I Am Online!

The internet needs no introduction. It has played important roles in all aspects of our lives, be it in family, work, studies or leisure. It is a part of our lives now. We can live our lives with a potential for good or evil, to glorify or rebel against God, to benefit or to harm others. The same goes for our usage of the Internet. It has both the potential for good and evil, glorifying or rebelling, benefitting or harming. We are stewards of our lives because it is God who has given it to us in the first place, when He formed us in the depths of our mother’s womb. The bible commands us to be good stewards of our lives. Hence this warrants us to carefully examine our usage of the internet. Are we a good steward of our lives, using the internet, to the good and edification of ourselves and others? To the glorification of God?

To be good stewards our of lives and in the usage of the internet for good purposes, we need to be spiritually mature. Are we spiritually mature in our thoughts/conduct, in our treatment and witness to others, in our reverence to God?

Being Spiritually Mature in our Thoughts and Conduct

We have to be spiritually mature in the conduct of ourselves. The internet is certainly useful in our course of work. Examples are email, application which enable us to work from home, video conferencing and internet phone calls which save a lot on overseas bills. Our leisure lives now involve web site surfing, online games, instant messenging tools to chat with multitudes of friends and more recently, social networking sites like Friendster and Facebook. However, we ought to be wary of laziness, foolishness and selfishness manifesting itself in our lives unknowingly introduced by the internet. They degrade our level of spiritual maturity.

Being Spiritually Mature in our Thoughts and Conduct - Laziness

When we get online, there are tons of things for us to do, to be attracted, to take notice of, or just to be informed (eg. Facebook notifications). The “to do” list grows enormously huge with the internet. Yes we might be enthusiastic with the things we can do online, but often, we forget about things in real life that we ought to do. Throwing the trash, washing the dishes, cleaning an area of the house, buying groceries, doing homework (or Sunday school homework!), etc. It adds to the procrastination of many seemingly mundane but important things. Things which if not done, will slowly accumulate into an avalanche of trouble. What’s worse is that this does not bring about good testimony with people around us. Our relationships with our colleagues, parents, wives, children sour because of laziness. Colleagues complain that we do not contribute in work. We wrong our parents, wives and children when we are lazy in supporting them in showing them the utmost love to them as commanded by God.

Proverbs tell us that laziness ends in slave labour and hunger [Pr 12:24, 19:15]. Jesus rebuked the lazy with the parable of the servant who does not put the money entrusted to him to work, but just hides it in the ground and does no work with it. We incur the disfavour and wrath of God in our laziness. We forget the more important things that have to be done as compared to ‘levelling up’, sending virtual gifts or updating ‘statuses’.

Being Spiritually Mature in our Thoughts and Conduct - Foolishness

We are well aware of gaming addictions and we think that we will never become game addicts. Well doesn’t it seem straight forward that we cannot play games for consecutive straight hours, without food and rest? However, gaming addictions are rampant all over because we do not have God’s wisdom with us when all that we fill our minds are just Pet Society, Mafia wars or Farmsville. It is a very simple formula. When we do not have God’s wisdom, we are in foolishness. And being fools, we fall too easily into the abyss of gaming addiction.

Foolishness causes our actions in life to be without wisdom. We choose not to study, not to do our best, not to help friends, not to listen advice from parents/teachers/spiritual elders. We hate wisdom, hate knowledge, choose to skip classes, to slack, to harm friends. We can no longer think in God’s wisdom, to understand His Word, to apply His Word in our lives. We are fools. We hate wisdom, we hate knowledge, we hate it when someone forces us to study, to be more involved in church. We bring grief to our parents. Everything we do seems right in our eyes. We do not see ourselves as being hotheaded, reckless, spurning discipline or wandering eyes. But yet, this is how the bible in proverbs describes the fool. We do not grow in spiritual maturity, but in fact take several steps back in to reckless foolishness.

Being Spiritually Mature in our Thoughts and Conduct - Selfishness

How many times have you wanted to level up, waited for money to be replenished, waited for gifts to be given or generated, build up skill points? We have to be wary that we do not indulge in a “I, me, myself” only attitude and think that the world revolves around us. I want to level up. I want to build up my empire/house/farm/café, I want to be the strongest character or avatar. Jesus taught us that as disciples, we first ought to deny ourselves. The ‘self’ attitude that dangerously creeps in online games hinders us from deny ourselves, deny our wants, our interests, our loves for the service and will of God. How then can we ever proceed to carry our cross daily?

Being Spiritually Mature in our Treatment and Witness to Others

We forget to ask a friend if he/she needs help with homework, or has understood what the teacher has just taught, or volunteered to do house chores for mum, or prepare children worship service leading. We become full of ourselves once we dwell too long in make believe simulated environments as every decision, action or result affects only me and no one self. I do not have to learn, or initiate care to others.

Jesus gave us all a new commandment. That we love one another as Jesus had loved us. And by this will all men know that we are His disciples. Indeed we have neglected the loving of others in prayer and action, and much often because of more time being spent online. We have forgotten to love others. Loving others often requires us to take active role, but we often delegate it to a passive role, and with increasing distractions, we forget it entirely.

Jesus mentioned that by our testimony of loving others, people will know that we are His disciples. How will others know then that we are disciples of Christ? When others see our profiles and see game logs all over, or horoscopes analysis, or displaying of a video that goes against biblical principles, what kind of an impression will that give?

In Facebook, our profiles are visible and seen by many more people than we actually think. We claim to want be salt and light for the world, for our friends, for what ever environment we are in. But are we causing a big stain because of our Facebook activities?

Being Spiritually Mature in our Reverence to God

Have we compromised our service to God due to online distractions? Have we created online idols? Have indulged in sins of violence and sexual immorality online?

Have We Compromised our Service to God? Distraction by Online Idols

Have we compromised time for Him, in church ministries, in our devotional time, in our reading of spiritual books or trying to share the good news of salvation because we want beat our friends at typing maniac?

Have we forgotten the call of God in our lives? The call to be disciples, the call to love one another, the call to make disciples, the call to be salt and light of the world? When our minds are filled things of the world, it is only natural that we leave little left for God. The time, effort and energy spent online causes us to forget or be numb to the call of God.

Have we compromised our quality of service to God? While serving Him in church ministries, we might have our minds on whether someone has defeated us in Mafia wars or if we can better spend our time leveling up. We are distracted when we serve God. We are distracted when we ought to love people. We are distracted by online idols. God commands us to love Him with all our minds, all our hearts, not a distracted one. God commands us to worship Him in truth and spirit, not a spirit that drifts off to a virtual world.

Violence and Sexual Immorality

The themes of violence and sexual immorality are rampant amongst online games. Very often, the two are present in the same game. Games like Grand Theft Auto have a very strong violence and sexual theme. We see GTA advertisements even on bus stops which very clearly portray an attractive female holding a weapon. The game portrays a lead male character, often a wronged person who revenges through joining a gang. Along the way, he steals all kinds of vehicles, commits all kinds of hideous crimes with it and involves in sexual relations with prostitutes.

Appropriate Usage of the Internet

With all these dangers lurking in the Internet, should the solution just be a simple banning of usage for Christians?

For Getting Work Done

The internet has certainly aided communication. We communicate via emails to achieve tremendous of work done. The internet in short, has aided us tremendously, in getting work done, including works of ministry. We collaborate by being able to send and share excel sheets (church financial statements), word documents (meeting minutes, preparation of sermons), powerpoint slides (teaching aids, presentation shows) over the internet. Google docs is a good example.

For Leisure

One of today’s avenues of leisure is certainly sitting in a cosy chair and surfing the internet for sites, logging into Facebook to see friends’ statuses, logging into Pet Society to do up your house or chatting up a far away friend over MSN Messenger.

How to Curb Wrong Usage?

With the benefits of getting work done and leisure, how do we determine appropriate methods and durations of usage of the Internet?

How to Curb Wrong Usage? - Self Examination

I think it can be linked to the previous points introduced. If you feel your conscience rebuking you on laziness, you are forgetting to do the things that really matter, foolishness, you are not being able to discern between actions of wisdom, selfishness, you remember just about yourself and not forgetting the more important needs of others, then you really need to self examine. You should always be on the alert and be reminded that we are but stewards of our lives and time. God is really our master and we are accountable to how we spent our time and what we spent it on. We must know that God is in control through us being in control of ourselves. With self-control being the last fruit of the spirit, it probably aids us in remembering it.

How to Curb Wrong Usage? - Meditate on God’s Word Day and Night

However, due to our sinful nature and fallen reasoning, our self examination is often neglected and faulty if we indeed try to self examine. We have to meditate on God’s Word day and night. Not let it depart from us. A cup can only contain so much. If we fill it with filth, there is no place for God’s Word. If we fill it with God’s Word, naturally there is lesser place for filth. David sinned and committed adultery not when he was busy fighting God’s enemies, tending sheep or planning for battle. He had his cup filled with doing the things of God then. He sinned when he was free, had nothing much to do, and allowed the things of the world to fill his mind. Solomon did not sin when he was busy planning and constructing the temple of God. He sinned when he was free, not dwelling into the laws of God, where it specifically mentions in Deut 17:14-20 that a King should not multiply horses, wives, golds and lastly, to keep a copy of the law beside him that he should not depart from it.

How to Curb Wrong Usage? Beware of being too Free

David and Solomon had favor in God’s eyes when their cups were filled with the Word and ministry of God. They incurred the wrath of God when their cups were filled with filth. And many times, the filling of filth starts with us being too free. So let us pray that we really can have wisdom in our usage of our time, especially during the holidays.

How to Curb Wrong Usage? Be Watchmen of One Another

Because we cannot always trust on our own ability to self examine, to fill our cups with God’s word and ministry and to have wisdom in our free time, we need the watching over us by friends in Christ. The titanic would not have sinked have there been another lighthouse or ship watching over it. The claims by itself being the unsinkable ship sunk with the physical ship the moment it struck the ice berg. David would have gone on sinning have Nathan the prophet not rebuked him earlier.

As watchmen of one another, we should rebuke others in wrong and be humble enough to be rebuked when we are in wrong. 2 Tim 4:2 “Correct, rebuke and encourage”. Heb 12:5 “Do not make light of the Lord’s disciple, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you.” We are well aware of other’s online activities especially through our home page. If you see a friend who is engaging in something not appropriate, correct him, encourage him. If he still persists, rebuke him. Similar we ourselves, should accept the rebuke of a brother which is according to God’s truth, and be sensitive to it as God’s rebuke might come from a loving brother.

Using the Internet to build Spiritual Maturity

The Internet has great resources to build us up in word, faith and conviction. In word, gty.org is a great site that has sermons by John Macarthur in audio, video readily downloadable for free. You can read pdf versions of books he has written or request for hardcopies of it. You can shop around for books in the site and order them with free shipment to your house.

Biblegateway.com is a great site that provides bible commentaries, concordance or search for verses with a specific theme or keyword. Such really helps to find out the biblical principle concerning a particular word, theme or concept.

Biographies of missionaries, both past and present are readily available via search engines. Let’s not forget the sermons available online at edenbp.org.

The resources online certainly helps us to meditate on God’s Word day and night. We can listen, read online, or download the audio sermons and listen to it at almost anytime we want. How fortunate are we at this age, but yet we our knowledge and conviction of our faith seemingly pale in comparison to our forefathers who do not have Internet, but the plain good old paper and pen.

We can often also encourage others via online methods like email, Facebook groups or blogs. Blogging about sermon notes, the reader re-caps not only what was said during service, but also has insights to how the writer intends to apply what was heard. Through email and Facebook groups, links that help build spiritual maturity can often be shared. For eg. how did the 12 apostles die. Unforunately, we are very much lacking in this area.

We do not encourage or share very much on God’s truth online, where this can actually be a very good avenue of shining for God. Posting edifying videos, sites, statuses, emails certainly helps to keep God’s truth, drip by drip into our minds as we log on.

Conclusion

To end it all, we have to ask ourselves if being online helps moulds us to becoming spiritually mature youths. Towards ourselves, does it cause us to be lazy, foolish and selfish? Do we forget about the more important needs of others and always think about ourselves? Do we compromise in our service to God in time and quality? Have we forgotten the call of God? Have we set up online idols or secretly indulge in violence and sexual immorality online? Or perhaps we can use it appropriately, for work and leisure. And more importantly, for the building up of our spiritual maturity. This we can achieve, by filling ourselves constantly with God’s Truth with the help of resources online and being watchmen for one another.

Thank you Lord for grandpa

Dear Lord God,

I thank you for hearing my prayers and for answering them. You grace and mercy was on grandpa and he recovered. Three months ago, he was lying on the hospital bed in the intensive care unit, hands tied to the bed and struggling, but dear Lord God, your eyes were upon him. You healed him, slowly day by day, till the day he was able to be discharged.

I was praying that there would be a messenger of yours who would pray for him, share the Word with him, and dear Lord indeed you sent such a messenger. I thank God for these messengers, faithful loyal servants of yours. May you bless them greatly and repay their love for your children.

By your grace, i pray that i can be such a messenger myself to others in need.

Thank you God, and in Jesus name i pray,

Amen

Sep 14

Very close to Sep 11, is sep 14, exactly one year after the collapse of Lehman Brothers. The US govt back then refused to save the bank with a long traditional, and it thus had to collapse due to its sheer amount of loses caused by the devaluation of its toxic assets (the mortgage backed securities).

After that, a tsunamic of financial institutions collapse followed. The govt stepped it and poured almost a trillion dollars into the financial system in a desperate bid to avoid a financial system meltdown. Yes, a trillion dollars. Probably enough to bring an entire 3rd world country to have skyscrapers in it.

After that, a string of regulatory reforms were enacted, and fast forwarding, it seems that the dust has settled and the financial system is strong again, picking up, traders are back at their game again. The question is, will things turn topsy turvy again? Yes it will.

The root of the problem wasn’t solved. Its not some toxic product, or about whether its capitalism or communism, but the greed of man, the severe greed of man, is ever present. They might not offer mortgage backed securities any more, but the so called ‘financial innovation’ will once again come in the form of disguised ‘vanilla’ products that might seem to offer simple fixed returns, but man’s greed will soon let it loose again, derivatives will start to creep around the corner, and we are in the process of creating another bubble again.

No amount of financial reform will resolve this problem. The bible says that we cannot serve two masters. We cannot serve the Lord at the same time and also serve money. Not that we cannot possess money, its important and a very important tool for expansion of the church, benefitting brethens in need, and a tool for our livelihood.

Its the priority that we rank them. God first? Money first? Which is our Lord? Or is God ever in the picture? The bible has mentioned that blessings come upon the man who meditates upon His Word day and night. Regarding blessings from money? Erm…Or rather, regretful consequences from greed?

The priority is important. With God first, we will consider how we should gain our money. Through proper, moral, God favouring means. And also, the intent, when we earning this money.

God’s abundant grace is ever present, and might possibly be in the form of money, although its just one out of the millions of ways his grace can flow to us. What’s important is that God asks us to seek His kingdom and His righteousness first. In short, its to seek Him first, His ministry, His Word, to Benefit his children first. And after that, if He’s willing, the rest will follow through.

So, countdown to the next financial collapse? Can probably look out for a few signs, some so called ‘super goody’ financial product appears again, might probably be from real estate given the frenzy now in singapore. Look out for speculation on prices for ALMOST EVERYTHING, commodities, wines, art pieces, i dunno…erm…names? Basically speculating on anything.

Till now, the eager bankers would probably not worry about when the next collapse will come…

Sep 11

ohh…Caleb is now at Sembawang. But he is coping well there and mummy and papa still visit him at night, so its ok. We will fetch you back on thurs nite ok? So its not too long that you will be away from us. One week 4 out of 3 nights you are with us =).

Other than that, the sep 11 anniversary just past a few days ago. As we watch new footages of the planes crashing into the towers, renewed memories of those terrifying scenes kept flashing through our minds. In a fallen world, with the depraved minds of man, in the name of false ideological gods, all immorality is put aside. Now which religion would condone such an evil act? The very taking away of numerous lives?

Let us have a sound mind, that we know the truth and goodness of a loving God, whose wrath on sin did not fall on those who have repented and believed in Christ, but on Christ himself, on the cross, and those who have rejected him. With a sound mind, we read, understand the Word of God, the bible, and there is no way you can get a hinge of a meaning that you ought to self-sacrifice and destroy another religion with violence and oppression.

Caleb photos! From my E63 – first time transfer

 

Caleb with Samuel and pr. lingli’s aunt

Pr. LIngli’s aunt close up

 

Oops, he ain’t getting very used to the flash.

    

Caleb with Pr. Lingli who has a big smile

   

Caleb having a weird look with teacher Grace

 

Caleb having a ‘small eyes’ look with teacher Grace

 

Close up with Pr. Lingli’s aunt

  

Oops…intruder alert

Going to Dead Sea Scrolls Exhibition

We will first go to Bank Negara of Indonesia to remit money for the maid, then we will go for lunch at Beppu?? (mummy is hitting me)

And then we will go to the Arts Museum to see the Dead Sea scrolls where the rest of the church members will join us.

Then after that, we will go to Mummy’s friend’s baby who is celebrating his one year old b-day.

Ok, what a boring post this is, well to test Windows Live Writer 2009. Get your free copy now. It comes with many other useful applications like a photo gallery. Well of coz, google still rules.

http://windowslivewriter.spaces.live.com/

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Really really thank God

Really really thank God that grandpa was discharged today and able to go home. May I plead with God that he continues to build up grandpa's faith that he can believe in God more and experience Him more.

It was really a miracle when i think back, when he was struggling to even breathe and his life was in danger, till now at home filled with energy though now his level of antibodies is very low due to his medication for MG, and as a result is very vulnerable to common diseases.

Finding a church for cousin

Hmmm...does anyone know of a good english speaking church which preaches the Word of God truthfully and worships Him in spirit and in truth?
It would be really useful too if the church is located in the east.

Would like to bring my cousin and her brother there as they are having some problems coping with the mandarin language used in my current church.

I really do hope that they have a right relationship with Christ through the use of a language they are comfortable with. May God lead us to finding such a church.

I love Mummy and Caleb! + random thoughts

oh gosh, its been ages since i last posted. Well many things have past and gone, and God's abundant grace and mercy has never failed to be on me. As well as pray for strength on how to be moulded by his trials.

Caleb is 7 months and 5 days old! He can crawl, walk on the walker, reach out his hands to ask to be carried, can eat solids, do ga-gas wa-was, hold his milk bottle to feed himself and of course brings lots of joy to people around him as what his name is intended for.

Thank God for taking care of him, growing stronger day by day.

On a side note, did you guys read the article on the suicide pact by a self made taoist medium who is only 16 yrs old? He made the pact together with 6 other teenagers and 2 really did jumped off a 9th storey floor. Felt really really sad on what had happened.

Apparently, they felt that they had to self sacrifice themselves to save the world. May we always have God's truth in us, given to us by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, having God's Word as a light before us, shining clearly and brightly the path before us, to warn us of temptations, warn us of dangers, to know the truth, and the truth sets us free, free to do God's will. Not the will or deception of the devil, or man's depraved thoughts.

Oh well, off to teach my Global Citizenship class now. Signing off, Jason.

Our Very First Family Portrait!

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Originally uploaded by certainan

The Entertainer!

Caleb with his great grandparents who accompany him in the day and evenings. =) Caleb never fail to amuse them. And of course, it brings about the great story telling/analysis/prediction skills from greatgrandparents too! haha. Jia Le realli added joy to the family. Thank God for children are a gift from God.

Who Loves Caleb? Me! Me! Me!

Sleeping soundly…zzzz….zzzz. Don’t wake him up!

Smiling and chuckling. =D

Just lazing lazily on mummy. Hmmm…seems that hairloss is more obvious.

Papa trying to imitate his sometimes grumpy look.

Windswept photo shot! And he’s wearing mummy’s long awaited bip.

Documentary on Benny Hinn

 

I got the below youtube link to a documentary on Benny HInn. It assesses if his claim to miracle healings are true or not. Thanks to my Stemi Sg facebook friend.

Do add him/her to ur fb, veri uplifting and truth indwelling videos it shares not to mention any services tat are up and coming.

In the video, you will realize how awfully similar the worship services conducted are to some other Mega Charismatic churches in Singapore...

May God Himself guide us into His truth and give us the wisdom to discern, as well as the heart to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth instead of just aiming for a uplift of our individual self.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhvFScYQR_c&feature=related

Blog using Windows Live Writer!!!

Decided to try out live spaces instead of my blogger site where it is a pain to add photos. So far so good, still trying to get used to spaces.
So if things turn out well, expect to see my posts here!

My beloved son! haha. so funny! Love u Caleb!

Pretty Wife and cute son!

Thank God for His grace for blessing me with a wonderful wife and son.

The Rapture

http://www.tangle.com/view_video.php?viewkey=7e18e50b58eb7e0c6ccb&sp=1

First Day of Teaching at TP

IT was my first day of teaching at TP today. A fun day starting with class at 10am, engaging the students with numerous real life examples, giving them homework, later in the lunch time going back home to bring Caleb to see the pd for a slight bout of constipation.

It was real fun teaching the students, their excited faces beaming with curiousity and thirst to know what is upcoming for the semester. And hopefully, I responded with the needed energy to quench their thirst.

But what hit me on my first day was when I was walking towards my lab room, I saw a student in a wheelchair doing his homework with his grandmother standing beside him. Both were there at 9.30 waiting for their lesson which starts at 10am.

It was really a heart warming scene. I couldn't concentrate on my teaching task any longer till I could understand them both more. So after connecting my audio visual aids, I went over to ttalk to them. The grandma was a teochew and she had been bringing her grandson, wheel ridden from young to school since primary three. And yet there she was, day in day out, fetching her grandson to school, sitting with him in classes, with love caring for him.

I introduced myself to the boy, and he was there diligently concentrating on his assignment placed on a tabletop on his wheel chair.
It was then that I really had to thank God for whatever troubles I have cannot be compared to them. And also, the kind of love that this grandma demostrated to her grandson reminded me of my own.

May God help me to keep a lookout for them and get to know them better, helping them in needs and in God's love and truth.

Good Friday - Just Another Holiday?

Dear Wonderful Friends,

In the anticipation of tomorrow's Good Friday public holiday, I hope that we can just spend a little time thinking of the significance of this very important day two thousand years ago when a man, whom no judge could find any wrong-doing by him, yet was sentenced punishingly to death by Crucifixion on a cross.

I hope that before we just ignore this mail and go on about surfing sites/or work, that we will at least sit down to ponder on the actual happenings that have occurred, and if indeed it is not just a fictional recording, what does it mean for me?

Born by a virgin birth, Jesus grew up progressively and reaching the age of thirty travelled around towns and cities of Israel, making disciples, whom have recorded his teachings which have made up the Gospel books today as found in the bible. He gave comfort to the hurt, rest to the weary, healing to the sick, nourishment to the tired, hope for the faint, peace to the worried, joy to those in sorrow. He was sinless, not even a faint drop of wrong-doing was found on him.

Yet the most important thing was not about the impact of his actions but about whom he claim he was. He proclaimed and taught of Himself as the Saviour, the fulfillment of the Messiah as prophesied in the Old Testament completed five hundred years ago. That through him and only through him, we can gain eternal life. And that is not in abstract terms, but eternal life realized in being able to live in God's heavenly Kingdom for eternity.

With jealous, hypocritical, untrusting and murderous hearts, the religious teachers of that time whom are well versed with the prophecies of the Old Testament about the Messiah, plotted to discredit him, shame him, hurt him, kill him. And in doing so unrealizingly that they had actually fulfilled one of the many prophecies that Jesus was to be brought like a silent lamb, to the slaughter.

Betrayed by his disciple for 30 silver coins, whom later admitted that the had spilled the blood of the innocent, he was arrested and was brought before the temple priests, whom couldn't find charges against him. They later referred him to the Roman courts and repeatedly, the judge, Pontius Pilate refusing to condemn him of any charges, an act shared by his wife that "this man is innocent". Finally relenting to the shouts of the people who wanted Jesus crucified, Pilate gave in but not before professing that the blood of this man was not his head and he was found to be innocent.

He was flogged, severely whipped, till his flesh and muscles were left dangling from head to toe, with intestines and bones being exposed. A crown of thorns put onto his head, being mocked, spitted, shamed as the King that he had claimed to be. And the final act of punishment, the crucifying of him on the cross oh which, nails driven through both hands and legs, he finally succumbed to the tortuous treatment and breathed his last.

There was a huge earth quake after that and the curtain temple separating the Holiest of holies from the holy place was split into two. Many who witnessed then wondered, surely he was the son of God!

Before he breathed his last, he uttered two very important phrases. "Father, spare them for they do not know what they are doing." and "It is finished."

What these two phrases mean is that all the suffering and ultimately death brought upon Jesus Christ was actually God's wonderful plan to save man kind. With tremendous pain, Jesus still had mercy on the people whom are killing him, pleading for them before God the Father. And as he breathed his last, "It is finished." Signifying that the price for man's sins for all time has been paid by His death on the cross. That whoever accepts Jesus as dying for him/her, he/she can appear clean of sin before God.

And that is, really, the really Bad Bad Bad Friday which ultimately turned out Good for God's Love for Man that day was shown and accomplished.

So dear friends, I hope that the significance of Good Friday speaks to you today. And it is all summarized in our often over-looked verse which I would add some elaboration,
"For God so loved the world that He sent His only Son, to die for us on the cross on Good Friday, that whoever believes in Him dying for us, will not perish but have eternal life."

And lastly dear friends, it does not end here, but He who died today, will resurrect three days later, disapproving once and for all, any doubts that He was the Messiah, proving once and for all, that He is the Messiah, Saviour of Man kind.

The empty tomb, the mark of my salvation.

God Bless,
Jason

Stupid AXA Agent

quite stupid saturday...when Caleb was born, there was a free 6-mth insurance coverage for him by AXA. So naturally, when the insurance agent called, and mentioned to come on down our home to arrange the docs for us, we agreed. of coz we knew that he wld definitely recommend 'extra' products to us but we were v. strict on only signing the basic essential insurances.

so he came first time down and did the docs for us, and of coz recommended a whole set of additional coverages for our family but it was quite a hefty premium per mth and we realli didn't feel the need for such extravagant coverages. so politely turned down his offer.

now he called us a second time saying to deliver us caleb's completed insurance coverage, so again of coz we are ok with that and also expected him to recommend again to us strongly on more coverages.

and it was as such, giving us caleb's stuff, he proceeded to turn away to recommending a 'family' coverage. As i have an existing coverage frm an army fren of mine whom has given me appropirate coverage, he asked to review tt coverage. Well, wrong choice actually, as once we laid all our existing coverages, it kinda became clear to me which plan was the better one. The existing one i had was much much better then the one he was recommending to me.

What made me realli angry was that he kept insisting that the one he had was much better. I realli politely rejected him a few times as his plans realli needed me to pay premuims well into my old yrs. He had well proclaimed he was looking out for our finances and all tt, but his actions were unfortunately not in tune with his recommendations.

Some of his absurb recommendations include saying of 9% interest rate is easily obtainable because we are monitoring it for u, hence u dun have to worry abt ur withdrawal being non-guaranteed. And he quoted this example believe it or not...imagine..u bought stuff with us in 2003 and in 2007 when it reaches the peak, and sell it, u gain a 30% return! well tt is true and many might be enticed...but wat we want is just a basic coverage and not investments and if realli investments, we wld hld it long term..and tt means holding it beyond 2009 which means a 10% loss instead which he conveniently just blanked out.

I asked him why he ignore the latter part of the years from 08-09 and he said, "because we wld know to sell it 2007!" yea rite...realli can't believe it man.

more stupid stuff to come...

i showed him my existing plan and he calculated the compounded interest rate for it. And unfortunately, he calculated it wrongly and still told me the wrongly calculated result. Becoz of my previous cfa exp, i knew the right of calc but the thing tt angered me was his blatant lying.

And of coz, i was most angered when he kept insisting his plan is better and its better for my family but obviously his first priority is defn to get the deal done.

before that, i actually believed that he as a insurance agent with his professionalism, cared abt his clients more than getting a deal which i feel tt is the true valued thing tt makes ur job worth while and worthly of a call. but he realli changed my mind quickly.

I seldom am pissed off with pple but i realli wanted to highlight such insurance agents to all...there are realli those who care for u and ensure tt u get appropirate coverage but there are those, who quickly turn a blind eye to better coverages from competitors. forunately for my basic finance knowledge, i cld discern it better and in the end, i had to reject all his plans.

And worse, was that he originally suggested upgrade to MySheild paid using cpf, he didn't want to do for us as he doesn't earn any commision frm tt...well fine...dun wanna own him any favours.

well i understand that its his job and the hrs he spent on discussions with us, but its my family's money tt is in concern now and not just a one time payment but almost life time.

oh not to forget, when i kept rejecting his plans, he started to randomly come up with plans from all his AXA arsenal and ust randomly recommend this and that, saving that he wld like to at least have us sign a plan with us.

haiz...realli hate to do this but, he to me, his concern wasn't for us and tt pissed me off. if he calls me again, wil simply just reject reject reject.

tt are gd insurance agents out there,....and there are erm....no comments.. but well through out the whole thing, i was polite to him, offering him drinks, but realli unhappy abt his unthought of reommendations.

but wat struck me was also, paying premiums here and there, i am reminded of Christ' s saving grace for us which is ENTIRELY FREE. Freely given to us. Freely. And as we enter passion week, let us remember Christ dying for us, and we, reminding ourselves to live for Him!

复活了

Psalm 1

1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.

3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.

5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.