Happily and proudly introducing - Christian Darolyn

In the 4th day of VBS, Darolyn accepted Christ.

I went through the materials with her again. It was quite complete and pretty standard, admitting herself as a sinner, acknowledging that Christ died for her sins and Christ is the only way to salvation and accepting Jesus as her personal saviour. I then asked her to pray again because I want to hear it. Although she was half reading half saying, when I see her praying gesture, I have a feeling that she really means it, and is very truthful. I was so touched and happy. Then, I asked the usual thing "do you know where you will go if you die now?" She yelled firmly "heaven!". Then I asked, do you know where daddy will go when daddy die? "Heaven!", she yelled. Then I asked, do you know where mommy will go when mommy die?" "Heaven!", she yelled happily and firmly. Then we all clapped and sang "congratulations and celebrations..." Then I told her that the bible says when a sinner repents, there are angels in heaven happily singing and celebrating. She is very happy about that, too.

Of course, God is the ultimate judge, but I do believe and I am certain that she is and she considers herself as Christian. And I think God will acknowledge her truthful and wholehearted conversion.

Then, I realized that the pray didn't invite the Holy Spirit to dwell in her (sort of like the story in Acts) and I felt that it is necessary to pray that. In fact, it is actually my privilege to pray for her asking the Holy Spirit, God the father and Jesus to live in her heart. I pray for with my palm on her heart. I prayed that may the Holy Spirit dwell in her to guide her and teach her to know right and wrong, may our heavenly father live in her heart to teach her and bless her, may our Lord Jesus dwell in her to love and be merciful to her. I felt the Holy Spirit has entered her heart while we prayed. The connectedness (if there is such a word) that I felt seems more and deeper than a father-daughter relationship. I am so thankful that God is so merciful to us.

As a parent, praying for my daughter to bless her and ask Father, Son and the Holy Spirit to dwell in her is such a great blessing. What other things can be a greater blessing?

Actually, several years ago, I had already asked her whether she believes in Jesus and she said yes. I asked whether she thinks accepting Jesus will have eternal life and she said yes. To her capacity then, I considered she truthfully believes that. So, at that time, I considered her as Christian already. As she grows and can understand more, it is important to keep teaching and experience Jesus.

I prayed that we can guide her with the help of the Holy Spirit. She will grow in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. And she will grow in reliance on God, the meaning of her Chinese name, Yee Wah.

New creation vs 新造的人 (2 Cor 5:17)

2 Cor 5:17

NIV: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! [link]
新譯本: 如果有人在基督裡，他就是新造的人，舊事已經過去，你看，都變成新的了！[link]

For quite a long time, I thought "new creation", or in the Chinese version literally "new created human", refers to the character change after conversion. Upon reading the NIV version "new creation", I suddenly have a different feeling. Then, I read the context a bit and now I think it has a deeper meaning than that.

Verse 17 starts with "therefore", so reading verse 16 and other verses around it is important. 5:16 - "So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer." Okay, "so" means we should look further up. 5:15 - "And he [Jesus] died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again."

Jesus died for all --> all should live for Him --> Regard no one from worldly point of view --> everyone in Christ is new creation.

Meaning, I am new creation, you are new creation, he is new creation, i.e. a community of new creation. In other words, the human who accepted Christ has joined the community of new creation. It is more than just personal character change. You also join the community of new creation. Also, the context is about reconciliation. That can be another evidence that this is about joining a community.

It seems to me there are 3 folds: 1) The one who accepted Christ joins the community of community. (You cannot just be a lone ranger Christian) 2) The one who are already in Christ should accept the new convert because he/she is also in Christ now and Christ died for him, too (regard no one from the worldly point of view). 3) Next step: ask other to join this community of new creation, reconciling to God and to each other.

Then, this part I am really not sure. Does this term new creation relate to "new heaven and new earth, new Jerusalem" in Revelation? The community of new creation on earth right now is a fore-shadow of the new heaven and new earth to come.

What does it mean to us now and here? I guess fellowship life. 1) For those who are different from the "worldly point of view", it may not be easy for us to accept them. However, we should. Christ died for him/her, too. 2) Sometimes, it may be hard for us to open up ourselves to join the community of faith for whatever "old creation" we have. Well, you know what, the old has passed and the new has come! 3) Be open. Fellowship should be "open concept" (I am not refering to Kitchen).

Why am I typing all these? I don't know. I just thought of something and felt like sharing it. Feel free to comment and/or agree and/or disagree.

Are we doing our job?

This time around, I would like to post a question, rather than a random thought. Actually, by posting a question, I've already posted a random thought but in a question format. Anyways, here it goes.

Are we doing our job?

Job Description: Gen 2:15 - "to work and to take care of it"

It seems like wherever humans are, the environment will become worse, no matter it is Greenland or Toronto. From what I heard from the news, the area between North and South Korea, in Chinese it's called "three eight line" literally, has been out of reach of humans for 70 years (or something like that). Now, it is a treasure of wild life and is very beautiful.

We, human, are called to work and take care of the world. Are we failing our job? Why?

Leave us a quick note or comment if you want. Both long or short comment are welcomed.

Human Swine Flu

When there is H5N1, we killed tons of chicken. When there is swine flu, some (or 1) countries killed tons of pigs. Now, human transfers the swine flu back to pigs. Sometimes, I wonder, whether pigs had considered killing tons of human...

It seems like human has a tendency of killing unlimited amount of wild lives when there are chances that they may endanger human, regardless whether they are really endangering. What kind of mindset behind this? Pigs and chicken are not lives. They are merely food. It's like when your shoes are hurting you, you throw them away. If you think about it, they are not really lives. They live to die (absolutely no parallelism whatsoever intended) to feed us. Their life purpose is to feed us. Of course that's fine, we are the center of the world and we are human! Everything around us is only for us to use and exploit. Of course, we care for the earth, our human descendants still live in it, right?

Hmm... I thought God actually saved them thru Noah long time ago. They are also part of the creation, like human, that "God saw that it was good" (Gen 1:10,12,18,21,25) and "God saw all he had made, and it was very good" (Gen 1:31).

Simeon and Anna

I was reading Luke 2 this morning and it talks about 2 old persons: Simeon and Anna. The Holy Spirit was with Simeon. How beautiful is this! If the bible gave him such a comment (also righteous and devout), he must be really righteous and devout, not just on the outside, but also from the inside. Anna was introduced as worshiping night and day (note the order, night and day, not day and night, a usual order as in Gen 1), fasting and praying. NASB, New Chinese Version and NRSV use "serving" instead of "worshiping". I don't know Greek but probably these two are similar words. How many times we think "serving" is "doing things" "for God" (sometimes, even the "for God" part is missing)? How many times we think "worshiping" is singing? Although we may say, "we will now continue to "worship" by our offering (monetary)", I doubt whether it's a "slogan" or really thinking offering is worship. Anyways, side tracked too much...

But Anna, fasting and praying were her "serving" and "worship", nights and days! Luke seems to link devout with Holy Spirit, worship/serving by means of fasting and praying. (Note: NRSV: "worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day"; NIV: "worshiped night and day, fasting and praying" <-- fasting and praying are describing the act of worship). Not just devout, but devout from young to old! How blessed are they!

How about myself? What is my worship/serving? Does mine include fasting and praying? I think I should resume my weekly fasting/praying.

Maundy Thursday

How did I spend the Maundy Thursday? I worked. I need to call in for a 9pm work meeting with Penang and San Jose. That's not very pleasant, especially right before long weekend. On the night that Jesus was betrayed ~2000 years ago, I worked...

I put a little thought on why Judas the Iscariot betrayed Jesus. If he wanted Jesus to die, he would not regret and hanged himself. So, when he decided to betray Jesus, he didn't know or expect Jesus would die "because of this". However, Jesus did say that, indirectly. He told the disciples that he would die soon. He also mentioned that he would be betrayed (and by Judas). So, if Judas linked these together, one can think this can lead to that.

But is this a easy link? It may not be so! You know, they all see Jesus' numerous miracles. His teaching is so great. His argument is unbeatable. He healed so many people and cast out so many demons. He can give the authority to the disciples so that they can, to a certain extent, heal and cast out demons. He can even raise people from the dead and even calm the sea. And he walked out of trouble so many times. So, he has authority over nature, spiritual realm and human and death. It is not that easy to imagine he could die, and so soon, even though he mentioned it multiple times. It's like when Jesus said Peter will deny Him, Peter didn't believe it either.

Maybe Judas was thinking, ' Well, this won't hurt. Jesus will walk out of this anyways. I can some money and use it to give it to the poor. Like the money of the expensive oil that woman put on Jesus. Of course I can use it, too, but I am not going to say that. Jesus will be fine and he will forgive me anyways. So, why not?

Well... in this case, no. Jesus declared that:

The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born. - Mark 14:21

And after Judas knew Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and he hang himself (Matt 27:3-5).

There are numerous times that we think we can walk away from the trouble (with God's help!) and God will forgive us anyways. At the end, he is gracious and forgiving, right?

He is. But it may be we who cannot forgive ourselves. Like Judas, he can't and he can find no way out.

Sometimes, I wonder if (and this is a big if) Judas didn't kill himself and meet the resurrected Jesus, what would happen? How would Judas face Jesus? What would the scene be? You know, only two more days and Jesus will be resurrected! Just 2 more days! And Jesus did mentioned beforehand that he will be resurrected.

Good Friday, what does it mean to us? Jesus' death, what does it mean to us? Jesus' resurrection, what does it mean to us?

Holy Week – What does it mean to you?

This week is what traditionally called Holy Week, the week prior to the death and resurrection of Jesus. This is also the end of season of Lent. Holy Week, what does it mean to us? Especially at this point of time, in this crazy world, in which there are tons of brokenness and violence. How does the death and resurrection of Jesus affect the way we live today? How does this give us hope to sustain in Christ? How does the fact that God can raise Jesus from the dead help us to cope with our life here and now?

Pastor Matt preached on the vision of the burning stick in the fire in Zech 2 - a very strong sense of removal of sin, cleansing of the serving person, restoration of the person and one’s ministry, and a very strong sense of urgency. What does this mean to us? Especially in the context of the inauguration of the Holy Week, the climax of the season of Lent, in which 3 things are prominent, namely penitence, fasting and prayer.

Holy Week - what does it mean to you?

Harmonized Tax

I think it's crazy, especially at this point of time when people are losing jobs. This kind of tax is like taking money from citizens and giving it to the industries. While companies may then hire more people or lower their product price, which in turn benefits the citizen, but I doubt whether at this time company will hire more people or lower their product price. Probably not now. So, now citizen needs to pay more tax while not getting the so-called benefit.

Also, the $1k compensation per house is so tiny that it is not comparable to the extra tax spending at all. Even essential products will now be taxed. This is insane! How can you justify just combining without lowering it!

I just don't understand.

Ash Wednesday

Today is Ash Wednesday. Being Christians for so many years, this is my first time ever observing Ash Wednesday. I went to the Anglican church closed to my office for a Wednesday Eucharist service. It turns out to be a pretty big service. First time in my life to have ashes marked on my forehead. I still remember the smell of the ashes.

On one hand, when the minister carried the cross into the congregation's midst. It is a pretty dramatic experience. The image of Christ in our midst is so strong. Also, they read the gospel in the midst of the congregation, which, to me, symbolizes God's word in our midst. It is quite a profound experience. The smell of ashes on my forehead keeps reminding me of the meaning of Lent: prayer, fasting and almsgiving. In this service, we eat, drink, sing, read, watch, smell, touch (the bread), listen - all senses are engaged. Liturgy - work of men. Did we enjoy the "work" of other "men"? Or we "work" for God's enjoyment?

Ash Wednesday - the inauguration of the season of Lent, leading to Christ's death and resurrection. How am I going to prepare myself in this season? What does the death and resurrection of Christ mean to me/us, particularly in this time? What kind of hope does the resurrection give me/us? What is your current situation now? Can the resurrection of Christ give you comfort and hope?

BTW, I didn't intentionally wipe clean the ashes. I sweat some time later and the ash was wiped out when I wipe my sweat on my forehead.

Which door do you open?

While I was writing my first random thoughts blog in Starbucks back in Dec 30, 2008, I noticed one thing which is quite interesting.

There are two doors to enter that Starbucks, kind of the french door type of thing. The right one open to the right and the left one to the left. I noticed that most people entered Starbucks by pulling open their right hand side door, probably about 9 out of 10. And most people exited Starbucks by pushing open the same door, by pushing open the door on their left. So, the same door is being opened and closed way more than the other one.

I wonder why is that.

First, I thought because most people use their right hand to open a door. So, when they enter, they will use their right hand to pull open the right door. However, that doesn't explain why they don't push open the door on their right hand side. Instead most people push open the door on their left hand side, using their left hand. Then, I noticed when people exit, they usually carry a cup of coffee using their right hand. So, they will use their left hand to push open the door of the left hand side. Then, I saw a guy holding a cup of coffee on his left hand, but still pushing open the door on his left hand. Also, I noticed most empty-handed people pushed open the left door as well. So, it seems like regardless of empty-handed or holding something on their left or right (or both) hand, most people still usually push open their left door.

This seems to be independent of whether the people are coming from the right or left. To enter that Starbucks, you have to kind of walk straight a bit, regardless of whether you are coming from the right or left of Starbucks.

So, it seems like most people just like pulling right and pushing left (I am still talking about opening doors, not politics).

I wonder it is only happening in that particular Starbucks or it is just usual (even for Tim Hortons).

For those who wonder, the other door wasn't locked. A very small number of people did open the other door.

Implication? I mentioned in that blog that it was snowing and outside was cold. So, I picked a seat by the side of the less frequently opened door.

Someone owning someone

Have you ever heard someone owns someone? I wonder what that means. I don't think I can ever say I own my kid or I own my wife. That's just wrong. All Christian parents know that our kids are God's and we, as parents, are stewards. Saying "you are mine" is different from "you are my wife". "You are mine" is more like an object-owner relationship. "You are my wife" is a human-human intimate relationship.

Regarding owning, I can think of the following cases:

1. God owns us. That's pretty easy to understand.
2. I own a house. So, it is like human owning an object, not a human.
3. I own a dog. Again, not a human.
4. I own a slave. Although theoretically a human, but actually more like a property.
5. A company owns its employee. Hmm... well... this is more like a service buying thing. Company pays the employee to work. So, it may be said that the company owns its employee during the working hours. It may be more accurate to say the company owns its employee's work and service, not the employee as a person.

So, when you heard he/she/it/they own someone, I wonder what that means. I wonder whether that "someone" has any say. And I wonder how that "someone" feels.

Having said all that, being owned can be very comforting. Being owned by the almighty loving sovereign God is very comforting. Dear Lord, I belong to you. Amen!

Happy Year 2009

Various predictions said year 2009 will be a tough one. It won't be better until 2010. So, I guess this time around, happy new year is quite meaningful. I wish whoever visiting this blog will have a happy new year, a new year which will be a happy one.

It is particularly interesting that I read Psalm 66 [link] on Dec 31 and Psalm 67 [link] /Mark 1:14-28 [link] on Jan 1. Psalm 66 records how Israelites praise God for what He did. All the recital of the history is to give praise and thanks. At the end of year 2008, maybe it's about time to reflect and count the blessings. Hmm... maybe we should also count the "cursing" so that we will try to avoid them. Psalm 67 starts with "May God be gracious to us and bless us and makes His face shine upon us/that your way may be known on earth and salvation among all nations". In this coming tough year, we really need God's grace and blessing and his face shining upon us, so that His way may be known on earth and salvation among all nations. Upon reading Mark 1:14-28, the idea of "at once" keeps popping up. I guess this "at once" attitude of doing things probably is something I should work on.

Anyhow, happy new year.