Unified evil vs unity of the Spirit (Genesis 11)…

The preacher in Church spoke about Babel and Pentecost this morning. He made an interesting comparison of the two events. Babel Babel represented unified evil. The people of Babel then were bound in oneness by a common agenda, which was to “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in … Continue reading Unified evil vs unity of the Spirit (Genesis 11)… →

满了，满了

话说由梁朝伟和金城武主演的电影赤壁(下) (2009) 里，有这样一段情节。就在赤壁之战开始之前，小乔突然夜访曹营，竟为曹操烹起茶来。只见小乔舀水入茶碗，舀着，舀着，竟让水满得溢了出来。曹操顿时惊呼：“满了！满了！”只听小齐即回了他这段话: “丞相，你不就像这个茶碗吗？你这个人一向都是满的，所以别人的话根本进不到你心里。你怀着满满的心来到赤壁，有人会帮你倒空的。” 说罢举起茶碗整个倾尽。 ============= 这个世上，放眼观望，人都是向往满的。满满的户口满满的荷包满满的志向满满的抱负满满的自信满满的自我自高自大、自以为是、自命不凡、自欺欺人。均活在自己塑造的完美理想泡沫世界里，充满喧闹、任性、自恃。属灵的追求却在于静、安、平。无求、无华、无我。也许更正确的用词应是舍己。必要倒空方能填满、舍弃方能寻得、无我方能全我。精神得以升华，心境得以解脱，别无所求、自由自在，活得更为潇洒、精彩。为追随耶稣基督，使徒保罗“将万事当作有损的，因我以认识我主基督耶稣为至宝。我为他已经丢弃万事，看作粪土，为要得着基督” （腓利比书3：8），直至他将自己的“生命如同奉献在祭坛上的酒正倾倒出来”(提摩太后书4：6)。为何如此？因为马太福音16：25-26曾说， “凡要救自己生命的，必丧掉生命；凡为我丧掉生命的，必得着生命。人若赚得全世界，赔上自己的生命，有甚么益处呢？人还能拿甚么换生命呢？”

反省人生

Heard: “I saw you being birthed upon this earth and angels were rejoicing and God was so happy to have you come upon this earth. Angels were so preparing for your birth and rejoicing over you. There is a big celebration as you came upon this earth. I feel like all your life there have … Continue reading 反省人生 →

The blessing of life lessons (Matthew 26)…

My pastor talked about Peter being the everyman recently. Big-mouthed Peter. Impulsive Peter. One who was too quick to speak, but whose actions failed to catch up with his words rashly uttered. He was him who passionately declared to Jesus, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You”, only to … Continue reading The blessing of life lessons (Matthew 26)… →

Prayer of Jabez (1 Chronicles 4)…

I had an occasion today when I needed to rely on the prayer made by Jabez. But when I searched it out, I got quite confused. The Scripture in question is from 1 Chronicles 4:10. It says, "And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my … Continue reading Prayer of Jabez (1 Chronicles 4)… →

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 3)…

I would like to talk about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil today. It is a highly pertinent topic, because the entire plight and fate of mankind as a species were inextricably and irrevocably tied up with this plant named the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Let’s take a … Continue reading The tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 3)… →

Jesus is my only claim to significance, beauty and immortality…

Is man by nature good or evil? Philosophers have been debating this question for generations. At the age that I am, I have come to accept the fact that I am just not cut out to be one of such wise men, who would have both the gray matter as well as the desire to … Continue reading Jesus is my only claim to significance, beauty and immortality… →

Behavioral insights…

I attended a course on Behavioral Economics recently, and learnt many interesting facts about mental biases and cognitive shortcuts we take that lead to certain behavioral patterns. The course was instructive in that it exposes the common logical fallacies that unfortunately afflict all men. It was also useful in that it showed me my own … Continue reading Behavioral insights… →

Divine tension…

Divine tension indeed… I felt like a catch, a momentary feeling of déjà vu, when I read this, because just a little while ago, I had spoken about something not dissimilar to the idea shared above. I had said at an earlier occasion that as sons and daughters of the Kingdom of God, “we live … Continue reading Divine tension… →

It’s a beginning…

I've never liked to journal, because thoughts and experiences are transient, fluid. They lose their significance and conviction almost as soon as they come about. But in God, I suppose they are now worth something. And so, there is value to journaling, as a means to remember. I'd admit it is a late start. Regardless, it's a beginning...