I know there is no happiness for man except in pleasure and enjoyment while he lives. And when man eats and drinks and finds happiness in his work, this is a gift from God. - Eccl. 3:12-13 -

God is the giver of every good and perfect gift including eternal life, salvation, the grace, the necessities of life, the Holy Spirit, spiritual gifts or spiritual abilities and above all His indescribable gift, His Son, Jesus Christ. All gifts come from God and it is free. The Christians gifts to God should not be bribes to obtain His favour but grateful responses to what he had done in our lives. We are to give, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Give, and there will be gifts for you: a full measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap; because the amount you measure out is the amount you will be given back. - Luke 6:38 -

Do not forget: thin sowing means thin reaping; the more you sow, the more you reap. Each one should give what he has decided in his own mind, not grudgingly or because he is made to, for God loves a cheerful giver. - 2Cor. 9:6-7 -

The purpose of a gift may be to honour - 2Sam. 8:2 - or to simply bestow favour and help - Esth. 9:22 - or to celebrate - Rev. 11:10 - The variety and the unity of gifts bestowed by the Holy Spirit upon Christians, are for the purpose of building up the Church.

There is a variety of gifts but always the same Spirit; there are all sorts of service to be done but always to the same Lord; working in all sorts of different ways in different people, it is the same God who is working in all of them. The particular way in which the Spirit is given to each person is for a good purpose. One may have the gift of preaching with wisdom given him by the Spirit; another may have the gift of preaching instruction given him by the same Spirit; and another the gift of faith given by the same Spirit; another again the gift of healing through this one Spirit; one, the power of miracle; another, prophecy; another recognising spirits; another the gift of tongues and another the ability to interpret them. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit who distributes different gifts to different people just as he chooses. - 1Cor. 12:4-11 -

Each of us, however, has been given his own share of grace, given as Christ allotted it. It was said that he would: When he ascended to the height, he captured prisoners, he gave gifts to men. And to some, his gift was that they should be apostles; to some, prophets; to some, evangelists; to some, pastors and teachers; so that the saints together make a unity in the work of service, building up the body of Christ. - Eph. 4:7-8, 11-12 -

In light of the grace I have received I want to urge each one among you not to exaggerate his real importance. Each of you must judge himself soberly by the standard of the faith God has given him. - Rom. 12:3 -

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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 -

In the New Testament, imputation refers to charging or reckoning something to a person's account. A good example, occurs in - Philemon 18 - where Saint Paul says that any wrong or debt caused by the runaway slave, Onesimus, should be 'put on my account' or 'let me pay for it'. There are three distinct theological truths in the Sacred Scripture/ Holy Bible are directly related to the concept on imputation:

(1) - Romans 5:12-19 - declares that God imputes the guilt of Adam's sin to all other members of the human race: 'By one man's disobedience many were made sinners'. ' Through one's man's offense "judgement" came to all men, resulting in condemnation'. 'By the one man's offense death reigned through the one'. This concept is also called "original sin" is touch on as well as in 1Corinthians 15:20-24 - But Christ has in fact 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. After that will come the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, having done away with every sovereignty, authority and power.

(2) - In addition to guilt imputed from Adam's sin, each individual is also charged with guilt for his personal sin. The Lord Jesus Christ whose supernatural conception and birth freed Him from guilt from Adam's sin and who committed no personal sin, had no sin counted against Him. But when He died as our substitute, God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us so that He bore our sins in His own body on the cross. - 1Peter 2:24 -

In other words, God in Christ was reconciling the world to himself, not holding men faults against them and he has entrusted to us the news that they are reconciled. So we are ambassadors for Christ; it is as though God were appealing through us and the appeal that we make in Christ's name is: be reconciled. For our sake God made the sinless one into sin, so that in him we might become the goodness of God. - 2Cor. 19-21 -

This is made explicit in the Book of Isaiah where the prophet says of the Lord Jesus. We had all gone astray like sheep, each taking his own way and Yahweh burdened him with the sins of all of us . - Is. 53:6 -

(3) - "The blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness" is the theme of the fourth chapter of Romans, also 1Cor. 1:30; 2Cor. 5:21; Phil. 3:9 - Jesus became the Holy and Just One through His perfect obedience to God's Law. These qualities are imputed in turn to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead. Because of this the believer will appear before God "faultless". We can stand in God's presence because Jesus has imputed His righteousness and holiness to us through His sacrificial death on the Cross.

Scripture however does not refer only to him but to us as well when it says that his faith was thus 'considered'; our faith too will be considered if we believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. Jesus who was put to death for our sins and raised to life to justify us. - Rom. 4:23-25 -

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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 -

Abstinence refers to the voluntary, self-imposed and deliberate denial of certain pleasures, such as, food, drink, sex. A total abstinence involving an absolute renunciation of a forbidden thing and a temporary abstinence as, for example, the mutual consent of husband and wife to give up sexual relations for a time, in order to give themselves 'to fasting and prayer'.

The Israelites were commanded to abstain from eating flesh that contained blood. - Gen. 9:4 - They were a total abstinence from eating certain animals, birds, all living creatures that move in water and every creature that crawls on the ground. - Lev. 11:1-47 -

The apostle Paul taught that Christian lives by the laws of love and freedom and that he and she should voluntarily abstain from clean food that offered or sacrificed to idols, lest it cause a weaker brother or sister in Christ to stumble.

If a person faith is not strong enough, welcome him all the same without starting an argument. People range from those who believe they may eat any sort of meat to those whose faith is so weak they dare not eat anything except vegetables. Meat-eaters must not despise the scrupulous. On the other hand, the scrupulous must not condemn those who feel free to eat anything they choose since God has welcomed them. It is not for you to condemned someone else's servant: whether he stands or falls it is his own master's business; he will stand, you may be sure because the Lord has power to make him stand. If one man keeps certain days as holier than others and another considers all days to be equally holy, each must be left free to hold his own opinion. The one who observes special days does so in honour of the Lord. The one who eats meat also does so that too in honour of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God: but then the man who abstains does that too in honour of the Lord and so he also gives God thanks.

The life and death of each of us, has its influence on others; if we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord, so that alive or dead we belong to the Lord. This explains why Christ both died and came to life, it was so that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. This is also why you should never pass judgement on a brother or treat him with contempt, as some of you have done. We shall all have to stand before the judgement 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, therefore, that each of us must give an account of himself.

Far from passing judgement on each other, therefore, you should make up your mind never to be the cause of your brother tripping or failing. Now I am perfectly well aware, of course, and I speak for the Lord Jesus, that no food is unclean in itself; however, if someone thinks that a particular food is unclean, then it is unclean for him. And indeed, if your attitude to food is upsetting your brother, then you are hardly being guided by charity. You are certainly not free to eat what you like if that means the downfall of someone for whom Christ died.

In short, you must not compromise your privilege because the kingdom of God does not mean eating or drinking this or that, it means righteousness and peace and joy brought by the Holy Spirit. If you serve Christ in this way you will please God and be respected by men. So let us adopt any custom that leads to peace and our mutual improvement; do not wreck God work over a question of food. Of course all food is clean but it becomes evil if by eating it you make somebody else fall away. In such cases the best course is to abstain from meat and wine and anything else that would make your brother trip or fall or weaken in anyway.

Hold on to your own belief, as between yourself and God - and consider the man fortunate who can make his decision without going against his conscience. But anybody who eats in a state of doubt is condemned because he is not in good faith; and every act done in bad faith is a sin. - Rom. 14:1-23 -

Now about food sacrificed to idols. 'We all have knowledge'; yes, that is so, but knowledge gives self-importance - it is love that makes the building grow. A man may imagine he understands something but still not understand anything in the way that he ought to. But any man who loves God is known by him. Well the, about eating food sacrificed to idols: we know that idols do not really exist in the world and that there is no god but the One. And even if there were things called gods, either in the sky or on earth - where there certainly seem to be 'gods' and 'lords' in plenty - still for us there is one God, the Father, from whom all things come and for whom we exist; and there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things come and through whom we exist.

Some people, however, do not have this knowledge. There are some who have been so long used to idols that they eat this food as though it really had been sacrificed to the idol and their conscience, being weak, is defiled by it. Food, of course, cannot bring us in touch with God: we lose nothing if we refuse to eat, we gain nothing if we eat. Only be careful that you do not make use of this freedom in a way that proves a pitfall for the weak. Suppose someone sees you, a man who understands, eating in some temple of an idol; his own conscience, even if it is weak, may encourage him to eat food which has been offered to idols. In this way your knowledge could become the ruin of someone weak, of a brother for whom Christ died. By sinning in this way against your brothers and injuring their weak consciences, it would be Christ against whom you sinned. That is why, since food can be the occasion of my brother's downfall, I shall never eat meat again in case I am the cause of a brother's downfall. - 1Cor. 8:1-13 -

Apostle Paul also exhorted the believers to 'abstain from sexual immorality' and they were to 'abstain from every form of evil' too. The Christian is called to live a life of unselfish and sacrificial love. Abstinence should always seek to glorify God and to build up fellow believers.

What God wants is for you all to be holy. He wants you to keep away from fornication and each one of you to know how to use the body that belongs to him in a way that is holy and honourable, not giving way to selfish lust like the pagans who do not know God. - 1Thess. 4:3-5 -

Never try to suppress the Spirit or treat the gift of prophesy with contempt; think before you do anything - hold on to what is good and avoid every form of evil. - 1Thess. 5:19-22 -

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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 -

Many in heaven once were alcoholics, adulterers, thieves, racketeers but there is no one in heaven who did not become humble.

But the mere mention of humility conjures up, in many minds, the idea that humility means allowing other people to walk all over you or a self-abasement or that it turns one into that perfect example of mock humility - Uriah Heep. Because the poet Keats understood it as such, he said: "I hate humility".

Humility is not self-contempt but the truth about ourselves coupled with a reverence for others; it is self-surrender to the highest goal. A man who is six feet four is not humble when he says: "Oh, no, really I am only four feet four" - because that is not the truth; neither is an opera singer humble when she says: "Oh, I really am nothing in the singing profession; neither is a beautiful person humble when she says: "I am really ugly". Such protestations against the truth are marks of pride rather than of humility. Humility in such cases consists in the acknowledgment of the truth that we have received the gifts for which we are praised: "What have you that you did not receive and why do you glory, as if you had not received?" The humble person is embarrassed with praise because he knows that his voice, his talents or his power come to him from God. In his heart of hearts, he passes the thanks on to God when the lips of men exalt him. He takes praise as a window receives light, never to possess it and hoard it unto himself but to pass it through with thanksgiving to God who so endowed him.

All good things that men possess are in constant peril of running into exaggeration, once it is forgotten that they are gifts. A man on the strong side may become self-willed and push his weight around; one who has intellectual power may look down on the ignorant, forgetful that they have moral gifts which far surpass his mental powers; the self-reliant may become corrupted into self-conceit; and those who have self-confidence may be so sure of themselves as to fall into the pit because of a refusal to listen to the counsel of others. Those who can watch often despise those who cannot watch and who sleep; the strong may try to force the weak to walk at their pace and become angry with them because they cannot. Life has to be toned down with that moral quality which recognizes that wealth, health, wisdom and above all, faith and love are gifts of God which grow and intensify with a spirit of thanksgiving.

We strive for what is best but "the best gifts of life are free" or bestowed. Spring is a gift; music is a gift; a rose is a gift; air is a gift; grass is a gift; the silver stream, the blazing horizon, the purple of the dawn are all gifts. As the poet Lowell put it in "The Vision of Sir Launfal":

At the devil's booth all things are sold
Each ounce of dross costs its ounce of gold;
For a cap and bells our lives we pay,
Bubbles we buy with a whole soul's tasking:
This heaven alone that is given away,
This only God may be had for the asking;
No price is set on the lavish summer:
June may be had by the poorest corner.

Love itself is a gift; forced love is rape; forced patriotism is tyranny. What is true of the love of man and woman is true of the love of God; it is free on His side and first; it is free on our side and a response. "If any man hear My voice and open the door to Me, I will come in and sup with him and he with Me".

Because we are the recipients of gifts, the humble man is reverent and thankful to God. Daniel Webster was once asked what the greatest thought was that ever entered his mind; his answer was: "Personal accountability to God for His gifts" President Garfield, in a similar vein, once said: "It is above all things necessary that in every action I should have a good opinion of James Garfield, for to eat and drink and sleep and wake up with one you despise - though that one be yourself - is an intolerable thought, and what must it be as a life experience?

"THE PROUD MAN COUNTS HIS NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS - THE HUMBLE MAN HIS BLESSINGS!"

BY ARCHBISHOP FULTON J. SHEEN ( 1895 to 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 -

Woman or a female adult. However, the word woman is sometimes used in the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible to refer to a weak and helpless. - Isaiah 3:12, 19:16 -

In order to understand the Old Testament view of woman, one must turn to Book of Genesis. When God created mankind, He created both "male and female". Both were created in God's image and both were given the responsibility of exercising authority over God's creation. The man was created before the woman because the man needed companionship and a helper, God caused the man to sleep. From him He created a woman, 'a helper comparable to him' - Yahweh God said, 'It is not good that the man should be alone. I will make him a helpmate'... And while he slept, he took one of his ribs and enclosed it in flesh. Yahweh God built the rib he had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man. The man exclaimed:

'This at last is bone from my bones,
and flesh from my flesh!
This is to be called woman,
for this was taken from man.'
This is why a man leaves his father and mother and joins himself to his wife and become one body. - Gen. 2:18-24 -

Man is incomplete without woman. Because she is called a 'helper' does not imply that she is inferior to man. The same Hebrew word translated as helper is used of God in His relationship to Israel. - Ps. 33:20, 70:5 -

The culture that developed around the Israelites in ancient times did not always have this perspective of woman. Certain Old Testament passages tend to reflect an attitude that woman was little more than a thing and that a woman should be entirely subordinate to man. This tendency became pronounced before the coming of Christ.

In the New Testament, Jesus lived and taught the way of love. He allowed women to accompany Him and His disciples on their journeys. - Luke 8:1-3 - He talked with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's Well and led her to a conversion of heart experience. - John 4 - Jesus did not think it strange that Mary sat at His feet, assuming the role of a disciple; in fact, He suggested to Martha that she should do likewise. Although the Jews segregated the women in both Temple and synagogue, the early Church did not separate the congregation by sex.

In the course of their journey he came to a village and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. She had a sister called Mary who sat down at the Lord's feet and listened to him speaking. Now Martha who was distracted with all the serving said, 'Lord, do you not care that my sister is leaving me to do the serving all by myself? Please tell her to help me'. But the Lord answered: 'Martha, Martha,' he said 'you worry and fret about so many things and yet few are needed, indeed only one. It is Mary who has chosen the better part; it is not to be taken from her.' - Luke 10:28-42 -

You have done well in remembering me so constantly and in maintaining the traditions just as I passed them to you. However I want you to understand is that Christ is the head of every man, man is the head of woman and God is the head of Christ....... However, though woman cannot do without man neither can man do without woman, in the Lord; woman may come from man but man is born of woman - both come from God... To anyone who might to argue; it is not the custom with us, nor in the churches of God. - 1Cor. 11:2-16 -

The apostle wrote, 'There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ. - Gal. 3:27-29 - Within the writings of Saint Paul, however, other statements restrict women from participating in Church leadership as freely as men. - 1Cor. 14:34-35; 1Tim. 2:11-12 -

How does one reconcile these two seemingly opposing views? In Galatians apostle Paul was stating a general principle that men and women were equal, just as the slave is equal to his master in the sight of God. However, Paul did not require or teach that the slaveholder had to release his slaves. In the same manner, Paul requested the women to be submissive to their husbands - to preserve order within the Church and to be witness to unbelievers.

Some of the finest leaders in Israel were women, in spite of the fact that the culture was male-dominated. Military victories were sometimes won because of the courage of one woman. - Judg. 4-5, 9:54; Esth. 4:16 - On top of that, God revealed His Word through Prophetesses. - Judg. 4:4; Luke 2:36; Acts 21:9 - God also used Priscilla and her husband Aquila to explain 'the way of God more accurately' to Apollos, the preacher. - Acts 18:26 - Sarah, Rahab the harlot and many more.

It was equally by faith that Sarah, in spite of being past the age, was made able to conceive because she believed that he who had made the promise would be faithful to it. - Heb. 11:11 -

It was by faith that Rahab the prostitute welcomed the spies and so was not killed with the unbelievers. - Heb. 11:31 -

                                                                     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 -

Society can live only by standards of right and wrong. But these standards can be lost. In earlier days, peoples knew why anything was right or wrong; they could give reasons to deter members of society from acting in a certain way. But, curiously enough, our age has forgotten the reasons. Right and wrong are largely matters of "feeling" and even when something is said to be "wrong in itself" such as murder, abortion, divorce, few seem to be able to say why it is wrong. Morality is thus reduced to something as personal as taste; the mind becomes like the stomach, preferring right to wrong as it might choose pickles rather than choose cucumbers: "It all depends upon your point of view or how you like it to be".

As of today, the society, as a whole had degenerated: "The meaning of words and actions has no longer the same relation to things but it is possible to changed as they thought proper". The false principles behind this "feelings" theory of right or wrong are very evident: first, it is held that every experience is for its own sake whether that experience be sexual, political, social or economic. The experience cannot be for the sake of anything else, there being nothing else but the self. Second, if we attempt to make any judgement on our experience, it must be done solely on the basis of whether or not the experience is pleasurable to the ego; if it makes me "feel good" it is right. Finally, since pleasurable or thrill is the sole standard of judgement, it follows the more intense the thrill, the more useful anything is to the self, the better it is.

In contrast with this position, compare what might be called the sensitiveness of innocence. The sensitiveness of innocence does not mean ignorance or "not having lived". Rather it is an awareness of what is good and true because one has avoided the false and the evil. The director of any orchestra, despite the number of musicians he and she has before him and her, is able to hear the false note from the smallest and least important of the music instruments, the physician is sensitive to disease and any deviation from the norm of health. So in the moral order, when Divine Innocence sat at the table with a traitor, he said: 'I tell you most solemnly, one of you will betray me'. - John 13:21 - Holiness can quickly detect blots.

The instinctive reaction of good people to evil is not due to their rational immaturity but to their maturity in innocence. Such judgements of innocence and purity are totally different from suspicion. Suspicion can often be a reflection of one's own failings. Often, the sins we most loudly condemn in others are those to which we are most secretly attached. Do not judge and you will not be judged; because the judgements you give are the judgements you will get, and the amount you measure out is the amount you will be given. Why do you observe the splinter in your brother's eye and never notice the plank in your own? - Matt. 7:1-3 - Purity is never suspicious but looks for some ground for reposing trust. It has a power of apprehension, discovery that comes not to those who have been infected by wrong. At the Last Supper when the Saviour, Jesus said that one was about to betray Him. They were greatly distressed and started asking him in turn, "Not I, Lord, surely? - Matt. 26:22 - No one can be sure of his or her goodness before innocence.

A society that needs healing and regeneration will receive it mostly from the innocent. The pure can look on the impure without contempt. It was Divine Innocence Who asked of a sinful woman: 'Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?' - John 8:10 - There was no condemnation in Him Who was righteousness itself; so there are sympathy and forgiveness and healing in the wings of the innocent.

                                                                   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 -

It is very difficult for the world or today generation to understand sorrow but that is only because it does not have such love. The more one loves, the more one shrinks from hurting the beloved and the more one grieves at having done so. But this grief should not make us dour and self-centered like those who say, "I can never forgive myself for that." That is hell - when the soul refuses to accept forgiveness for having wounded Love Divine.

The difference in standards between the pagan, unbeliever, old or new and the believer [Christian] which results in remorse in one instance and sorrow in the other, is evidenced by the Lord's six statements beginning with, 'But I say this to you'. These contradict six precepts of worldly wisdom, each beginning, 'You have learnt'.

The Pagan, Unbeliever, standard statement: when he and she was hurt or injured by peoples even though they are wrong or guilty: "Do not let him and her get away with it. Take revenge, plant evil plan and stir up class enmity in order to seize power.

The Christian standard statement: For I tell you, if your virtue goes no deeper than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.

'You have learnt how it was said to our ancestors: You must not kill: and if anyone does kill he must answer for it before the court. But I say this to you: anyone who is angry with his brother will answer for it before the court; if a man calls his brother "Fool" he will answer for it before the Sanhedrin; and if a man calls him "renegade" he will answer for it in hell fire.' - Matt. 5:20-22 -

The Pagan, Unbeliever standard statement: Freedom is what you think and when you do is always right or no right, no wrong. Be self-expressive. Repression of sex instincts causes frustration. Liberty means the right to do whatever you please in the realm of the flesh.

The Christian standard statement: 'You have learnt how it was said: You must not commit adultery. But I say this to you: if a man looks at a woman lustfully, he has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye should cause you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; for it will do you less harm to lose one part of you than to have your whole body thrown into hell. And if your right hand should cause you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; for it will do you less harm to lose one part of you than to have your whole body go to hell.' - Matt. 5:27-30 -

The Pagan, Unbeliever standard statement: When you are a materialist, rich, successful and powerful. Be it, anything, human can do, for example, Get a divorce! Marry again. What a big deal?

The Christian standard statement: 'It has also been said: Anyone divorces his wife must give her a writ of dismissal. But I say this to you: everyone who divorces his wife except for the case of fornication, makes her an adulteress; and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.' - Matt. 5:31-32 -

The Pagan, Unbeliever standard statement: You are highly educated and very rich. Because you delude yourself into thinking that you are god, hence take matters into your own hands. Say: I'll be damned if I will do it.

The Christian standard statement: 'Again, you have learnt how it was said to our ancestors: You must not break your oath but must fulfil your oaths to the Lord. But I say this to you: do not swear at all either by heavens, since that is God's throne; or by the earth, since that is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, since that is the city of the great king. Do not swear by your own head either, since you cannot turn a single hair white or black. All you need to say is "Yes" if you mean yes, "No" if you mean no; anything more than this comes from the evil one.' - Matt. 5:33-37 -

The Pagan, Unbeliever standard statement: Always be proud of who you are or you will lose your pride. Forgiveness is weakness. Hit him back. Get even with him.

The Christian standard statement: 'You have learnt how it was said: Eye for eye and tooth for tooth. But I say this to you: offer the wicked man no resistance. On the contrary, if anyone hits you on the right cheek, offer him the other as well; if a man takes you to law and would have your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone orders you to go one mile, go two mile with him. Give to anyone who asks and if anyone wants to borrow, do not turn away.' - Matt. 5:38-42 -

The Pagan, Unbeliever standard statement: When someone or if anyone offended you, humiliated you in public and hates you even though you are found not guilty or you may be found guilty. Sue him! Kill him! Hate him if he hates you.

The Christian standard statement: 'You have learnt how it was said: You must love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I say this to you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you; in this way you will be sons of your Father in heaven, for he causes his sun to rise on bad men as well as good, and his rain to fall on honest and dishonest men alike. For if you love those who love you, what right have you to claim any credit? Even the tax collectors do as much, do they not? And if you save your greetings for your brothers, are you doing anything exceptional? Even the pagans do as much, do they not? You must therefore be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect.' - Matt. 5:43-48 -

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Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
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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 -