Children saying The Lord’s Prayer
July 30, 2007 at 11:10 am | In Personal | Leave a Comment*sometimes when my faith gets weak and I lose the passion or the fire to move forward, especially when crippled by pride or other stumbling block, I need to remind myself that all I need to do is to pray to God, to seek His help, and forgiveness, and to change me into a better person. When this is even harder to do, I need to be still before Him and humble myself before Him.The faith of a child is precious in God’s sight. I need to remind myself that God is the loving Father that I can always run to, and I’m still His beloved child.*
New King Jame’s Version of the Lord’s Prayer:
( Jesus speaking to disciples, teaching them how they should pray):
Matthew 6:
7But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
8Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
9After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11Give us this day our daily bread.
12And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Simplified Chinese version:
9 所 以 ， 你 们 祷 告 要 这 样 说 ： 我 们 在 天 上 的 父 ： 愿 人 都 尊 你 的 名 为 圣 。
10 愿 你 的 国 降 临 ； 愿 你 的 旨 意 行 在 地 上 ， 如 同 行 在 天 上 。
11 我 们 日 用 的 饮 食 ， 今 日 赐 给 我 们 。
12 免 我 们 的 债 ， 如 同 我 们 免 了 人 的 债 。
13 不 叫 我 们 遇 见 试 探 ； 救 我 们 脱 离 凶 恶 （ 或 作 ： 脱 离 恶 者 ） 。 因 为 国 度 、 权 柄 、 荣 耀 ， 全 是 你 的 ， 直 到 永 远 。 阿 们 （ 有 古 卷 没 有 因 为 … … 阿 们 等 字 ） ！
These are actually formats of how we should pray. Firstly to acknowledge that we are praying to God, Our Father who is in heaven. Then we also acknowledge His Holiness and we seek His will when we pray. Hence, May Your Name be Hallowed among men, may your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread –is actually asking God to provide us for what we need for today, be it strength, courage, money, wisdom,love…etc… or even enough food. And forgive us our sins— we confess our sins to God, be it already done or it is in our mind, sinful thoughts. As we forgive those who sin against us– as we ask God for forgiveness, we need to bring to mind whether there are anyone we need to let go off the grievance or hurt done to us. Lead us not into temptation– pray that we will not be caught in snares of temptation like certain things that we lust after… But deliver us from the evil one– we are sometimes caught in situations like illness, problems, sinful addictions…etc, but we pray to be delivered out of these. ” For the kingdom, power, and Glory is Yours forever and ever,” — we acknowledge that whatever things we have of praise belongs to God, and we dedicate our lives to Him, like may a job well done bring glory to Him. “Amen.” means may it be true.
Bible study from Our Daily Bread III
July 28, 2007 at 2:06 pm | In Bible study | Leave a Comment* I really had a good rest today. Slept a whopping 14 hrs in total. Had a really bad tension headache yesterday due to fatigue-going to work(7am-3.15pm), then to lectures(5.30-6.40pm), then to group biblestudy(8-10.30pm) in Kovan. Had to catch up on my sleep today. Done quite a fair bit of housework which never fail to give me a great sense of achievement. Then, really got time to settle down and type these. Besides these, I’ve got other bible study things I’ve written down on paper waiting for me to put up on this blog. But these are just easier to type first and to get my momentum going.*
Our Daily Bread III
Jul 27:
Title: High Tech, Gentle Touch
Read: 1 Thessalonians 2:1-12
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1 Thessalonians 2
Paul’s Ministry in Thessalonica
1You know, brothers, that our visit to you was not a failure. 2We had previously suffered and been insulted in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in spite of strong opposition. 3For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. 4On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts. 5You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness. 6We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else.
As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you, 7but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children. 8We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us. 9Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.
10You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. 11For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, 12encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.
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A pastor was on his way to visit a woman in the hospital. As he rode the elevator, he mulled over how he should approach her. She had made some wrong choices, which had landed her in the intensive care unit (ICU). Because of her sinful lifestyle, she was now in need of medical attention. She had violated the moral laws of God and was paying the price. The pastor knew he would have been theologically right to remind her that she was reaping what she had sown. But was this the best approach?
As he got off the elevator, he saw a sign that read: HIGH TECH, GENTLE TOUCH. The ICU was filled with complicated, highly techncal equipment that could do amazing things to save lives. But the words “gentle touch” suggested to him that patients are suffering people who need to be handled with loving care. He remembered how Jesus gently but firmly dealt with the sinful woman by the well in Samaria (John 4). So as the pastor talked with the woman, he showed her from the Bible the truth about her sin but did it in such a gentle, loving way that she accepted God’s forgiveness and was fully restored.
When we must confront people wiht their sin, we need to be careful that we combine the truth with the gentleness of Christ. —DCE
God of grace and God of goodness,
Teach me to be ever kind,
Always gentle and forgiving,
With the savior first in mind —— Brandt
Memory verse: Let your gentleness be known to all men –Philippians 4:5
Meditation: Gentleness helps us make a point without making an enemy.
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Jul 28:
Topic: Off-Loading Our Cares
Read: Psalms 55:16-22 ( see below)
=========================================
Psalm 55:16-22 (New International Version)
New International Version (NIV)Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society
16 But I call to God,
and the LORD saves me.
17 Evening, morning and noon
I cry out in distress,
and he hears my voice.
18 He ransoms me unharmed
from the battle waged against me,
even though many oppose me.
19 God, who is enthroned forever,
will hear them and afflict them—
Selah
men who never change their ways
and have no fear of God.
20 My companion attacks his friends;
he violates his covenant.
21 His speech is smooth as butter,
yet war is in his heart;
his words are more soothing than oil,
yet they are drawn swords.
22 Cast your cares on the LORD
and he will sustain you;
he will never let the righteous fall.
============================================
My poor computer had gotten overloaded. I had been adding programs to it, storing tons of information, and working on several big projcts. Finally it sent me a clear message, informing me that it was incapable of taking any more. If I didn’t relieve it immediately, it was going to “crash” .
So I got some extra disks and did some quick off-loading. I put each project on a disk of its own and trashed a lot of stuff I no longer needed. My grateful computer breathed a sigh of relief and began functioning normally agian.
Sometimes my life gets to be like my computer. I pack in so much responsibility and activity and commitment, and I carry so much unresolved emotion that I feel I can’t take it anymore. he burdens and cares seem enormous. If I’m honest, I’ll admit that I’m about to ”crash”.
When we get signals of overload —sleeplessness, irritability, worry— it’s time to do some off-loading. It’s time to drop some activities and responsbilities. We may need to say no to sme requests. Above all, as the psalmist suggested, we must off-load our cares on the Lord. He has promised to help us carry our burdens. –DCE
When every worry, every care
To God in faith is brought,
we have no reason to allow
One single anxious thought—Anon
Memory verse: Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you.— Psalm 55:22
Meditation: God invites us to burden him with whatever burdens us.
————————————————————-
Jul 29
Title: Blaming God
Read: Exodus 32:15-29
============================================
Exodus 32:15-29 (New International Version)
New International Version (NIV)Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society
15 Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back. 16 The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.
17 When Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses, “There is the sound of war in the camp.”
18 Moses replied:
“It is not the sound of victory,
it is not the sound of defeat;
it is the sound of singing that I hear.”
19 When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. 20 And he took the calf they had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it.
21 He said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, that you led them into such great sin?”
22 “Do not be angry, my lord,” Aaron answered. “You know how prone these people are to evil. 23 They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.’ 24 So I told them, ‘Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!”
25 Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their enemies. 26 So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “Whoever is for the LORD, come to me.” And all the Levites rallied to him.
27 Then he said to them, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.’ ” 28 The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died. 29 Then Moses said, “You have been set apart to the LORD today, for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day.”
============================================
It’s bad enough to blame our parents, peers, or circumstances for our sins, but it is much worse to blame God. I read recently about a person on a weight-loss program who bought some donuts. When asked why, he implied that it was God’s fault because He had opened up a parking place right in front of the bakery just as he was driving by.
In Exodus 32, we read about the high priest, Aaron , who had supervised the making of a golden image for worshipl This resulted in the death of 3,000 Israelites and brought a terrible plague on the nation. In stead of repenting immediatedly and taking responsibility as the leader, Aaron first blamed the people, saying they had put such pressure on him that he had no choice. Then he went even further and lied. He said that all he did was throw the gold into the melting pot and, the image of a calf mysteriously appeared. He implied that God had done it!
Moses rejected Aaron’s excuse. He confronted his brother with his sin and then prayed for him (Deuteronomy 9:20). We can be sure that the Israelites who acknowledged their guilt will be forgiven. But God judged the sin, and many died.
When you do wrong, take the blame. Don’t look for scapegoats. Most importantly, don’t blame God. —HVL
My sin, O Lord, defies Your Word,
It shames Your holy name;
I will not make excuse for wrong—
Christ’s blood is all I claim. —DJD
Memory verse: Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God.”— James 1:13
Meditation: A good test of character: when you do wrong, do you take the blame?
Who Jesus Christ is to me.
July 28, 2007 at 1:41 pm | In Personal | Leave a Comment*Well, I’m gonna say, this is a really personal blog. If you are a Catholic, and if you would happen to read this, do bear in mind I’m just blogging down my urge to blog about this. But this is surely something to think about. Very personal and this is what I really place importance on.*
Who is Jesus Christ to me?
I wasn’t born in a Christian family to begin with, I was a Buddhist until I was 19, when I slowly through a process became a Christian. I was even a strict vegeterian to begin with, and that is what a devout Buddhist I used to be. Not an understatement at all. I used to be against Christianity too, finding no logic in having faith in a man who can bear each man’s responsbility/sin. I didn’t even know that Christ has resurrected from death 3 days after he was buried and ascended to Heaven. Even my sis who became a Christian much earlier than me, also did not know where Christ is now. She would say,” He is still alive and can be anywhere.”— which is ABSOLUTELY WRONG. He is now in fact at the right hand of God in Heaven until “Judgement Day” where he will descend back at the last trumpet to judge the living and the dead, where all eyes will see Him.
He is my Saviour, who has saved me from the clutches of death, from the grip of sin, who has cleansed me from all my wretchedness, all my sins, all my evil doings by what he has accomplished on the cross. His blood washes whiter than snow. He took punishment on my behalf. He who is perfect, sinless, without blame, the Word that became flesh, (John1). He is not a prophet, He is not just a good teacher or a wise man. He is God’s only begotten Son, given birth by the Holy Spirit, through the virgin Mary. The many prophecies regarding the mark of the Messiah(Saviour) in the Scriptures all point to Jesus Christ. I believe this is true deeply. The many miracles, the many noble words of wisdom, of love, of comfort, of encouragement doesn’t match with a man who is insane. Ppl thought he was insane because He claimed to be God’s Son and He is in the Father as the Father is in Him. Father and Son doesn’t mean that the Father has a higher status than the Son. In the original Hebrew language, it means a connected source of life. He life teaches us how to live ours. His mercy and forgiveness of the adulteress, shows us his wonderful mercy and that all of us are sinners. (John 8).
Sometimes, when I see pictures that depict Jesus, to me it mean nothing to me. It is just a piece of paper and I have no desire to worship it. Do those artists know how Jesus looked like? He wasn’t really good looking, in the first place. In the bible it was said that he was despised by many.
It hurts when some ppl use his name to curse.
His name is a name above all names ( as written in the Bible). But we see often see his name being misused.
When one believes in Christ in His heart that his death on the cross is Jesus taking our punishment for our sins, and confess by your mouth that ” Jesus is Lord” the person will be saved. ( from bible)
We Christians worship a resurrected Christ. Thus, we use the empty cross (meaning just a cross, no man on it.) Because we believe that Christ resurrected into everlasting life and we who believe in Him, will also have everlasting life, even thought we die, our bodies will also one day resurrect on Judgement Day, if we die before the Judgement day. The resurrection means a lot of God’s power and the power to change an old life into a new life.
Catholics focus more on the crucifixion of Jesus, and his suffering, and hence the cross with a man being nailed on it. Catholics also differ from Christianity, in that the Catholics pray to Mary and other saints.
But Christians only pray to God directly in the name of Jesus Christ who is man’s mediator between man and God. Without Jesus, we cannot even pray to God, as we are sinful man and God is Holy. But for what Christ has done, we now have the grace to pray to God.
Sometimes, I wonder those who carry a picture of Jesus Christ in their wallets or pockets really knew who Jesus is. It is not something to be seen. I really hope this isn’t offensive. But to me, Jesus Christ is not the man in the picture.
How to make your eyes bigger by 20%!
July 22, 2007 at 8:17 am | In Health and beauty for the vain | Leave a Commenthaha decided to crap a bit before I go out. Here’s what you can do to make your eyes bigger by at least 20%. Tried and tested by yours faithfully.
- Most importantly, get enough sleep.
- To recover tired looking eyes, do a cucumber mask for your entire face including your eyes. Yes, using the real cucumber, cut it into really thin slices and place it all on your face and cover your eyes. After about 20 mins, when you remove it, your eyes really become bigger… haha
- Tea bags are another alternative to cucumber, but it’s only for your eyes. And remember to refrigerate the cucumber or the tea bags for maximum effect.
- Eat Vitamin A supplements. They really help to bring out a healthy sheen in your pupils.
- Put Vaseline under your eyelids to prevents lines and dark circles, aloe vera gel also will do. You can also put Vaseline on your eyelashes, which will also elongate them.
- Mascara and eyelash curler are a necessity to open up vertically your eyes, so it’s by an illusion that they look bigger.
- Use fake eyelashes if you are comfortable with it. Really dramatically much much bigger by 30%.
- Use contact lenses that enlarge your pupils. A lot of female celebrities use it. Including Ayumi, Twins, Jang Na Ra and many others. Now you know…
- Don’t strain your eyes too much from looking at the pc.
- Don’t need to go for plastic surgery… just use your strength and open your eyes widely.
(Spoken like a true vain-pot)
Classical pieces and some modern on the piano
July 22, 2007 at 7:56 am | In songs | Leave a CommentI’m now playing J.S. Bach Overture, this is the second part… but i’m still at the first…
Maksim Mrvica- Most famous .. the Bumble bee: It is actually quite simple, just need hours and hours of practice everyday… and finger exercises too. takes about 2 months to really master it..
Some modern piece- Because of you ( Ne-yo) played by David Sides:
The most famous Hymn of all time- Amazing Grace(orchestra):
*:p really didn’t have much time to type up on the sermon today and last week and many other bible study writings… argh. Rushing out soon again to meet my sis ( fren) going to her grandma house. rush rush*
Retro flashback.. Jap.. « ..be transformed by the renewing of your mind
July 21, 2007 at 10:25 am | In songs | Leave a CommentBrain Zaps for Generosity
July 20, 2007 at 4:05 pm | In Articles that can explode your mind. | Leave a Comment*Hee hee another geeky article. Alright, let’s not call it geeky, call it interesting…*
Extracted from Scientific American Dec 2006-
By: David Biello
In the ultimatum game, two players are offered a set amount of money. If they agree on how to divvy it up, they will keep that money for thmeselves. If they don’t neither will get anything.
The game pits selfish impulses against social norms of fairness. Researchers at the University of Zurich recently found that damping activity in the prefrontal cortex of the brain can set free our selfish side using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), which alters the firing of neurons ( propagation of impulses) in the area where it is applied.
Almost 45% of men who experienced TMS on the right side of their prefrontal cortex accepted the most unfair offers in the ultimatum game.
In comparison, about 15% of those whose left side had been stimulated and around 9% of the control subjects that did not receive the TMS accepted inequitable offers. Science published the findings online on October 5.
Cool site: www.sciam.com/ontheweb
*Maybe I should get hold of one of those TMS thingy and do that to my friends….. and ask for favours, lend me 1 million$$$? nah. you know i’m kidding.*
*I think this shows that human nature can indeed be modified by something external, or a phenomena…..hope my right sided prefrontal cortext isn’t too active.*
Got lots of stuff to type up on including last week’s sermon which I had spent two hours typing on but accidentally deleted it.. and yup more bible study writings coming soon. Heee…
And ya.. Thank God for his grace today as I’ve received an a_a_d ( guess the blanks) at work today…. It’s really by His grace! I’m really encouraged by it, but I’ll put it aside and continue to improve my working modus operando. But I also feel slightly pressurized by it…..
The Expert Mind
July 15, 2007 at 9:42 am | In Articles that can explode your mind. | Leave a Comment*A really interesting article I found — intriguing. Geeky stuff intrigue me. hawr hawr. The more boring it is the better. Lol*
The Expert Mind/(Become good at anything)
From the Scientific American Journal Aug 2006, By Philip E. Ross
Excerpt:
Effortful study is the key to acheiving success in chess, classical music, soccer and many other fields. New research has indicated that motivation is a more important factor than innate ability.
Studies of the mental processes of chess grandmasters have revealed clues to how people become experts in other fields as well.
(HOW?! Interesting hur)
A man walks along the inside of a circle of chess tables, glancing at each for two or three seconds before making his move. On the outer rim, dozens of amateurs sit pondering their replies until he completes the circuit. The year is 1909, the man is Jose Raul Capablanca of Cuba, and the result is a whitewash: 28 wins in as many games. The exhibition was part of a tour in which Capablanca won 168 games in a row.
How did he play so well, so quickly? And how far ahead could he calculate under such constraints? “I see only one move ahead,” Capablanca is said to have answered, “but it is always the correct one.”
He thus put in a nutshell what a century of psychological research has subsequently established: much of the chess master’s advantage over the novice derives form the first few seconds of thought. his rapid, knowledge-guided perception, sometimes called apperception, can be seen in experts in other fields as well. Just as a master can recall all the moves in a game he has played, so can an accomplished musician often reconstruct the score to a sonata heard just once. And just as the chess master often finds the best move in a flash, an expert physician can sometimes make an accurate diagnosis within moments of laying eyes on a patient.
But how do the experts in these various subjects acquire their extraordinary skills?…blahblahblah…… ( before I get sued for plagiarising..)
- Researchers have found evidence that chess grandmasters rely on a vast store of knowledge of game positions. Some scientists have theorized that grandmasters organize the information in chunks, which can be quickly retrieved from long-term memory and manipulated in working memory.
- To accumulate this body of structured knowledge, grandmasters typically engage in years of effortful study, continually tackling challenges that lie just beyond their competence. The top performers in music, mathematics and sports appear to gain their expertise in the same way, motivated by competition and the joy of victory.
blah blahblah………………( no plagiarising……)
The one thing that all expertise theorists agree on is that it takes enormous effort to build these structures in the mind.The 10-year rule states that it takes approximately a decade of heavy labor to MASTER ANY FIELD.
The preponderance of psychological evidence indicates that EXPERTS ARE MADE, NOT BORN.
Training trumphs talent.
*end of excerpt*
—————————————————
Wow imagine me staying ten years in my field in order to become an expert in my field???? Piano can consider lar…..started at age 4 but not really an expert though.
But the important thing is to continually tackling challenges that lie just beyond my competence.
So I need to read more and to THINK more in depth of the rationale and way of doing things in my profession.
Oh well.
A poem for a Saviour
July 14, 2007 at 4:16 am | In Personal | Leave a Comment*I wrote these down late last night, after reading some bible study material and when my mind becomes very clear on what I should do regarding my situation.*
As I looked upon Your wondrous truth,
all I can see is light and righteousness.
There is no one like You.
You have guarded my heart and kept my feet away from sin.
And You have given me the grace
to go through all vexations and confusions of my spirit.
I have peace now, yes, like a river.
My mind is now crystal clear, for I know Your way.
There is no other way other than that.
I pray that I’ll continue to dwell in YOU.
Give me the strength to go through it all.
You are my stronghold,
my Tower of Refuge in whom I trust.
Though my heart is prone to wander,
I surrender it to You today.
As the hymnist says, “Seal it for Thy courts above.”
Life is tough, it is never easy to make an important decision.
No matter how afraid I am of executing it,
You will guide me and open doors for me.
For Your will is perfect, good and pleasing.
Today I put down my evil desires and pick up my cross–a long way ahead.
I will run to You like the Prodigal Son.
I commit my plans into Your hands, have mercy on me
Give me the strength and grace to go through it all.
May it be accomplished.
Thank You for all that You have done and for leading me here.
Please continue to attendeth my heart.
In Jesus Christ’s name I pray,
Amen.
-
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