jack Goodyear. I think his is one of the beneficial classes in DBU...and there are not many I have come across in this place called United States...

Anyways, one reason why I am enjoying this class is the quality of discussion on the online discussion board. Here's this week's question which I totally enjoyed answering. Have fun!

Question: Political philosophers such as Plato and Edmund Burke believe that political leaders are often forced to lie to protect the public. Do you agree with this? Does a Christian politician have a right to lie if revealing the truth might cause harm? Why or why not?

> If a politician has come to a place where he has to lie to protect the public, then I say that he has been lying all the while to protect himself. I think it is important to lead well, and lead with honesty and integrity. If I, as a politician, am truthful, honest and integrous from the beginning, then I should have no problem being honest with the public about the latest tragedy or impending disaster. Of course, this is a matter of tact and how the issue is presented.

I have to agree with some of the posts already about how there is a difference between outright lying and revealing only certain portions of the truth so as not to arouse unrest from the public. In the end, the whole truth must be presented, and the public will be thankful that they were not misled. Nevertheless, in order to come to this relationship between the politician and the public, there must already be a bond of trust and sincerity between them. In this, the timing in the revealing of details is definitely crucial. A good politician/leader is one who understands any given situation, accurately gauges the right timing, and with tact and wisdom, presents it in a way that unifies the public to respond favourably. This is what I call leadership.

As for Christian politicians, the answer is all the more clear: “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.” In other words, no lying. No disputes necessary. Period.

In the style of King Solomon’s proverbs and wise sayings, I’d like to say it this way: Better is impending harm from telling the truth than artificial peace from a telling a lie.

excerpt from my personal journal today

I want to be able to say that I did things right. I will do whatever it
takes to stay alive, to survive, just like Jesus. Sure, there will be impossible
things through our human eyes; we do have our box of sometimes impossible laws
and stupid rules. But until I know for sure that God wants me to specifically
break them, I have to remember that whatever it takes is just this: to put my
trust in God for the impossible.

Jesus did what he had to do to survive when it was not time for him to die.
But when it was time, he did what he had to do to die.

We should be grateful followers.

You're All I Want

The Hammer Holds

A shapeless piece of steel, that's all I claim to be

This hammer pounds to give me form, this flame, it melts my dreams

I glow with fire and fury, as I'm twisted like a vine

My final shape, my final form I'm sure I'm bound to find

So dream a little, dream for me in hopes that I'll remain

And cry a little, cry for me so I can bear the flames

And hurt a little, hurt for me my future is untold

But my dreams are not the issue here, for they, the hammer holds

And the water, it cools me gray, and the hurt's subdued somehow

I have my shape, this sharpened point, what is my purpose now?

And the question still remains, what am I to be?

Perhaps some perfect piece of art displayed for all to see

So dream a little, dream for me in hopes that I'll remain

And cry a little, cry for me so I can bear the flames

And hurt a little, hurt for me my future is untold

But my dreams are not the issue here, for they, the hammer holds

The hammer pounds again, but flames I do not feel

This force that drives me, helplessly, through flesh, and wood reveals

A burn that burns much deeper, it's more than I can stand

The reason for my life was to take the life of a guiltless man

So dream a little, dream for me in hopes that I'll remain

And cry a little, cry for me so I can bear the pain

And hurt a little, hurt for me, my future is so bold

But my dreams are not the issue here, for they, the hammer holds

This task before me may seem unclear

But it, my Maker holds

~by Bebo Norman

Thanks again, Bebo, for putting things in perspective for me.

Stepping Stones

In my previous post, I mentioned that in the world, particularly in the business world, people tend to step on each other to rise to the top. In fact, I still remember the idea that someone I have respected all my life posed to me, "If you dont step on them, they will step on you. Why let them step on you when you're better than them?"

I ended with a very big question: "Where's the love?"

See, we all say we have love. We live in a world where everybody and anybody can say "I love you" and yet don't really mean what they say. We say it to our dogs, cats, our TVs, magazines, the internet, to sex, celebrities, our cars, motorbikes, our food, (the list goes on)... And then we say it to our spouses, our children, our families and loved ones. Have we really lost the essence of what those three words really mean?

With what the world thinks about stepping on others, here's a counter-idea presented to us by a very well known scholar and philosopher:

"Let love be without hypocrisy...be devoted to one another in love; giving preference to one another in honor."

"Do nothing out of selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind, regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interest, but also for the interest of others."

Instead of stepping on others to rise to the top, the greater glory is revealed when we allow ourselves to be the stepping stones so others can rise to the top. This is who we are called to be as Christians.