the P.Pole v.2.1

I once read a book by Charles Swindoll (really, that’s his name) called “Hope Again” and it was about finding/renewing/refreshing one’s hope in God’s promises, most chiefly those directly involving our salvation in person and works of Jesus. I remember very clearly that that book had played quite an important role in the shaping of what I currently know as my faith in Christ.

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea,
A great High Priest whose name is Love,
Who ever lives and pleads for me.

My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart.
I know that while in heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end to all my sin.

Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free,
For God, the Just, is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.

Behold Him there, the risen Lamb,
My perfect, spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I AM,
The King of glory and of grace.

One with Himself, I cannot die,
My soul is purchased by His blood.
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ, my Savior and my God!
- Sonicflood, Before the Throne of God Above

This morning, at Sunday service, those words (bolded and most of the unbolded) really stuck out to me. It’s not the first time I’ve seen, heard, or sang those words (I don’t normally sing anyway) but for some reason they stopped me and caught me between breaths, in a manner of speaking. Mighty powerful, the Spirit can be.

Today was good. I don’t exactly think any one message came across too clearly with Matt Gunn’s message “Faces of Hope” but hoping in God through the worst circumstances is sort of the gist of what the passage (with Pastor Matt’s helpful insights and explanations) is about, to the best of my understanding. It was Bible-y analysis (anal-lysis) that was good and learning for me.

Even the weather, rainy and altogether crummy while heading in towards church and suddenly sunny and clear after service, was fallacy pathetic enough for me to throw up my hands in defeat. Quite clearly, G-d (is that more reverent or just silly?) is at work here and was getting some very deep stuff across to me. There will be slow digestion and unpacking of what happened today, but it was something very important and something very necessary. And I thank the Lord and Church Jaffray for the day.

And if you see me losing ground,
Don’t be afraid to lie.
I know the pain inside my heart
Can’t break the fear inside of yours.
And if you see me losing faith
In what it means to die,
Don’t let me leave before I know
What lies behind the stained glass doors.

Save sorrow for the souls in doubt.
Bleed every care out.

Will you carry me down the aisle that final day?
With your tears of gold and shaking from the weight?
When you lower me down beneath that sky of grey,
Let the rain fall down and wash away your pain.

For every word we never spoke,
We have a tear to cry.
For every silence like a wall
Between a better you and I.
So if you see me losing sight
Of all the death in life,
You’ll find the peace in every time
I failed to see the death in mine.

Let all the fear inside you drown.
Tear out the blade and lay it down.
Save sorrow for the souls in doubt.
Bleed every care out.

Oh, the blood is rushing out…
Oh, I’m better off without…
Oh, the walls are closing in…
Oh, sing for me again.

Rain down, oh rain down, no care for the flood.

Will you carry me down the aisle that final day?
With your tears of gold and shaking from the weight?
When you lower me down beneath that sky of grey,
Let the rain fall down and wash away your pain.
- Demon Hunter, Carry Me Down

7 dissatisfiers according to Herzberg’s “Two Factor Theory of Motivation”:

• Company Policy and Administration
  This would entail rules, regulations, and their (sometimes) arbitrary enforcement.
• Quality of Supervision
  How good, qualified, trained, knowledgeable, constructive, helpful, and/or competent are the managers and supervisors?
• Interpersonal Relationships
  Dealings with other people either horizontally or vertically in the grand scheme of things.
• Salary
  Not that hard to understand: What do you get for what you put in?
• Working Conditions
  Safety, comfort, cleanliness, etc…
• Status
  Within the group, does your existence make a noticeable difference?
• Security
  Sureness of future situations, circumstances, conditions, etc…

› Continue reading

I enjoy my Math classes. I know, this is probably tantamount to a coming out of sorts, but about my feelings towards the Humble Art of Numbers (as opposed to any romantic feelings towards other members of the same gender).

› Continue reading

I dreamed I was missing; you were so scared.
But no one would listen, ’cause no one else cared.
After my dreaming, I woke with this fear.
What am I leaving when I’m done here?

So if you’re asking me,
I want you to know…

When my time comes, forget the wrong that I’ve done.
Help me leave behind some reasons to be missed.
Don’t resent me, and when you’re feeling empty,
Keep me in your memory.

Leave out all the rest.

Don’t be afraid, I’ve taken my beating.
I’ve shared what I made.
I’m strong on the surface, not all the way through.
I’ve never been perfect, but neither have you.

Forgetting all the hurt inside
You’ve learned to hide so well.
Pretending someone else can come
And save me from myself.
I can’t be who you are.
- Linkin Park, Leave Out All the Rest

Lots of people (myself included) do not fully understand or grasp the Trinity of God. The Triune (that is, three + union, I believe) nature of God says that although there is one God, there are three distinct persons of God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) that coexist all at the same time (as opposed to being various modes/forms) and are all equally and wholly God. If your head’s not spinning even just a little right now, go back and reread.

Anyway, I thought of the following illustration (involving some basic Chemistry knowledge) to try to understand it better myself as well as maybe explain it to others in a way that might be helpful. Here goes:

We all know that we need water to live. Water is a more or less staple ingredient necessary for life. It allows for important cell processes such as hydrolysis and photosynthesis, as well as regulating the cell’s internal conditions in terms of temperature so that enzymes can have optimum functioning conditions. Pretty much every living thing needs water in some form to live.

Water also happens to be the only substance (as far as I know, anyway) that can simultaneously exist in all three states of matter at the same moment and in the same environment. At zero degrees Celsius, water exists as a solid (for example, ice in a cup), a liquid (water in the cup), and a gas (water vapour in the surrounding air). And yet, the three iterations of the delicious substance are just as much hydrogen-oxygen-hydrogen as the next. Thus, three different “phases” (solid, liquid, gaseous) coexisting simultaneously but one single “what”: dihydrogen oxide.

Does that help or does the Chemistry make it worse?

After finishing a quaint little bowl of noodles downstairs at Fairwood (a fast food restaurant here in HK), I whipped out my copy of “A World of Difference” and began reading again (I had put it aside for quite awhile, started and finished “Dethroning Jesus” before this). Here’s a direct quote from a side box on page 111, headed “Does It Make Sense to Believe the Bible Is a Revelation from God?”:

Historic Christianity considers the Bible to be the propositional Word of God. The following list offers six reasons why it is intellectually credible to believe the Bible is God’s actual revelation to man.

1. Unlike most other religious books, the Bible is uniquely connected to history. Therefore, many of its central claims are open to historical investigation (verification/falsification).
2. To some degree, a number of the scriptural accounts (though certainly not all) have been corroborated or supported by extrabiblical historical sources and archaeological evidence.
3. The bibliographic evidence (manuscript abundance, authenticity, and integrity) on the part of the Bible far surpasses all other ancient literary works, secular and religious.
4. Though written in antiquity, the Bible presents a cosmology (a singular beginning to all matter, energy, time, and space) that matches well with the prevailing views of modern science.
5. The Bible appeals to the fulfillment of prophecy and to miracles to substantiate its claims. Both areas can be evaluated in terms of their historical accuracy and explanatory power and scope.
6. The Bible presents a realistic view of human beings (their nature, predicament, and resolution) and offers a world-and-life view that is rational, viable, and existentially fulfilling for humanity.

Surely and obviously, this list is nothing close to 100% absolute proof that the Bible is the Word of God, as it claims itself to be–all it does help us and our discussion along by putting ideas in the realm of probability. The above reasons and reasoning for the Bible’s authenticity as being what it says it is can never consequentially result in guaranteed acceptance of the Bible as truth (i.e. there’s going to be some, if not many people who will still think it’s all a hoax or some sort of conspiracy even in light of sound reasoning). It can, however, suggest with a very high degree of probability that the Bible is more likely as credible and reliable as it claims to be. Reasoning and rationalization cannot create faith in something, but it can substantiate and supplement faith in something.

Hopefully, some nay-sayers to the Bible’s truthiness (to borrow from Colbert’s vocabulary) based on intellectual reasons will have been softened by this excerpt. Alternatively, perhaps this quote has provided good material and stimulus for consideration for already-believers of the Bible who needed some additional support for their God-given faith.