It is when the voices of both friend and foe become distant that I
I clearly hear the Voice behind them...calling. Speaking...listening.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want....
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
I am part of the Fellowship of the Unashamed. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals. I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, plaudits, or popularity. I now live by presence, lean by faith, love by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power. My pace is set, my destiny is Heaven. My road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, yet my Guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, diluted, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of an enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until heaven returns, give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He comes. And when he comes to get his own, He will have no problem recognizing me.
I've been feeling like this guy for the past 2 years.
One of these days, God's going to say, "This way," and it's
on to the next adventure...
A tree gives glory to God by being a tree. For in being what God means it to be it is obeying Him…. The more a tree is like itself, the more it is like Him…. This particular tree will give glory to God by spreading out its roots in the earth and raising its branches into the air and the light in a way that no other tree before or after it ever did or will do….
The special clumsy beauty of this particular colt on this April day in this field under these clouds is a holiness consecrated to God by His own creative wisdom and it declares the glory of God. The pale flowers of the dogwood outside this window are saints. The little yellow flowers that nobody notices on the edge of that road are saints looking up into the face of God. This leaf has it own texture and its own pattern of veins and its own holy shape, and the bass and trout hiding in the deep pools of the river are canonised by their beauty and their strength. The lakes hidden among the hills are saints, and the sea too is a saint who praises God without interruption in her majestic dance.
The great, gashed, half-naked mountain is another of God's saints. There is no other like him. He is alone in his own character; nothing else in the world ever did or ever will imitate God in quite the same way. That is his sanctity…. For me to be a saint means to be myself. Therefore the problem of sanctity and salvation is in fact the problem of finding out who I am and of discovering my true self.
Trees and animals have no problem. God makes them what they are without consulting them, and they are perfectly satisfied. With us it is different. God leaves us free to be whatever we like. We can be ourselves or not, as we please. We are at liberty to be real, or to be unreal. We may be true or false, the choice is ours. We may wear now one mask and now another, and never, if we so desire, appear with our own true face. But we cannot make these choices with impunity. Causes have effects, and if we lie to ourselves and to others, then we cannot expect to find truth and reality whenever we happen to want them. If we have chosen the way of falsity we must not be surprised that truth eludes us when we finally come to need it! Our vocation is not simply to be, but to work together with God in the creation of our own life, our own identity, our own destiny….
The seeds that are planted in my liberty at every moment, by God's will, are the seeds of my own identity, my own reality, my own happiness, my own sanctity…. Every one of us is shadowed by an illusory person: a false self. This is the person that I want myself to be but who cannot exist, because God does not know anything about him. And to be unknown to God is altogether too much privacy. My false and private self is the one who wants to exist outside the reach of God's will and God's love - outside of reality and outside of life. And such a self cannot help but be an illusion. We are not very good at recognising illusions, least of all the ones we cherish about ourselves - the ones we are born with and which feed the roots of sin. For most of the people in the world, there is no greater subjective reality than this false self of theirs, which cannot exist. A life devoted to the cult of this shadow is what is called a life of sin.
All sin starts from the assumption that my false self, the self that exists only in my own egocentric desires, is the fundamental reality of life to which everything else in the universe is ordered. Thus I use up my life in the desire for pleasures and the thirst for experiences, for power, honour, knowledge and love, to clothe this false self and construct its nothingness into something objectively real. And I wind experiences around myself and cover myself with pleasures and glory like bandages in order to make myself perceptible to myself and to the world, as if I were an invisible body that could only become visible when something visible covered its surface….
Ok, what in the WORLD is going on in this picture? The kid looks as if he's going to cry, holding his dog. Is the dog about to go to the meat factory and get "processed"? I mean, look at those meat sticks in the lower right...are those pictures of other nameless dogs who left their little boy owners dog-less? Perhaps the boy realizes that his little pup is next...I wonder who was the dude in charge of advertising for this piece. I wonder how that stuff tastes....
I JUST UPLOADED NEW PHOTOS OF THE MCUBE'S AGM. CLICK ON THE LINK OVER THERE UNDER THE CBOX TO ENJOY STRANGE AND TRUE CONTRAPTIONS OF OUR BEAUTIFUL AND HANDSOME CREW MEMBERS.
I like Hillsongs...but sometimes my spirit needs more. This girl sang her heart out, and anointed thousands of other hearts in the process.
More than that, this song and version of it carried me over some of the most terrible, monstrous mountains and darkest, friend-forsaken valleys over the years. It was true then, and it remains a familiar truth now. May it be an encouragement and provocation to go forward, dear reader!
The race is not given, to the swift, nor to the strong…
But to the one that endureth, until the end!
They’ll be problems, and sometimes you walk alone.
But I know, that I know, that I know…things will work out, yes they will...
...For the good of them who loves the Lord!
Eyes have not seen, and neither have ears heard.
The things God has prepared for them that love Him!
Sometimes you may have to cry,
sometimes you may have to walk alone.
But I know, that I know, that I know, things will work out, yes they will...
...For the good of them who loves the Lord!
No matter what the problem, you can’t solve it.
They will come, but don’t you worry!
It will work out, for the good of them who love the Lord. (x2)
Adam's first attempt at naming the animals. Notice the horse's expression, not to mention God's...
So I'm preparing slides for a bible study I'm starting soon, and I came across this picture.
I have a friend who enjoys naming...well, things.
Lest she think this is weird (I don't, and I'm sure she doesn't, but sometimes age does something to ones enjoyment of the simple pleasures in life), I submit this photo as a reminder: man was given the power to name everything around him! So, name your thumbdrive boldly! Laptops, beware the forthcoming surname! Pencils, expect to be bestowed with a name above every other name given to a writing utensil!
Haha...this photo's for you sis!...(I shall not name names)
Lord knows I'm not there yet...but I'm trying....I'm aiming....I'm trying.
Speech is the mirror of the soul; as a man speaks, so he is. --Publilius Syrus
The trouble with talking too fast is you may say something you haven't thought of yet. --Ann Landers
Most conversations are simply monologues delivered in the presence of a witness. --Margaret Millar
We have too many high sounding words, and too few actions that correspond with them. --Abigail Adams
We do not need to proselytise either by our speech or by our writing. We can only do so really with our lives. --Mahatma Gandhi
But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned. –Jesus Christ (Matthew 12:36-38)
When you are arguing with a fool, make sure he isn't doing the same thing. —Unknown
I am annoyed by individuals who are embarrassed by pauses in a conversation. To me, every conversational pause refreshes. --George Sanders
Great minds talk about ideas, Average minds talk about things, Small minds talk about other people. --Unknown
The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone.--Harriet Beecher Stowe
Some shopping center in Singapore when a super famous singer was signing her signature about some song she sang on a CD that was selling fantastically swell. I didn't buy one.
A first grade teacher collected old, well known proverbs. She gave each child in her class the first half of the proverb, then had the children complete the phrase. As you shall make your bed so shall you……mess it up. Better be safe than…….punch a 5th grader. Strike while the…….bug is close. It’s always darkest before…….daylight savings time. You can lead a horse to water but…….how? Don’t bite the hand that…….looks dirty. A miss is as good as a…….Mr. You can’t teach an old dog new…….math. If you lie down with the dogs, you’ll……stink in the morning. The pen is mightier than the…….pigs. An idle mind is…….the best way to relax. Where there’s smoke, there’s…….pollution. Happy the bride who……gets all the presents. A penny saved is…….not much. Two’s company, three’s…….the musketeers. Laugh and the whole world laughs with you; cry and…….you have to blow your nose. Children should be seen and not…….spanked or grounded. When the blind leadeth the blind…….get out of the way.
On a more serious note, a defining quote for the moment in my life:
About all you can do in life is be who you are. Some people will love you for you. Most will love you for what you can do for them, and some won't like you at all. Rita Mae Brown
There is a way of reading the Bible that seems to leave God far away, off in the shadows somewhere. It is all information and technicalities and knowledge, but it feels like you're sitting with your back towards God. You come up against a difficulty or question, and you go to books, you ask pastors, friends, strangers on the internet, anyone but Him. Gradually God gets smaller and dimmer. --Unknown
Here, then, is the real problem of our negligence. We fail in our duty to study God's Word not so much because it is difficult to understand, not so much because it is dull and boring, but because it is work. Our problem is not a lack of intelligence or a lack of passion. Our problem is that we are lazy. --R. C. Sproul
You may as well quit reading and hearing the Word of God, and give it to the devil, if you do not desire to live according to it. -- Martin Luther
Spouting scripture has no magic to dispel the devil. Scripture has phenomenal power but unless you submit your mind to its inerrant truth, its power is largely lost to you. --Martha Kilpatrick
The Bible is not an end in itself, but a means to bring men to an intimate and satisfying knowledge of God, that they may enter into Him, that they may delight in His Presence, may taste and know the inner sweetness of the very God Himself in the core and center of their hearts.-- A. W. Tozer
One of these days some simple soul will pick up the Book of God, read it, and believe it. Then the rest of us will be embarrassed. --Leonard Ravenhill
A photo sent to me by a friend who is studying architecture. I'm going to ask her to design my house like this. My bed will be that big eyeball thing in the middle.
In other words, what Jesus meant when He cried, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" was that he had taken the place of sinful man on the cross and was suffering the full punishment for sin. There was no abatement of suffering because of His deity. Since all have sinned (Romans 3:23), and the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), all mankind (except for the sinless Christ) deserved to die. Chirst took our place and sufferred the death that we deserved (Romans 5:6-9). Jesus was more than a courageous martyr like Stephen and more than an Old Testament sacrifice, because He died in our place and experienced for a time the death we deserved. On the cross He tasted death for every man (Hebrews 2:9). This death was more than physical death; it also involved spiritual death, which is separation from God (2 Thessalonians 1:9 ; Revelation 20:14)
No one alive on earth has felt this spiritual death in its fullest degree, because all of us live, move, and have our being in God (Acts 17:28). Even the atheist enjoys many good things such as joy, love, and life itself. Every good thing comes from God (James 1:17), and all life originates from Him and is upheld by Him. But, Jesus tasted ultimate death - the separation from God that a sinner will feel in the lake of fire. He felt the anguish, hopelessness, and despair as if he were a man eternally forsaken by God. So the human nature of Jesus cried out on the cross as Jesus took on the sin of the whole world and felt the ternal punishment of separation for that sin (I Peter 2:24).
-David K. Bernard, The Oneness of God
Now tell me again why we need someone to remind us to worship Jesus? If after reading this you (or, more to the point, I) go to the house of the Lord and not praise, worship, and shout to the Lord with everything in me....shame on me. If I have to wait for the worship leader, the pastor, or other individuals to direct my worship...shame on me. If there is nothing else that I can think of to pray or talk to God about, the account above is enough to fill the rest of my prayer times with thanksgiving.
In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion. Deliver me in thy righteousness, and cause me to escape: incline thine ear unto me, and save me. Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort: thou hast given commandment to save me; for thou art my rock and my fortress. Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man. For thou art my hope, O Lord GOD: thou art my trust from my youth. By thee have I been holden up from the womb: thou art he that took me out of my mother's bowels: my praise shall be continually of thee. I am as a wonder unto many; but thou art my strong refuge. Let my mouth be filled with thy praise and with thy honor all the day. Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth. For mine enemies speak against me; and they that lay wait for my soul take counsel together, Saying, God hath forsaken him: persecute and take him; for there is none to deliver him. O God, be not far from me: O my God, make haste for my help. Let them be confounded and consumed that are adversaries to my soul; let them be covered with reproach and dishonor that seek my hurt. But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more. My mouth shall show forth thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day; for I know not the numbers thereof. I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only. O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works. Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have showed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come. Thy righteousness also, O God, is very high, who hast done great things: O God, who is like unto thee! Thou, which hast showed me great and sore troubles, shalt quicken me again, and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth. Thou shalt increase my greatness, and comfort me on every side. I will also praise thee with the psaltery, even thy truth, O my God: unto thee will I sing with the harp, O thou Holy One of Israel. My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto thee; and my soul, which thou hast redeemed. My tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness all the day long: for they are confounded, for they are brought unto shame, that seek my hurt. (Psalm 71:1-24)
Thank God this Psalmist was human. Topics like these comprise almost 1/3 of the Psalms. There are too many super-Christians (a.k.a Christians who know not the power, blessings, and gift of lonliness & suffering) nowadays. I once thought Psalms like these that were read in days of youth would one day give way to the other 2/3 part of Psalms that speak of joy, peace, and blessings. How silly that thought. As I said, forgot, and was reminded by a friend: it takes both rain and sunshine to make a rainbow. In fact, you can't even see a rainbow without rain. Hence as long as we live in this world, suffering will be a reality. Unless, of course, you are a super-Christian.
Our pastor was saying that if we want to get extreme about reaching out to people for the gospel we need to overcome our fear!
I should find the phone number of this guy...he might be able to help me.
~ 50 points to whoever can guess where this is in Singapore~
This is not a work of scholarship. I am no Hebraist, no higher critic, no ancient historian, no archaeologist. I write for the unlearned about things in which I am unlearned myself. If an excuse is needed (and perhaps it is) for writing such a book, my excuse would be something like this. It often happens that two schoolboys can solve difficulties in their work for one another better than the master can. When you took the problem to a master, as we all remember, he was very likely to explain what you understood already, to add a great deal of information which you didn't want, and say nothing at all about the thing that was puzzling you. I have watched this from both sides of the net; for when, as a teacher myself, I have tried to answer questions brought me by pupils, I have sometimes, after a minute, seen that expression settle down on their faces which assured me that they were suffering exactly the same frustration which I had suffered from my own teachers. The fellow-pupil can help more than the master because he knows less. The difficulty we want him to explain is one he has recenlty met. The expert met it so long ago that he has forgotten. He sees the whole subject, by now, in such a different light that he cannot conceive what is really troubling the pupil; he sees a dozen other difficulties which ought to be troubling him but aren't. - C.S. Lewis, from the Introductory of his "Reflections on the Psalms " book
This was the expression on my face the first time I saw posters in the men's public bathrooms here in Singapore giving instructions on how to...er...aim - complete with bulls-eyes.
There's a website called, "Gullible.info" No explanation needed, but I do offer some extracts:
• Elephants don't have ankles.
• Despite two extreme outliers -- Oregon on one side, New York City on the other -- an average American bathes more often than an average person of any other nationality.
• Over forty-five years of space exploration, no fewer than six dogs, eleven cats, four thousand mice and an aquarium-full of crickets are believed to have been stranded in low Earth orbit.
• More people are burned by toaster ovens than by regular ovens.
• May is national Toaster Oven Safety Awareness month.
• One in five people carries with them a key for which they have forgotten the use.
• "Toyota" is a conjugation of the Japanese word for "War Machine."
• Boston University researchers found that people separated from their cell phones for two days showed signs of withdrawal.
Whether any of these are true or not, I don't know. But they make you go, "hmmm..."
For up till now we have been tackling the whole question in the wrong way and on the wrong level. The very question “Does prayer work?” puts us in the wrong frame of mind from the outset. “Work”: as if it were magic, or a machine – something that functions automatically. Prayer is either a sheer illusion or a personal contact between embryonic, incomplete persons (ourselves) and the utterly concrete Person. Prayer in the sense of petition, asking for things, is a small part of it; confession and penitence are its threshold, adoration its sanctuary, the presence and vision and enjoyment of God its bread and wine. In it God shows Himself to us. That He answers prayers is a corollary – not necessarily the most important one – from that revelation. What He does is learned from what He is. -C.S. Lewis, taken from The World’s Last Night
the side of my house...the back of my car...the face of nostalgia
But do not forget this. At first it is natural for a baby to take its mother's milk without knowing its mother. It is equally natural for us to see the man who helps us without seeing Christ behind him. But we must not remain babies. We must go on to recognise the real Giver. It is madness not to. Because, if we do not, we shall be relying on human beings. And that is going to let us down. The best of them will make mistakes, all of them will die. We must be thankful to all the people who have helped us, we must honour them and love them. But never, never pin your whole faith on any human being: not if he is the best and wisest in the whole world. There are lots of nice things you can do with sand; but do not try building a house on it. -C.S. Lewis, from Mere Christianity It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. Psalm 118:8 Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish. Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God: Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth forever: Psalm 146:3-6
Just some food for thought lest any of you out there would seem to have dropped your gaze from God to man when it comes to weighty and eternal matters of the soul.
In my conclusion, I'd like to say this: you graduates, indeed all of us, are growing, questioning life, and concerned over the future. The battle between good and evil, right and wrong, wise and unwise is not waged in the natural world, not in the situations we experience everyday, per se. Rather, the war for your eternal destiny lies within your heart, mind, and soul. For those who have obeyed Jesus, the battle is already won! It is important to love Jesus with every area of your life. As a painter who stands before a blank canvas creates whatsoever his heart and brush tell him, so too must you and the Lord paint the story of your life on the canvas of your heart. Go into your secret chamber of your heart, paint brush in hand and let God show you what colors to choose, what lines to make. Be not afraid of what others think of your rough draft. God will continually work with and in you. As you move into adulthood, take on jobs, families, remember who it is who gave you life, purpose, meaning. Forget not the simple things in life. Find God everyday: in the rising sun, in the cleansing rain, in the breeze that cradles the tree leaf. Transform your mind and heart to be sensitive to the spirit of God. As you decrease, Jesus will increase in your life and thus a beautiful picture painting will emerge. And on that day when we all stand before our most faithful and loving creator, the Lord Jesus, He will open the book of life and find an extraordinary picture of a beautiful, strong tree that symbolizes your life. And He will say, "Well done thou good and faithful servant." -Graduates speech written by db, copyright 2000
Where do your roots lie? At the end of all things it will be only you and God standing face to face. What picture will He see in the Book of Life on that day? A portrait born of your own hand? Will you cringe on that day when He shows you the picture that could have been? Will you weep at the gate of the place where just beyond tears will be known no more? Which choice in your life now stands in competition to the victory, the eternity, the magnificent wonder and promise of immortality with He who gave His life for yours?
Or...
Will there be a mutual smile on your face and His when all the painful sorrows, the shed tears, the seasons of turmoil and trama reveal themselves as the varied colors resident on the symbolic canvas of your life that God will present to you on that day? Will you today push aside all that you think you know, all that you thought you knew, and pursue Him who pursues you daily? Him who has you as the apple of His eye? Him who will never, ever, ever give up on you?
Blessed is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly, and has not stood in the way of sinners, and has not sat in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is only in the Law of Jehovah; and in His Law he meditates day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivulets of water that brings forth its fruit in its seasons, and its leaf shall not wither, and all which he does shall be blessed. (Psalm 1:1-3)
Saturday, September 09, 2006
A note written to me on a piece of crumpled up notebook paper from one of the children in our kids church:
"Do not walk ahead of me, I may not know the way to follow... Do now walk behind me, I may not know the way to lead... Just walk with me...AS FRIENDS FOREVER."
(In the lower left corner I see a hand drawn picture of what I think to be a car with a headband and a smile.)
Put right out of your head the idea that these are only fancy ways of saying that Christians are to read what Christ said and try to carry it out as a man may read what Plato and Marx said and try to carry it out. They mean something much more than that. They mean that a real Person, Christ, here and now, in that very room where you are saying your prayers, is doing things to you. It is not a question of a good man who died two thousand years ago. It is a living Man, still as much a man as you, and still as much God as He was when He created the world, really coming and interfering with your very self; killing the old natural self in you and replacing it with the kind of self He has. At first, only for moments. Then for longer periods. Finally, if all goes well, turning you permanently into a different sort of thing; into a new little Christ, a being which, in its own small way, has the same kind of life as God; which shares in His power, joy, knowledge, and eternity.
-C.S. Lewis, "Let's Pretend", from Mere Christianity
Something is very wrong here. One cannot tell if she thinks the jelly looks good to eat...or the hands. This child is never coming to my house to play with my kids.
I was Poopsie Liverface and proud of it! How can you be an elementary school teacher surrounded by 6~11 year olds all day and not get kooked-out? Below is one of the many lessons I (the student) learned from my teachers (my students). Find your name and share....IF YOU DARE. Muhahaha...
Ok, here's how it works:
Use the third letter of your first name to determine your new first name:
a = poopsie b = lumpy c = buttercup d = gadget e = crusty f = greasy g = fluffy h = cheeseball i = chim-chim j = stinky k = flunky l = boobie m = pinky n = zippy o = goober p = doofus q = slimy r = loopy s = snotty t = tootie u = dorkey v = squeezit w = oprah x = skipper y = dinky z = zsa-zsa
Use the second letter of your last name to determine the first half of your new last name:
a = apple b = toilet c = giggle d = burger e = girdle f = barf g = lizard h = waffle i = cootie j = monkey k = potty l = liver m = banana n = rhino o = bubble p = hamster q = toad r = gizzard s = pizza t = gerbil u = chicken v = pickle w = chuckle x = tofu y = gorilla z = stinker
Use the fourth letter of your last name to determine the second half of your new last name:
a = head b = mouth c = face d = nose e = tush f = breath g = pants h = shorts i = lips j = honker k = butt l = brain m = tushie n = chunks o = hiney p = biscuits q = toes r = buns s = fanny t = sniffer u = sprinkles v = kisser w = squirt x = humperdinck y = brains z = juice
We were shameless in Room 108 (my first homeroom class)! We were silly at times, and we knew it. Lots of laughs kept our hearts light, but plenty of love kept our feet on the ground.
*sniff*....My second ever edited video from the same Deep Calleth Deep conference in 2003. A wee bit longer with many more cuts. Boy, I was on a roll. :-)
The Holy Spirit continues to work, even today. Unbeknownst to many, the book of Acts is the only book of the bible that doesn't have an ending. Chew on that.
So my mother and I were watching the extended version of Lord of the Rings: Return of the King the other night. (She's so cool...watching one of my favorite movies of all time with me mums...haha!)
Majestic dialogue, fantastic imagery, and eternal themes of honor, courage, friendship, sacrifice, endurance, and the age old battle between good and evil all play out with vivid music and color in Mr. Jackson's 9 hour (*phew*) masterpiece. Although I am partial to fight scenes and war-themed films, one of my favorite (if not my favorite) scenes in Return of the King is after Frodo and Sam finally destroy the ring and have, not by choice but rather by circumstantial default, resigned themselves to death upon a lonely rock on the sides of volcanic Mordor. Surrounded by lava which, by their judgment would soon engulf them, they talk of the Shire and life before their terrific journey to do battle against the forces of evil. Their task now completed, they close their eyes and, major thumbs up to Peter Jackson(!), the scene fades to a black screen for about 6 seconds...very, very long and unsettling for the viewers. Then it fades back in to the same rock surrounded by lava with Frodo and Sam laid out on the rock. Off to the right out of bursting white clouds eagles fly in to rescue them with Gandalf riding one. They gently pick up the unaware Frodo and Sam and bring them to safety elsewhere. It is a satisfying scene, one of hope and faith that when a person has done all they know, with all the power they know, in the end they will survive even if not by their own will or power.
My heart leapt at that scene! How like we, the people of God, ought to have the courage and faith of these two little dudes on the side of a blown up volcano! Before they reached Mordor they, especially Sam, were certain they'd return home in a flash. But reaching the outer plains of that most wicked place they saw themselves walking to certain death. They still journeyed forward in spite of all the odds against them. (Deut 31:6) They had no idea of the struggles, the battles, the tears, and the overwhelming hopes that everyone else on the outside had for them. (1 Peter 5:9) It was pure faith and hope that kept both Frodo and Sam going and their friends (all the other good guys and gals in the movie) fighting. It was all for the same cause: to eliminate evil from the world.
The point here is simple: when all had been said and done and Frodo and Sam were on the brink of death, salvation came. They were borne on the "...wings of eagles..." (Isaiah 40:31) out of harms way. Had they given up, had they retreated in fear, had they wallowed in defeated thoughts and frustration I dare say they would have died before they ever reached the inside of Mordor. All would have been lost.
We must have the same fight in us, the same tenacity about our salvation, the same hope that in the end good will triumph over evil. Sam and Frodo had, at the last, given up their lives to the hot lava flowing around them. Yet they gave their all because of the cause they believed in. We have a greater cause: the redemption of mankind. (2 Corinth 5:18) We know the ending of our story....sweet and eternal victory! (Rev 22:12-14) How dare we even think to give in, to let go, to compromise, to entertain weak imaginations!
Alas, we, being human, do so, and this I personally know right well. :-( We may find ourselves many a day on the side of a volcano surrounded by situations so pressured that our daily lives become the great Struggle with moments of Freedom. (Psalm 69:1-3) We may find ourselves closing our eyes as the circumstances, the people, as our minds hem in on us. "I've done all I know to do, Lord. Oh Jesus, I can no more endure this! My heart and strength have fallen below where I cannot see. I shall lie here and wait for an end to come." But it isn't over. When a child of God does the work of their eternal Father, our Lord Jesus, the story is never over when we think. Nay, it is just beginning. (Gal 6:9) Do not lose heart! Do not give up! Do not stay your sword within your bosom! Take courage! Take hold of faith! Never, ever give up! Keep wielding your sword (the Word of God) with relentless fervor! Speak out the Word full of faith! Pray! Believe Jesus' words and promises for your life and the lives of those dear to you...and even those not dear! Become the change which you desire to see in the world! Become the sacrificial offering fit for the Master's use. Become that which you already are in the bosom of Christ....a fearless warrior prince or princess bound eternally to a fate of glorious habitation and reign in heaven with the only true God of this universe: Jesus Christ. Believe it...live it.
Fight for your King and Kinsman-redeemer who, through suffering, learned obedience and thus gained eternal victory for we, His children! (Hebrews 5:8) Fight for your family who presently may turn aside to false persuasions, but, as you rejoice in faith for their redemption, will soon see the light of Christ! (Matthew 5:16) Fight for your brothers and sisters in the Lord who, while they may not know your struggles as you journey to your "Mordor" play their much needed role as the body of Christ in this great battle that is called Life! (1 Corinth 12:12-27) Fight for your own soul which to this world may be as a vapor and passing folly, but Jesus is more precious than His own life! (John 3:16)
This war rally by Aragorn brought me to tears when I re-read it word for word:
"Hold your ground, hold your ground. Sons of Gondor, of Rohan, my brothers. I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day. An hour of woes and shattered shields, when the age of men comes crashing down, but it is not this day. This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good Earth, I bid you stand, Men of the West!"
Re-written and re-morphed by db ;-)
"Hold your ground, hold your ground. Sons and daughters of the Most High God, of the Lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world, my family. I see in your eyes the same fear that indeed takes the heart of me at times. A day may come when our courage fails, when we forsake our faith in the goodness of our Redeemer and follow our own devices, but it is not this day. A day may come when with furrowed eyebrows we wonder if God really cares of the very hairs of our head, but it is not this day. An hour of woes and forgotten dreams, of far off visions and cold love. A moment of ease in this battle of destiny, when our very breath of praise runs dry and our eyes dim in the grip of doubt, but it is not this day....
...THIS DAY WE FIGHT." And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. -Jesus (Luke 9:23) He fought and won. Let us follow in His footsteps. We cannot lose. The gates of hell will in no wise prevail against us. Fight, I say, fight!
Not the Lady of Perelandra, just a cool pic I found
The Lady of Perelandra is a depiction of another Eve on another planet in another creation story that parallels the biblical account of our own Eve, planet, and creation story. She, in C.S. Lewis’ mind, is the epitome of innocence, all that was before self-centeredness and willful disobedience molded our present world. That is all I will say about this most wonderful story I am in the midst of reading now lest I spoil it for those who dare tread its pages. A good read it is…C.S. Lewis is a wonderful theologian.
Some of her responses to the main character, Ransom, when he lands on “her” world, are to die for. Here we see a fallen, experienced human being talking with a woman – the Mother of the planet God (Maledil) has made – yet untouched by anything but the Good Lord’s goodness, love, and providence. That which was to be, in the plan of God talking with that which became, in the plan of man. Some of her conversations with him and another character, the Lord’s antithesis, Satan himself who also finds his way into “her” world, are very, very good. Excerpts:
EXCERPT #1: The Lady and Ransom (Piebald) “Perhaps my world is wrong about this,” said Ransom rather feebly, for he was dismayed at what he had done. “It is not so,” said she. “Maledil Himself has told me now. And it could not be so, if your world has no floating lands. But He is not telling me why He has forbidden it to us.” “There’s probably some good reason,” began Ransom, when he was interrupted by her sudden laughter. “Oh, Piebald, Piebald,” she said, still laughing. “How often the people of your race speak!” “I’m sorry,” said Ransom, a little put out. “What are you sorry for?” “I am sorry if you think I talk too much.” “Too much? How can I tell what would be too much for you to talk?”“In our world when they say a man talks much they mean they wish him to be silent.” “If that is what they mean, why do they not say it?” “What made you laugh?” asked Ransom, finding her question too hard. “I laughed, Piebald, because you were wondering, as I was, about this law which Maledil has made for one world and not for another. And you had nothing to say about it and yet made the nothing up into words.”
How often I do that…
EXCERPT #2: The Lady and Weston, presently inhabited by Satan (see Genesis 3:1-5 for parallels) “I am wondering,” said the woman’s voice, “whether all the people of your world have the habit of talking about the same thing more than once. I have said already that we are forbidden to dwell on the Fixed Land. Why do you not either talk of something else or stop talking?” “Because this forbidding is such a strange one,” said the Man’s (Weston’s) voice. “And so unlike the ways of Maledil in my world. And He has not forbidden you to think about dwelling on the Fixed land.” “That would be a strange thing – to think about what will never happen….this goes beyond all. Stepping out of what is into what might be and talking and making things out there…alongside the world.” …. “It is not from the making a story that I shrink back, O stranger, “she answered, “but from this one story that you have put into my head. I can make myself stories about my children of the King. I can make it that the fish fly and the land beasts swim. But if I try to make the story about living on the Fixed Island [which is forbidden by Maledil] I do not know how to make it about Maledil. For if I make it that He has changed His command, that will not go. And if I make it that we are living there against His command, that is like making the sky black and the water so that we cannot drink it and the air so that we cannot breathe it. But also, I do no see what is the pleasure of trying to make these things.” “To make you wiser, older,” said Weston’s body. “Do you know for certain that it will do that?” she asked. “Yes, for certain,” it replied. “That is how the women of my world have become so great and so beautiful.” “Do not listen to him,” broke in Ransom; “send him away. Do not hear what he says, do not think of it.” ----------------------------- One wonders if the Eve of our world had heeded those wise words of Ransom whether or not things would be different in our world today. Alas, such speculation is vain and pointless.
Would to God we all could heed those words. Therein lay our victory over our age old enemy.
For the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds, pulling down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought into the obedience of Christ; and having readiness to avenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled. (2Co 10:4-6)
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (Jam 4:7)
A picture I took in St. Louis, Missouri (during a PAW convention) with a little point-n-shoot when I was...oh, about 14 years old. I think this is the photo that started my love for photography cause it's exactly how I remembered it...both in eye and in heart.
I love quotes. But it is good to run across some quotes with the context surrounding the creation of the quote itself. Some of my favorites follow.
"This isn't right, this isn't even wrong." - Wolfgang Pauli, upon reading a young physicist's paper
"We're going to turn this team around 360 degrees." -Jason Kidd, upon his drafting to the Dallas Mavericks (I'm sure they loved his strategy)
"Ask her to wait a moment - I am almost done." - Carl Friedrich Gauss, while working when informed his wife was dying
"I don't feel good." - The last words of Luther Burbank (great lasts words for anyone I'd say...)
"A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both." - Dwight D. Eisenhower, Inaugural Address, January 20, 1953
I saved him from being crushed by two big double decker buses a couple of weeks ago while on the way to school early one morning. Running out into the road, I stopped the buses and grabbed the little guy.
Near my school there is a small complex of houses. I decided to put him way back...far from the road. I left him there. On my way back to the school I kept regretting that decision.
After school I went out to look for him. Gone.
If I ever see him again stray on the road again, he's mine. There are few moments in life where one gets a chance to do something out of the ordinary...to make snap decisions without thinking. I think I thought too much about this one. Next time, no thinking...action.
A dog I must have one day. I grew up with one for about 12 years...that's a long time for a dog.
I know men and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between Him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded empires. But on what did we rest the creation of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded His empire upon love; and at this hour millions of men would die for Him. –Napoleon
Jesus of Nazareth, without money and arms, conquered more millions than Alexander the Great, Caesar, Mohammed, and Napoleon; without science and learning, he shed more light on things human and divine than all philosophers and scholars combined; without the eloquence of school, he spoke such words of life as were never spoken before or since, and produced effects which lie beyond the reach of orator or poet; without writing a single line, he set more pens in motion, and furnished themes for more sermons, orations, discussions, learned volumes, works of art, and songs of praise than the whole army of great men of ancient and modern times. –Philip Schaff
Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the Child of a peasant woman. He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty, and then for three years He was an itinerant preacher. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never owned a home. He never had a family. He never went to college. He never put His foot inside a big city. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place where He was born. He never did one of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but Himself. He had nothing to do with this world except the naked power of His Divine manhood. While still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against Him. He was turned over to His enemies. He went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a Cross between two thieves. His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had on earth while He was dying—and that was His coat. When He was dead He was taken down and laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend. Such was His human life—He rises from the dead. Nineteen wide centuries have come and gone and today He is the Centerpiece of the human race and the Leader of the column of progress. I am within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, and all the navies that ever were built, and all the parliaments that ever sat, and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as has that One Solitary Life. --James C. Hefley
Buddha never claimed to be God. Moses never claimed to be Jehovah. Mohammed never claimed to be Allah. Yet Jesus Christ claimed to be the true and living God. Buddha simply said, "I am a teacher in search of the truth." Jesus said, "I am the Truth." Confucius said, "I never claimed to be holy." Jesus said, "Who convicts me of sin?" Mohammed said, "Unless God throws his cloak of mercy over me, I have no hope." Jesus said, "Unless you believe in me, you will die in your sins." --Unknown
A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic – on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg – or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God; or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.--C.S. Lewis
How was it that, even in the common tasks of an ordinary life, Jesus drew the praise of heaven? At the core of His being, He only did those things which pleased the Father. In everything, He stayed true, heartbeat to heartbeat, with the Father's desires. Jesus lived for God alone; God was enough for Him. Thus, even in its simplicity and moment-to-moment faithfulness, Christ's life was an unending fragrance, a perfect offering of incomparable love to God. --Francis Frangipane
I helped someone move from their old house to their new one today. Working with my hands. Nothing complicated about it...here to there. Simple. There was a task, a group of people got the job done. Manual labor is a good thing...a very good thing. Clears the mind, works the body, ends with a "whew, a good day's work." Pencil pusher, I am not. Today's move was a welcome change of pace of life here...
I went home and did some work on my computer. Made a DVD for someone, emailed some peeps, cleaned me apartment up. Chatted with my sister for a while. She's dying to see me, and I her. But she retorted that because of the heat, cockroaches, and smells over here (of which I described to her in vivid language), she won't come. So she thinks...
Prayed for a while and learned that the name of God, which is Jesus, is only effective when we speak it out with the faith of the One whom the name represents. Speaking the name of Jesus over a situation does nothing if we think of it as a "magic" formula. Rather, we must know that when we invoke the name of the LORD, His presence is there immediately. But only if we act in faith and obedience.
Played an old Debussy song on my keyboard. My favorite one. Was lost for a moment there...forgot I was here. My fingers remembered the keys. Must practice more...
Finally watched an episode of the Cosby Show...my family's favorite family. I've forgotten what used to make me laugh...and still does. Watching the show, I heard the chuckle of my uncle, the smile of my cousins and aunt, the frowns and warmth of my mom and dad and sis, the many idiosyncrasies of black culture that I long to hold on to and not forget, the way "we" are. "Have I lost my identity, my culture, my personality all these years I've been away from home?" I questioned after the episode ended. Indeed, it's been a long time....a long time indeed to hear and see those who I can identify with. *sigh*....alas, they are behind a glass wall doomed to imagination once I click the "STOP" button. haha...
Today...I felt like myself again. It's been a long time.
And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his lifefor my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. (Mar 8:34-35)
...I'm still trying to figure the full meaning of these verses. Is losing one's identity in this world full of different cultures, mindsets, lifestyles, traditions, etc. included? hmmm...inquiring minds want to know.
The other day, this woman met me on my elevator while we were both going to work. She was frantic! "Too busy, ah...so much to do. Singapore life very busy, ah. Everyone multitasking must do...too busy." (a short moment of silence ensues as our elevator goes from floor 6 to 1. She is carrying many bags, dressed very business like, but sweating and had eyes darting all over. We reach the bottom.) "The economy is very big now, so what to do except multitask? Very busy...to much to do." (the elevator opens and she rushes out) "bye bye!" I tried at every sentence to say, "Well, I suppose we all need to find that inner peace when going through our day." I never got a chance to finish my sentence. I tried about 7 times...7. Every single time she interrupted with how busy, stressful, and tired life is in Singapore now.
It's not the first time someone has expressed these things in my presence. I refuse to allow my life to become so stressful, busy, and whatever like that. I'm beginning to understand why people in Singapore say, "Relax, relax" so much. I've never heard that word used like this in my life! There was a little boy about to come on an elevator today and the doors began to close. He was about to get hit by it, so I let out a yelp and quickly blocked the door saying, "whoa, whoa! Come on little guy!" I couldn't believe it: his parents and some other people in the elevator told me to relax. I was like, "Relax?? I'm the one safe in the elevator, your kid was about to get crushed and you tell ME to relax? Ok, next time i'll let the doors slam on him and we'll see who's relaxed." ( I literally spoke those words as I was so taken aback at their reaction to me!) Somehow, I get the feeling that the usage of that word has different connotations over here than other places. Americans don't use it in this way, I never heard the word used in Japan like this. Well, I suppose Osim is doing their best. (btw, Osim is a company that makes Starship Enterprise looking massage chairs. They are awesome...a fellow bro and I sat in one for about 15mins a couple of weeks ago. $8000 sing dollars though. ahhh..)
I put my headphones on and walked towards my bus stop in the opposite direction. Inside my heart I wept for her. We weren't made for this kind of life...stress, fast-paced, busy, busy, busy, go, go, go...
Don't worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart. And God's peace, which is far beyond human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus. (Phi 4:6-7)
No rhyme or reason to this post. Just a time and season I suppose. (dude, that was supposed to rhyme...)
It is when the voices of both friend and foe become distant that I 
