uncle

http://kompas.com/ver1/Metropolitan/0706/05/194701.htm

See you in heaven, uncle. Will miss you so much.

It was just another morning at the office. I was late today. Arrived at 9.35 am. Missed the previous bus because I decided to add another hour to my sleep.

Everything was good actually... Debbie nudged me in messenger, pretended to be mom until she blew her cover when she said "I had a dream about you last night, son" - and that dream being me got swallowed by a hippopotamus.

I threw a couple of jokes before she suddenly replied, with all caps, something like this:

...
5/06/2007 10:09:55 AM Billy [@HP]: pesek belajar yang bener ya KAMU
5/06/2007 10:09:57 AM Billy [@HP]: KAMUUUUU
5/06/2007 10:10:00 AM Billy [@HP]: kamu tu pesek
5/06/2007 10:10:11 AM *unicef a bon vivant (H): KLOKO
5/06/2007 10:10:13 AM *unicef a bon vivant (H): koko!!!!
5/06/2007 10:10:13 AM Billy [@HP]: masi pesek aja mikirin married2
5/06/2007 10:10:18 AM Billy [@HP]: pesek
5/06/2007 10:10:17 AM *unicef a bon vivant (H): OM AY MEINGGAL!!!
5/06/2007 10:10:20 AM *unicef a bon vivant (H): KO!!!!
5/06/2007 10:10:23 AM Billy [@HP]: ha
5/06/2007 10:10:24 AM *unicef a bon vivant (H): OM AY MENINGGAL!!!
5/06/2007 10:10:26 AM Billy [@HP]: ??
5/06/2007 10:10:32 AM Billy [@HP]: ha?
5/06/2007 10:10:47 AM *unicef a bon vivant (H): DITABRAK M,OBIL
5/06/2007 10:10:54 AM *unicef a bon vivant (H): TELPON KESINI SKRG!!!
...

Just like that... just-like- that...

And so I ran out of the office, and made a phone call to her using my mobile. Instead I reached mom and asked what happened, and she confirmed that it was true... I just couldn't believe it... as much as I try to... just couldn't believe it...
Afterwards, I tried calling tante Anneke... no luck... tried calling cici Nonik... no one picked up as well...

I was bewildered... really don't know what to think... there's a big report that is needed by other departments that is due this Thursday - 3 days from now - and I am at a loss to what I should do with it... heck, I even don't know whether I should stay or leave to Indonesia at once...
I felt like screaming... felt like wanna do something stupid... felt like, if I could, punch down a tree or sorts... well I did... kicked a twig... that helped a bit...

And then I asked myself -and in vain, tried to ask the skies - "what do I do now??"... the million dollar question...

It was then when I heard a voice telling me to go back inside and do my work. For it was their (uncle, and dad's) portion to do theirs for as long as they were still inside this fading flesh and blood, and they have finished it. I went back inside, trying to pull myself back together and start doing things I have to do.

Just as I got back in to the office, I saw Debbie had msn-ed me again. Hence, I went back out and called her.

I could hear her delirious voice. I expected that.

I tried to console her... I told her to not worry too much about the person leaving, but about us who are still here... but then her question that really got me was:

"who will walk me down the aisle?"

about that... I don't know sis... really don't know :(

At that point too many things got hold of my head and I could not think properly... let alone say things correctly...

Thank God for Mom.

As always, she said the right things at the right moment: "It's a loss... I know... but remember: let us not be like those that have, or know, no God. We have hope that we will soon see them again. For we know that they are not - never - far from us. And they will always be near to us, in our heart and mind."

...As corny as this may sound, this cliche has become a truth so sweet and profound - the exact encouragement I needed.

She finished with this sentence:
"Now you go and do your work. Do it properly, whole-heartedly, and strive to serve your best. That is what makes your father and your uncle proud."

"... and God", I think to myself. God will be proud as well.

So I took a deep breath, and went back in, again.

They have finished their race. And they have finished it well. Mine is still in front of me. Before me was my father and my uncle. Now it's me and my brothers.

"God Almighty, I pray that You show me the same Power and Glory you have showed to those great men before me. As you have shaped them, broken them, repaired them, and made them more like the image of Jesus Christ, Your Son each and everyday; do the same to me. I long to know you more and more each day, each step that I take. I have faith in You and Your guidance, Your providence, and Your perfect wisdom - Your Love. Be with us in every day of our life as you have been with dad and oom Ay for as long as they have lived. Only in the name of Jesus, we have prayed. Amen"

"Happiness: Attained? Rewarded? or simply... Granted?"

Don't really know how to start putting these things inside my mind in words...

I've read a bit about the idea behind Karl Marx's Das Kapital... and something inside me reacts...
It's not the class struggle idea, no. It's how he wanted happiness for many - for the proletarians. And I honestly think it's such a noble idea... it's really... good, as in good good.

Also I've read a bit about Hegel, how idealistic he was. And I think that's good too.

Honestly, I feel that these guys talk about economic prosperity because they just cannot see another heaven else than this world and all the nations living in peace, with no war, no hunger, and no oppression of any kind. That's heaven: a renewed earth. And don't you think that heaven is really all that? I don't know... deep down inside, I kept telling myself at least now I realize that I don't know what heaven really is, and hence, I don't look forward to it.

This all may not seem like it has anything to do with the title of this blog... but please bear with me and my ramblings... because they are NOT pointless... unlike *some* people, I'm only interested in REALITY.

The Holy Bible said that we were created by God. We are mere creations. HIS creation. And Westminster Shorter Catechism concisely summarized the answer to the question of "what the heck are we here for? why are we here in the first place?" - with this one sentence answer:
We are created to "Glorify AND Enjoy Him forever". Forever. As in, timelessly.

So there you go... and before you start asking me what does THAT got to do with Marx or Hegel, let me quickly summarize things up to this point:
1. We were created to glorify God forever
2. We glorify Him the most when we are most satisfied in Him and Him alone
3. The word "forever" means "timeless; above time, transcends time"

...okay so far so good... and now this is where things start to get a bit complicated...

It is a given truth that we are created to glorify and enjoy Him forever. In short, it is saying that we have a purpose that shall continue on and on, even after time ends. We are eternal beings. (And honestly I kinda believe that it's true... even though I feel that this flesh and blood of mine seems to degenerate day after day, I believe we ARE going to see a second life after this one...)

But...

4. As of now, well, we are living in this world, a world bound BY time, bound IN time

So... what to do now? Or to be more exact:

If we are made for eternity, then how do we deal with temporality? Where do temporality and eternity meet?

Some people (Karx, Hegel, Descartes) go all the way to say that this temporality that we are living now IS our so called eternity, and hence let's just make the best out of it. After that then they add some utilitarian values according to their line of study et cetera et cetera, which (I think) may dangerously be a complicated form of self-gratification... ANYWAY I'm not going there, it's just too complicated...

Some others (Plato, for instance) saw it differently. Plato sharply states that the flesh is the soul's prison. In effect he's saying that the answer to this problem is to leave temporality straight away as soon as you can (that is if you have the guts to do it).

But us, Christians... what about us? both answers above clearly sound a bit off...
I know we can disinterestedly say: "Simple, just live in a balance, just live in between the extremes." Yeah. Thx. Anything new?
I'm not interested in mere high-minded rationale... I'm really keen on hearing the stories of those who lived their live in such a way that makes the simple answer above a REAL thing.
Now where can I find these people? :(

(...humm this reminds me of a book titled: "How now shall we live?"...)

Oh and add in the topic of "enjoyment" and you'll get yourself in a even a worse mess than before...

Okay I just realized I spent almost 30 minutes typing this :
Still got some work to do...
I'll get back to this soon...

See you all in the near future! (I hope...)

Brown sugar is healthier than white sugar... NOT

Yup, the title is exactly the reason why this post was created.

My supervisor at work always says that "brown sugar is natural, hence it's healthy. White sugars are just white poison."

Being a bit of a health freak myself, I am quite susceptible to any information that has anything to do with the things I put into my mouth. Both facts and myths.
But this question has been bugging me since I can remember... so it's about time I find out the answer for myself - and you guys too :)

A search in google (or iGoogle for that matter) on "brown sugar vs white sugar" shows that many people are actually very interested to know the FACTS as well.

Sooo... without further ado... here you go:
1. 10 Diet & Nutrition Myths Debunked
2. White sugar vs raw sugar
3. Sugar & Artificial Sweeteners (Go to Q: "How does sugar effect your body?")

Heh heh...
It's white sugar for me then ;)

Cheers

Lens Buyers Guide

Yahoowee!!!!

After I've finally pulled myself out from all the hype surrounding the body of that d200, I started to look for the second thing that is just as (if not more than) important as the body - the lens.

You see, with dslr body, it's not too hard to narrow your options: if you have the money, go Nikon or Canon. But it's a whole different level of complexity when you start looking for a lens.

Thank goodness I found this article... don't really know the accuracy of the information yet, but I'll just do a read first ;)

Will let you know what I think about it...

Matthew 5:37 vs Rahab

Been quite a while since I last wrote. Why are good habits so hard to maintain? :(

Anyway thanks be to God for pushing me back here. To cut the story short, I am here because a friend of mine asked an honest question in our youth fellowship's mailing list. Here it is in Indonesian (sorry no time to translate):

"allo smuanya,

aku ada pertanyaan, harap temen2 smua bisa bantuin..

Jika ya, hendaklah kamu katakan: ya, jika tidak, hendaklah kamu katakan: tidak. Apa yang lebih dari pada itu berasal dari si jahat.(mat 5:37).
mat 5:37 ini konteks nya ttg sumpah.

waktu baca ini, aku inget ttg kisah pengintai yg disembunyiin ama seorang perempuan. waktu didatengin perempuan ini kan boong. tp gara2 boong malahan pengintai2 itu selamat.

pertanyaannya:
1. bagaimana cerita perempuan yg menyelamatkan pengintai ini dengan mat 5:37, apakah kisah ini ama mat 5:37, ga relevan ?
2. mungkin pertanyaan ini sering ditanyain, tp saya tanya sekali lagi, kenapa Tuhan pakai dosa biar rencanannya berjalan. (dosa yg disini itu berbohong), dan malahan perempuan itu dicatat di 3 kali perjanjian baru ,

Mat. 1:5	Salmon memperanakkan Boas dari Rahab, Boas memperanakkan Obed dari Rut, Obed memperanakkan Isai,
Ibr. 11:31	Karena iman maka Rahab, perempuan sundal itu, tidak turut binasa bersama-sama dengan orang-orang durhaka, karena ia telah menyambut pengintai-pengintai itu dengan baik.
Yak. 2:25	Dan bukankah demikian juga Rahab, pelacur itu, dibenarkan karena perbuatan-perbuatan nya, ketika ia menyembunyikan orang-orang yang disuruh itu di dalam rumahnya, lalu menolong mereka lolos melalui jalan yang lain?

thanks buat penjelasannya


Seto Robby Wibowo"

Basically he's asking just what the title says. Oh and good selection of verses too :)

So here's my finding on the internet that would hopefully makes us wiser:

"Does the Story of Rahab Mean that God Condones Lying? by Bert Thompson, Ph.D. and Sam Estabrook

Praise the Lord for the internet! :D

Cheers

Why did God create man if He knew some would go to hell?

My desktop computer is going to be "rebuilt" (which actually means that it's going to be reformatted and have a common operating system installed to it). I can do it myself given the time and the Windows XP cd, but they said I have to let them do it since they are going to make it conform to HP's COE (short for "Common Operation Environment") standards. Oh well...
I now have to move all of my 20 Gigs worth of work data from my desktop to my laptop - and all of that takes nearly 2 hours in total.

So in the mean time I browsed the internet to check on a few things: firstly, it's "propitiation"... always wanted to know what that means... I found something on wikipedia about it... check it out. God willing, I may be able to write my own understanding of it here. But not in the near future that.

But then I stumbled upon this short, straight-to-the-point article thats is biblically sound...
Again, just in case the page is down or becomes unavailable sometime in the future, I've put it here for all of you to have a read. So, have a read and tell me what you think about it.

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

Preface
This provocative question comes from a Christian who is training to be a missionary. It was good to ponder this issue about my Lord Jesus Who created everything--
For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him.

Why Were We Created?
This is a good starting point. Why were we created? Look at us--dust. What could we possibly offer God Almighty? Solomon said that the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him--He's too big, too awesome, too fantastic to be contained. We are like grasshoppers in His sight. What is man that God is mindful of him? Our answer lies in the Bible which is God's word. Let Him explain why He created us:
...thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
Revelation 4:11
We were created for God's pleasure! Don't you know that God loves you and wants you? It was His whole purpose in creating mankind.
The Bible draws an analogy between our relationship with our earthly parents and God, our heavenly Father. Let us therefore consider why a man and his wife desire to have children: the joy of a little child, to replicate themselves through creation, to have fellowship with that little kid, to have life. God uses the family relationship to illustrate our relationship to Him, our Father in heaven.

But What About Hell?
Know ye not that hell was not created for people? God tells us who it was created for:
...everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
Matthew 25:41
Hell was created for the devil and his angels. It was not created for man! God doesn't want anybody to go there, it was not His purpose for men to go there. God knew that we would sin so He made provision for us by coming to this earth in the form of a man and paying the penalty for our sins with His own blood.
Nonetheless, humans do indeed go there because many say as the citizens in the parable of the nobleman in Luke 19, "We will not have Him to reign over us." When such people are cast in hell, it is literally what they asked for. Nonetheless, God is not pleased that they should perish:
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Jeremiah 29:11
As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die...?
Ezekiel 33:11
The Lord is...not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
2 Peter 3:9

But Was it Fair to Create Us?
This is the bottom line in my mind--it would not have been fair for Him NOT to create us. God knew that many people would be cast in hellfire for their rebellion towards Him, but He also knew that there would be a multitude that would bask in His glory and love Him and want to be with Him forever.
Would it have been fair for me, Tracy, to miss out on knowing Jesus Christ because of the actions of the wicked? Would it have been fair for me to have been aborted of the opportunity to know my God and His pleasures forevermore? Would it have been fair for me to not have known love and bliss?
I say a resounding NO!!!! If God, in His Sovereignty had said, "There are going to be too many evil people, so I will not create man," He would have been overcome with evil! Evil would have dictated what He was going to do, would have denied life to the righteous and it would have stripped Him of His power as Lord of the Universe. Read what the scriptures say:
Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 12:21
If God had not created us, He would have been overcome with evil, for it would have dictated that the righteous would never have an opportunity to love and be loved by the One who is everlasting and full of pleasures forevermore. If the righteous were to miss out on the Magnificent God, would that be fair? That would be folly.

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

Bach's Matthew Passion on YouTube!

...and many more!

Since our choir are going to sing some Bach (along with some Handel's Messiah) on Good Friday and Easter Service, I searched the internet for resources to keep my spirit up until D-Day: 6th to 8th of April.
To my surprise, I found quite a lot of clips in YouTube on Bach cantata performances - mostly those that are conducted by Ton Koopman. They are submitted by this guy with username Bacholoji that has kindly uploaded many of these so that we can view and enjoy them in YouTube! Thanks to him for that :)

There's really a *lot* you can get there, but I for the time being am quite content with those that I've saved to my favorites list - after all those are the ones that I need for our choir. They are:
(by the way you can get the German text and translation here)

Bach - Matthaeus Passion - 42-43-44-45
(FYI, it starts from here:)
Bass - Gebt mir meinen Jesum wieder!
Seht, das Geld, den Mörderlohn,
Wirft euch der verlorne Sohn
Zu den Füßen nieder!

(...and continues to the below ones)
Bach - Matthaeus Passion - 46-47-48-49-50
Bach - Matthaeus Passion - 62-63-64

Enjoy!

"If God is Sovereign, why Evangelize?"

-by Tony Warren

-----------------------------
I found this article on the internet just after Saturday fellowship. I sincerely praise God for this... I really need it. Hopefully it'll be a blessing to all of you as well.

Just in case the page is down or becomes unavailable some time in the future, I've put it here. You can visit the real page here.
-----------------------------

In Christian circles, the question is often posed, 'how do Reformed Christians reconcile God's sovereignty over man, with the responsibility of man?' The point of the query is, 'if God is sovereign, why evangelize, or why do anything if all is already predetermined?' The question on the surface seems fair enough, but it is actually convoluted because the Word of God does not teach that in God's Sovereignty, man is without volition, or the power of choice. Rather, it teaches that given the choice, and because of the fall of Adam, the will of man is constrained or in bondage, that he is inclined to choose evil. We must start with the basic Biblical truth that the heart of man is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9) where man is in bondage to sin, and yet he accountable for his evil. Predestination or Sovereignty does not negate this human responsibility, rather, it is the gift of God in propitiation for it. His right to redeem from among these wicked, whosoever he elects (chooses).

As for reconciling God's Sovereignty with man's responsibility, the truth is, there is nothing to reconcile. Because these two things are in perfect agreement with each other. Man is responsible for his sins, and God can have mercy on whoever He wants, regardless. Both themes are clearly taught in the scriptures, and are in perfect harmony with each other.

Ephesians 1:4-5

• "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
• Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,"

John 3:16

• "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Ezekiel 18:4

• "Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die."

Wisdom is in 'receiving' all these scriptures as truth, and understanding that they do not contradict and they are clearly delineated in the Bible. Yes, we are obligated and called to obey God's Word. Yes we both have choices, and we make choices. No, nothing in the Bible abrogates our responsibility for the choices we make. i.e., the wages of sin is death, and the soul that sinneth it shall die! But none of these things preclude the Sovereignty of God over man. For our (the Elect) choices are 'within God's will' not something which is apart from it. Christ took on the responsibility for the sins of man, and thus set them free from bondage to sin, that they 'can' do God's will in Christ.

Philippians 2:13

• "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure."

When the Elect choose to evangelize and do the will of God, not being omniscient, it may appear to them as if the integrity is all theirs, but in reality God was moving them that their will was to do His. A perfect example of this principle of divine guidance by God to preserve and protect, can be seen in the episode of Genesis chapter 20.

Genesis 20:4-6

• But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation?
• Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this.
• And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her."

God pulls back the curtain and reveals His working within man that 'His will' would not be thwarted by the will of man. This king was sure that it was because of his own integrity that he didn't touch Sarah, but God reveals, no, it was 'HE' who had withheld (restrained) this king from doing this evil, and it was 'HE' who had suffered this king not to touch her. This is an example of the Sovereignty of God at work without man's knowledge. God is not an idle bystander wringing His hands hoping man won't mess things up, He is an active God making sure that ultimately things go as He has planned or determined. Predestination, the Sovereignty of God, and evangelizing, are inextricably tied together, because they are all the workings of the Spirit of God for the sake of the Elect.

Though these things are widely misunderstood, Sovereignty is not an enemy of responsibility, it is it's companion. Christians act responsible 'because' God restrains our sin and allows it, not because we are righteous and act that way of our own (alleged) free will. Left to our own devices or designs, man would destroy both himself and the world. It is only the Sovereignty of God over all which prevents this.

Our Salvation, or the ability to hear spiritually and act thereupon, is manifested as a gift of God bestowed upon whomever He decides to have compassion on, regardless of their own choices. i.e., Saul on the road to Damascus was not making a choice to come to Christ, God struck him down with blindness on his way to persecute Christians, and drew him to make the choice that he had been fighting against before. Without this action of God, Saul would still be persecuting Christians with threatenings and slaughter (acts 9:1).

And so while it may appear to some that the responsibility of man and the Sovereignty of God are mutually exclusive ideas, that is only because man finds it so difficult to understand the full nature of the sin influence and captivity over him, apart from intervention by God. So permeating is it, that if God didn't act by His Sovereign will, not one of us would come to be Saved. Because we were all as a dead corpse before God intervened.

Ephesians 2:3-6

• "Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
• But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
• Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
• And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:"

Not while we were freely coming alive, but while we were still in that sin nature, being the children of wrath, unworthy and unmoving. While we were in this state, God drew us to Him and raised us up to new life. Were we responsible for our sins while we were still these children of wrath? The answer is, of course we were! We were on our way to hell just as others, and except God had this compassion on us, and loved us, and gave us the gift of new life, we would still be under bondage of the will. And it was His right, as God, to do this, regardless of how bad or obstinate we were.

Man in his stubborn heart wants to argue the point with God, thinking this would be unfair. But there is no contradiction between God's sovereignty over man, and the responsibility of man, nor should faithful Christians make apologies for the truth of this Sovereignty, or be embarrassed about the 'right' of God to both Save, and to not Save, whoever He so Chooses, and based on nothing more than His own will and purposes. For anything less would be a works gospel, basing our Salvation on the Good works in us God saw.

But the question remains, so why evangelize if God has decided ahead of time who will be Saved and who He will not Save? They call this fatalism, or the belief that nothing can be changed so we accept all things as inevitable. i.e., submitting to fate. However, that is not the attitude of the Biblical Christian, no matter what 'straw men' are constructed to allege it. Shall we sin that grace may abound? No! Shall we sit that work may be done? Again, no! We do not take an attitude of, 'nothing can be changed, so let's not do anything.' On the contrary, the faithful christian takes an attitude of, 'God is in control of everything, which is why He moves us to do His work on earth.' We evangelize because we are told of God to do so, and because the Spirit moves us in power to call the Elect to Christ. Men make these statements alleging contradiction because they are making judgments upon God's soveregn right to Save the 'totally' unworthy, but God's Word is very clear on both evangelization, and why Christians do it.

Romans 10:14-15

• "How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
• And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!"

We evangelize, because we are sent to evangelize. And people hear our preaching because the Spirit of truth reveals it's glory, and opens the understanding of the Word to them. Many hear, but only some receive what they hear, and that by the Spirit, the Revelator of the witness of the Word.

The answer to why evangelize is very simple. Obedience! God works out His will and purposes in the vessels which He has created to carry out this work. He has ordained us the means by which 'His people' are called to realize their election through 'our' preaching of the Gospel. He is not thundering from the mountain, or from the burning bush anymore, He uses Christians to accomplish His task of getting the Word to the Elect.

2nd Thessalonians 2:13-14

• "But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:
• Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ."

God didn't make us a 'new creation' to pursue our own glory, riches, or to see how much pleasure we could get out of this world. He created us (the Elect) as vessels Chosen unto Glory in Christ. We are commissioned to take personal initiative, to do and to work. Every man is responsible to abide by the law, but only the 'God Helped,' will. And they will because in Christ their mindset is that their work of evangelization will become fruitful. This doctrine is has no part in the 'Straw Man' of fatalism, for the faithful know that their work avails much.

James 5:16

• "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."

Do we say why pray because God knows what He is going to do? No, and the alternative to that is that God doesn't know what He is going to do. That is blasphemy, and a clear denial of His Omiscience. Our work and prayers are not in vain, but were ordained the method God will use to accomplish His will. This is what our work is for, this is our hope, and our prayer. This is why we evangelize. Because God 'uses it' to accomplish His tasks on earth. We do not do it because we are naturally (freely) willfully good (as the doctrine of Free will 'of necessity' implies), but because we were made vessels unto good. By contrast, while those of the world are also vessels created by God, they glory in themselves and in their own abilities. These are two distinctly different creations, or vessels, for two different purposes.

2nd Timothy 2:20

• "But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour."

It's not even a question of if there are different kinds of vessels created, but one of if it is God's sovereign right to do so. Isn't that the real question debated here? Does He have the right to love Jacob and hate Esau, when both were wicked? Isn't that the real crux of the matter? Does it make God unrighteous to bless Jacob and abandon Esau, and to do it before they had done good or evil, even before they were born, and simply because of his own good will and pleasure and without regard to either one being somewhat better than the other? That is the question. i.e., man is thinking this makes God unrighteousness.

The fact is, God is not obligated to treat everyone equal. God can do whatever He wants with His own, and no one should complain that this is not right. Was God obligated to treat the people of Canaan the same way He treated the people of Israel? No! Is our idea of fairness, God's idea? No! Absolutely not! It always gets back to God's declaration on the matter, and whether or not we will receive it or continue in spiritual warfare against these clear principles of Sovereign determination of God. He is Sovereign over the choice of who is Chosen, and who is not. It's 'His' call!

Romans 9:13-16

• "As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
• What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.
• For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
• So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy."

It is not of him that runneth (works), nor of him that willeth (man's will), but of God, who shows mercy on whomever He wills.

Romans 9:17-18

• "For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
• Therefore hath He mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth."

God is not obligated to Save anyone, because all deserve to be cast into Hell. Therefore, it's His Sovereign right to have mercy on whom He will, and to have Compassion on whom He will. And when He does, shall we ask, "why evangelize if God are Sovereign?" No, we will evangelize because we keep his commandments and love Him because He first loved us. Those not elect will have no desire to evangelize (in the Biblical sense), and so the question of, 'why evangelize' is self evident. We evangelize because we love God and He has commissioned us to go forth to the ends of the earth with the gospel. Unlike the prideful, in humility we are not insulted by being drawn or pulled to do so. On the contrary, we feel privileged to be 'used' of God for His purposes. And we understand that we do so only by the Spirit which dwells within us, to the Glory of God in the promotion of the Gospel of His Son.

Romans 1:9

• "For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;"

We don't ask why, we have 'the Spirit of evangelizing,' the power of the Gospel which drives us to do the will of God is reason enough. Those who think they work because of themselves, are deceived. We are chosen vessels of God, made alive, and we weren't put here for our own vain Glory in to believe we are responsible for the good we do. But to read scripture and receive God's Word that it is He who moves us, tor the Glory of God. Our Glory is in the work Christ has done for us, not in the work we do.

Romans 9:22-23

• "What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
• And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,"

Two vessels. One who will work for his own pleasures and purposes, and glory in his own abilities (alleged free will), and another who hath had the riches of the Glory of God placed upon them, that he will do the will and pleasure of God, to the Glory of God. The Elect understand the bondage of the will. The idea that the will is free, is a misnomer. The spirits are in prison, except they be set free of Christ!

"Why evangelize if all is set," is a question born out of a mind that may not really be sure that God 'is God' to righteously have ABSOLUTE SOVEREIGNTY. Because if God doesn't have it all set, then there is logically the distinct possibility of failure, because (according to this philosophy) God does not make anyone do anything. ..which means it's all in man's hands. More importantly, if not, then the only alternative is that it's not in man's hands, God is controlling it all and will have His will and purpose done on earth. No one can have it both ways.

Man would never seek God (on God's terms) on his own, he is drawn to Christ by God, not by his inherent free will. Our work is because of the work of Christ, and the giving of His Spirit, it is not because of ourselves. We are thus brought back to the Sovereignty of God. Because nothing is consistent without it. All things are after the counsel of His will, and if that be true, how then can anything be allowed which will thwart His Sovereign good will? It makes no sense! While if it is true, then the Believer is both secure, and determined to work all things to the Glory of God.

Ephesians 1:11-12

• "In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
• That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ."

How we can be predestinated after 'the counsel of God's sovereign will,' and yet it be alleged it is by our own free will, is a mystery beyond rational explanation. And if all isn't set, then the prophecy of the Bible is a not immutable. God Forbid! God 'IS' Sovereign, God does know all, and He makes sure all vessels He has Chosen will work to accomplish their tasks. It is not left up to wicked men in some alleged 'free will,' philosophy, it is in God's hands. It is God who sets the bounds of who lives, who dies, who is drawn, who is judged, who He chastens, and who He refuses to chasten. This isn't all just window dressing, it is the unabashed truth of scripture.

Amos 3:6-8

• "Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?
• Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.
• The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord GOD hath spoken, who can but prophesy?"

Exodus 23:31

• "And I will set thy bounds from the Red sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee."

In the Old Testament, was God sitting around wringing his hands because all wasn't set, or did God actively deliver the wicked into Israel's hands? The answer is obvious! These wicked had no free will to beat Israel in battle. God ordained that they would be defeated. It's the same 'type' picture all throughout scripture. God making sure His will and purposes are accomplished, and He uses both His people and the wicked in this task. Did those Israelites sit sarcastically asking, "if this is Prophesied and set, why go to battle?" No, because the question itself is indicative of rebellion against God! God said this will come to pass, now go and do what I command! They don't retort, "why do it if it will come to pass?" But that is exactly what those opposing Sovereignty of God are doing.

Why Evangelize? Because it is the purpose we were put on the earth to do. It is our PRIMARY JOB. This is no different than God saying "go to the ends of the earth with the Gospel," and we replying, why? Every professing Christian knows that God commanded it. Every Christian knows God will not only triumph, but that it is impossible that He won't. We know that we are told to preach this gospel. So indeed, what is the "REAL" purpose of the question of why evangelize? Is it to say God is not really Sovereign and we are the real people who decide who is Saved or not? That is the logical conclusion of such thinking.

By contrast, receiving truth we understand that we evangelize because we are vessels of the Holy Spirit of God which moves us to do. That is why! The balanced position which the scripture takes is that God has the crucial role of making sure His Will gets done, and we have the role of being the vessels which He uses to get it done. It is a privilege that God has bestowed upon the Elect this work for Him. Understanding that the Bible teaches both sovereignty and human responsibility is not something to be reconciled, it is something already in harmony. We are responsible for our actions, and God would have been fair if He had cast every single one of us into hell. For we all rightly deserve that punishment for our sins. But God was pleased to Save some of us, and He cannot be charged with unrighteousness for not Saving all (Romans 9). The Elect don't question God's Sovereignty to do this, we thank Him that it pleased Him to have mercy on us.

But why only Save only some? That's God's business, known only to God alone. We understand in part, we are not called to fully understand, but to evangelize, humbly accepting His revealed Word. We don't make the artificial distinction between Sovereignty of God and responsibility of man, we are called to have a spirit meek enough to accept both. We are not called to counsel the Lord on what is righteous, but to receive counsel of the Lord on what is righteous.

Romans 11:33-34

• "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
• For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?"

Why evangelize if there is predestination? Because God commands us to, and that is reason enough for the true Christian. We don't have to plumb all the depths of the riches of His unsearchable judgments. We have humility. It is one of the evidences of 'true' Salvation. We receive His command as a Child would receive the command of His father. We accept His Words as the law giver, and authority.

Ecclesiastes 12:13

• "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man."

May the Lord who is gracious above all, and rich in His Mercy and compassion, grant us the wisdom and understanding to discern what is true, and the humility to surrender to the sacred precepts of His most Holy Word.

Amen!

Peace,

Copyright ©2001 Tony Warren
For other studies free for the Receiving, Visit our web Site
The Mountain Retreat! http://members.aol.com/twarren10/
-------------------------*---------------------------

Feel free to duplicate, display or distribute this publication to anyone so long as the above copyright notice remains intact and there are no changes made to the article. This publication can be distributed only in it's original form, unedited, and without cost.

Created 9/2/01 / Last Modified 9/5/01
The Mountain Retreat / twarren10@aol.com

"Hi, I'm Billy"

And please call me "Mr. Too Darn Lazy To Do ANYTHING Straight Away"...

Just can't believe it... I have been wanting to write again since two weeks ago... and here I am, having too much to write and not many details I can recall about each of them anymore...

I'll try to recall big things that has happened over the last one month... hopefully the list is, chronologically, as accurate as it can be:

1. First is about my friend, Soendjojo Logianto, who's now in Beijing to study Chinese. He has just lost his girlfriend to cerebral aneurysm. They have been together for 10 months. And if you ask me, for someone like him, that's long enough to break him in half. But the last time I called him he really didn't sound like as if he is broken in two... One thing I'll never forget is how he answered me when I asked him whether he will be strong enough when the time comes - he said: "Do I have another option than to be strong enough?". Indeed he was, indeed he is.
A further note that I should add is that he has already lost a friend during a car accident just a few months before this. He was quite struck with it I heard...
I don't really know what God has in store for him after all this... first He took his friend, and then soothed his wounds with a girlfriend, and then she was taken away from him as well...
I don't know... don't know at all...

2. Then the news about earthquake in Padang and the airplane crash landing in Jogjakarta last week. My country (and Jakarta especially) was just recovering from the flood a while ago before this happened. My friends kept asking the question of "why is all this happening to Indonesia" and sorts... well... it's no surprise that I don't know why either...

3. And then the news about our friends', Fanny and Hendry, father's death. His was caused by liver cancer, and compared to my father, he went through all that in a relatively shorter period - my dad had to go through 10 months of all the pain and deteriorating health.
Last time I heard about how she (Fanny) and his brother doing, it was not good news... she could barely speak clearly to even her closest friends. I haven't heard about Hendry again but he did sms-ed my reverend here telling him that they, the three of them together, are going to come to Melbourne. Well it's good news for me; the Lord has given me more friends to keep.
Really can't wait to see them again here, hug them, and give them all the encouragement they need... it'll have to wait though, so in the mean time I'll just keep on praying for them.

4. Just at the beginning of last week, a not-too-distant auntie of mine passed away due to an illness which I don't know for sure what the name is. Mom told me that before her death, since some time ago my she (my auntie) -at that moment not a Christian yet- has been asking her sister questions that really stir something up inside me. Mom mentioned some of her questions that is like; "I'm afraid that God will not accept me because all my life I have refused to accept Him... is He still willing to accept me?".
I personally don't know her too much, but one thing that I know for sure is that my Lord is a longsuffering Lord. And deep down I think that the fact she truthfully can ask such a question is enough proof for me that Lord Jesus Christ has been waiting for her all along to accept Him as her personal, eternal saviour.

I can't think of anything else to write now...

For my part, I can only tell you that at the moment there's only three things that matter to me:
1. Photography,
2. Evangelism, and
3. Table Tennis

Even work is not as fun as the above three anymore... especially Photography... it has become an obsession to me... it has gone to a stage where it's starting to get unhealthy, not only for my soul but also to my service...
I'll get back to this topic soon...

...Oh... and God help me with this destructive postponing mentality of mine :(

See you soon.

Welcoming Night is coming!

... And I don't have a clue what will we be playing during games time. "God help me!" I cried. And from His mysterious, unapproachable light, He spoke to me.

Then I heard (sortof): "Go to Google... check about worldview questions..."

And specifically at today, March 1st 2007, 4:55 PM Melbourne time, I found myself basking again in my newly found favourite subject: worldview.

Here's a plethora of resources I found from the web:
- http://www.markroques.com/bigfive.htm
- http://www.probe.org/content/view/932/77/
- http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/ETERQUES.html
- http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~faithact/WORLDV.HTM
- http://www.geocities.com/worldview_3/theism.html

And also... I found some other interesting sites from equally interesting guys...

check 'em out here:
- http://www.markroques.com/
- http://stevebishop.blogspot.com/

Oh man!... and this one here: http://www.freewebs.com/reformationalphilosophy/...

And many more coming up!!!

Praise the Lord!!!

And thank you, yes you guys, for serving the Lord with everything that you got!

Tired of being "confused"?

Well I am. I was writing an email to a colleague at work and found myself looking around inside my mental word bank to find a more *intelligent* word than mere "confused". Hence, I googled up the word and ended up in my favorite online English dictionary. So, if you are in the same boat, then feel free to use one of these words, courtesy of thefreedictionary.com.

• Puzzled
• Baffled
• Bewildered
• Perplexed
• Confounded
• Vexed
• Dumbfounded
• Flabbergasted <-- never used it, won't act like I know it

I guess these words make you even more confused than before eh? Heh heh.

Have a good day!

Contemplations on the "Kingdom of God" #1 - We Are At War!... Aren't we?

This blog was intended to be written quite some time ago. But not until I read the article titled The Battle of the Ages - Part 2: The Importance of the Word by Rev. Stephen Tong in Pillar #43 - February 2007 edition that I finally had the driving force to write this.

He's just remarkable. With that said, I know every man of God is... but Stephen Tong is just a something else. Reading that short article, the saying; "great minds simplify, small minds amplify" sounds more and more real to me. It's like he said everything that I would like to say to people (and by "everything" you can estimate quantification of 3-5 pages long) in less than three paragraphs. Well of course there are many aspects that I can cover and elaborate more on the subject in those 5 pages that I intend to write, but the bottom line and the whole spirit is there already... written down in three paragraphs.

And that bottom line is this: we are at war. You may not like the sound of it. The imagery and nuance that surrounds the word "war" itself arouses uneasiness inside of us. To some it resurrects painful memories of the past. To others it heats their head and fuels their heart that flames against injustice and inhumanity.

Now hold on just now. This is meant to be a draft... or to be more precise; a prelude to the real piece.

So I'll be short and concise. I'll close this blog with a bagful of questions that, I hope, will guide your mind to think deeper and harder about this issue.

- are we REALLY at war?
- what kind of war?
- is it our war?
- if not then whose? if yes, then why have we lived all our lives not realizing we're in one?
- when has this war started? how long has it been going on?
- is there any sign of when it will stop?
- why the war anyway? what or who caused it?
- what do we have to do in this war?

...And so much more.

I will not pretend I know all the answers. That's why I would like to elaborate the questions, search and learn the answers, to dig deep, and contemplate on what they really mean to our lives.

Stay with me on this.

Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?

I couldn't stop humming this song on the way to work today. And even in the midst of the busy-ness of office work today, it stays inside my head. I just have to put it here in the blog.

You can get the MIDI and NWC score of this beautiful african-american spiritual song here

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Oh! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree?
Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree?
Oh! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree?

Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?
Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?
Oh! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?

...

I've just finished "The Transforming Vision" and was really enlightened by it. More than just enlightening however, the book also gave me a renewed sense of purpose, and the impetus that I need to aspire to greater heights of pursuit of happiness in the Lord.

It was all very good, but the three months I've spent basking myself in all this worldview readings has left me a bit "dry" and "thirsting" - so to speak. And it's not because of the book, no not at all, but it's because of my horrible time management. My daily bible reading was neglected, and no more time to pick my guitar and sing hymns for my soul's hunger. I was going lower and lower but it felt like it all was inevitable.

Yet the Heavenly Father has noticed my 'pitiful estate' and gave me what I desire the most: He turned my eyes back to His Son, my King, my Savior, and his love for me that is poured out on the cross.
It took my breath away, and at the same time all the downcastedness of my heart. Now not only am I renewed in understanding, I am also rejuvenated in the spirit.

Were you there when they crucified my Lord? If not, come then, bring your heart and come to Golgotha, and witness the cross. Let your heart see the vision of Him crucified, and let the blood that flowed from His pierced hands and side wash your heart anew.

When was the last time you tremble...
tremble...
tremble?

Let it be for Christ and His love on the cross.

The "Yes and No" game

"Now therefore, it is already an utter failure for you that you go to law against one another. Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated?" - 1 Corinthians 6:7 (New King James Version)

Just yesterday during our cell group meeting, I remember of a small "game" - or an activity to be more exact - that I played back in Indonesia. It was during a fellowship retreat, and the person who led us in that game is our then youth advisor.

In that game, we were divided to three groups; A, B, and C. Afterwards, we were told that we are going to play a game of economics. It was not an interesting subject at that time for me personally but since she (our advisor) had never disappointed us in anything, we just dug in and played.

The rules are not too complex: Each group is given 10 turns. In every turn, they are given an opportunity to "negotiate" with the other two groups separately. That means two opportunities per turn. What do they need the "negotiation" for? To get a share of the total pool of money available (let's say the sum is $100,000). How do they get the share? by committing to response either "Yes" or "No". What does this has to do with getting money? Now there's the twist of the game.
At the end of every turn, the "referee" (or judge) will then ask each group for their committed response. They will then have to answer "Yes" or "No". One thing to note is that whatever the result of the negotiation was, it doesn't matter. What matters is what the groups say to the referee at the end of that turn. The answers relate directly with the amount of money earned.

Here's the combination (we'll use just A and B for illustration purposes):

1. If both A and B says "Yes", then both A and B gets $1000
2. If A says "Yes" and B says "No", then A gets $3300 while B gets none
3. If A says "No" and B says "Yes", then B gets $3300 while A gets none
4. If both A and B says "No", then both A and B gets $500

Easy isn't it? The winner is the one who collects the most amount of money after the tenth turn. And they can do so by whatever method of persuasion they choose.

It's a fun game. Try it. And you'll soon see how sly and tricky and selfish people can be. Even towards their own brothers and sisters.

"Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others." - Philippians 2:4 (New King James Version)

Christian community - Our worldly fortress

Some of you may have known hove much I am enlightened, encouraged, and motivated by this book that I have been reading over the course of three months or so, namely: "The Transforming Vision" by Brian J. Walsh & J. Richard Middleton. I've now reached the last two chapters of this truly blessed book that contains such comprehensive biblical analysis on the world's modern worldview.

Just at the end of Chapter 10, "A Christian Cultural Response", I read something that truly demands our attention.


Cultural anxiety easily gives way to a sense of powerlessness. Convinced that the idolatrous forces of destruction are living an independent life of their own, we stand immobilized, watching our world view fall apart. It seems we can do nothing.
"How can I, one junior executive, begin to apply this Christian cultural vision in the multinational corporation for which I work?"
A doctor says, "I know that patients are treated as objects because the medical establishment has made gods out of the scientific method and technological efficiency. But what can I, one lonely Christian general practitioner, do?"
The answer? Nothing! By yourself you can do nothing in the kingdom of God. Just as our renewal in the image of God is communal, so our task of implementing a Christian cultural vision is communal. John Francis Kavanaugh has said that a Christian,
"in the face of our culture's dwarfing and isolating the individual, must turn to a community of shared life-experience which fosters committed faith and enables the individual to criticize and challenge the programming of the culture. The most effective means by which both goals are achieved is in a communally shared Christian life."
We need community not only because the problems are so big but because we are the body of Christ. We experience our individuality primarily in terms of our unique contribution to the body...

and finally, this paragraph ends the chapter:

What makes the Christian community Christian is its worship. A radical community, it subverts the dominant culture because it worships, serves and prays to a different God. Its worship sets the pattern for its whole life. Rather than being conformed to the world, it is a community being transformed by the renewing of its communal mind - its world view. Consequently its worship is not relegated to just liturgical activities, but it gives its whole life to God as a sacrificial offering (this is the point of Romans 12:1-2). Herein is the essence of a Christian cultural witness in a society in decline.


Brothers, how important is it to have a church for you to be in and to serve together as a community?

Well... I guess it's the same as to how important a fold is to a little lamb, or even more, how important a company is to a soldier. "Important" won't cut it any longer. Only "crucial" will do.


“The community is God's means of empowering people.”


And who, pray tell, can that "people" be?

Us.

Another day to seize

It has been a week since I last posted. I am having a bit of a "paradigm shift" with this entire blogging thing...

Why? well, you see, after I really put some thought in it, I realized that -unconsciously- my image of a "blog" actually resembles an "essay" that are, naturally, supposed to be well-thought and well-presented... and hence my concept of "blogging" is practically the same with "essay writing" - which I won't have time to do not only due to lack of personal bandwith but also lack of knowledge and literature skills.

Consequently, some of you would then *naturally* ask why I actually had one setup in the first place, right? Answer is: I don't know. It's one of those things that struck you as "good and serviceable" and then you would impulsively just do it. Setting up a blog so that people may read and be aroused by the many crazy ideas popping in my head. Hah.

That is really the pits. That's my dead end. After my common sense hit me, now I'm left with a project that cannot continue since I am the lone owner and manager, and I myself has acknowledged that I cannot sustain it.

As with every story in history though, fortunately someone told me this: "just write. Make it a habit. Jot down every thing that pops in your head as soon as you have the chance to. Don't delay. Don't worry too much for being incorrect or inaccurate in your discernment for the Lord will bestow His wisdom upon You over time, in His own good time. Don't worry too much about your writing presentation skills; you'll get it better over time. Practice makes perfect."

Bottom line is: just do it. The Holy Spirit arouses us to do His bidding every day. But we do need to respond in obedience, with self-sacrificing spirit, and with consistency. And I know that if I do, then Jesus' promise of a "full and abundant" life will truly be felt - fully and abundantly.

And so that's my prison break! No longer do I need to be held back by my unhelpful preconceptions! From now on, I am going to write write write (or type type type, for that matter) and write whatever comes to mind.

Seize the day! - for today is only today ;)

Carpe Diem! (Seize the day!)

And so I seized the opportunity to get myself a "blog" space. Being completely ignorant to this whole "blogging" deal that has been around for oh so long, I went through my own research - hoping to know a bit better about all this than before. Being informed means being ready. It always helps.

I found out that the word "blog" is actually derived from "web log". You might speculate that someone coined the term after they used "weblog" for a while and realized it takes a few deciseconds more compared to if they omit the first syllable altogether. Well, if history happened just like my speculation above, then I can't agree more. It's all about efficiency anyway nowadays.

So, with that in mind, I went straight to the registration page. After all, half of my days are in the office, and even at home internet access is not a problem. Also as a plus point, I get to own a free hosted web page that everyone can view and comment on with no monthly or yearly fee!

But what attracts me the most is the idea of being able to transcribe thoughts straight away into something "tangible" the moment it crosses my mind (note the quotes: 10 years ago a web page is definitely NOT tangible - times have changed a lot). This is exactly what a pen-and-paper slowpoke like me needs.

So as such was my ascent to the blogging world. And the timing could not have been more perfect. It's Feb 1st 2007, formally the beginning of the second quarter in HP's financial year, and literally the first day of the month. It's like they all are trying to imply the idea of... "a new beginning"... *slow music fading in*

Yea right.... *music stops*
Let's see how long I can keep up with this. I intend on keeping this blog updated and maintained. For me personally, considering how much of a slacker I am, it'll be an achievement. But for you all who are currently reading this, I sincerely pray to the Lord God that whatever reading you may find here He will use it for your good and ultimately His greatest glory.

It's a new beginning indeed. Check back again soon, I should have things added some time soon. Real soon.

Carpe Diem!

Billy