(8) Welcome to the Godcast...we've got fun and games... (8)

This entry is intended to serve as a 're-dedication' of this blog to serve God and also a remembrance of the fact that sometimes some anonymity is necessary to protect the security of myself and those I love, after all, no matter what you do, you'll always have enemies, even Jesus had enemies and as much as I try my best to keep at peace with everyone around me, there's always people out there that have something to at the very least 'complain' about me.

So true Master Jedi: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PI2kWTrxVVU

Perfect timing yet again my sovereign Lord, this is perfect reopening post that was sitting as a draft entry on my Blog. But Jesus first Jesus, I open with a passage that probably best works as a commentary for Phillipians 4:13 ->

Isaiah 40Tree of Life Version (TLV)

Comfort, Proclaim Good News

40 “Comfort, comfort My people,”
says your God.
2 Speak kindly to the heart of Jerusalem
and proclaim to her
that her warfare has ended,
that her iniquity has been removed.
For she has received from Adonai’s hand
    double for all her sins.
3 A voice cries out in the wilderness,
“Prepare the way of Adonai,
Make straight in the desert
    a highway for our God.[a]

4 Every valley will be lifted up,
every mountain and hill made low,
the rough ground will be a plain
and the rugged terrain smooth.
5 The glory of Adonai will be revealed,
and all flesh will see it together.”
For the mouth of Adonai has spoken.

6 A voice is saying, “Cry out!”
So I said, “What shall I cry out?”
“All flesh is grass,
and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades.
For the breath of Adonaiblows on it.
Surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades.
But the word of our God stands forever.”[b]

9 Get yourself up on a high mountain,
you who bring good news to Zion!
Lift up your voice with strength,
you who bring good news to Jerusalem!
Lift it up! Do not fear!
Say to the cities of Judah:
    “Behold your God!”

10 Look, Adonai Elohim comes with might,
    with His arm ruling for Him.
Behold, His reward is with Him,
    and His recompense before Him.[c]
11 Like a shepherd, He tends His flock.[d]
He gathers the lambs in His arms
    carries them in his bosom,
    and gently guides nursing ewes.

Who Is Like Him?

12 Who has measured the waters in the palm of His hand,
or measured out heaven with a span,
or calculated the dust of the earth in a measure,
or weighed the mountains in scales,
or the hills in a balance?
13 Who can fathom the Ruach Adonai?
Or instruct Him as His counselor?
14 With whom did He consult,
    and who instructed Him?
Who taught Him in the path of justice
    or taught Him knowledge?
Who informed Him about
    the way of understanding?

15 Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,
    and count as a speck of dust on the scales.
Behold, the islands weigh as fine dust.
16 Lebanon is not enough to burn,
or its animals enough for a burnt offering.
17 All the nations are as nothing before Him.
By Him they are accounted null and void.
18 To whom then will you liken God?
To what likeness will you compare Him?
19 To an idol? A craftsman casts it,
a goldsmith overlays it with gold
and fashions silver chains for it.
20 One too poor for such an offering
chooses wood that will not rot.
He looks for a skilled craftsman
to prepare him an idol that will not totter.

21 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told to you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22 He sits above the circle of the earth—
its inhabitants are like grasshoppers—
He stretches out the skies like a curtain,
spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
23 He reduces princes to nothing.
He makes the judges of the earth a confusion.
24 Scarcely are they planted,
scarcely are they sown,
scarcely their stem takes root in the earth,
when He blows on them and they wither,
and a storm carries them off as stubble.
25 “To whom then will you liken Me?
Or who is My equal?” says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high, and see!
Who created these?
The One who brings out their host by number,
the One who calls them all by name.
Because of His great strength and vast power,
    not one is missing.

27 Why do you say, O Jacob,
and assert, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from Adonai,
and the justice due me escapes
    the notice of my God”?
28 Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
Adonai is the eternal God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not grow tired or weary.
His understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives strength to the weary,
and to one without vigor He adds might.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall,
31 but they who wait for Adonai
    will renew their strength.
They will soar up with wings as eagles.
They will run, and not grow weary.
They will walk, and not be faint.

Footnotes:

1. Isaiah 40:3 cf. Matt. 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4-6; John 1:23.

[Isaiah 40, Tree of Life Translation]

What if K was one of us? Just a stranger among us?

There are some lies my friends have to tell...

Some months ago, my long term spiritual director suggested I look into the phenomenon that sometimes God can 'speak very loudly through our circumstances' and I've been giving this concept some thought and prayer considering that I usually am not unemployed for this long and I have recently been inspired and been praying about applying for work much outside of 'Gotham City', I changed the name of my city to protect the reputation of those who know that Christians sometimes have to live 'in the world' while they are also chosen to be out of it, in essence, it is like we are all sheep in wolves' clothing (I intentionally reversed the order from scripture).  We earn a worldly paycheck that goes to a worldly bank account and we often get around the same way the people around us do, but in reality our bodies are kind of like our 'Avatars' for doing the work of our heavenly Kingdom. 

My decision to one day leave 'Gotham' does not necessary come from what a 'so called-schizophrenic' decision of taking the latest Batman movie too literally, but I realize that some steps, as a close friend of mine put it, at times can be necessary to 'protect the innocent' and at times that includes me as well so a fresh start is something that does seem to be a long time in coming and I wonder sometimes if perhaps the director himself was also a Christian and the one who left the 'COMMENTary' on my own commentary of the second film.....

i-http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0963178/: The International

A lot has been going on with my life lately and I think there's something to be 'absorbed' in what one of my former University fellowship counselors once told me about being unemployed that during those times you have more time to 'learn about yourself'.  Though now, having being also transformed by my experiences with The Meeting House, I also think that we can still 'get over ourselves' [see the series "Get Over Yourself" in the archives] and use the unorganized time slots to reserve more time for God to continue to mold, transform and use us.  Just like a friend I met some months agO put it, God can give us the water in Jeremiah 18, but we still have to make ourselves available and susceptible to being molded by God. 

Because this is meant to serve as a 'surface' blog and I also have other matters to attend to prior to tomorrow, I want to close off by briefly summarizing that I've been having a very interesting and challenging summer and I want to continue to rely on God as I put the gas back on the book writing I am doing in addition to trying to do more reading to possibly return to school again part/full time and I also continue to pray that God will use me and my relationships to transform both myself and others much more into his likeness, because 'in the end...that's all the really matters....'

iNN: The Y!

We rode into town the other day
Just me and my daddy
he said I'd finally reached that age
And I could ride next to him on a horse 







That of course was not quite as wide 

We heard a crowd of people shouting
And so we stopped to find out whY,,,
And there was that man....
That my dad said he loved 

But today there was fear in his eyes (and he turned over to Buddhism...)
So I said "dAddy, why are they screaming?
Why are the faces of some of them beaming?
Why is He dressed in that bright purple robe?
I'll bet that crown hurts Him more than He shows....

dAddy, please can't you do something?
He looks as though he's gonna cry
you said he was stronger than all of those guys
dAddy, please tell me why...

Why does everyone want Him to die?".......


Later that day the sky grew cloudy
And Daddy said I should go inside
Somehow he knew... things would get stormy
Boy was he right....





But I could not keep from wondering...If there was something he had to hide...
..So after he left I had to find out...I was not afraid of getting lost
So I followed the crowds...To a hill where I knew men had been killed...

 And I heard a voice come from the cross
And it said, "Father, why are they screaming?
WhY are the faces of some of them beaming?
WhY are they casting their lots for My robe?
This crown of thorns hurts Me more than it shows
Father, please can't You do something?
I know that You must hear My crY
I thought I could handle the cross of this size
Father, remind Me whY
Why does everyone want Me to die?
When will I understand whY?"

"My precious Son, I hear them screaming
I'm watching the face of the enemIES beaming
But soon I will clothe You in robes of My own
Jesus, this hurts Me much more than You know
But this dark hour I must do nothing
Though I've heard Your unbearable crY
The power in mY blood destroys all of the lies 

Soon You'll see past their unmerciful eYES
Look there below, see the child
Trembling by her father's side
Now I can tell You whY
he is why You must die"

Because I could never maintain my composure during this part JM.....

"Thank you..." :D 


"Why are you so excited about the (Cineplex) being located on Sydney road?" [Mystery Girl]

"OH you have no idea..." [Shakespeare] 

--------------------------

 What's important in all this is that if you keep a holy day, keep it for God's sake; if you eat meat, eat it to the glory of God and thank God for prime rib; if you're a vegetarian, eat vegetables to the glory of God and thank God for broccoli. None of us are permitted to insist on our own way in these matters. It's God we are answerable to—all the way from life to death and everything in between—not each other. That's why Jesus lived and died and then lived again: so that he could be our Master across the entire range of life and death, and free us from the petty tyrannies of each other.
 So where does that leave you when you criticize a brother? And where does that leave you when you condescend to a sister? I'd say it leaves you looking pretty silly—or worse. Eventually, we're all going to end up kneeling side by side in the place of judgment, facing God. Your critical and condescending ways aren't going to improve your position there one bit. Read it for yourself in Scripture:

   "As I live and breathe," God says,
      "every knee will bow before me;
   Every tongue will tell the honest truth
      that I and only I am God."
So tend to your knitting. You've got your hands full just taking care of your own life before God.

[Eugene Peterson]

Revisions???

SOON... The full revelation of just who K is about to happen...

RL, you once told me that to know who's "the one", there has to be "that hidden understanding..."

Anne...Cataway is very 'curious right now...'

iAgape: Taylor Swift...: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vmcz6Y0j1E&feature=related

?

i-Plot Twist

YES...more than you realize....

That's DEEP K [NO]

At some point *HE knew we would be HERE....

"It's crunch time..." [IL]

"Not a pretty sight..." [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0206064/]

IF anything, you at least KNOW why Adam Yan died right, whether it be TRUE/NOT....

SO WHICH PAGES OF YOUR NIV English/Chinese NIV are wet exactly.... Mark 1:18- Mark2:10.... 1 Corinthians 3:4-1Cor4:21....(there's more, but "don't waste PAPER"...)

Ok, so I was once asked, why do I not affliate my name to my blog, more specifically THIS ONE... well because "of what blogs represent" [O].  If you are going to share something with the world, be prepared for the consequences, not that I don't want to assume any responsibility for my actions but if anyone wants to 'kill you' for saying that, just how many do you thinK you want to take on at any given time hmmm?

So... which Chronicles of Narnia character do you most closely associate yourself with?  Well, let me save you some time, I'm a POP... -> Prince of PAIN...

Did I want to draw attention to myself when my RING foot got something I knew would be for a long time comming?  Not really, but it's also because 'of what this injury represents....' [Jesus Christ]

Don't cry my sibling in Christ, don't cry...

That's why I'm writing you this letter [Boyz II Men]

Homosexuality....

AS there is a reason for everything, I want to follow in Bruxy's footsteps and write an exposition on homosexuality, similar in style to his article on divorce....

Similar to when people ask us, why does suffering exist even though we have a God, I will address homosexuality under this microscope with as much sensitivity as possible because while it is true that Homosexuality IS un-biblical, it is not necessary a corollary to conclude that allusive to suffering, that homosexuality is always negative.  In fact some people argue that it is difficult to see God without suffering, perhaps the same can apply to something like Homosexuality as well.  After all, if there were no God, exactly why are we designed and generally attracted to the opposite gender in a sexual way in the first place, why didn't we simply choose what we want to mate with for ourselves, why should gender have even been a consideration 'in the first place'?    

Inferences from this post should not conclude that I support or condone homosexuality either, after reading this article, you will see why I conclude that homosexuality is a by-product of our society, similar to violence and you simply cannot assert the comprehensive responsibility of a course of action to any specific individual. i.e. would you blame Winston Churchill for all the Germany causalities of World War II? 

Sexuality, like many other things in this world have indeed become corrupted. The bible argues or as often interpreted that the entire world has also become corrupted.  It is also a premise of mine that this is a by-product of the anarchy of our creator that often happens in society.  God created the world, but sometimes as humans we often like to think otherwise and our behavior often changes accordingly.  For example, there are people who believe that abortion is acceptable because 'it is my body and I can do what I want with it', a similar argument can be made for binge eating and doing drugs.  I believe that the very same attitude is at the heart of those who choose the option of practicing Homosexuality. 

On the flip side, many of you might ask if whether there is indeed a 'Christian' or 'Biblical' way of practicing homosexuality and it is my personal conclusion that the bible does not make allowance for condoning homosexuality regardless of the new found freedom from the law often referenced in the New Testament.  It is also my opinion that to argue that homosexuality is supported by God is not to different to suggest that adultery is also supported by God.  There has also been an argument made that perhaps homosexuality is also a natural process and sadly due to the amount of damage to our planet, I would not be too surprised if there is some truth behind this argument.  Nevertheless though, we cannot rule out the fact that society probably has some influence on why we have homosexuality in the first place too, as some of you might consider the example about how in the media, a lesbian relationship is seen to be 'sexually appealing' even to the opposite gender.  I would also like to conclude that whether homosexuality is natural or not is essentially not the 'real issue' as it is not my conclusion that God created homosexuality even though God created the world.  Similar to the fact that you too were created, but the decision surrounding your creation was just as much made by your parents as it was made by God and in my eyes, it is the same with homosexuality. 

I realize this entry is getting long and significantly longer than other posts so I will attempt to wrap up with specifying that homosexuality, giving consideration to the fact it may very well indeed be natural, is not evil in of itself, but just like other things in life, technology, medicine, science, etc, what makes something good or bad is 'how we use it'.  So in essence, homosexuals are not created any more 'evil' than the rest of us, but it is simply how they choose to use their bodies that is brought into question...I leave you with this question as well to conclude the post...

The Korax...

Yes, it's another movie review and yes it may contain some 'spoilers', but "Banks says it's cool..." [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116000/] I think you'll read :P It's up to me to actually finish and 'post this one' though as I've noticed how many unfinished entries I have recently and maybe I ought to 'shorten' some of the chapters in my book writing just so I can get some motivation by feeling how many chapters I've actually completed... LOL, afterall, even Rick Warren had a book with well over 30 chapters... I'm sitting at around a total of maybe 14 right now including an appendix I want to start to give non-Christians an overview about what Christianity is all about... Anyhow maybe a short 'commercial break' from 'movie reviews':

It's been a while since I last 'left the car at home' to get out there and watch a movie and I wonder if that makes me enjoy the experience more because maybe, similar to living at home, my car is also an environment that can bring 'baggage' from my past. I admit having recently addressing my issues with baggage, I am 'tempted' to try that exercise with carrying written 'baggage' on large stones which a 'leader' recently told me about.... From what I can remember, it's been well over a year since I've last made a trip like this without my car, well maybe I did once in the fall, but still it HAS been a while.

But ON to the movie review! This movie review can 'go far'... there's a lot of 'good elements' and aside from being entertaining, this movie really brings out a lot and maybe you could say I enjoy it a lot more because I am unemployed and 'on the other side' so to speak, but I don't think this would be the 'first' film to remind us that 'money ISN'T everything...' I think right now I am trying to formulate in my mind how I can review it without giving away the 'major plot twist' but nonetheless, I should 'finish' what I started.

So the main theme in the twist is that we should give more consideration to others in terms of the potential impact of our actions rather than just focus on what is best for us, it is almost like a rewrite of Paul's verse in 1 Corinthians 10:23 (and see also verse 24, refer to the 1984 NIV version), 'Everything (can be) is profitable...but not everything is beneficial...' The movie also did a good job of how we should not put profit above everything else in life and I really pray that people will take the movie's message of how the environment should not always be getting the 'back seat' or least priority to heart.  Recently I've been working hard at doing my part in this to avoid driving whenever possible and utilizing other forms of emission free transportation such as biking and walking even if it is 'not as convenient'.  The other day I saw someone had hooked up or was riding a skateboard run by a motor.  Though it may still run on gasoline, like a motorbike, it may not require as much gas as a car. 

Though it is likely also Dr. Seuss at work and being honest, I like how the movie also put a balance on those at the top producing products that will be used by consumers have just as much responsibility on the environment impact of such decisions as the end consumers.  Take the skateboard I just mentioned previously as an example.  Yes, it may not have a catalytic converter and produce more emissions per liter burned than a car, but on the other hand, sometimes have we forgotten all the energy used and other by-products produced when refining gas in the first place?  So anything that can save less can sometimes also 'do more'.  In a sense, I would also argue that aside from those consumers who purposely ignore maintaining their cars and the addition emissions that sometimes results, emission testing typically does not benefit the environment as some might think.  Heed my point for a bit, those who have not maintained their car, already have 'done their damage' to the environment and what might end up happening is that consumer simply buys another car which in itself takes resources to produce in the first place and then he/she might sell the first car which another consumer picks up and just ends up finding a way to bribe/by-pass their way to a pass situation with emissions anyway.  Though it does serve it's purpose to pressure customers not to neglect their necessary maintenance and impact on the environment, it also takes up a lot of energy and other commitments in the first place; plus it also simply takes more $ out of the consumer's pocket which in turn is less $ he/she has available to spend on repairs. 

A lot can be said about and for this movie, but I figure I should post it 'for now' so at least you can have something to read.  As a side note, I wish Taylor Swift had done more singing in this movie :P

Pay(ing) it Forward...

Again, circumstances of being sick and staying at home instead of participating in other 'Christian' activities have allocated time and opportunity for me to watch this movie...

I initially heard about this movie from a Christian friend, but haven't actually seen it. The theme and meaning behind the title of the movie was that if someone did a good deed for you, you would in turn go and return a good deed to someone else. The idea came from a student and was inspired by a motto his teacher (played by Kevin Spacey) was trying to teach in class, with the intention of trying to inspire his students toward positive global scale change:

"Think of an idea to change the world and put it into ACTION!" [may not be 100% accurate quote, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0223897/]

The quote on the movie cover as can be seen from imdb.com is:

"When someone does you a big favor, don't pay it back...PAY IT FORWARD..."

[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0223897/]

The student's idea was that if each person who received help would in turn help three other people, PAYING IT FORWARD eventually multiply and the entire world will eventually be helped.

Since I was watching this on one of the more conservative channels (CTS), any profanity in the original version of the film was again 'blanked out' which made it difficult to understand the explanation of the idea or theory in the jail scene. Suffice to say, the concept of 'Pay it Forward' was being transmitted 'word of mouth' similar to that of a 'broken telephone' and while the main point is still there, the wording may not have been original.

Although attempting to minimize 'spoilers', I kind of want to point out this movie has a 'sad' ending involving 'human sacrifice' (hehe) which reminds me of some other bible verses, but I am concerned I will completely 'spoil' the movie if I specify which verses, so I guess you're just going to have to watch the movie and find the passages for yourself afterwards. :P I am debating whether to add this next sentence, those of you who don't like 'spoilers' should skip to the next paragraph. Let's just say the ending was very 'Christian'.

Overall, the movie wasn't at all bad, so I think it deserves the 6.9 rating on imdb.com as of the day I checked the ratings. The moral of the movie is making a positive impact in the lives of others should be positive enough to be its own motivator for the individuals helped to in turn help others. Seeing that they made this into a movie, the concept should essentially be out in circulation but I have yet to receive that 'random act of kindness' from a stranger for me to believe that I have experienced 'Pay it Forward' first hand. As the main protaganist says in the movie, "it has to be something big". Not to discount small favors we do for people, but I guess I'll end the review by pointing out that perhaps the reason why the kid mentioned it this way is because 'small things' aren't necessarily 'sacrifices'.

Looks like the world has not ended just yet... :P

'Wippee doo....' so far we've been through over '40 days' of 2012 and we are still here. That being said, guess what guys (for those who are still reading this, I'm sorry if I've lost some of you readers because of lack of updates or perhaps through some of the other entries which were more jumbled bits and pieces that weren't something you could understand or relate to...) I'm also another year older...

So for those of you who recall what I said in a previous Birthday entry, it's still true because my # hasn't changed and I'm still with Telus, that if you wish to call me to wish me a happy birthday it is still free all day. In light of the fact that I am late in posting this entry and the fact I may need to make a few phone calls later anyhow, I am going to take advantage of Telus' 'pay-per-day unlimited early evenings and weekend calling' and likely will still have unlimited calling from around 3PM today to 3PM tomorrow/Sunday.

Since I haven't done one for a while, as a warm-up for my other writing projects, I have decided to write yet another one of my 'Christian-friendly' [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYRZgOhYNAY] movie commentaries. Again, I warn you as I did in my other commentaries, there are going to be some spoilers, but as few as possible.

Overall, I was not impressed much with the movie itself. It seem quite low-budget and the storyline lacked enough complexity and originality. In following the tradition/pattern of my other movie commentaries, I will now switch to discussing the Christian values of this movie. The movie centres around 3 highschoolers who inherit a mysterious power from an unknown source that allows them to be telekinetic which in turn leads them to be able to do many things that other humans cannot do, such as resist weapons fire, fly, etc... The only thing I can think of in the Christian context that sort of compares to this is when the Apostles received the power of the holy spirit at Pentacost:

1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[a] as the Spirit enabled them. [Acts 2:1-5, NIV 1984]

Granted, we need to keep in mind the empowering at Pentecost mentioned in Acts may not be exactly the same as what happens in the Chronicle movie. I think the primary difference here is that in Chronicle, they had control over their power while in the case of the Apostles, even though they still had their free will, I am not sure that the Apostles could invoke the power of the spirit on cue whenever they wanted for whatever they wanted; my theory is that God only granted them power when God wanted to work through them and only to do what God wanted to be done.

Similarly, something like this also kind of happened in the movie, because one of the guys decided to institute rules intended for governing the use of their power(s) when one of the other guys almost accidentally killed someone who was annoying them. Ok, here comes the biggest spoiler of my review, apparently these rules didn't work out so well and the main plot twist in the movie is that one of the three highschoolers endowed with this power decides to use it selfishly and recklessly.

Due to all the violence that followed, in a way, you could say that if the rogue teen was able to continue his rampage and continued to get more powerful, it would probably lead to the end of the world. Considering the the book of Revelation in the bible was written to a first century audience, recently there has since been a lot more discussion as well as movies on the end of the world since then.

I now propose that the moral of this movie is that their power was a 'gift' and shouldn't be abused for our own selfish gain. In a sense, as Christians, we also need to value everything that God has given us [James 1:16-18], our time, our lives, the people around us. We too need to 'do the right thing' and perhaps some of you who've seen the movie may argue that like the empowered teens, we as Christian too follow a set of 'rules'. However, I want to remind you now that our Christian lives isn't simply 'following the rules', not that Jesus himself does not teach us to follow the rules [Matthew 5, 6], but it is also about following in the footsteps and lifestyle of Jesus [1 Peter 2:20-21]. When we reflect upon this a bit and the records of all the miracles Jesus and the Apostles performed, we realized that Jesus had 'all the power in the world' [Matthew 28:18], yet he "did not come to be served, but to serve" [Matthew 20:28, 10:45]. Jesus did 'good' with his life and we ought to follow in his example, even if we don't all have the same amount of supernatural power as the empowered teens in this movie or the early Apostles...

On the 8th year, i-pray: God please save our world....

The video I linked to my blog title is from 2007, so I figure I'll review my 2007 before telling new readers about my blog. When I was reading over my blog for the reason AJo one mentioned, that it helps you remember what God has done in your life, I noticed I haven't posted anything for 2012 yet and it would also be this blog's 8th Anniversary.

In this blog, you'll find a number of my (interesting way of doing) movie reviews as well as some accounts of past events in my life. The ladder part of my blog however, is more like the genre of a Christian newsletter as it becomes somewhat topical rather than personal.

I started blogging myself back in 2004 when I started reading a few interesting blogs back then, but when you think about it, a blog potentially can be so much more. For example, someone who is unable to go to church in a strict 'Muslim Country' could be encouraged by privately reading my entities. So, with that in mind, a lot of my posted/'public' entries since making that realization are written with that mindset.

I'll use my famous paraphrased quote again:

"The world is not as it should be, it's harsh, it's cruel... that's why there's us, Christians, to live in the world as it ought to be, to show it what it CAN be..."

As the end of another popular quote goes:

"...to one person you can be the world."

We too can be someone's 'Angel' [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0162065/] and give others the impression that we are 'heaven-sent'. Not to downplay what we 'do' (our actions) but recently I've been reminded of the importance of what we 'say' as well, because we need to guard our tongues [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James%203&version=NIV] as what we say can be prophetic [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians%2014&version=NIV]. The funny thing about 'prophecy' is that it potentially does have meaning for the future in addition to the meaning in the context of when it was spoken/written so often when I try to discern God's will, I will take what people have said in the past in account as well.

Since it is a popular topic, especially online, I guess I should say a little about 'the world will end in 2012' theory. From what I've heard, a number of theologians have predicted the world will end by or before 2028 and given the state of natural disasters over the past century, I wouldn't be surprised if we have destroyed the world ourselves by that date given the damage we've done to the environment. As for the theory/possibility that we might be destroyed by nuclear holocaust, like in the Terminator series [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088247/]; that's certainly possible as well. Now do I think the world will end in 2012, personally no, because in my walk with God, He's simply never brought it up :P. Though, if it helps reinforce in our heads the idea that we should live today as if it might be our last (on earth), that might not be such a bad thing. It could encourage us to make the best use of our time and for me, this afternoon, it is being spent updating this blog.

My prayer isn't just for God to save/preserve the physical existence of our world, but it also encompassing the spiritual motivation behind it, but basically I have the same heart (desire) as Peter when he wrote:

2 Peter 3:9
9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Peter+3:9&version=NIV]

I can tell you from personal experience, that life with Christ is not only 'better', as life still will have it's 'ups and down' but much more fulfilling. You might have been told that believing in Jesus is the only way you can get to heaven, which is true (with the exception you can also make it into heaven if you've never sinned against God), but I'm here to tell you that it makes life much more significant, if you're still not convinced, well maybe you will be when you read the rest of this blog... ;)