Goodbye

I don't even know who still reads this. But to those who do, thank you and goodbye. This will be the last post here. Because life is what happens while you're blogging. So i shall stop blogging and enjoy life. =)

Shepherds and love

"Shepherding involves knowing your sheep, tending to them, sacrificing for them, and then letting them out to be sheep! If you do your job right, they'll always come back into the gate, because they know you are their Shepherd." ~ an excerpt from a comment.

Just read this, it's part of a comment off someone's blog post. I find this particularly interesting, especially because I have NEVER seen a Shepherd who let's his sheep out of his guidance, out of his care and out of his sight. This sounds eerily like the 'if you love someone, let them go and if they come back to you, they're yours' illustration people give. May I say: THIS IS NOT LOVE. Love doesn't let go, love holds on. 

It just brings to mind the passages in John, especially chapters14-17, where Jesus shows how he is the good shepherd. Verses like John 17:12 "While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled." NOT ONE of them lost. I definitely don't see any hint of letting them out of the pen. Even this verse John 10:27 "27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand." If Jesus's sheep follow him, I don't see how there is any separation between them, or any letting go of any sort. Jesus is the good shepherd, which quite obviously suggests to me that all who are his sheep, will be kept safe and sound in the shepherd's care, safe from wolves and other harm. 

No good deed goes unpunished

The moral of the story is that sometimes you close one eye. On days like these, you have to close both eyes, for your own sake. In my case, tightly shut, with both hands pressing over them just to make sure they are very very very shut. 

If i were a heavenly being...

...I would like to be a divine traffic cop. With authority to fine on the spot, just by swiping a credit/debit card on my mobile card machine. I would fine traffic cops who initiate bribes. I would be the Singapore of traffic fines.

Some *gwai* thoughts

I pray & hope that one day, our own local theologians would be as well-equipped, gospel-centred and as capable as the kind *gwai lou* souls that have come to our shores to help, and also that as many people would gather to hear them.

Although with much thanks to the many international theologians i've had the privilege of listening to, there's so much to be said about the benefits of having the local guys equipped: local knowledge is helpful, if not of utmost importance, especially in application of the Word into the local context. The delicate details of culture is just hard to grasp, and who knows the ins and outs better than a born and bred local guy.

Sometimes i wonder also about the *gwai lou* effect on Malaysians. There seems to be some 'pukau' effect that happens when we hear white guys speaking, in comparison to hearing our own local pastors. It's weird, but true.

It's pretty exciting to think on the fact that in my church there are many who are eager to take up this daunting but honorable task. It's a good reminder for me, to keep praying for the growth of faithful pastor-teachers here in Malaysia.

Help my unbelief

A good response to our own unbelief, doubts in God's truth and our many questions about whether it is really true, is this cry: Lord, help my unbelief. Not to keep wondering why, not to sit flat on your bum, but to pray deep and hard, and to keep searching the Word of God for the truth that is sure and solid ground.

Help my unbelief - Red Mountain Church

I know the Lord is nigh,
And would but cannot pray,
For Satan meets me when I try,
And frights my soul away,
And frights my soul away.

I would but can’t repent,
Though I endeavor oft;
This stony heart can never relent
Till Jesus makes it soft,
Till Jesus makes it soft.

Help my unbelief.
Help my unbelief.
Help my unbelief.
My help must come from Thee.

I would but cannot love,
Though wooed by love divine;
No arguments have power to move
A soul as base as mine.
A soul so base as mine.

I would but cannot rest,
In God’s most holy will;
I know what He appoints is best,
And murmur at it still.
I murmur at it still.

Help my unbelief.
Help my unbelief.
Help my unbelief.
My help must come from Thee.

 

An Open Letter To Moms from Kid President

Haha, this kid is hilarious. Happy Belated Mother's Day!

I have no time to blog, so when i do, it's about something worthwhile.

Do you know who YOU are, if HOW you know HIM, is really about YOU? 

Like i said, i have no time to blog, but this is worth blogging about.

If you love Jesus, the gospel and your church, you need to come for this!  Does anyone even know what contemporary spirituality is? I myself am not 100% sure, and the best way to find out is by coming to this conference about it. Cos what i do know is, whatever contemporary spirituality is, if it's against the gospel of Christ and it is infiltrating my church in teeny tiny ways, i need to know how to identify it so we can protect our churches from these evils. 

I care about my church, do you? 

Love yourself and your church, come for this conference. Register here : http://www.ggf.org.my/fwc/contemporary-spirituality/

or join in the conversation at the facebook events page :
https://www.facebook.com/events/199170140218492/

Revert

This must be the most overused word in the office community. It's sooooo irritating everytime someone uses it to mean 'Please get back to me about it.' or 'I will reply you about it'. So here's what it actually means.

re·vert

   [ri-vurt] 

verb (used without object)

1.

to return to a former habit, practice, belief, condition, etc.:They reverted to the ways of their forefathers.

2.

Law . to go back to or return to the former owner or to his or her heirs.

3.

Biology . to return to an earlier or primitive type.

4.

to go back in thought or discussion: He constantly reverted tohis childhood.

Since my last post...

Since my last post, I've changed jobs.

Since my last post, I've gone to Thinking Theologically Conference on The Work of The Holy Spirit.

Since my last post, I have been thinking of what to write but have not had the time to write anything until now.

Since my last post, I have adopted the picture below as my theme song.

smArt / 1

In order to keep from losing my creative streaks, i've decided to start a new thread: smArt!, featuring really fantastic artwork that deserves to be aired somewhere other than in the back of my folders and files. 

The first: The Game of Thrones artwork is amazing! The sigils and mottos are pretty cool. 

Even the fan artwork is amazing!

Thursday's Tip: Pizzas

Very easy to make from scratch, dough and all. After you've made the dough, from then on it takes only about 30 mins from prep to the finished product. I used Jamie Oliver's recipe for the dough, with some changes.

Ingredients:

• 1kg strong white bread flour  • 1 level tablespoon salt • 2 x 7g sachets of dried yeast • 1 tablespoon caster sugar • 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil • 650ml lukewarm water

Sieve the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl, make a well in the middle. I poured the water into the well, dumped the sugar, yeast and oil in, mixed it around a little for the yeast to sink into the water and left it for a few minutes. Then mix the flour in from the sides slowly with a fork. When it gets nice and sticky, dump it onto a clean work area and knead the flour into it. You may need to add more flour if too sticky. Put it back into the bowl, cover and leave it for an hour until it has doubled in size. After that, take it out and knead a little bit more, then you can use it straight away or wrap it in clingfilm to freeze.

If using straight away, just roll it out to the size you want on a floured/oiled surface, add your toppings! Preheat your oven to 220*C, and bake it for 10-15 mins or until its crust and cheese is nice and golden brown.

Topping ideas: 

To keep it simple, there are four categories you'll always need, in the order of layering: SAUCE first, VEGETABLE second, MEAT third and CHEESE right on top. Within these you can vary it.
I've also tried this butternut squash recipe, but the squash is expensive, not sure if i'll do it again.

Sauce ideas: Tomato puree, spag sauce, cheese sauce, mushroom sauce, tomyam sauce, pesto, mayonnaise.

Vegetables/Fruits: Pineapples, spinach, zucchinis, tomatoes, shredded carrots, chopped cauliflower/broccoli,  capsicum, chilli, fresh basil, squash, asparagus sliced thinly, brinjals, olives, mushrooms, caramelized onions, thinly sliced apples/pears with honey, sliced grapes, anything else you can think of.

Meat ideas: Pre-cooked minced chicken/beef or anything, sausage sliced thinly, salami, pepperoni, lap cheong, ham, bacon, tuna, anchovies.

Cheese: My usual is mozzarella, but you can experiment with the many varied types of cheese. Parmesan on top of Mozzarella is pretty good too.


The one pictured above has spaghetti sauce, brinjal slices, onions, garlic, capers, red chilli, some dried herbs, pre-cooked bacon, mozzarella. Just layer everything on and drizzle some oil to cover all the brinjal slices. It's the best tasting one so far.