Crazy...

What has the world come to... State of Iowa allowed same sex marriage... and then changed their minds after a few hours... during that 3 hour 'window' of opportunity, one gay couple managed to successfuly get their marriage license!!! ;)

Anyway, for sure gay marriage is wrong is God's eyes, but if these homosexuals are really so desperately wanting to get marry..., I think government should just let them have their civil union. Having a law prohibiting them can only make them want to do it more... if you finally legalize it, then it probably won't be as big of a deal anymore...

And another crazy thing is my weight..., I tried to eat just a little bit of dinner a day before yesterday(4 wontons and some veggies...), and I don't understand why my weight went up and was approaching 185 lbs again!!! But then again last nite I ate a full meal cooked by the love of my life... and my weight actually went down to like 183lbs!!! I typically weight about 180~181 lbs in the morning on an empty stomach... so I don't know what's goin gon with my crazy weight.

Today's scripture reading was also crazy. Not sure why Biblegateway.com decided to include Amnon as one of the characters to study... he's the psycho sister raping son of David. What's to learn from this guy? He claims to love his half sister Tamar... and if Amnon had asked to marry this half sister, it would've been okay too at the time. King would've agree... and Tamar would've agreed... but no, he just couldn't wait and must make love with her right now!!! And then interestingly, intense hatred of Tamar came upon him afterwards and he doesn't want to see her again...

Hmm... a lot of people are kinda like that, after sex, they don't really want to see each other again... and in Amnon's case, I suppose God has a hand in it too... because David was screwing around with Bethsheba... and God told David that the consequence of his actions was to also screw up his family later on... But of course we should NOT blame the calamity of David's family on God... Chinese have this saying, "upper liang not upright, so the lower liang is crooked too!"

This is sad indeed. Once again Lord God, we ask for Your mercy and grace in our lives... so that we don't have to be punished by repeating the similar mistakes again and again from generation to generation. You promised that you'll show love to a thousand generations of those who love you and keep your commandments. Help us love you more and keep your commandments Lord God. If our forefathers have incurred any kind of curse in the past, may it be stopped in my generation because I love You and because I keep your commandments! Bless me and bless all of my future generations too please! I pray the same for all of my family members and friends too. Thank You very much!!! In Jesus's name I pray... :)

(2 Samuel 13 )

Hot Hot Hot!!!

It really doesn't feel that hot near the beach, I thought it was much hotter few weeks earlier..., but maybe it was just more humid earlier... Anyway, power consumption is up and California is facing some energy crisis again. Hope it won't come to rolling black outs... maybe I'll turn off my PC and just take a few hours of break during the after noon to easy power consumption! ;)

Anyway, today's scripture reading is about Abigail. I guess she is a wise woman... and knows what is the right thing to do..., but I thought David was rather unreasonable... he was going to kill some stupid guy and his family simply because the stupid guy didn't give him stuff to eat? Thanks God there's Abigail to intervene to avoid unnecessary bloodshed. And I don't know what's up with David... just kept on taking up wives.... I suppose women are his only weakness... no doubt Abigail is probably a pretty woman! :)

Sorry Lord, didn't mean to judge David, just wondering what's up with him that's all! ;) But whether if it's David or Abigail, I guess they both have this heart for things of God. May the Lord my God grant me and my family the same things... I know that we also may not be perfect, but I pray that our hearts become closer and closer to Perfection! I pray that our hearts can become HOT for You! :)

(1 Samuel 25)

Attention: ANT!!! Yes, I'm talking to you ANT!!!

If God has moved you to read this blog of mine, I just want you to think twice... or maybe three or four times about living together with your new boyfriend. If he's really that sincere and that much in love with you... then go ahead and start planning to get married within a year at most... If there's no solid plan to get marry and if you guys are still in the 'wait and see' stage..., then please make sure you don't 'wait and see' at his house. At the very minimum, there has to be an engagement ring or something, but the wedding date shouldn't be left hanging indefinitely...

Anyway, my point is as long as marriage is NOT a 100% sure thing, please don't move in with him. You've heard of the saying... 'absence makes the heart grow fonder', right? Once you move in with him, you'll have no more chances to really 'miss him' anymore... and sometimes you just might find each other annoying after spending so much time together... and without the commitment of marriage, it can just be that much simpler to just give up and break up. So please think things thru.

Anyway, Lord God, if she's not reading my blog, then I hope You will interven in her life somehow to help her make the best decision possible. Help her to be able to attain love and happiness... help her to be able to make wise decisions...

Speaking of 'absence making the heart grow fonder', I wonder if that's God strategy for Mother Teresa? ;) Imagine if Mother Teresa can hear Jesus all the time, by the time she get to heaven, it'd simply be like, 'hey, wazzup Jesus! nice to see you again...' But given that Mother Teresa had been yearning so much for Jesus and she couldn't ever feel his presence for decades... imagine what that face to face meeting was like...

Would Mother Teresa be mad at Jesus?

Or would tears just stream down her face and she'd probably never ever let go of Jesus for all eternity...

Anyway, today's scripture reading was about King Saul. This guy also experienced first hand what's it like to have the presence of God left him. But the difference between him and Mother Teresa is that Mother Teresa continued on doing the will of God... and not her own will... and that was obviously how God continue to bless her ministry and Saul didn't get any of God's blessings.

So ANT, I pray that you'll also learn to do God's will, not your own will or your bf's will.

May God bless you! :)

(1 Samuel 18-19)

First bible study at home!

Yeah, last nite was our first bible study done with both of our parents. Of course my folks are primarily motivated to learn english, but we are motivated for them to get to know the Word of God better! Whatever our motivations, at least our first Bible study went along relatively smoothly. Amazingly God also has sent an old American missionary along mom's way to help along in her English at the adult school! So hopefully soon afterwards, mom will be able to accept this gracious and merciful God!!!! YEAH!!!! ;)

Today's scripture reading is about Johnathan. The guy has a good heart and a simple mind. I like the guy in a lot of areas..., but I hope I won't "end up" like him though. I also hope that my parents won't continue to harden their hearts and end up like Saul in the end.

Almighty God, Creator of all things, we indeed are in need of Your infinite grace and mercy. No matter what happens, I trust in You, my Lord... please please strengthen me to just continue to do Your will no matter what. I praise and thank thee in Jesus' name! :)

(1 Samuel 14,20)

It is well with our Valentine's weekend! ;)

This weekend was supposedly the chinese version of the Valentine's Day, but I don't think we did anything special at all! Besides taking Louie to little tokyo for lunch and lunch at Sesame Grill on Sunday after church... we mostly just stayed home either doing chores... or perhaps relax a bit by watching a bunch of regular folks singing on TV! ;)

However, I think my relationship with my wife has progressed special and far enough so that we don't really need to do anything fancy and can still be satisfied and happy with each other... Anyway, at least I feel this is true..., if not, she can let me have it tonite after reading this blog... ;)

We've indeed came a long way..., yeah, we're not there yet still..., but given that God has been so merciful and gracious to us in the past, I'm sure we'll get there in the future! :)

The Hymm BeBe Wyan sang at Faith last Sunday was also pretty cool...

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet,
though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

But, Lord, ‘tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh trump of the angel! Oh voice of the Lord!
Blessèd hope, blessèd rest of my soul!

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

Today's scripture reading about Samuel continued to demonstrate how merciful and graceful God really is...

以 便 以 謝 ， 到 如 今 耶 和 華 都 幫 助 我 們 。
耶 和 華 既 喜 悅 選 你 們 作 他 的 子 民 ， 就 必 因 他 的 大 名 不 撇 棄 你 們 。

Oh Lord, You are so cool! :)
(1 Samuel 7:3-8:22; 1 Samuel 12:1-25)

Mother Teresa...

Time magazine wrote an article about Morther Teresa. It's about her supposed crisis of her faith in God. In her personal letters, she revealed she can no longer feel the presence of God... she even went on doubting perhaps God doesn't exist anymore... and this lasted for 50 yrs probably until the day she died... She was able to cope with this spiritual stuggle later on in her life though. Instead of concentrating on 'feeling' God, she just kept on with her original calling and continue on to do God's will. Was her 'sprititual suffering' some sort of spiritual attack from the enemy or perhaps it's the will of God? Dunno, could be both I guess. I see it perhaps something similar to Paul's thorn in the flesh, which God didn't remove for Paul even after repeated plead.

When Mother Teresa was younger... when she was able to hear God... she did asked to know Christ like none has known before. So I guess God granted her request! When Jesus called to the Father, 'O God, O God why have You forsaken me?' I guess mother Teresa got first hand experience of what that feels like...

She even ask the folks who she wrote the letters to... to please destroy these letters, for she feared that if the public ever found out that she's a spiritual 'hypocrite', smiling on the outside, but dying on the inside, people might think less of God... or perhaps even doubt the existence of God like her...

However, I think it's good that these letters came out to the public. It actually can be great example of what being a servant of Christ is really like. It's not about how we feel... because obviously our 'feelings' can deceive us..., but it's about simply doing God's will.

Who's Mother Teresa really? Did she single handedly start and managed her successful ministry? God may not be felt by her, but God's clearly blessed her ministry and doing the work right along with her. The spiritual/phsyical fruits her ministry had bear can't possibly be all by her and her alone! So I see it as a sign that God is obviously with her...

But anyway, who am I to argue with Mother Teresa... if that's how she feels, that's how she feels... but the moral of the story is that feeling can be deceiving. If one's driven by feelings and couldn't care less about the will of God... I suppose one can end up like Juan... Just sell drugs and live the good life! Why bother saving those poor Mexicans... and live as one of the poor Mexican?

Jesus want to save us poor humans and came to live as one of us poor humans.

Mother Teresa want to save those poor Indians and went to live as one of those poor Indians.

If Mother Teresa and Jesus are not close, then I don't know what is being close to Jesus.

May the Lord be gracious to Mother Teresa and allow her to be able to finally feel her Lord's love in full!!!

Today's scripture reading is about Eli... they also lived at a time when God seemed quiet... and slowly, he seemed to care more about the happiness of his sons than whether or not if God's pleased...

Anyway, moral of that story is the same, we should always continue to do God's will even if we don't hear Him that often. To us Bible readers, it's clear that God is still God... what's wrong with those lousy bible characters?!?!? To us outside observers, God is definitely with Mother Teresa... what's wrong with her 'feelings'?!?!?

When one lose sense of God, if you continue to do God's will, then you can do no wrong. Feelings can certainly be deceiving... further, perhaps Mother Teresa doesn't have the gift of being single for all of her life... perhaps we're meant to 'feel' God thru others. Perhaps if Mother Teresa had a physical loving husband who loves her, maybe that could helped her with her struggle a bit...

I dunno, God knows what He's doing. It's just fascinating to read Mother Teresa's story. In my humble opinion, for sure Mother Teresa has glorified God with her life, regardless of how she felt about God. Right now, God's will for my life is to simply love my wife and continue to try to reach out to my family in order to get them saved.

Am I right God? If not, You've gotta speak up and let me know, okay? ;)

(1 Samuel 2:27-4:22)

Lion and the lamb...

Brother GD's prayer meeting last nite talked about how we Christians should be interceeding with prayers and with actions... and God is looking and seeking for such individuals.

Well, I hope God reads my blog... ;) And I guess I should 'interceed' more often too instead of just praying for myself and for those close to me...

Brother GD also said that most people are simply wolves in sheep's skin, but God calls us to be sheeps..., but not only as sheeps, but as lions with sheep skins!!! ;) Sending sheeps into the world or into pack of wolves is a tough task, but if God is with us... if Holy Spirit is in us, it's like we're lions on the inside. Meek on the outside like sheeps, but strong like lions on the inside. If God is with us, we are more than conquerors!!! But I suppose the transformation process will take some time... first we've gotta decide to give up being a wolf, then we have to learn to truly become a sheep, yet know that we can also be strong like lion!

Lord God, our town is in Your hand. May you first raise us up to be a consistent prayer warriors, and may you raise up more workers and builders to build this town up in ways that can please You. May You protect Your churches so that they can stand as one and not fall for the schemes of the deceiver. I also like to ask for your mercy and grace to be upon all of my family members so that they can all be saved soon... and as for the saved ones, please continue to guide and guard them as they walk with You. And I pray for all of my single friends... that they won't rush into marriages that's not good for them. Lord God, please prepare them to become more equipped to become better husbands or wives. As they become ready, then may the Lord direct their paths to cross... if the two of them's not ready, Lord God, I ask You to please intervene and prevent them from entering a bad marriage in the first place. I dunno, maybe I'm asking too much since my just dust... an ordinary jar of clay, but if I have favor in Your eyes, please intervene in our lives so that Your will can be done. I'm in no position to intervene anything other than pray to You... and about the only thing I can do is to do bible study with my parents... what else can I 'do'? Oh yeah, please also prepare my folks' hearts to be able to really receive your Word into their hearts. May the seeds I planted be able to grow in them. May me and my wife's transformation into a real sheep/lion be evident to them too so that it can be a good testimony. In Jesus name I pray.

Today's scripture reading is about Hannah. May the Lord hear my prayer as He did with Hannah.

1 我 的 心 因 耶 和 華 快 樂 ； 我 的 角 因 耶 和 華 高 舉 。 我 的 口 向 仇 敵 張 開 ； 我 因 耶 和 華 的 救 恩 歡 欣 。
2 只 有 耶 和 華 為 聖 ； 除 他 以 外 沒 有 可 比 的 ， 也 沒 有 磐 石 像 我 們 的 　 神 。
3 人 不 要 誇 口 說 驕 傲 的 話 ， 也 不 要 出 狂 妄 的 言 語 ； 因 耶 和 華 是 大 有 智 識 的 　 神 ， 人 的 行 為 被 他 衡 量 。
6 耶 和 華 使 人 死 ， 也 使 人 活 ， 使 人 下 陰 間 ， 也 使 人 往 上 升 。
7 他 使 人 貧 窮 ， 也 使 人 富 足 ， 使 人 卑 微 ， 也 使 人 高 貴 。
8 他 從 灰 塵 裡 抬 舉 貧 寒 人 ， 從 糞 堆 中 提 拔 窮 乏 人 ， 使 他 們 與 王 子 同 坐 ， 得 著 榮 耀 的 座 位 。 地 的 柱 子 屬 於 耶 和 華 ； 他 將 世 界 立 在 其 上 。
9 他 必 保 護 聖 民 的 腳 步 ， 使 惡 人 在 黑 暗 中 寂 然 不 動 ； 人 都 不 能 靠 力 量 得 勝 。
10 與 耶 和 華 爭 競 的 ， 必 被 打 碎 ； 耶 和 華 必 從 天 上 以 雷 攻 擊 他 ， 必 審 判 地 極 的 人 ， 將 力 量 賜 與 所 立 的 王 ， 高 舉 受 膏 者 的 角 。

(1 Samuel 1:1-2:21)