My Jesus (the Lover of my soul)



Has anyone ever loved you to death? For example, my grandparents (being Chinese) enjoy adding the word "death" to love, to emphasize how much they love me. And what is the most extreme expression of love, you have ever received? 999 stalks of roses from your boyfriend or a brand new Perodua Kelisa from Dad?

No, no one has given me stalks of roses, neither my Dad has given me a new card (though I wish he would!.. hehe)

But I know someone who loved me to death... literally, and that is the most extreme expression of love I have ever known. This person?

My Lord Jesus Christ.

--

I have been Christian my whole life, but I never knew the significance of Jesus' death 'till last year when I re-discovered my faith. And today I would like to share with you, what I have discovered.

In the beginning God created Adam & Eve (the first human beings on earth!) Adam & Eve sinned because they ate the forbidden fruit from the.. (you guessed it) forbidden tree, thus disobeying God's commands and the result of that: Sin crept in to Mankind, and made all man inclined to sin. And we proved that to be true. OK OK. Moving on.. Sin seperated God & Man and there is mega-huge gap.

But because God loves Man so much, He decides that the only way to bring His people back to Him is through the death of His only Son, Jesus Christ. So he sent down Jesus to be crucified and to die for the Sin of mankind. (It's like a just judge convicting his mother of a crime, instead of putting his mom into prison; the judge takes her place. Thus fulfulling the duty as a just judge & loving son)

Thus bridging the gap between Man & God. So that is why Jesus is the Way, the Truth & the Life and no one goes to the Father except through Him. In other words no one gets to heaven except through Jesus.

3 days after His death Jesus was resurrected and He ascended into heaven. And His resurrection signifies our resurrection too. Because He rose, through Him we can too.

But because God love us so much and is a true Gentleman, He does not force us to enter heaven; rather he lets us do so willingly. That is why in John 3:16, Jesus says: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

The conclusion:

Jesus died for me & for you. I responded to His call.

Have you?

My Faith in God



I have not been blogging lately because of the coming ALEVEL finals (13 days from now) Like EVERY ... (OK, it wouldn't be fair to say "every"; well - MOST) students I am feeling nervous and worried.. and at times paranoid about how would I fare for my exams!

And this stress had taken a toll on me (spiritually, mentally & physically) for the past weeks and a couple of weeks back I broke down spiritually. I gave up. I remembered it was on a Thursday (22nd April). I was so frustrated, I went to get myself a radical haircut as a "cry for help" and to distract myself from the crisis I was facing. What's the crisis? I had no faith in God anymore.

I was satissfied with the haircut, although the "style" wasn't quite me but what the heck; as long as it distracts me and that is good enough. :P I went back home shortly after I retrieved my stuff from the library and I took a long nap. That night my discipler called to invite me for a small birthday celebration of a friend of mine. I said OK. He came to pick me up. As soon as he saw me, he spotted the radical difference in me and he asked me whether I am having problems. Reluctantly I admitted and started to talk about my struggles on being a Christian. He sent me back after the birthday celebration and we prayed in the car. I felt much better after the prayer but I still have doubts in my heart...

The next day I went for the KDU Christian Fellowship meeting at about noon and yes, with my radical hairstyle which received quite a bit of "Hoo's & Ha's" from people that know me. Anyway, I attended the meeting and there was this speaker; Brother Anthony which came to share. But the peculiar thing was on that day, he had prepared no particular topic to talk about and came to the meeting solely relying on the Holy Spirit for inspiration on what to share. And he spoke on the matter of FAITH in God. And that was exactly what I was having problems with. He quoted a passage from Mark 4:35-41:

Late that day he said to them, "Let's go across to the other side." They took him in the boat as he was. Other boats came along. A huge storm came up. Waves poured into the boat, threatening to sink it. And Jesus was in the stern, head on a pillow, sleeping! They roused him, saying, "Teacher, is it nothing to you that we're going down?"
Awake now, he told the wind to pipe down and said to the sea, "Quiet! Settle down!" The wind ran out of breath; the sea became smooth as glass. Jesus reprimanded the disciples: "Why are you such cowards? Don't you have any faith at all?"
They were in absolute awe, staggered. "Who is this, anyway?" they asked. "Wind and sea at his beck and call!"

---

I read the passage. I saw myself as one of the disciples doubting Jesus' faithfulness and crying out to Him because of my faithlessness. Brother Anthony shared another verse from the Bible which is, Jeremiah 33:3;

"Call to me and I will answer you. I'll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own"

and I knew right away that God was speaking to me through Brother Anthony and God told me that He still answers my call and that I need to just have faith in Him. I was amazed. And we were all praying fervently and some of us were going into tongues... And I made a mental note to go for Confession at first oppurtunity. :)

[ But it didn't end there. ;) ]

On Saturday (which is the next day) I went for a thorough Confession with Father O. C. & received Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament during Holy Communion and praise God! God has given me sufficient grace through these Sacraments and sustained me all this while. And it is only after I receive both Sacraments that I felt liberated; and I know it is because I have responded to Jesus' call, which He said:

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28)


And indeed He gave me rest.


Amen. <><

My Prayer of Repentance



Psalm 51

Have mercy upon me, O God,
According to Your lovingkindness;
According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,
Blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
And cleanse me from my sin.

For I acknowledge my transgressions,
And my sin is always before me.
Against You, You only, have I sinned,
And done this evil in Your sight--
That You may be found just when You speak,
And blameless when You judge.

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
And in sin my mother conceived me.
Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts,
And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Make me hear joy and gladness,
That the bones You have broken may rejoice.
Hide Your face from my sins,
And blot out all my iniquities.

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from Your presence,
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.
Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners shall be converted to You.

Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
The God of my salvation,
And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness.
O Lord, open my lips,
And my mouth shall show forth Your praise.
For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it;
You do not delight in burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,
A broken and a contrite heart--
These, O God, You will not despise.

Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion;
Build the walls of Jerusalem.
Then You shall be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness,
With burnt offering and whole burnt offering;
Then they shall offer bulls on Your altar.

---

Lord I thank You for dying on the cross for me and I thank You for Your gift of forgiveness.

Lord I love You... draw me close to You always.

In Jesus name I pray.

Amen.

Angela's Ashes & My Sacred Heart



I have been a fan of reading ever since I discovered PayLess Books - a place where I can purchase 2nd hand books at 1/2 the retail price! Anyway, I was there one Thursday afternoon and after browsing the shelves for sometime I decided to head home because there is not a book that caught my interest. As I was about to leave I peered into the "Promotion Section", where books can be bought for as low as RM5. And there it caught my eye - ANGELA'S ASHES by Frank McCourt (Hardcover) in good condition, retailing for only RM5! Back then I do not know much about Frank McCourt except that he was a Pulitzer Prize winner, but I just bought it anyway because of it's very affordable price. Boy am I glad I have bought the book. It was one of the best literature I have ever read. Refreshing, thought provoking and insightful! ;)

ANGELA'S ASHES is a memoir by Frank McCourt about his life - from before he was born and until the day he left for the States. In this book one can sense the bitterness of the life the McCourts led; poverty, social rejection, family abandonment and of course - the pains of growing up. Strangely, these "bitterness" are cleverly laced with humour by Frank. :) Oh yes, another reason for me to love this book is the million and one Catholic elements it possessed. haha. :) Honestly, ANGELA'S ASHES inspired & motivated me to take up a long awaited Catholic devotion - the Sacred Heart of Jesus. :) The weird thing is, there was one night I was having this thought of having the Sacred Heart Devotion and the very next day a friend of mine from Christian Fellowship - Emily; gave me a prayer card of ... (yup you guessed it) - the Sacred Heart Devotion! She told me she found the card the night before (which was the very same night I thought about taking up the devotion) and thought of me. She contemplated on whether to give me the prayer card of Saint Francis of Asisi or the Sacred Heart of Jesus but at last she decided to give the prayer card of the Sacred Heart of Jesus! I was totally amazed! This was truly a sign from God for me to take up this devotion. :)

Praise God.

Photos taken during Easter Vigil Mass

My Holy Thursday



Holy Thursday - the day before the crucifixion of Jesus. The day where He instituited the Holy Eucharist, washed His disciples feet, foretold the betrayal of Judas and Peter's denials and also the day where he prayed fervently in the Garden of Gethsemane 'till drops of blood trickled down with his sweat.

I went to the Holy Thursday's Mass yesterday and it was truly an experience. The larger-than-life crucifix that hung at the wall of the altar was draped with a blood-red cloth. During the Mass, Father Simon re-enacted the scene where, Jesus washed His disciples feet by going on his bended knees to wash, dry and kiss the feet of 12 parishioners. That scene reminded me that Jesus; being God literally stoop down to serve others and we can do no better than to do the same. At the end of the Mass, all lights were switched off and the Holy Eucharist was held high by the priest and incensed by the altar servers as Jesus was brought 'round the Church towards the tabernacle. As He passed, all fell prostrate before Him. And I too fell on my knees and it was an emotional experience with tears welling up in the eyes; as I recalled the times which I had sinned againsts Him. At last the Eucharist was brought to the tabernacle and the Adoration is ready to begin. Most of the congregation left the church early but before they left many went near the tabernacle to adore the Eucharist for a short while. But there are some that stayed for the Holy Hour, adoring the Eucharist in silent of the night...

"Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. " -Matthew 26:40, NIV-

Peace <><

My Claimed Promise

It is sad that Romans 16:20 ("The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet") is a promise never claimed by most of our Protestant brothers and sisters, and I say this with all due respect to all of our Protestant brothers and sisters from various denominations. "Why is that so?" you ask

Well, in order for one to claim Romans 16:20, one must recognize the Blessed Virgin as his/her spiritual mother. In Genesis 3:15, God says; "...And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." It is a well known fact that the "he" in Genesis 3:15 refers to Jesus, and if that is so, what can we say about the "woman" mentioned? Yup, it is refering to the Blessed Virgin.

Because we are IN Christ we are able to have this priviledge to crush satan's head (or in other words "defeat satan" ;) ) BUT there is a catch, in order to claim this promise we have to recognize ourselves as the spiritual offsprings of the Blessed Virgin. If we don't? We fail to claim this promise.

God's plan for our salvation has been eternally in His mind and we can see as early as in the book of Genesis, God has already planned to save us through His Son Jesus Christ, who is to be born of the Virgin Mary and become man, to suffer and die in order to atone for the sin of the world. Now all of that is fulfilled and Jesus is risen, we have to do our part and recognize Jesus as our Lord & Savior to attain salvation. With Mary the mother of our Lord (and our mother as well), let us claim this promise in Romans 16:20 and defeat satan as one body in Christ. Amen.

Peace <><

My Authority Over Earth (& In Heaven)

My relatives and some friends know that I do not agree with New Age stuff especially Feng Shui. :) Some of my family members have told me; "Feng Shui is not a religion...", well I absolutely agree that Feng Shui is non-religious. "Then why is that you disagree in practising Feng Shui?" you ask?

To answer this question, I have to go all the way back to Adam & Eve (yup, the first humans to roam the earth). As it was said in the Bible, Adam & Eve sinned and was kicked out of the Garden of Eden. But 'how' did they sin, is what I would like to focus on. Both Adam & Eve fell into the temptation of the serpent a.k.a. satan, and in the book of Genesis; the devil took the persona of the serpent to illustrate that man lost the authority that God originally gave him - to a mere animal (a creature which is initially under the dominion of man). Therefore, the authority of mankind over all the earth has been lost to satan. Which means that all these new age stuff like astrology, geomancy (feng shui), palmistry, etc.. might really work! Because man has now been subjected to the earth.

BUT the good news is: Jesus came and won over all authority over the earth from satan. Plus all authority in heaven has been given to Him also! (Matthew 28:18) So as a Christian, I too have the authority over the earth and in heaven because of the fact that I am IN Christ! Which also translates that I am no longer subjected to the earth because the One I am truly subjected to is Jesus Christ!

So when a Christian practices Feng Shui or any other New Age stuff, they are actually going back to be a 'captive' of the earth again! Think about it, why would I want other ways to 'improve' my life here on earth, when I can have Jesus who turns my life around and gives me everlasting life? ;)

As Jesus said: "You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it." (John 14:14) If you would like to be free from 'captivity', so that you can be free in Christ, ask Him and He will do it. :)

Jesus, I trust in You.

Peace <><

My Life with God

God is so unpredictable. And I am so amazed of His ingenuity and in awe of His power. Life with God is like having your puzzle pieces (which you never thought could fit) put together to show a bigger picture. And that is how my life with God is. There are many incidents in my life that one could never imagine God having a part of it and when I put all these incidents together - I see the whole picture. I see His plan for me, but of course not THE complete plan. Why? Simply because I am not God. But I put my trust in Him that He wants the best for me. :) As what they always say, "God writes straight with crooked lines"

I love Psalm 139 because it relates to some points of my life which I have tried to hide from Him by excluding Him from my life, but He found me and welcomed me back to His kingdom. Praise God. :)

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PSALM 139

O LORD , you have searched me
and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O LORD .

You hem me in-behind and before;
you have laid your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.

Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.

If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,"
even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.
When I awake,
I am still with you.

If only you would slay the wicked, O God!
Away from me, you bloodthirsty men!
They speak of you with evil intent;
your adversaries misuse your name.
Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD ,
and abhor those who rise up against you?
I have nothing but hatred for them;
I count them my enemies.

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

-----

Lord I love You. Keep me close to You always.

Amen.

My Devotion to Mary


As a Catholic, I was taught that Mother Mary is the Mother of Our Lord and we should give her honour and respect. But I have this issue on asking Mary for her intercession, because I have seen other Catholics (especially from the older generation) attribute too much credit to her and it really bugs me to see Catholics bowing to statues of her and touching & kissing these stone images, as though she is truly present there! Therefore I have decided to keep a "safe distance" away from her, in terms of devotion (e.g. praying the rosary, scapulars, etc...)

I remembered I told Adrian many times before on this issue of mine, and praise God today he helped me gained a deeper understanding on the Marian devotion...

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In the book of Genesis 3:15 ("And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."), we see that the bible talks about God putting enmity between the seed of the woman and the serpent (which is satan). The seed of the woman refers to Jesus and that makes the woman: the Blessed Virgin Mary. In Romans 16:20; we see a reference to the verse in Genesis, which says that "the God of peace will soon crush satan underneath our feet". When we link this verse with the one in Genesis; we can conclude that we too are offsprings of the woman.. And in John 19:26-28 ("When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son," and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home. Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty."), after Jesus introduced His disciple into a mother-son relationship with His mother, only then He knew everything is accomplished, and we must remember that Jesus was not being rude to His mother when he used the term "woman", rather He just wants us to refer this term to Genesis. And if we put all these pieces of puzzle together, we can see that Our Lord Jesus' will is for us to recognize His mother as our own because it is with her that our Faith is complete (refer to John 19:28)! Everytime when we receive the Eucharist, we are in Christ and Christ is in us, and that makes us all the more the offspring of the woman because we are in Christ!

With that in mind, I came to the conclusion that the Blessed Virgin is truly my spiritual mother, and it is important for me to take responsibilty to give her due honour and respect as it is written in the 10 Commandments (Honour your father and your mother) and what better way to give your mum honour and respect than to show the world, your prayers are answered through the intercession of your mum! Some of you might say, "Why go through the intercession of Mary? Why don't you pray to the Lord without a middle-woman?". Well, my answer to these questions is plain and simple. Jesus loves His Mother and He wants us to recognize the holiness of His mother. So how can we recognize the holiness of His mother? As the Bible says,"...The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." (James 5:16), therefore when your prayers are answered you can be sure that the Blessed Virgin interceded for you. :) And that logic applies also to the saints. ;)

My point is, contrary to the popular Protestant belief: Mother Mary is more than a vessel to bear Jesus Christ. She IS the Ark of the Covenant that contained the Bread of Life (Jesus)! In the Old Testament, God instructed His people to build the Ark of the Covenant (which contained a jar of manna, Aaron's staff and the stone tablets) with much detail and precision; what more in the New Testament where the "Ark of The Covenant" will contain the Bread of Life? Therefore, Mother Mary is made full of grace (simply means that there is so much grace that sin cannot find a place in her) as a preparation for the coming of God's beloved Son.

Love Jesus, Love Mary.

Peace <><

My Encounter at the Overhead Bridge


Was at Library today and at 1535hours, I received Jo's email on core and cell group leaders meeting tonight at 8PM and I felt really tired and lazy to go because my trials is in a weeks time, plus I know Jo would understand. :) So at 1700hours or so, I was at home in my room chilling out: surfing the net and resting on the floor because I had not washed up yet (not comfortable sleeping on my bed with a stinky and sweaty body) hehe. So as I chilled out, time passed... and it's already 1830hours and there is this urge in me to go to the meeting, and I attribute this "urge" to the Holy Spirit; who prompts me often to do the right thing. :)

After some prompting by the Holy Spirit, I decided; "Yes, Lord I will go".. well I didn't actually said that, but I felt that way. ;) I switch off my laptop, the power socket and the lights & fan, grab my bag of leftover Gardenia wholemeal bread and went on my way to SS2 to take the Bus #12. As I was chomping down on my leftover bread.. I was having this naughty thought: "What happens if I throw bread on the cars from the top overhead bridge?"... but of course I did not realise this stupid thought of mine. :P

Anyway, as I was walking up the steps of the overhead bridge, which by the way connects Damansara Jaya to SS2. At the far end of the bridge, I see a wanderer. He looks really haggard, with long hair and tattered clothes, and he looks like he's from either Myanmar or Vietnam and I remembered I saw him a few days back along the streets of SS2; in front of Salvation. I was kinda afraid at first... because who knows? he might mug me! But then I felt pity for him. My right hand clutched the bag with remainding 2 pieces of bread and the Spirit prompted me to offer him this bread. But I had mixed feelings... a bit of shyness and fear, and as I walk up to him my mind is making a decision on whether to give the bread or to just leave it for myself.

I reached the end of the bridge and I was just next to him. It was as though the fear and the shyness had gone and my right hand stretched out to him with the bag of bread, offering it as a sign of good will. He looked at me with confusion and held on to the bread. It was all silent communication, because I do not know what language he speaks. I nodded my head twice to let him know that this bread is a sign of good will from me and he accepted it. :)

I turned and I walked down the steps to the streets of SS2, towards the bus stop.

------

I contemplated on what had happened and I felt that whatever that happened was truly not by chance but by God's choosing. I don't usually buy bread and keep it overnight and at that point of time, I really did not feel like going for the meeting, but I went anyway. Consider this: If I had not decided to come for the meeting, the man would not have received the bread and probably go hungry. I strongly believe all this is the work of God.

The Lord reminded me that I am truly blessed and I have all that I need and all that I want and need should be HIM only. The Lord also put me in the man's shoes and made me realised that this person really needs help and I should do my part in helping him. And also there are many others like him that needs the care and concern of the society, even though they are aliens. And yes, I was feeling rather guilty from that thought of throwing bread from the top of the overhead bridge, when there are multitudes who need to be fed.

Let us ask ourselves, do we feel blessed? Or are we lamenting to God for not giving us a "better" life? Look at the lives of others & then see how much better off you are. St. Peter (our first pope) once said to the crippled beggar "I have neither silver nor gold, but what I do have I give you.." (Acts 3:6) Now, are we ready to say this to the less fortunate around us?

Peace <><

My 'Solomon'

King Solomon (Book of 1st Kings 1: - 11:43) was probably one of the famous bible characters of all time. Solomon asked God for wisdom and God made him the wisest person to ever lived at that time (1Kings 3:12) ;) Solomon had very successful international trade and his kingdom is blessed with a treasury of riches. Solomon used his gift from God to rule his kingdom and also to show others the goodness of the Lord; so that people from other nations may come and worship the Lord.

Solomon sinned against God by marrying foreign women (700 wives and 300 concubines) who worship strange gods. And these wives and concubines of his "imported" their ideas into his kingdom and built shrines all and around Israel; what's worse: Solomon helped built them. So you see, instead of being faithful to the Lord, Solomon's heart turned to these strange gods which provide only temporary satisfaction. And because of Solomon's folly, God decides to punish him by dividing his kingdom - which is another story ;)

Although Solomon was the wisest man around at that time but I guess he was not wise enough to choose God over all things. And we can probably ask ourselves, have we been in that situation of having to choose God among all things but failed to choose Him? We have a part of 'Solomon' in our lives, which rationalizes the sins which we are going to commit. The 'Solomon' in us might say, "Well... God loves me sooOoo much He understands" or "Since I have committed a serious sin and have to go for Confession, I'll indulge myself in sin and commit another then; so that I can confess all of those once and for all" or this which I have heard before from fellow Catholics, "It's OK. Geomancy (Feng Shui) is not a religion, and it's OK to practice it because it has been deemed as 'science' anyway! [Note: another topic I shall blog for another day ;) ]"

If the 'Solomon' in us speaks of these things... well, I guess 'Solomon' is not very wise after all. I believe it is important for us to evaluate ourselves at the end of the day, to see whether what we have done have brought us closer to God or further away from Him.

Solomon was no doubt the wisest man and his folly is probably because he was too tied up in ruling his earthly kingdom that he failed to see what was more important. In comparison, Jesus knew his priorities, and told his disciples to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and told them by doing this, all things shall be added later (Matthew 6:33).

Let us replace the 'Solomon' in us with JESUS, for He is the wisest of all. And let us ask Jesus for more of His wisdom, that we may make choices that are according to His will.

<>< Peace.

My Nature of Rebellion

Every one of us here has a rebellious nature, which is a result of Adam's (& also Eve's) first sin. For those who do not know, Adam & Eve were disobedient towards God by eating the forbidden fruit, thus they were thrown out of the Garden of Eden. The sin that Adam & Eve committed was not only mere disobedience; rather it was disobedience with a tinge of rebellion. Why? Well, Eve was told by the serpent (satan) that by eating the fruit they can be like God, knowing what's good and bad. Well, what the serpent said was half-true. Adam & Eve can certainly distinguish what is good and what is bad, but they did not become God. In exchange with this knowledge they lost eternal life.

Man is obsessed in creating "living creatures" (e.g. AIBO; the robot dog) that bear their copyright and I am quite surprised that many are amazed at the "advancement" of technology but often take for granted the truly amazing creatures around us that God has made, which is - us. As we can see, the obsession of creating "living creatures" has now become the obsession of creating live human replicas (cloning). One of the early objectives of cloning is to "live forever" (which means the person's clone continues to live the life of the person, doing what he did when he was alive). The irony is the first humans lost eternal life because they wanted to be like God and now eons later we are trying to "live forever" by trying to be like God. As the proverb goes,"the leopard never changes its spots".

It is not only the genetic engineers that are trying to be God; we too are god-wannabes... which is to be the god of our ownselves, because we desire things of the flesh (lust) and most of the time we believe we can do all things - but without first seeking the help from God. And the result of our own agenda of being who we want to be (instead of asking what God wants us to be) is either failure or emptiness. You see we have a God-shaped hole in all of us, and only God can fill that hole; so as long as we don't put God in our lives, we will be empty.

Jesus is constantly inviting us to come to Him, so that He can fill this emptiness in our hearts. Accept His invitation, by recognizing yourself as a sinner and truly believe that God has raised Him from the dead and He is now the Lord of your life - and you will be saved (Romans 10:9) and inherit eternal life. Although "the leopard never changes its spots" but through baptism we die to ourselves and are leopards no more because we have renounce our sinful ways and has begun a new life which is aim towards holiness.

<><

My New Blog Layout

Finally, my blog has been revamped! *Phew* took me hours to complete the revamping process! Praise God that it's up and running and ready to go! I have also added a comments thingie, right at the bottom of every post, so that you guys can voice your views! Please tell me what you think of this blog, ya? Anyway, I got to go now, really tired after all that revamping ;)

Peace. <><

My Day with CF

I have just attended Christian Fellowship(CF) just now and we had a talk by Pastor Danny Pollock from Sydney, Australia. Pastor Danny came today to talk about healing, and he touch on many areas of healing; the spirit of strife, moving mountains in our lives and also storing our spiritual "food".

Of all the areas Pastor Danny touched on, the one I remembered the most is the one on likening the story of "Jospeh and the draught in Egypt" to our own spiritual "food". He told us that when Joseph interpreted Pharaoh's dream, he told Pharaoh that there will be 7 years of abundance of food and 7 years of draught. Therefore, in preparation for the 7 years of draught, they stocked up on food for the next 7 years. And when the draught came, Joseph has stocked up enough food to feed the whole of Egypt as well as people from other nations that came to Egypt to buy food. And it was the food in Egypt that drew the brothers of Joseph to him, and that incident brought upon a reconcialiation.

Now, what does this story tells us then? For starters, we should stock up on the Word of God and touchstones(like what I am doing now!) as our spiritual food, so that when times of "draught"/spiritual dryness we will be able to feed our souls and sustain it, as well as feed the souls of others to sustain them. What happened to Joseph spoke to me in a very profound way. :) Being Catholic, my spiritual food is not limited to the Word of God but my spiritual food is also the Eucharist, the true body and blood of Christ! Not a representation, not only the essence and not just the presence but the actual body and blood of Christ! Amen! Therefore, if I experience spiritual dryness, I can also celebrate Mass and receive the Eucharist to sustain my soul! Praise the Lord!

Besides giving a talk, Pastor Danny also did a prayer session, where he prophesied over us there in the meeting. I went up to him, and there he told me that he sees me in a arm-wrestling match, that I am about to lose... but suddenly gained strength, and won the battle! And he also mention that the God of peace will soon crush Satan underneath my feet! Plus he spoke something on authority... Everything he said was in a fuzz in my head, and I can only remember parts of it. Anyway, what's important was before the CF meeting, I met Beng Hoe(Methodist) and we talk about Mother Mary and the Catholic Church. And I told him about Romans 19:20 which is "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet" & how does this verse relate to Mother Mary, and also about the founder of the Roman Catholic Church, which is Jesus Christ(Authority)! Therefore, what was prophesied by Pastor Danny was confirmed earlier! Praise the Lord! :)

Got to go now. :)

Peace,

Celestine <><

My Christ

Honestly speaking, the day I begun truly practising and knowing my faith did not start at birth or my early years or even during my early teenagehood, but was actually last year, when I first joined Lifeline College & Young Adults Ministry. My interest for the Catholic faith and the love of God took a dramatic turn last year and it is truly God's grace that I am sustaining my faith now. 2003, was not a smooth-flowing year rather it was a stormy one. But the Lord, lifted me up from the storm and brought me onto solid ground. And when I fell into mud, the Lord pulled me back up. :) I do not deny that my life is not without problems, rather I admit that my life probably has as many problems as the average non-Christian. Then what makes me different being a Christian?, you might ask. Well, for starters; I have Christ. Although, I face problems or suffering; but with Christ I know that my sufferings are redemptive just as His suffering is redemptive. So when I suffer, I know that I am blessed because the Lord trusts me enough to overcome this suffering/problem. For the Lord, never gives me a task which I could never overcome. All I had to do is to pray, for God's grace to sustain me in faith.

My journey with Christ will not be a smooth journey, because the more I devote myself to God, the more temptations I will encounter; which is a way the evil one uses to draw me away from the Lord. But I believe the Lord will sustain me, and make me stronger with every battle with the evil one. I pray that at the end of my life here on earth, I can say: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith(2Timothy 4:7)" on my tombstone; just as St. Paul did.

"I will follow Christ, I will run the race, fight the good fight, standing on my faith.." - I Will Follow Christ (Bob Carlisle)

God bless,

Celestine <><

My Lunar New Year 2004

Wow! Blogging early today! It's the 7th day of the Lunar New Year(Blessed Lunar New Year, by the way ;) ), which is known as "Ren Ri" a.k.a. "Day of the Humans". :) And that also means more yee sang dinners! But too bad, I am already in KL, well.. PJ. *sigh* So I will not be having anymore yee sang dinners, at least for another 365 days later! haha.. ;)

Nevertheless, I had a wonderful time with my family in JB, visiting "annual relatives" and killing time by eating, eating, eating, and yes. More eating. Chinese New Year is the time where I consume the most amount of carbonated and sugar-saturated drinks, compared to anytime of the year..

The first day of the new year, I got up and took my bath; stole 3 oranges from the kitchen and greeted my Grandmother (all of these is part of the tradition of the Lunar New Year). Some of you might ask; "Why three oranges? Not two or four or eight.. but three?".. Well, I am trying to Christianize the Lunar New Year, so I decided that, three oranges represent; the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. And of course 2 oranges, is too little and four is too much. *grin* As for both of my parents, I greeted them with 3 oranges also but accompanied with a very Chinese New Year verse from the Bible.. Jeremiah 29:11; "For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare, not for woe! plans to give you a future full of hope.".. The reason why I decided to replace the usual greeting with a verse from the Bible is because, IMHO the usual greeting(e.g. may you have a prosperous year ahead, wishing you wealth and fortune, may your dreams come true, etc..) is nothing more than an empty promise. Yup, you heard me.. an empty promise. Because no one can guarantee the outcome of the coming year, and certainly no one can guarantee the outcome by holding on to the usual greetings he/she receives! But with the Word of God a.k.a. the Bible, it is different. The Word of God, contains promises and truths, and the beauty of it: all of them are guaranteed by God, Himself. So by greeting my parents with a verse from the Scriptures, I am actually reminding them the plans God has for them, and also reminding them to be steadfast in their faith because ONLY God can fulfill these promises, simply because: no one else can. :)

During the New Year, I have met "annual relatives", which of course like the term implies; 'relatives that we meet once a year', that have become devoted to the Lord as well as had gain more understanding of the Faith. It was very encouraging to see them grow like this. And this affirms me, that the Lord has indeed brought a revival to His Church.

A friend of mine; Alvin, had sent me an SMS about the New Year, and it is truly an insightful and Spirit-filled message! Here it goes..

"Chinese New Year is a time people talk of fengshui(with Lilian Too jamming the Astro channel and newspapers giving tips on which golden frog to buy). The time is right, brethren, to tell people of Him who is Lord over 'feng'(wind) 'shui'(water). Who is this, who orders even the winds and the waters and they obey Him? LUKE 8:25"


Once again, I would like to wish all of you a Blessed Lunar New Year!


Peace be with you,

Celestine <><

My Incense Holder

Hi guys!

In a few hours time it's aunt's wedding. Anyway, she had just received a wedding gift from me. A beautiful wood-craved incense holder, that has oriental ducks and lotuses as it's motif. What is special about this gift anyway? Well, the gift is not extraordinary but the person that prompted me to give it is. He is no other than my Lord God Almighty! :)

Two months ago, I went with a friend of mine to Central Market to do some window-shopping and I thought it would be good for me to get my own incense holder. So I went and I stumbled upon this beautiful incense holder.. I hesitated to buy the incense holder but after I went 'round looking, and did not manage to find another one like it... I decided to buy with a mere RM8 discount from the shopkeeper. I was satisfied with what I have bought, but on the other hand I felt that it was not necessary because I had no use for it. But since I have bought it, I decided I should not regret. ;)

Just a month ago, I came back to my hometown, for my aunt's wedding. And I displayed this prized treasure I bought to my soon-to-be-married aunt and also to the rest of the family. My aunt loved it and jokingly asked me to give it to her as a weddiing gift.. but I told her if she wanted it, I would willingly sell it to her at the cost price to get my money back. But then she didn't buy because she complained it was too expensive. But I ponder on whether or not to give it as a wedding gift for a while.. But soon, I forgot all about it untill: Today.

The Lord prompted me to give the incense burner to her as a wedding gift. I struggled for a moment, between my greed and my love for God. And praise the Lord; my love for God won. :)

I had a talk with my aunt just now, when I presented her the gift. I told her that, there are many things in this world I am not sure of, but one thing I am sure is that, the Lord has great plans for her and her husband(my uncle ;) ). I also told her that although she is not aware(note: my aunt's a Buddhist) of the Lord, but nevertheless the Lord is always aware of her every move and is always looking out for her.

How do I know? Well, because He told us that He carved our names on His palm even before we were born. And I also told her that incense is used in our Church to symbolize consecration to the Lord. And then at that moment the Holy Spirit gave me a revelation: the reason the incense holder was chosen as the wedding gift is because the Lord wanted my aunt to consecrate herself to Him! And of course, I told my aunt this revelation immediately. I assured her that I am not imposing my beliefs on her, rather I am letting her consider to rely on a Friend I know that never gives up and is always faithful.. The Friend that I am refering to, is God; the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

As for whether my aunt would be Christian, I do not know but I do know that once she embark on this journey, she will discover that God has plans for her prosperity and not to destroy(Jeremiah 29:11).. I will keep her in my prayers, always.

God bless,

Celestine <><

My Resolutions

Hey everyone!

Well, it's already the 6th day of year 2004 and this is my first blog entry for this year! :) What better things to write to kickstart the new year than to list out my NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION! WooHoo!

Resolutions
#1. Seek first the kingdom of God and God's righteousness!(.. and all things shall be added unto me!) Hallelujah! :)
#2. Score straight A's for my upcoming A-level finals! "A" for Biology, "A" for Chemistry and "A" for Math (by the grace of God! Amen!)
#3. Finish reading the Bible by end of December 2004! (Of course with the help of a devotional! haha.. Mine is "Cover to Cover: God's People" AMAZING BOOK! Thanks Sheena! ;) )
#4. Keep fit and stay healthy. More exercise, more vegetables and less meat, but more tofu(a.k.a. beancurd)!
#5. Study more apologetics(the art of defending the Faith)
#6. Bring others closer to Jesus!
#7. Recite the Rosary at least once a week. hehe.

Okies, I would love to list 10 Resolutions.. but since "7" is considered to be a perfect figure in biblical times. I'll list only 7 Resolutions. (The fact is: I am too lazy to commit to too many resolutions, hehe :P)

Today would be the 2nd day that I missed school.. tomorrow will be my aunt's wedding and the next day I will be able to go back to KL! WooHoo! :D *Sigh* Although I am excited to go back to KL but I'll still miss my family, my friends, the comforts and coziness of my own home here in JB...

To all my friends in KL: See you guy soon!

God bless,

Celestine <><

My CASE FOR CHRIST

Hey everyone!

It's been 2 days since Christmas! And it's was good, because we(my family and I) started a new tradition this Christmas. What was it you ask? haha.. ;) Well this year, we started the tradition of saying what/who we are thankful for this year and prayed for the best for the following year, and we ended it with a glass(well.. a styrofoam cup) of wine ;) haha. As usual everyone was too shy to do it... or probably because they were unprepared.. so the person that suggested this tradition will have to do the honours ;) And the person happened to be ME. haha. So, I did it and summed it up for everybody on the things to be thankful for.. and I hope that next year, they will anticipate this tradition and be prepared for it! haha ;)

Not too long ago, i bought a book. Lee Strobel's: The Case For Christ... and my verdict for it was... EXCELLENT!

Some background info on this book:

A Seasoned Journalist Chases Down the Leads in the Biggest News Story in History If you were a journalist, how would you handle a news story so big it would utterly eclipse all other world events? How thorough would your investigation be? How many hard-hitting questions would you ask? How carefully would you consult with top experts to get detailed, accurate answers? Lee Strobel knows firsthand. It was as a reporter for the Chicago Tribune and an avowed atheist that he first investigated the greatest news story of all--the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Now, in The Case for Christ, he presents compelling evidence and expert testimony for the claims of Christianity. As a seasoned journalist with a Yale law background, Strobel systematically tracks down his leads and asks the blunt, tough questions readers themselves would want to ask--questions that can make or break the Christian faith. He refuses contrived, simplistic answers. Instead, he pieces together hard facts through interviews with more than a dozen of the country's top scholars. Written in the style of a blockbuster investigative report, The Case for Christ is apologetics at its most imaginative--gripping, compelling, marshaling expert testimony and incontrovertible evidence. With unerring instincts, Strobel ferrets out Historical Evidence: Do we possess reliable documents concerning the life, teachings, and resurrection of Jesus? Scientific Evidence: Is there archaeological substantiation for the historical accounts about Jesus? Did Jesus perform miracles?

Psychiatric Evidence: Did Jesus really claim to be God? What evidence is there that he fit God's profile? Fingerprint Evidence: What does prophecy have to say about Jesus? Other evidence: Jesus' death, the missing body, eyewitness accounts, and claims of personal encounters. The Case for Christ reads like a captivating, fast-paced novel. But it's not fiction. It's a riveting journey to the truth about the most remarkable event in history: the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And it's a revealing, personal testimony to his power to transform people yet today--even the most cynical, hard-bitten journalist.


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This book fascinates me because the way the argument was presented is in a no-nonsense format. haha. It even has a bibliography at the back of each chapter, so that you can do your own research if you are not satisfied with the findings in the book! Wow! ;) I tell you anyone that read this book, even if they are non-Christian, they will be convince of the truth Christianity brings! And Christians that read this book, their faith will be strengthen further! Truly an amazing book. :)

Buy this book. You will not regret it. :)

God bless,

Celestine <><