While preparing for the message I need to deliver to my group this Sat, I stumbled upon this pastor's article (who's also a doctor) about the pain and suffering that Jesus had to go through before He died (focusing on what happened to Him physically in His last 12hr).
Man... I'm trying to understand it, and to tell you the truth I still could not fully comprehend what He endured before and on the cross. ah... I don't know what to write. Here's the link to the article:
The crucifixion of Jesus
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Tonight
OK, let me share what happened tonight, or rather, what I've learned tonight.
1. I went to the church PM tonight and had a wonderful time with God. I so needed that word of encouragement from God. Also a friend of mine who hardly come, made it to PM tonight. It bless my heart to see him there.
2. But what's more interesting is that I took a firm stance tonight when I confronted a friend regarding certain issue in his life. I didn't plan to do it but as he shared with me his ideas and stuff, I felt I had to just tell him that he needs to change his perspective and open his mind and heart. So I explain to him what he needs to change, why and how he can do it. Man... that was tough.
3. Driving back home, I listened to 96.5 focus on family (I think?). The announcer/broadcaster was interviewing this lady who suffered from depression. She said depression is not always about living life in negativity, because of the bad things happened in the past, but it can be about anything in this life that we can think of. I was like "Ooooooo... really?" ahahaha...
4. OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder). Guess what? Anyone can develop and suffer from this. this can also relates to depression. It can start from a habit. For e.g., before I go to bed, I would normally check if all doors at home are lock (especially the front door). Now, if I check the front door 2 or 3 times once in while to make sure that it's been locked, it's normal. But if I keep on checking the door 2 or 3 times every single night, and the occurence increasing gradually (checking the door 5 ot 6 times before I go to bed after 2 wks, then 8 times after 2 months), then I have a problem.
Now, here's what I think. I personally think that sin in particular bondage (a specific sin that we do regularly and hard to stop) is similar to OCD. It's because this particular sin has been developed over a long period of time, and it became a normal habit. Someone once said that to change a habit, one needs to double time to recover from that habit. E.g., if one has cultivate a habit of stealing over 5 years, to completely change the person not to steal will take 10yrs (taking into account education and regular review). I don't know if it's true, but I could see his point, because it's not easy to change someone's perspective. But I believe we can shorten the time with the help of God, because hey... nothing is impossible to Him.
So there you go, those are the lessons I learn tonight. You have a good rest, enjoy your day tomorrow. :)
1. I went to the church PM tonight and had a wonderful time with God. I so needed that word of encouragement from God. Also a friend of mine who hardly come, made it to PM tonight. It bless my heart to see him there.
2. But what's more interesting is that I took a firm stance tonight when I confronted a friend regarding certain issue in his life. I didn't plan to do it but as he shared with me his ideas and stuff, I felt I had to just tell him that he needs to change his perspective and open his mind and heart. So I explain to him what he needs to change, why and how he can do it. Man... that was tough.
3. Driving back home, I listened to 96.5 focus on family (I think?). The announcer/broadcaster was interviewing this lady who suffered from depression. She said depression is not always about living life in negativity, because of the bad things happened in the past, but it can be about anything in this life that we can think of. I was like "Ooooooo... really?" ahahaha...
4. OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder). Guess what? Anyone can develop and suffer from this. this can also relates to depression. It can start from a habit. For e.g., before I go to bed, I would normally check if all doors at home are lock (especially the front door). Now, if I check the front door 2 or 3 times once in while to make sure that it's been locked, it's normal. But if I keep on checking the door 2 or 3 times every single night, and the occurence increasing gradually (checking the door 5 ot 6 times before I go to bed after 2 wks, then 8 times after 2 months), then I have a problem.
Now, here's what I think. I personally think that sin in particular bondage (a specific sin that we do regularly and hard to stop) is similar to OCD. It's because this particular sin has been developed over a long period of time, and it became a normal habit. Someone once said that to change a habit, one needs to double time to recover from that habit. E.g., if one has cultivate a habit of stealing over 5 years, to completely change the person not to steal will take 10yrs (taking into account education and regular review). I don't know if it's true, but I could see his point, because it's not easy to change someone's perspective. But I believe we can shorten the time with the help of God, because hey... nothing is impossible to Him.
So there you go, those are the lessons I learn tonight. You have a good rest, enjoy your day tomorrow. :)
Monday, January 26, 2009
Abortion
A good friend of mine sent me an email explaining briefly how abortion is being done. It's not that I don't wanna know about it, but it's just so OFF, it's so gross. Wanting to know more, I went to wikipedia. Man... I felt so sick after reading them. Sorry if you feel sick too, after reading these.
Here's her email:
The most common method used in the first 12 weeks (first trimester) of pregnancy is suction aspiration (suction). In this procedure, the cervix is forced open by inserting rods (dilators) of increasing size. A hollow tube with a knife-edged tip called a cannula, which is attached to a very powerful vacuum, is then inserted into the womb and the unborn child is sucked down the tube in pieces. If the head is too large it may be crushed in order to be removed. It is also very important to remove the placenta which is attached to the lining of the womb.
Another method used in the first trimester is the dilation and curettage (D&C). The cervix is dilated in the same way and a curette or scraping instrument is used to scrape the unborn child (in pieces) from the womb.
The dilation and evacuation (D&E) method is used after the 12th week as the unborn child is now much larger and his bones are harder. Small forceps are now used to dismember the body and crush the unborn child's head before removal.
The dilation and extraction (D&X or Partial-Birth) method of abortion is currently being used in Brisbane on unborn babies over 20 weeks. This method is particularly disturbing as some of these babies are of the same age being nurtured and cared for in premature wards. The cervix is now very widely dilated and the abortionist inserts forceps into the womb. Grabbing hold of one of the baby's legs, he/she then draws the unborn child from the birth canal until only the head is undelivered, therefore now partially born. He/she then stabs a sharp instrument into the base of the skull, inserts a suction apparatus and the contents of the skull are then sucked out. The deceased and limp baby is then 'evacuated' from the womb.
Here's a similar (if not the same) explanation I got from wikipedia:
Here's her email:
The most common method used in the first 12 weeks (first trimester) of pregnancy is suction aspiration (suction). In this procedure, the cervix is forced open by inserting rods (dilators) of increasing size. A hollow tube with a knife-edged tip called a cannula, which is attached to a very powerful vacuum, is then inserted into the womb and the unborn child is sucked down the tube in pieces. If the head is too large it may be crushed in order to be removed. It is also very important to remove the placenta which is attached to the lining of the womb.
Another method used in the first trimester is the dilation and curettage (D&C). The cervix is dilated in the same way and a curette or scraping instrument is used to scrape the unborn child (in pieces) from the womb.
The dilation and evacuation (D&E) method is used after the 12th week as the unborn child is now much larger and his bones are harder. Small forceps are now used to dismember the body and crush the unborn child's head before removal.
The dilation and extraction (D&X or Partial-Birth) method of abortion is currently being used in Brisbane on unborn babies over 20 weeks. This method is particularly disturbing as some of these babies are of the same age being nurtured and cared for in premature wards. The cervix is now very widely dilated and the abortionist inserts forceps into the womb. Grabbing hold of one of the baby's legs, he/she then draws the unborn child from the birth canal until only the head is undelivered, therefore now partially born. He/she then stabs a sharp instrument into the base of the skull, inserts a suction apparatus and the contents of the skull are then sucked out. The deceased and limp baby is then 'evacuated' from the womb.
Here's a similar (if not the same) explanation I got from wikipedia:
In the first 12 weeks, suction-aspiration or vacuum abortion is the most common method.[9] Manual Vacuum aspiration (MVA) abortion consists of removing the fetus or embryo by suction using a manual syringe, while electric vacuum aspiration (EVA) abortion uses an electric pump. These techniques are comparable, and differ in the mechanism used to apply suction, how early in pregnancy they can be used, and whether cervical dilation is necessary. MVA, also known as "mini-suction" and "menstrual extraction", can be used in very early pregnancy, and does not require cervical dilation. Surgical techniques are sometimes referred to as 'Suction (or surgical) Termination Of Pregnancy' (STOP). From the 15th week until approximately the 26th, dilation and evacuation (D&E) is used. D&E consists of opening the cervix of the uterus and emptying it using surgical instruments and suction.
Dilation and curettage (D&C), the second most common method of abortion, is a standard gynecological procedure performed for a variety of reasons, including examination of the uterine lining for possible malignancy, investigation of abnormal bleeding, and abortion. Curettage refers to cleaning the walls of the uterus with a curette. The World Health Organization recommends this procedure, also called sharp curettage, only when MVA is unavailable.[10] The term D and C, or sometimes suction curette, is used as a euphemism for the first trimester abortion procedure, whichever the method used.
Other techniques must be used to induce abortion in the second trimester. Premature delivery can be induced with prostaglandin; this can be coupled with injecting the amniotic fluid with caustic solutions containing saline or urea. After the 16th week of gestation, abortions can be induced by intact dilation and extraction (IDX) (also called intrauterine cranial decompression), which requires surgical decompression of the fetus' head before evacuation. IDX is sometimes called "partial-birth abortion," which has been federally banned in the United States. A hysterotomy abortion is a procedure similar to a caesarean section, and is performed under general anesthesia because it is considered major abdominal surgery. It requires a smaller incision than a caesarean section and is used during later stages of pregnancy.[11]
From the 20th to 23rd week of gestation, an injection to stop the fetal heart can be used as the first phase of the surgical abortion procedure[12][13][14][15][16] to ensure that the fetus is not born alive.Sunday, January 25, 2009
Busy busy busy
I wrote this long time ago, that many times we got busy for God, but not with God.
A friend called not long ago sharing about the state of her relationship with God. She mentioned how she's been so busy doing all sorts of things for God in her church. Such a passionate sister. But she found that she started losing the grip, she started losing her focus. I can feel her pain, I was once there, when I was so busy doing things for God, but I wasn't busy with God at all.
The good thing is, she knows what to do and she's gonna start to get busy with God. So I was happy to hear that.
To me, it was like a timely reminder. I'm not busy at all right now, but even when I'm not busy, I need to keep the consistency to be busy with God. Man... I hope and pray that once I become busy (with work and ministry), I can still maintain my busyness with God.
A friend called not long ago sharing about the state of her relationship with God. She mentioned how she's been so busy doing all sorts of things for God in her church. Such a passionate sister. But she found that she started losing the grip, she started losing her focus. I can feel her pain, I was once there, when I was so busy doing things for God, but I wasn't busy with God at all.
The good thing is, she knows what to do and she's gonna start to get busy with God. So I was happy to hear that.
To me, it was like a timely reminder. I'm not busy at all right now, but even when I'm not busy, I need to keep the consistency to be busy with God. Man... I hope and pray that once I become busy (with work and ministry), I can still maintain my busyness with God.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
The invisible wall
Caught up with an old friend in GC just the other night.
While sharing about our walk with God, he mentioned how sometimes he felt that people from his church have this wall built without even realising it. And because of that, sometimes he felt that he's an outcast, simply because of how they treated him.
In my heart, I replied to him, "no way, that can't be right. Christian wouldn't do that." ahaha.... how naive I was. While driving back to Bne, I asked myself if have ever done that to others, regardless of who they are, or where they're from.
Painfully I confess that I've done so many times. Few times without even realising it I ignored people around me. Though I had legitimate reason why I did it (because I was busy and so focus with whatever I was doing at that time), those people that I ignored felt the hurt of being ignored. I found out only a couple of weeks later when my leader told me.
ah.... Yes I'm not suppose to make everyone happy, cause I simply can't. But at the very least, I need to do my best not to ignore people and to value everyone's voice/opinion. Oh, help me Lord to change.
While sharing about our walk with God, he mentioned how sometimes he felt that people from his church have this wall built without even realising it. And because of that, sometimes he felt that he's an outcast, simply because of how they treated him.
In my heart, I replied to him, "no way, that can't be right. Christian wouldn't do that." ahaha.... how naive I was. While driving back to Bne, I asked myself if have ever done that to others, regardless of who they are, or where they're from.
Painfully I confess that I've done so many times. Few times without even realising it I ignored people around me. Though I had legitimate reason why I did it (because I was busy and so focus with whatever I was doing at that time), those people that I ignored felt the hurt of being ignored. I found out only a couple of weeks later when my leader told me.
ah.... Yes I'm not suppose to make everyone happy, cause I simply can't. But at the very least, I need to do my best not to ignore people and to value everyone's voice/opinion. Oh, help me Lord to change.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Feel like singing and dancing
I feel like singing and dancing. Here's a song I wanna share with you.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Being strategic
I have so many things to improve, change and fix this year. One of those things is to be strategic in whatever I do.
I've heard few pastors/preachers preached about this, but it just hit home end of last yr when I did my thinking and praying for this yr. We as christian need to change the way we do things. We need to be strategic in whatever we do without being constraint by our own plan plus limitations. In our daily life, we need to keep our vision all the time in our mind and work towards achieving that vision.
I'll share with you how I'm gonna do that;
1. Get a vision. In my case, taking ownership my church and LG vision.
2. Make plans
3. Work towards achieving that plan
Sounds easy? Yep, it's as easy as it sounds.
Here's an example. I made the church's vision to be my vision (capturing Matt 28:19). Then drilling down, I made my group's vision to be my vision (as it's more clearer, or easier to measure, Matt 28:19 in workplace/friends). Then after the leaders in my group broke the vision down into smaller goals, I made plan on how to achieve those goals, when and where.
Furthermore, I aligned my personal goals this yr to the church/LG vision, such as prayer life, friendship and other stuff. One area where I want to see myself grow in this year is in the area of prayer life and the Word of God.
Hence to achieve all that at the same time, I'm trying to keep the vision alive in my mind all the time and work towards achieving those smaller goals one at a time. Your question now is, where is the strategic part?
Before I continue on, let me remind you that there's 2 important part here, 1 is a very close relationship with God (discerning HS leading, in-tune with Him), and the second part is doing our part by knowing those things I listed above and putting them into practice/reality. At all times, being in-tuned to the HS leading is very important.
So here's how I do it.
In the morning, I would wake up and do my QT. In my QT, I already have my prayer list. In those list, there are friends (pre-believer) who I want to see saved this yr, hence I'd pray for them. But I'll always try to be specific in my prayer, meaning praying for a specific area that I want to see change. To do this, I need to find out more about my friend. Hence I'll get to know my friend better. So when I spend time with my friend, I'll do my best to find out more about them. More than that, when I speak to them, I'll try to put in few words of God to gage or to see how they take it in. In everything I do, I must be intentional, and still keeping that flexibility. The flexibility part is for HS to do His wonders. This is one area I want to grow in, being use by HS in a way never before I have experienced. But I need to be bold and courageous though, ahahha.....
So yeah, when I meet new people, I'd ask question like where are you from, what's your hobby, what do you do on the weekend, what do you do for a living and questions that can help me know their needs and how I can share the Gospel to them.
Now that was only a small part of it.
I have my shepherd, my unit leader, 4 of my sheeps, the guys in my groups and my friends to think and pray for. On top of that I have meetings to go to (church and LG related), movies to watch (at least 1 movie every 3 months), sports to do (must exercise at least once a month), and the many dinners and lunches plus activities to attend where I can meet more people.
Think about it. I'm not even a unit leader or holding a very significant role in the church or at workplace. If I'm not being strategic in whatever I'm doing, especially in reaching out to my friends, I won't be able to see salvation and grow spiritually at the same time, not to mention grow in my career. Every minutes I spend with people is precious.
Last yr I tried to be strategic (though not all the time), and it helped me alot. Instead of praying to God a general prayer for my friend, I prayed specific prayer. Instead of buying a general things for their bday, I bought specific things that they need. And instead of giving suggestions on how to deal with their problems/issues in life (only when they ask my opinion), I'd tell them what the root of the problem is and how they should deal with it.
I can so feel the urgency of seeing people being saved as soon as possible, cause I myself simply don't have much time in my hand. I wish I could be in so many places at the same time, but I can't. Hence I need to change the way I do things, I need to be strategic. And to do this, I need to spend more time with God (for guidance and directions), and with people (for opportunities to share and bless) as well.
So right now, if you don't have a vision, get to know your God, get to know your church, get to know yourself, and get to know your people or friends/colleagues/families. Make your church's vision, your vision and take ownership. Find out (make plans) how you can achieve it then work towards it. But don't work harder, work smarter.
Good nite.
:)
PS: Here's an old song from GMB I was listening (it's in indonesian though, direct translation of title is Chasing Your Presence, referring to God's presence)
I've heard few pastors/preachers preached about this, but it just hit home end of last yr when I did my thinking and praying for this yr. We as christian need to change the way we do things. We need to be strategic in whatever we do without being constraint by our own plan plus limitations. In our daily life, we need to keep our vision all the time in our mind and work towards achieving that vision.
I'll share with you how I'm gonna do that;
1. Get a vision. In my case, taking ownership my church and LG vision.
2. Make plans
3. Work towards achieving that plan
Sounds easy? Yep, it's as easy as it sounds.
Here's an example. I made the church's vision to be my vision (capturing Matt 28:19). Then drilling down, I made my group's vision to be my vision (as it's more clearer, or easier to measure, Matt 28:19 in workplace/friends). Then after the leaders in my group broke the vision down into smaller goals, I made plan on how to achieve those goals, when and where.
Furthermore, I aligned my personal goals this yr to the church/LG vision, such as prayer life, friendship and other stuff. One area where I want to see myself grow in this year is in the area of prayer life and the Word of God.
Hence to achieve all that at the same time, I'm trying to keep the vision alive in my mind all the time and work towards achieving those smaller goals one at a time. Your question now is, where is the strategic part?
Before I continue on, let me remind you that there's 2 important part here, 1 is a very close relationship with God (discerning HS leading, in-tune with Him), and the second part is doing our part by knowing those things I listed above and putting them into practice/reality. At all times, being in-tuned to the HS leading is very important.
So here's how I do it.
In the morning, I would wake up and do my QT. In my QT, I already have my prayer list. In those list, there are friends (pre-believer) who I want to see saved this yr, hence I'd pray for them. But I'll always try to be specific in my prayer, meaning praying for a specific area that I want to see change. To do this, I need to find out more about my friend. Hence I'll get to know my friend better. So when I spend time with my friend, I'll do my best to find out more about them. More than that, when I speak to them, I'll try to put in few words of God to gage or to see how they take it in. In everything I do, I must be intentional, and still keeping that flexibility. The flexibility part is for HS to do His wonders. This is one area I want to grow in, being use by HS in a way never before I have experienced. But I need to be bold and courageous though, ahahha.....
So yeah, when I meet new people, I'd ask question like where are you from, what's your hobby, what do you do on the weekend, what do you do for a living and questions that can help me know their needs and how I can share the Gospel to them.
Now that was only a small part of it.
I have my shepherd, my unit leader, 4 of my sheeps, the guys in my groups and my friends to think and pray for. On top of that I have meetings to go to (church and LG related), movies to watch (at least 1 movie every 3 months), sports to do (must exercise at least once a month), and the many dinners and lunches plus activities to attend where I can meet more people.
Think about it. I'm not even a unit leader or holding a very significant role in the church or at workplace. If I'm not being strategic in whatever I'm doing, especially in reaching out to my friends, I won't be able to see salvation and grow spiritually at the same time, not to mention grow in my career. Every minutes I spend with people is precious.
Last yr I tried to be strategic (though not all the time), and it helped me alot. Instead of praying to God a general prayer for my friend, I prayed specific prayer. Instead of buying a general things for their bday, I bought specific things that they need. And instead of giving suggestions on how to deal with their problems/issues in life (only when they ask my opinion), I'd tell them what the root of the problem is and how they should deal with it.
I can so feel the urgency of seeing people being saved as soon as possible, cause I myself simply don't have much time in my hand. I wish I could be in so many places at the same time, but I can't. Hence I need to change the way I do things, I need to be strategic. And to do this, I need to spend more time with God (for guidance and directions), and with people (for opportunities to share and bless) as well.
So right now, if you don't have a vision, get to know your God, get to know your church, get to know yourself, and get to know your people or friends/colleagues/families. Make your church's vision, your vision and take ownership. Find out (make plans) how you can achieve it then work towards it. But don't work harder, work smarter.
Good nite.
:)
PS: Here's an old song from GMB I was listening (it's in indonesian though, direct translation of title is Chasing Your Presence, referring to God's presence)
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