A further dramatic example comes from what Jesus told someone who had invited him to a meal: "When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your wealthy neighbours,......Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind". - Luke 14:12-13 -

Such practice obviously goes beyond the call of duty and what can seem plausible to any ordinary "good" person. Yet there are millions of Catholics and other Christians who neither pick and choose nor place limits on what they are willing to hear from Jesus. They put into practice even his hard sayings, because they give him their total allegiance. He is the truth, the total truth by which they want to live.

Jesus built on the Jewish moral tradition by upholding the Ten Commandments - Mark 10:19 - and following the prophets in stigmatizing social injustice, especially the failure to act justly and lovingly toward those like Lazarus who suffer and are in terrible distress. - Luke 16:19-31 - But then Jesus went to claim something no prophet ever did. He identified himself with the sick, the hungry, prisoners and all others in great need.

That is why Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Dorothy Day and millions of other believers have opened their arms to the destitute, cared for those who are physically disabled and spent their lives serving the less fortunate.

Jesus challenges his followers to do just that. In accepting this challenge, they experience a special joy and happiness because they find Jesus himself in all those who desperately cry out for their help. They come to experience the ultimate truth about the human race: The face of every man and every woman is the face of Christ himself.

Believing that God faithfully led and taught his people in view of the coming Messiah, and seeing in the life of Jesus and in his words how we ourselves are to live, some will wholeheartedly embrace all that the Bible offers, the hard challenges included. To do anything less is to invite nagging doubt, and that in itself can become a kind of self-appointed hell.

BY REV. FR. GERALD O' COLLINS  S.J.

-     WELCOME TO SACRED SCRIPTURE / WORD OF GOD / HOLY BIBLE READER'S COMMUNITY     - 

Wishing you, 'Happy Reading', and may God, the Father, the Son of the living God, Jesus Christ, fills your heart, mind, thoughts, and grants you: The Holy Spirit, that is, Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding, Counsel, Piety, Fortitude, Fear of the Lord, and also His fruits of the Holy Spirit, that is, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Trustfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. Amen! God blessing be upon you!

Why do you call Me, "Lord, Lord" and not do what I say?' "Everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words and acts on them - I will show you what he/she is like. He/She is like a man/woman who when he/she built his/her house dug, deep, and laid the foundations on rock; when the river was in flood it bore down on that house but could not shake it, it was so well built. But the one who listens and does nothing is like the man/woman who built his/her house on soil, with no foundations: as soon as the river bore down on it, it collapsed; and what a ruin that house became!" - Luke 6:46-49 - 

If we live by the truth and in love, we shall grow in all ways into Christ Jesus, who is the head by whom the whole body is fitted and joined together, every joint adding its own strength, for each separate part to work according to it function. So the body grows until it has built itself up, in love." - Ephesians 4:15-16 - 

I still have many things to say to you but they would be too much for you now. But when the spirit of truth comes, he will lead you to the complete truth, since he will not be speaking as from himself, but will say only what he has learnt; and he will tell you of the things to come. He/She will glorify me, since all he/she tells you will be taken from what is mine. Everything the Father has is mine; that is why I said: all he/she tells you will be taken from what is mine." - John 16:12-15 - 

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

Image of God is the characteristic of man with which God endowed him at creation, distinguishing him from the rest of God's creatures.

One understanding of the image of God in man is that it refers to qualities or attributes present in the person. Thus, the image of God is identified as human reason, will, or personality. Others believe the image is something present when the person is in a relationship to God, and in fact, is that relationship. The image is present like a reflection in a mirror, rather than like a photo - a permanent image printed on paper. Still others, believe the image is something which a person does. Immediately after God made man His image, He gave man dominion or authority over the whole earth. - Gen. 1:26-28 -

According to this view, this active tending and caring for God's creation constitutes the image of God in man.

The Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible does not indicate exactly what the image of God in man is. It may involve all these ideas .Man alone has personal, conscious fellowship with God. - Gen. 1:29-30; 2:15-16; 3:8 -

Man is to take God's place in ruling over and developing the creation. Yet, these are possible only because of certain qualities of personality which man alone has. - Ps. 139:14 -

To be created in the image of God means that we humans have the ability and the privilege of knowing , serving and loving God, and that we are most fully human when fulfilling our spiritual potential. Every human life is precious to God and this is exactly how we should treat the people with whom we share the world.

The expression, "image of God", appears in Gen.1:26-28; 9:6; 1Cor. 11:7; Rom. 8:29; 2Cor. 3:18; and allusions to it in Ps. 8:5; 1Cor. 15:49; Col. 3:10 -

Jesus is referred to as being "the image of the invisible God" - Col. 1:15 - and "the express image of His [God's] person". - Heb. 1:3 -

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Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Emmanuel / Immanuel - God-is-with-us or (God with us) or (with us is God) is a symbolic name from the prophecy of Isaiah applied in the later years to Jesus the Messiah.

In the Old Testament and in the time of prophet Isaiah, Syria and Israel were attacking Judah in an attempt to force king Ahaz of Judah to join a coalition against Assyria. Isaiah called on Ahaz to put his trust in the word of the Lord so that the threat of Syria and Israel would come to nothing. The first warning to Ahaz. - Isaiah 7:1-9 - 

The second warning to Ahaz. The sign of Immanuel / Emmanuel. Then the prophet announced God's intention to give Ahaz a sign that His word was true. Syria and Israel would lose their capacity to be a threat to Judah. But before this peace and prosperity becomes a reality, Isaiah announced there would be a drastic purging judgment at the hands of the king of Assyria. Only a remnant would experience the good future which God had intended for his people. - Isaiah 7:10-25 - 

The sign that God promised to provide to Ahaz was the birth of a child within whose childhood years these events of promise and judgment would take place. The child would be given the name Immanuel, meaning "God-is-with-us", "God with us", as a symbol of Judah's hope in the midst of adversity. God would be with His people. This remarkable prophecy achieved its full meaning with the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

It will inundate Judah, flow over, pour over, flooding it up to the neck, and its wings will be spread over the whole breadth of your country, O Immanuel. Know this, peoples, you will be crushed; listen, far-off nations, arm yourselves, yet you will be crushed. Devise a plan, it is thwarted; put forward an argument, there is no substance in it, for God is with us. - Isaiah 8:8-10 -

"In the New Testament, Saint Matthew, Saint Mark, Saint Luke, rightly recognized that hope for restoration through the house of David reached its ultimate fulfillment only with Jesus."

This is how Jesus Christ came to be born. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph; but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a man of honour and wanting to spare her publicity, decided to divorce her informally. He had made up his mind to do this when the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, 'Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit.

She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins'. And in Jesus - God is with us always, even to the end of the age. Now all this took place to fulfill the words spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

This is how Jesus Christ came to be born........ The virgin will conceived and give birth to a son and they will call him Immanuel, a name which means 'God-is-with-us'. - Matthew 1:18-25 -

'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, make disciples of all the nations; baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you. And know that I am with you always; yes to the end of time'. - Matthew 28:18-20 -   

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Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

The Messiah, God's Anointed One. In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, however, Jesus never directly referred to Himself as the Messiah except privately to His disciples, until the crucifixion.

And the high priest said to him, 'I put to you on oath by the living God to tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God'. The words are your own answered Jesus. Moreover, I tell you that from this time onward you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven. - Matt. 26:62-64; Mark 14:61-62; Luke 22:67-70 -

He did accept the title and function of messiahship privately.

'But you,' he said 'who do you say I am?' Then Simon Peter spoke up, 'You are the Christ,' he said 'the Son of the living God'. Jesus replied, Simon son of Jonah, you are a happy man! Because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. - Matt. 16:16-17 -

Yet, Jesus constantly avoided being called "Messiah" in public. This is known as Jesus ' "messianic secret" He was the Messiah, but he did not want it known publicly.The reason for this is that Jesus' kingdom was not political but spiritual. If Jesus had used the title "Messiah," people would have thought he was a political king.

Jesus replied, 'Mine is not a kingdom of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, my men would have fought to prevent my being surrendered to the Jews. But my kingdom is not of this kind.' - John 18:36 -

But Jesus understood that the Messiah, God's Anointed One, was to be the Suffering Servant. - Is. 53:12 - The fact that Jesus was a suffering Messiah - a crucified deliverer - was a "stumbling block" to many of the Jews. They saw the cross as a sign of Jesus' weakness, powerlessness and failure. They rejected the concept of a crucified Messiah.

And so, while the Jews demand miracles and the Greeks look for wisdom, here are we preaching a crucified Christ; to the Jews an obstacle that they cannot get over, to the pagans madness, but to those who have been called , whether they are Jews or Greeks, a Christ who is the Power and the wisdom of God. For God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom and God's weakness is stronger than human strength. - 1Cor. 1:23-25 -

But the early Christians centered around the fact that the crucified and risen Jesus is the Christ. - Acts 5:42, 17:3, 18:5 -

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By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
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Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

The word Messiah comes from a Hebrew term that means "anointed one". its Greek counterpart is "Christos" from which the word Christ comes. Messiah is the one anointed by God and empowered by God's spirit to deliver His people and establish His kingdom.

In Jewish thought, the Messiah would be the king of the Jews, a political leader who would defeat their enemies and bring in a golden era of peace and prosperity.

In Old Testament times, part of the ritual of commissioning a person for a special task was to anoint him with oil. The phrase anointed one was applied to a person in such cases. In the Old Testament, Messiah is used more than 30 times to describe kings, - 2Sam.1:14-16 - priests, - Lev. 4:3, 5-16 - the patriarchs - Ps. 105:15 - and even the Persian king Cyrus. - Is. 45:1 -

The word is also used in connection with king David, who became the model of the messianic king who would come at the end of the age. - 2Sam. 22:51; Ps. 2:2 - But it was not until the time of Daniel that Messiah was used as an actual title of a king who would come in the future. - Dan. 9:25-26 - Still later, as the Jewish people struggled against their political enemies, the Messiah came to be thought of as a political and military ruler.

In Christian thought, the term Messiah refers to Jesus' role as a spiritual deliverer, setting His people free from sin and death.

From the New Testament we learn more about the people's expectations. They thought the Messiah would come soon to perform signs - John 7:31 - and to deliver His people, after which He would live and rule forever. - John 12:34 - Some even thought that John the Baptist was the Messiah. - John 1:20 - Others said that the Messiah was to come from Bethlehem.

Does not scripture say that the Christ must be descended from David and come from the town of Bethlehem? - John 7:42 -

Most expected the Messiah to be a political leader, a king who would defeat the Romans and provide for the physical needs of the Israelites.

According to the Gospel of John 4:25-26 - The woman said to him, 'I know that Messiah - that is, Christ - is coming, and when he comes he will tell us everything.' 'I who am speaking to you', said Jesus 'I am he.'

In the Gospels of.......

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Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

The story of creation and the fall in Genesis was seen as common and uncommon in the story of the incarnation, with Mary held a role in the new creation analogous to that of Eve in the old creation: the one being a narrative of sin and fallen, the other being a narrative of grace and redemption. With Mary as the New Eve and Christ as the New Adam or the Second Adam. Mary as the New Eve:

Mary set out at that time and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country of Judah. She went into Zechariah's house and greeted Elizabeth. Now as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord? For the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.

And Mary said:
'My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord
and my spirit exults in God my saviour;
because he has looked upon his lowly handmaid.
Yes, from this day forward all generations will call me blessed,
for the Almighty has done great things for me.


Holy is his name,
and his mercy reaches from age to age for those who fear him.
He has shown the power of his arm,
he has routed the proud of heart.
He has pulled down princes from their thrones and exalted the lowly.
The hungry he has filled with good things, the rich sent empty away.
He has come to the help of Israel his servant, mindful of his mercy
- according to the promise he made to our ancestors -
of his mercy to Abraham and to his descendants for ever. - Luke 1:39-55 -

Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. Seeing his mother and the disciple he loved standing near her, Jesus said to his mother, 'Woman this is your son'. Then to the disciple he said, 'This is your mother'. And from that moment the disciple made a place for her in his home. - John 19:25-27 -

Christ as the New Adam or the Second Adam:

For if the dead are not raised, Christ has not been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, you are still in your sins. And what is more serious, all who have died in Christ have perished. If our hope in Christ has been for this life only, we are the most unfortunate of all people.

But Christ has in fact been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of all who have fallen asleep. Death came through one man and in the same way the resurrection of the dead has come through one man. Just as all men die in Adam, so all men will be brought to life in Christ; but all of them in their proper order; Christ as the first-fruits and then, after the coming of Christ, those who belong to him. - 1Cor. 15:17-23 -

Well then, sin entered the world through one man, and through sin death, and thus death has spread through the whole human race because everyone has sinned. Sin existed in the world long before........................
Adam prefigured the One to come, but the gift itself considerably outweighed the fall. If it is certain that through one man's fall so many died, it is even more certain that divine grace, coming through the one man, Jesus Christ, came to so many as an abundant free gift......................................................, so grace will reign to bring eternal thanks to the righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ our Lord. - Romans 5:12-21 -

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Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

Man and woman as created was intended to work. One of his and her primary tasks in the Garden of Eden was to "till [work] the soil" - Gen. 2:5 -

Although work was ordained by God as a blessing, it became a curse as a result of the FALL.

To the man he said, 'Because you listened to the voice of your wife and ate from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat,
'Accursed be the soil because of you.
With suffering shall you get your food from it
everyday of your life.
It shall yield you brambles and thistles,
and you shall eat wild plants.

With sweat on your brow
shall you eat your bread,
until you return to the soil,
as you were taken from it.
For dust you are
and to dust you shall return. - Gen. 3:17-19 -

Nevertheless, through redemption, work finds meaning. God ordained that six days be spent on work with one day of rest. - Exodus 20:9 -

The people of God in the Old Testament are frequently encountered performing works in service to God, for instance, in the building of the tabernacle in the wilderness - Ex. 26 - and the Temple - 1Chr. 28:10 -

Much of the Wisdom Literature of the Old Testament praises hard work, while it condemns and ridicules laziness. - Prov. 14:23; 31:27; 6:6-11; 21:25 -

The same attitude is found in the New Testament, Saint Paul and his associates worked and they expected other believers to work and earn their own support. - 1Cor. 4:12; 9:6; 2Thess. 3:10 -

In the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible God's mighty acts are called works. Creation, redemptive acts in history like the Exodus and even wrath are referred to as God's work. God's works are praised often in the Book of Psalms.

Christ's works are thoroughly discussed in the Gospel of John.

Jesus replied:
'I have told you, but you do not believe.
The works I do in my Father's name are my witness;
but you do not believe,
because you are no sheep of mine.
The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice;
I know them and they follow me.
I give them eternal life;
they will never be lost
and no one will ever steal them from me.
The Father who gave them to me is greater than anyone.
and no one can steal them from the Father,
The Father and I are one'.

The Jews fetched stones to stone him, so Jesus said to them, I have done many good works for you to see, works from my Father; for which of these are you stoning me? The Jews answered him, 'We are not stoning you for doing a good work but for blasphemy: you are a man and you claim to be God'.

Jesus answered:
Is it not written in your Law:
I said, you are gods?'
So the Law uses the word gods
of those to whom the word of God was addressed,
and scripture cannot be rejected.
Yet you say to someone the Father has consecrated and sent into the world.

"You are blaspheming",
because he says, "I am the Son of God".
If I am not doing my Father's work,
there is no need to believe me;
but if I am doing it,
then even if you refuse to believe in me,
at least believe in the work I do;
then you will know for sure
that the Father is in me and I am in the Father'. - John 10:25-38 -

Jesus Christ's work was given to Him by His Father. His task was to accomplish redemption for man on the Cross. Christians are taught to display good works.

In the same way your light must shine in the sight of men, so that, seeing your good works, they may give the praise to your Father in heaven. - Matt.5:16 -

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By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
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Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
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Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

Two distinct Greek words for love appear in the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible. The word phileo means "to have ardent affection and feeling" -- a type of impulsive love. The other word agape means "to have esteem" or "high regard".

The warm word agape is the characteristic term of Christianity. This word for love is used several different ways in the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible. In the memorable conversation between the Lord Jesus and Saint Peter, there is a play upon these two words.

After the meal Jesus said to Simon Peter, 'Simon son of John, do you love me more than these others do?' He answered, 'Yes Lord, you know I love you', Jesus said to him, 'Feed my lambs'. A second time he said to him, 'Simon son of John, do you love me?' He replied, 'Yes, Lord, you know I love you'. Jesus said to him, 'Look after my sheep'. Then he said to him a third time, 'Simon son of John, do you love me?' Peter was upset that he asked him the third time, 'Do you love me?' and said, 'Lord, you know everything; you know I love you'. Jesus said to him, 'Feed my sheep'. - John 21:15-17 -

Agape love indicates the nature of the love of God toward His beloved Son.

I have made your name known to them
and will continue to make it known,
so that the love with which you loved me may be in them,
and so that I may be in them. - John 17:26 -

Agape love toward human race generally

Yes, God loved the world so much
that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost
but may have eternal life. - John 3:16 -

but what proves that God loves us is that Christ died for us while we were still sinners. - Rom. 5:8 -

Agape love toward those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ

Anybody who receives my commandments and keeps them
will be one who loves me;
and anybody who loves me will be loved by my Father,
and I shall love him and show myself to him. - John 14:21 -

Agape love conveys God's will to His children about their attitude toward one another. Love for one another was a proof to the world of true discipleship.

I give you a new commandment:
love one another;
just as I have loved you,
you also must love one another.
By this love you have for one another,
everyone will know that you are my disciples. - John 13:34-35 -

Agape love also expresses the essential nature of God.

Anyone who fails to love can never have known God,
because God is love. - 1John 4:8 -

Agape love can be known only from the actions it prompts, as seen in God's love in the gift of His Son.

God's love for us was revealed
when God sent into the world his only Son
so that we could have life through him;
this is the love I mean:
not our love for God,
but God's love for us when he sent his Son
to be the sacrifice that takes our sins away. - 1John 4:9-10 -

Agape love found its perfection, expression in the Lord Jesus, Christians love is the fruit of the Spirit of Jesus in the believer.

What the Spirit brings is very different: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control. - Gal. 5:22 -

Since the Spirit is our life, let us be directed by the Spirit. We must stop being conceited, provocative and envious. - Gal. 5:25-26 -

Without such love, we are as nothing. Such Spirit-inspired love never fails but always flourishes.

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If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

The final judgment has been anticipated throughout history in a series of judgments brought by God upon the wicked and will be comprehensive in scope; it will include all people and nations from the beginning of the world to the end of history as well as fallen angels.

When angels sinned, God did not spare them: he sent them down to the underworld and consigned them to the dark underground caves to be held there till the day of Judgment. Nor did he spare the world in ancient times; .......These are all examples of how the Lord can rescue the good from the ordeal, and hold the wicked for their punishment until the day of Judgment, especially those who are governed by their corrupt bodily desires and have no respect for authority. - 2Peter 2:4-10 -

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, escorted by all the angels, then he will take his seat on his throne of glory. All the nations will be assembled before him and he will separate men one from another as the shepherd separates sheep from goats.................. Next he will say to those on the left hand, "Go away from me, with your curse upon you, to the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.................................And they will go away to eternal punishment, and the virtuos to eternal life. - Matt. 25:31-46 -

We shall all have to stand before the judgment seat of God; as scripture says: By my life - it is the Lord who speaks - every knee shall bend before me, and every tongue shall praise God. It is to God, therefore, that each of us must give an account of himself. - Rom. 14:11-12; 2Thess. 1:3-10 -

The death of Jesus Christ is unique among these judgments of history. Through His death God paid the judgment price demanded by mankind's sin. The death and resurrection of Jesus are the foundations on which sinners are saved through their trust in Him as the Lord and Saviour. - Is. 53:5 -

God's role as judge is reflected in the leadership functions of political officials, who uphold order in society and execute judgment on evildoers. - Rom. 13:1-7 - The rulers of Israel bore special responsibility in this respect, - Duet. 16:18-19 - as do the leaders of the Church today. - Matt. 18:15-18 -

Believers also have a responsibility to judge matters of wrongdoing among themselves, but this should always be done fairly and with compassion. Believers are never to take over the task of judgment that belongs to God alone.

We are all aware who it was that said: Vengeance is mine; I will repay. And again: The Lord will judge his people. It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. - Hebrews 10:30-31 -

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If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

Judgment is a discernment or separation between good and evil. God judges among people and their actions according to the standards of His LAW. Judgment can refer either to this process of discernment or to the punishment meted out to those who fall under His wrath and condemnation.

In the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible the most important judgment is the final judgment, the ultimate separation of good and evil at the end of history. The return of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth, the resurrection of the dead and the final judgment, together with the end of the world - all these may be thought of as belonging to a single complex of events at the end of time.

From earliest times it has been recognized that God himself is the Judge of mankind - Gen. 18:25 - and that He has the power and wisdom to judge with righteousness, truth,and justice. - Ps. 96:13, 98:9 -

The final judgment is a task given specifically to God's Son to conclude His work as mediator, deliver His people from sin and destroy all God's enemies. The precise time of this judgment is appointed by God, but it remains unknown to man.

I tell you most solemnly,
the Son can do nothing by himself;
he can do only what he sees the Father doing:
and whatever the Father does the Son does too.
For the Father loves the Son
and shown him everything he does himself,
and he will show him even greater things than these,
works that will astonish you,

Thus, as the Father raises the dead and gives them life,
so the Son gives life to anyone he chooses;
for the Father judges no one;
he has entrusted all judgment to the Son,
so that all may honour the Son
as they honour the Father,
Whoever refuses honour to the Son
refuses honour to the Father who sent him.

I tell you most solemnly,
whoever listens to my words,
and believes in the one who sent me,
has eternal life;
without being brought to judgment
he has passed from death to life. - John 5:19-24 -

'God overlooked that sort of thing when men were ignorant, but he is telling everyone everywhere that they must repent, because he has fixed a day when the whole world will be judged, and judged in righteousness and he has appointed a man to be the judge. And God has publicly proved this by raising this man from the dead'. - Acts 17:30-31 -

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. But as for that day and hour, nobody knows it, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, no one but the Father only. - Matt. 24:36 -

God's people are associated with the Lord Jesus Christ in the exercise of this judgment.

As you know, it is the saints who are to judge the world and if the world is to be judged by you, how can you be unfit to judge trifling cases? Since we are also to judge angels, it follows that we can judge matters of everyday life, but when you have had cases of that kind, the people you appointed to try them were not even respected in the Church. - 1Cor. 6:2-3 -

Then I saw some thrones, and I saw those who are given the power to be judges take the seats on them. I saw the souls of all who had been beheaded for having witnessed for Jesus and for having preached God's word, and those who refused to worship the beast or his statue and would not have the brand-mark on their foreheads or hands; they came to life, and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. - Rev. 20:4 -

The final judgment..................

                                                                   Page 1
If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

Thus I come back to my starting point: The quest for God is essentially the search for the full account and meaning of life. And life has a meaning because the essence of God is Love.

God is not a Being who does not know how to love; not one of those tepid hearts that have no flames, and whose tiny sparks have not the power of enkindling others, but fly back only upon themselves; not a powerless God who knows how to love but cannot realize His dreams; not a God who burns with love but has only cold words to say. God's love is not like a stream which runs deep and mighty as long as it is held within narrow banks, but like the great Feast at which five thousand sat and all did have their full.

If we would know what God is, then we need only look into our own hearts. Something Godlike is mirrored there - for whatever is best in the treasured lives of heroic men and the serene unwritten lives of innocent women; whatever is best in the loyalty to human hearts and the unweary sweetness of a mother's love; whatever is noble in the sacrificing care of a father and the devotion of an unselfish friends, is but the dim reflection, the far-off echo, the faint shadow of that which in God is perfect. We are but enjoying a two billionth part of the light and heat which streams from the sun, and it may equally be that we are receiving even a smaller fraction of the Love and Life and Truth which is in God.

Do not think that any heart can speak with such a rapturous language but that there is a deeper heart, a greater love, and a nobler affection. If your own mother seems to you to be the incarnation of all that is loving in life, do you think the God who made mothers can be any less loving? If your own father seems to you to be the realization of all that kindness in life can mean , do you think the God who made fathers is any less kind?

If your own heart and mind revel in the size of the planets and the nature of the spheres, do you not think it should thrill at the knowledge of Him before whom all the nations of the earth are poised as the grains in the balance? If there are times when the joy of living almost transports us into other realms; if there are times when the discovery of a human truth lifts us into heights of ecstatic repose; if there are times when the human heart in its noblest reaches and purest affections has the power to cast us into an ecstasy, to thrill and exalt us, then what must be the great Heart of hearts! If a human heart can increase the joy of living, then what be the great Heart of God! If the Spark is so bright, oh, what must be the Flame!

BY  ARCHBISHOP  FULTON  J.  SHEEN  (1895 - 1979)

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If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

God is that Life which has throbbed throughout the agelessness of eternity, wherein each moment is eternity and eternity is as a moment; that Life whence has come all existing things from the stars, the "glimmering tapers lit about the day's dead sanctity," on even to the smiling face of a babe in a crib.

God is that Truth in Whom darkness and ignorance can find no place, before Whom all is spread out in its widest extent and smallest detail; that Truth the Greek academicians sought as they walked the streets of Athens, the Truth the scientist seeks as he uncovers fossils in the strata of the earth, the Truth the saint seeks as he leaves the lights and glamours of the world for the shades and shadows of the cross where saints are made.

God is that Love Who ever wills and loves the Good because it is His nature, that Love whence has come the love of spouse for spouse, and that yet stranger love of Stephen who loved and prayed for those who stoned him in hate; and the pure love of "passionless passion and mild tranquillities" wherein the heart confides in God alone.

If, then, God is the source of the Life, the Truth, and the Love in the universe, and if the very existence of these things depends more upon Him than the evening rays upon the setting sun, do we not owe Him something in return? If there are gifts, shall there not be gratitude for gifts? If a man invents a machine, does not the government give him the patent rights entitling him to returns on his invention? If an author writes a book, is he not entitled to royalties on his writings, simply because they are the creation of his mind?

Now, we are God's invention, or better still, God's creation. Is not God, therefore, entitled to a return on His creation? Is He not entitled to royalties on His works? And since He has given us three great gifts which contain all other gifts, should He not be entitled to triple returns on those gifts? Since He gave us Truth, are we not in duty bound to know Him? Since He gave us Love, should we not love in return? Since He gave us Life, should we not serve Him? If we admit that triple bond, then we admit religion, or commerce between God and man, and such is the first lesson of the penny catechism: "Why did God make us?" "God made us to know Him, to love Him, to serve Him in this world and to be happy with Him forever in heaven."

                                                                     Page 3
If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

But where find the source of these three realities? Where find the author of existence and truth and love that vibrates through all creation? Shall we say that they have no source? But, if they have no source, how can they be, and how can they affect our lives at this moment? They are things that are reasonable and therefore, must have been intelligently produced. They cannot come from the dismal slime of primeval jungles, for then the mind would be confronted with the absurdity that the nobler comes from the less noble. Where, then, find the source?

Suppose I am in search of the source of the light which is in this room. Where shall I find it? The source of the light is not to be found under that distant chair, for there light is mingled with shadow. The source of the light is not to be found under the table, for there too light is mingled with darkness. Where find the source of light? I must go out to something which is nothing but pure light, namely, the sun.

So, too, if I am to find the source of the life and the truth and the love that is in this world. I must go out to a Life that is not mingled with the shadow, death; I must go out to a Truth which is not mingled with the shadow, error; and I must go out to a Love which is not mingled with the shadow, hate. I must go out beyond "the margent of this world", out past the "golden gateways of the stars", out past the clotted clay of all humanity, out even to the "hid battlements of eternity", out to Some One who is Pure Life, Pure Truth, and Pure Love.

"There is a quest that calls me
In the nights when I am alone,
The need to ride where the ways divide
The Known from the Unknown.

"I mount what thought is near me
And soon I reach the place,
The tenous rim where the Seen grows dim,
And the sightless hides its face.

"I have ridden the wind,
I have ridden the sea,
I have ridden the moon and stars,
I have set my feet in the stirrup seat
Of a comet coursing Mars.

"And everywhere
Thro' the earth and air
My thought speeds, lighting-shod,
It comes to a place where checking pace
It cries 'Beyond lies God".

Oh, would that I had the speech of angel tongues or the language which Adam spoke in Eden, or a tongue like Isaiah which had been touched with a coal from the very altar of God -- then, perhaps, I could make you understand what God is. But our untempered speech which descend "grimy and rough-cast from Babel's bricklayers", strong it is to damn, strong it is to speak of cheek and lip and bosom; for these things it moves with light ease in the speech of the working day.

But to speak of God: it moves with the clumsiness of the hieroglyphs. Poor as it is, language may tell its story that God is not some dim far-off abstraction, not some "spatiotemporal configuration"; not "an epochal occasion"; not an energy, but the fullness of Life and Truth and Love.

                                                                       Page 2
If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -