Happy 95 Thesis Day!

See here.

SharePoint Conference

A lunch time conversation...
Me: Can I join you?
Guy: Sure. Have a seat.
*After praying for my food*
Guy: So you are Christian?
Me: I am.
Guy: Me too.
*Later Discussion*
Guy: What church do you go to?
Me: X Chinese Alliance Church.
Guy: Oh, I go to a small Chinese church in Y.
*More Discussion*
Me: Soo....what denomination is your church?
Guy: Baptist.
Me: *phew..*

Where X = Some Place, and Y = A Different Place.

Apparently, the person is a father of the drummer at Mac's C4C. I look forward to meeting his son one day. Awesome day. :D

Summa Elvetica

"All things serve a purpose; our inability to discern that purpose does not indicate its absence, only our shortcomings."
(Summa Elvetica, p. 50)

I would seriously recommend reading this book. It is a fantasy fiction similar to LOTR or Narnia with a more visible appeal to elements of Christian faith.

Best of all: It is free online, read it here.

Dear Theophilus,

No one has attempted to undertake a drawing of the account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, seeing as there are only two eyewitnesses beyond myself of this happening. Therefore, I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, so that you may know the certainty of the things that have happened over this past weekend.

In the morning, two disciples made their way to MCAC. They discussed many things including zombies, girls, and Jesus. The two lifted up prayers in the prayer room before playing volleyball with Emmanuel. The setting up of the volleyball net proved to be a challenge for the gathered believers. But, hope prevailed and after a brief warm-up period, everyone played volleyball.

The believers then gathered for a meal for pho. One of the disciples, Kevin Yee, a man filled with God's grace and power, declared his intention to buy office clothes. Kelly Chan, a dealer in purple cloth and worshiper of God, and I would take part in his adventures. The three ventured to Mordor to toss the ring into its hellish fires. The three drove to Orfus road, which turned out to be not that great. After an hour, the three decided to go to Vaughan, where Kevin found a shirt.

It was decided that everone would congregate at the home of Vicki, who can explain the way of God more adequately. These were the members in attendance: Eleasa, always doing good and helping the poor. Kat, lovely in form and features [side note: I hope by now you realize that I am making references to characters in the Bible. | side note II: Also, there aren't that many women in the bible, so gimme a break. Kat is the least likely to read this, and make it awkward.] Kevin Leung, a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith. The group engaged in games of Pooh bag, Monopoly, and Life with each taking their own leave as the night wore on.

The next day, the disciples went to MCAC and Pastor Simon raised his voice and addressed the crowd: 1 Peter 3:15,16! Sunday School was led by Paul Wan, circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless. (But, he counts that as a loss now in comparison to knowing Christ.) He spoke on the Great Commission, and making disciples.

Richard and Kevin Yee, then felt it prudent to ditch the member's meeting and have lunch with family. This is where this account ends. I hope to address some of the other happenings in future writings. Peace and Grace.

Rare Pieces Pt. 2

Even though it is a year old, I think this article speaks truth.

Edit:

Oh destruction. According to this, my odds are worse.

Imma Attack You Pt. 2

After much contemplation last night, I have come to a conclusion.

Richard's Law of People Hitting Him and Stuff:

As the age of the girl increases, her fear decreases, and the intensity and frequency of hitting increases.
As the age of the boy increases, his fear increases, and the intensity and frequency of hitting decreases.

I will include graphical representation, documented incidents, and experimental results in a future post.

In the news

"Gamers are twice as likely to go out on dates as nongamers in a given month."

well, there you have it. With the amount of games I am playing, I wouldn't be surprised if there is a line of women outside my door. But, wait...to date those women... I would have to stop playing games. It is like some horrible form of torture.

Answer: Imma attack you!

What is the phrase exclaimed by the 3 year old warrior that pounced on me during a Bible Study several weeks ago?

I figured I would share. His parents were not amused.

Me, I don't understand what it is about me that causes little girls to shirk in fear and inspires little boys to acts of bravery. (Granted, I would not normally consider preemptive strikes as courageous deeds.)

Rare Pieces

After extensive Monopoly Research I have concluded the following pieces are rare:

Purple - Mediterranean Ave*
Light Blue - Vermont Ave
Light Purple - Virginia Ave**
Orange - Unknown (Not New York Ave)
Red - Kentucky Ave
Yellow - Ventnor Ave
Green - Pennsylvania Ave
Blue - Boardwalk

*I am not 100% sure. I only have 1 Baltic.
**Of course, virgins would be rare.

Be forewarned, should I receive one of these rare pieces while in your company...I will be sure to make a fool of myself! I am thinking Legend of Zelda music playing in the background while I triumphantly thrust the Monopoly token skywards.

Quote of the Day.

"The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing in the right place, but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment."

- Dorothy Nevill

Biblical Womanhood

I was reading my google reader with all my friend's blogs. And the reader recommended this blog called "girl talk", now me being the curious individual I am..decided to go visit it. It is a blog dedicated to biblical womanhood. It looks like the author is married, and her post was talking about how to be a better woman of God with regards to her treatment of her husband. Some of the things she wrote caused me to utter an audible "aww", lucky for me none of my co-workers were nearby.

McDonalds

Out of 47 McDonalds Monopoly Tokens:
4 Free Small Barq's Root Beers
1 Ice Cream Cone
1 Baked Muffin
0 Prizes for $1,000,000.

I'll keep you updated.

The Dance

"Well, look who's back again.", he taunted. That is, if you could call it a "he". One always assumed that they would appear red with horns and a pointy tail, but his body was gray all over. Taut muscles were stretched over his wiry frame. There was nothing really grotesque or disgusting about his appearance. He could even be called attractive, like a finely chiseled sculpture, if not for the menacing grin on his face, and those piercing eyes. Eyes that spoke of hate and injustice. Sometimes, Justin could relate with those eyes rather than his own.

Sharpened claws bounced off of Justin's shield. Justin pushed back and swung his sword, missing the retreating figure completely. The gray man cackled, "You'll never hit me with that thing." Justin ignored him and thrust his sword into thin air, the demon having sidestepped effortlessly. The sword was so heavy, so unwieldy. Justin dashed forward and swung in a wide arc towards that maniacal smile. Such a blow would have ended the battle, had it been performed not so clumsily. The demon dodged and the Justin's blade sailed harmlessly through the air, leaving him wide open to assault. The demon would not waste such an opportunity.

Bony fist met tempered iron, as the gray man landed a crushing blow to the side of Justin's face. Stunned, Justin faltered and the demon continued to wail on him, alternating between punches and slashes. Somehow, Justin managed to roll out from the barrage, and the two opponents started circling one another. Blood flowed freely from his wounds. His head still remained on his shoulders due to the helmet perched on his head. Albeit, the impact of the blow had caused it to be crudely bent out of shape.

The gray man continued to stare at him. His eyes danced with delight, victory was within his grasp. "Come on, child of God. You haven't even land a blow on me. Is this the best God has to offer?", he mocked. Angered, Justin threw aside his shield to put two hands on his sword. This allowed him to steady his shaky sword hand, but oddly enough he felt even less confident about his ability to win.

The demon rushed forward, not allowing Justin to recover his discarded shield. The two clashed again, the scuffle resulting in Justin lying beaten on the ground. "You lose again," the gray man said. "You thought the outcome would be different, but again it's the same." He raised his fist to deliver the final blow. Justin winced. "I would kill you now, but you're not even worth the effort." And with that, Justin was left alone.

Shocked at what just transpired, he lay there for what felt like eternity. Humiliated, he swore and cursed God in anguish.

> Where were you? He could have killed me.
Do you really believe his lies over my Truth? He doesn't have that power.

> I thought you were with me.
I am always with you.

> Then, why do I keep messing up on the same things?
Your sword and shield are foreign instruments to you. You do not possess confidence in these tools, nor the ability to use them, nor the discipline to master them. These are all contributing factors, but not the true reason. You lose, because you were not meant to fight alone.

Family Time

Last night, we had thanksgiving dinner at my cousin's house. Yes, thanksgiving was last weekend, but we were all busy. All of the cousins went to play golf (short 9 hole) beforehand. I was at church for a Sunday School Teachers meeting...which for the record, I did not find that useful. So I will take my petitions to God in prayer, and He'll probably reveal some awesome factoid or reason of why I had to be there at the teachers meeting and I'll be pwned as usual.

Anyways, I am bringing up the dinner, because I guess I'm starting to see how everyone has changed and is growing up. Two cousins are getting married next year. Two are having kids...again. I am 23 years old...going on 24. At one point, we sat around trying to calculate one another's age. (Granted, it was the young'ns - myself included...trying to remember who had broken the 30+ barrier). After which, we deluded ourselves into being youthful with a vigorous bout of Mario Strikers: Charged and Pictionary.

The family presents a challenge to me. I still see my family as a mission field. A lot have known Christ and fallen away, and amidst the laughter and fun, that fact resonates clearly. I have spoken often about trying to reach them, and have made attempts with some of them. I am frustrated that I have made little headway, and despite the fact that I can largely argue for the existance of God and why they need Jesus, they remain unmoved. I wish I could just drag them kicking and screaming in front of the throne of God and state, "YOU NEED JESUS, GGKTHX."

At the same time, I know I have not done all I can for them. I'll put it up to some more prayer. I don't feel hugely convicted to bug them about it right now. Maybe it's laziness or the fact that I don't see them that often.

On the other hand, we played Vegas 2 online last night...some of the guys anyways. There is a ministering opportunity there, so we'll see how that goes. Brap! Brap!

Alive.

If the living are not alive, what hope is there for the dead?

Source: http://www.truthkeepers.com/thestate.htm

Displaced.

I feel out of it these days. I think it has to do with my paying attention to more news. It is kind of depressing to watch financial news. That and politics. Definitely, not the best thing evar.

Cell Phones

Always...Always... Always call the retention line of your provider when you are thinking about changing plans!

The offer from Telus:
$20/mth + SAF (6.95) + 911 (.75) = $31.30 after tax
300 minutes
Weeknights 6pm - 8am
Weekends 6pm Fri - 8am Mon
250 Text / Unlimited Incoming
Call Display
Call Waiting
Conference Calling
Voice Mail 3

I am going to wait for my cousin to get back from Peru and see if he can sweeten the deal.

Quote of the Day.

In apologetics, we must intellectually seize him [the unbeliever] by the throat and choke all the life out of his belief system.
- Vincent Cheung

The Bells Aren't Ringing for Me.

As I continue to mature in my faith, I start to realize that a lot more things are out of my power and totally within His.

Meek is not Weak.

Lord God,

Grant me a spirit that is graciously, truthfully, unapologetically Christian.

Amen.

Verse of the Day

Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.
1 Thessalonians 5:21-22

My Faith

A personal prayer request...

I fear this may weaken the effect of my previous post, but what's the use of pride anyways?

I do not doubt that God has a plan for all things, that He is in control of all things. What I doubt is my part... I feel him urging me to learn and study and prepare. But, I am so stupid... and the concepts are so slow to go in.

The devil plays on my pride, my insecurities, and my discernment. You lead, so you should always have an answer. That's not true...but it sure feels like it sometimes. Then a switch to my insecurities, whether I have accurately interpreted the text and am faithfully leading someone to Christ...or am I misleading them? Am I able to accurately discern what is from God and move or do I quench the H.S.?

I think it is time to study my enemy. Pray for me! Thanks!

Faith and Reason

I think one of the greatest misconceptions about a Christian's faith is that it cannot be resolved with reason. People view empirical evidence or philosophical discussion as weapons that somehow destroy Christianity and the concept of God. When I say people, I mean both Non-Christians and Christians.

Atheists heap insult and ridicule upon anyone whom claim that anything spiritual exists. The media is conveniently biased against religion, using Christianity as their whipping boy. Sadly, there is no protection against Christianophobia.

Islam is a threat to Christianity as they are unafraid to evangelize with violence. They also have bigger families and in a few decades could beat us out purely by a numbers game. (They have made serious inroads within the UK, and will expand quickly here, as well. I have no qualms with saying it is a result of feminism, the destruction of the male protector and of family.) Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons train up their missionaries to disarm and convert naive Christians.

What is the worst is that Christians, bona fide disciples in Christ, are incapable of providing an adequate defense for their faith. For some reason, the church has retreated from the world of academia and is content in adjusting to society, instead of the reverse. We are labelled Christian fundamentalists, clutching our Bibles fiercely while plugging our ears to block out the voice of "reason".

Is not TRUTH on our side? Did not Jesus say that the world will hate us, for the world first hated Him? I look back to the apostles, especially Paul and Peter. Paul reached out to so many, and his evangelism was not only through signs and miracles, but he ARGUED (depicts rationality) and won. Peter petitions to us asking us to remember that Jesus is LORD. That we may always be prepared to account for the HOPE that we have, answering with gentleness and love.

What do we have to fear when we read up on science or philosophical arguments? Yes, a lot of sources are biased... but there are plenty of workers in Christ that have laboured to demolish these "weapons" used against us. CARM, William Lane Craig, David White, Ravi Zacharias, even Vox Day (although some would question his methods) have provided plenty of resources for us.

Scary

‘YouTube’ must erase anti-Islam material: KHRS

KUWAIT CITY : Kuwait Human Rights Society (KHRS) Chairman Dr Adel Al-Damkhi has asked the government to put pressure on the officials of ‘YouTube’ — a video sharing website — to delete all derogatory statements about Islam and Muslims from the site, reports Al-Seyassah. Urging the authorities to take the necessary legal action in case the website fails to erase the statements, Al-Damkhi stressed “uttering profanities against Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is the worst form of human rights violation in the world. Attacks on the values and tenets of Islam are extremely dangerous and unacceptable.” Al-Damkhi pointed out the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) strongly condemns attacks on the holy prophets and religions. He confirmed KHRS recognizes the importance of freedom of conducting scientific research, exchange of information, and significance of the latest technologies and media on human lives, but it is against how ‘YouTube’ depicts Islam. He said this is an outright violation of the human rights of millions of Muslims all over the world.

Source

Technical Difficulties

To add to my list of technological inabilities (besides getting wireless internet to work on vista), I am unable to use the fax machine at work. Every month, I am required to send a timesheet to some worker in some office somewhere for some purpose (payroll) that escapes me. Every month, that worker receives two faxes from me. The first, being a blank sheet which probably causes workers to question whether the fax machine is working properly. The second, being a time sheet with my name on it, removing all blame casted upon the fax machine and duely affixing it to its rightful owner.

Lose Yourself

For some reason, I put a bunch of Eminem songs on my seeqpod list.

"Look, if you had... one shot... one opportunity... to seize everything you ever wanted. One moment... would you capture it? Or let it slip?"

I sometimes wonder how many opportunities I have missed for God. Not that I am lamenting those chances, I think they shape my character and build up who I am. And as I learn to trust God more... I do not slip up as often.

Birthdays

"Some of you pray for other people, you have a hard time praying for yourself. Because if you pray for yourself it shows you have need and you're weak and you're totally not self-sufficient." - Mark Driscoll

Kind of unrelated quote, I wanted to put that up for a while. I just keep forgetting.

I was reading the parable of the shrewd manager during prayer meeting today. I never really understood the parable. If you read it, you would know you have this manager who is wasteful. The rich man who is his boss is telling him "he's fired" unless he can give a report of his management. And of course, the manager thinks too himself, "Oh man, what do I do? I can't work physical labour and I'm too ashamed to beg"...which probably indicates that he WAS wasteful.

So the manager thinks to himself, I know... I'll further screw over my boss by cutting the debts of the borrowers. Okay, it does not say that exactly... but, seriously... it is a possible scenario. Highly improbable..as the rich man commends the manager for his shrewdness. So we have to look for another scenario...

I think the key is...when Jesus explains it here...
Luke 16:9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

So why all this when I am supposed to talk about birthdays? One of my work buddies had a birthday today. I bought him cupcakes and a birthday hat. We put the hat on his head and gave him a cupcake. They were pretty yummy. I gave my cupcake to the co-worker who told me about his birthday. She was happy. Also had more of an opportunity to talk to them all. So it was a cool day. Praise God.