The Fellowship of the Unashamed

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.

It's the Thought That Counts

What a funny picture

Who Are You? Where are you?

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….


-THOMAS MERTON

I Love Dogs

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....

Sights for Sore Eyes

If you've never experienced it, you just won't understand...

...but if you ever get the chance to experience it, don't pass it up for anything.

Snow, that is...

NEW MCUBE AGM PHOTOS UPLOADED

I love my Sony Ericsson phone :-)

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.

Audio DeFreuincialosalambadihama

Click to Play

I think that's the name of the group...? 

 Yea, we had fun back in the day...looking forward to many more "blooper" days ahead.  I think the kids should hear all of these one day!

....

Ladies and Gentleman, I give you: The Laugh Song

Survival Music

Click to Play

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)

 

God's Constant Position Towards Us

...taken at the Esplande...

The eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those

whose hearts are fully committed to him. (2 Chronicles 16:9)

Truly, the Lord's hand has not become short, so that he is unable to give salvation;

and his ear is not shut from hearing. (Isaiah 59:1)

Thank God for God.

The Power of Names

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)

The Power Of Words

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

Never miss a good chance to shut up. –Will Rogers

Can you tell I love kids...

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

Please Study Your Bible, Thank You

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

Jesus Alone Did It

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.

Jesus, you did it all. Thank you, Lord.

Thank God for the book of Psalms

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.

I Dig My Family: Part 1

My great grandparents. She was a pastor, he was a deacon, and they were suuu-per cool.

Our pastor just had his 50th birthday. I say...

"Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter."
Mark Twain

Blow 'em up!

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. 

Forgive us teachers, o ye students...

~ 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

Gullible.info

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..."