and i love you so!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
a moment's silence...
...to remember my uncle Richard..who passed away just yesterday after a courageous fight with cancer. he is now resting peacefully with God, free from all the pain and suffering of this world.
God, watch over my aunt and my two cousins, who have just lost a husband and a father. may You comfort them the way only You can. keep uncle Richard in their hearts even as they go through this time of mourning. help them be brave and give them strength, knowing that uncle Richard is far better place now. God, comfort also the families and friends who had the fortune to know uncle Richard when he was alive. may all who knew him remember his laughter, niceness and his courage even in his final days.
Amen.
Amen.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
enlightenment
"do to others what you would have them do to you"
- Matthew 7:12
"if someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also
- Matthew 5:38-42
i am sure lots of christians have heard the above two bible sayings before..and like me have wondered what on earth is going on. i mean, the first teaches you that if someone does bad to you, give it back to that person and the second tells you to be gracious and just take it! well, i have been thinking about sunday's sermon quite a bit and the answer suddenly hit me...
while they may seem to contradict each other, what i see is that in fact, the two sayings complement one another. cannot see how it is possible? well, sunday's sermon addressed the issue of sin, repentance and consequence and it is from understanding this that i found the answer...
essentially, Christ's teaching is all about the second saying..which is graciousness. so how does the first one come into the picture then? when you look at it straight on, it seems to mean that after someone strikes you on the right and left cheek, you should just give it back to him/her on both cheeks!
now apply the logic of sin, repentance and consequence and it makes perfect sense. the saying takes reference from "you" and not "others"..meaning it is not the same as "do to others what others do to you" (which takes reference from "others"). note also that it says "what you would have them ("others") do to you" and not God or Jesus do to you. what this says is you can be bad to "others", you repent and God will forgive you..but you still have to be prepared to face consequences from "others" (the people you offended). now when you tie this in with the "turn the other cheek" theory, both teachings encourages graciousness..but should we choose not to be so (be it in anger, jealousy or vengence etc.), then even if God forgives, we will still have to face judgement from Man for our ungraciousness...
enlightenment! :)
addicted to a new scent.. "jana", simply oo-some!
- Matthew 7:12
"if someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also
- Matthew 5:38-42
i am sure lots of christians have heard the above two bible sayings before..and like me have wondered what on earth is going on. i mean, the first teaches you that if someone does bad to you, give it back to that person and the second tells you to be gracious and just take it! well, i have been thinking about sunday's sermon quite a bit and the answer suddenly hit me...
while they may seem to contradict each other, what i see is that in fact, the two sayings complement one another. cannot see how it is possible? well, sunday's sermon addressed the issue of sin, repentance and consequence and it is from understanding this that i found the answer...
essentially, Christ's teaching is all about the second saying..which is graciousness. so how does the first one come into the picture then? when you look at it straight on, it seems to mean that after someone strikes you on the right and left cheek, you should just give it back to him/her on both cheeks!
now apply the logic of sin, repentance and consequence and it makes perfect sense. the saying takes reference from "you" and not "others"..meaning it is not the same as "do to others what others do to you" (which takes reference from "others"). note also that it says "what you would have them ("others") do to you" and not God or Jesus do to you. what this says is you can be bad to "others", you repent and God will forgive you..but you still have to be prepared to face consequences from "others" (the people you offended). now when you tie this in with the "turn the other cheek" theory, both teachings encourages graciousness..but should we choose not to be so (be it in anger, jealousy or vengence etc.), then even if God forgives, we will still have to face judgement from Man for our ungraciousness...
enlightenment! :)
addicted to a new scent.. "jana", simply oo-some!
Saturday, July 12, 2008
not so beautiful afterall
this excerpt was taken from a lecture jarvis cocker gave on the art of lyrics..it's really quite funny and very "oh-my-god!-now-why-didn't-i-realise-that-before!"...
Consider James Blunt. I know that attacking him may seem like shooting fish in a barrel, but I'm going to do it anyway. Let's look at the lyrics for 'You're Beautiful'.
"My life is brilliant."
Hmmm. It doesn't really get off to the best start does it? Anyway, let's carry on...
"My love is pure. I saw an angel. Of that I'm sure
She smiled at me on the subway. She was with another man
But I won't lose no sleep on that, cause I've got a plan"
Okay, that sounds pretty interesting. It makes you wonder what the plan is and how he's going to get the woman. So you naturally want to keep listening...
"You're beautiful. You're beautiful. You're beautiful, it's true
I saw you face in a crowded place, and I don't know what to do, cause I'll never be with you"
Oh? But he just told us he had a plan - now he's telling us he'll never see her again.
"Yeah, she caught my eye, as we walked on by. She could see from my face that I was flying high
And I don't think that I'll see her again, but we shared a moment that will last till the end"
Okay, there's still no sign of the plan. I'm starting to worry about all this...
"You're beautiful. You're beautiful. You're beautiful, it's true
I saw you face in a crowded place, and I don't know what to do, cause I'll never be with you"
A bit of repetition there. And he's leaving it a bit late to tell us about his plan...
"You're beautiful. You're beautiful. You're beautiful, it's true.
There must be an angel with a smile on her face when she thought up that I should be with you
But it's time to face the truth, I will never be with you"
Can you believe it? There was no plan. It was a LIE!
so whether we were singing along to the song or being irritated to death by it, did anyone realise the flaw in the lyrics? well, i didn't..and i thought it was quite ingenious..jarvis, that is!
Consider James Blunt. I know that attacking him may seem like shooting fish in a barrel, but I'm going to do it anyway. Let's look at the lyrics for 'You're Beautiful'.
Hmmm. It doesn't really get off to the best start does it? Anyway, let's carry on...
She smiled at me on the subway. She was with another man
But I won't lose no sleep on that, cause I've got a plan"
Okay, that sounds pretty interesting. It makes you wonder what the plan is and how he's going to get the woman. So you naturally want to keep listening...
I saw you face in a crowded place, and I don't know what to do, cause I'll never be with you"
Oh? But he just told us he had a plan - now he's telling us he'll never see her again.
And I don't think that I'll see her again, but we shared a moment that will last till the end"
Okay, there's still no sign of the plan. I'm starting to worry about all this...
I saw you face in a crowded place, and I don't know what to do, cause I'll never be with you"
A bit of repetition there. And he's leaving it a bit late to tell us about his plan...
There must be an angel with a smile on her face when she thought up that I should be with you
But it's time to face the truth, I will never be with you"
Can you believe it? There was no plan. It was a LIE!
- for full article, please visit acrylic afternoons
so whether we were singing along to the song or being irritated to death by it, did anyone realise the flaw in the lyrics? well, i didn't..and i thought it was quite ingenious..jarvis, that is!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
pru-duh-ent
SINGAPORE : Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam has warned that Singapore could face another round of inflation if companies increase wages to help workers cope with the higher cost of living today...
...Mr Tharman said such short—term measures are not prudent. - CNA
funny how this did not apply when they increased our ministers' pay ar? now get high pay already, can tell people that "such short-term measures are not prudent" leh!
then can government also "shun bian" stop the increment in erp charges, the rising prices of petrol and food since you know, "such short-term measures are (apparently also) not (very) prudent"?
duh!
...Mr Tharman said such short—term measures are not prudent. - CNA
funny how this did not apply when they increased our ministers' pay ar? now get high pay already, can tell people that "such short-term measures are not prudent" leh!
then can government also "shun bian" stop the increment in erp charges, the rising prices of petrol and food since you know, "such short-term measures are (apparently also) not (very) prudent"?
duh!
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