The Tipitaka , Quran, Bible, etc

I was just thinking of a few things as I was looking back at the many days I have neglected reading the bible...

I usually get that guilty feeling when I don't read the bible...but when I do, I feel better...

The dilemma is this.

Is it all about the "feeling"? 

What about those who from other religions who read their own holy books and fulfill other religious acts/duties/etc?

Don't they also "feel" good after they have done their part? Chrisitans feel good that they have gone to church on Sunday. Muslims feel good that they have gone to the mosque on Friday. Buddhists feel good after going to the temple...

ETC

Is our "relationship" with God so shallow?

Should a Christian be measured by the amount of time he spent with the bible?

I guess the question is not complete...it's not easy to ask the right questions at times..most of the time we shape the questions according to our understanding or liking.

Then we wonder why God doesn't answer them....

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good in bad, bad in good

I dunno which should be the right title...in fact, it's all too subjective...the things i'm gonna blog are just thoughts  from a narrow angle.


anyway, I had a  few thoughts...


we tend to complain of the bad times we went through...but we don't realise how we were molded through it all


we may not be who we are now if not for those bad times.
in the process, we were given choices to make..we weren't forced.


some get bitter and go bad..some choose to fight for the good that's left

in order to reap good, there seems to be a need for bad to exist.


how can i put it? I don't have a good analogy but here goes.


I was just told by a friend that he rarely uses the computer and internet.
I responded , "WHAT!???" .
i told him the importance of internet , bla bla bla


I did admit that computers and internet is used mostly for useless entertainment . If you really think of it, do you realise the amount of time we wasted on facebook games, other games, movies, series, "jack sparrowing", etc?


Although the computer/internet has brought lots of bad things..say only 30% benefits us and the rest is just rubbish..Then, can we conclude that it's better to not have a computer to avoid that 70% or should we take risks just to have the 30%?


bad experiences do mold us...we are affected in one way or another..


in KL, i had a chance to talk to at least 2 ppl about things i never thought i'd hear from them...


many things made them who they are today...one main issue for both of them involved relationships...people...love


the challenge is this.
Are we gonna give up on love and be selfish or, choose to live a life of love for others?
There should be an mount of love reserved for ourselves coz Jesus told us to love others as we loved ourselves...but if you only love yourself, then your love isn't complete. You're just being selfish and you won't find true satisfaction in life...i don't see this as a "christian" principle. It works for all.

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good intentions

Good intentions don't change anything.

It's almost the end of March...and I'm mulling over the things I intended to do...

Many ppl have come to a point where they don't want to make any more new resolutions...

I intend to be punctual la, love my mom more la, don't waste time la, read my bible and pray more la...etc

These same old intentions are battles I have been fighting to improve or maintain...

Just this morning, there was an uncomfortable raging battle inside of me as I read the bible...one fact I know is that the devil is always at war with us...

Looking beyond my failures, the things I did right in the past have resulted in fruits and will continue to bear fruits...of cause, the stupid things i did also haunt me at times...we so easily forget the times we suffered(for good or bad)...at least we get to enjoy the fruits..

We all can be disciplined...can have aims...be harworking...the people of this world have proven that they can do it...

But I refuse to do it "that way"..I don't wanna depend on my own strength to achieve all my goals...I want God to play a part in every detail of my life...

Indeed if I look back, what have I done to deserve to be where I am today? to be working in a company I never thought possible? to have just enough to support my family?

When will we realise that without God, we wouldn't be alive? Why are we so proud?

I know I am in the midst of my battles...I can see parts of my lukewarm lifestyle...but I know I need God...

I have good intentions, but they aren't enough to make a difference...

Why are we always waiting for something or someone to inspire us?

I know I can be disciplined to achieve earthly things...what bothers me is I have to rely on a greater force to fight spiritual battles...to love others...it's easier to run from these things and achieve earthly things and feel good of yourselves...

In the end, will it all matter? Do you think putting yourself first will bring you love, joy,  peace?

If you "love" your life, you will lose it...

Oh yeah..another easier said than done phrase...

Back to work...real life...will all my reflections make a difference?

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Temptation

Ok...I thought I should just blog a few things before I forget...

Why the picture of a woman with chocolate? sajalah..

Coz I do hear girls saying chocolate is their temptation...

Anyway, we all face all sorts of temptations in different areas in our lives.

I was just thinking of the 2 most famous passages in the bible, The Lord's Prayer & Psalm 23.

...lead me not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one...

...He leads me in the path of righteousness for His namesake...

I've always wondered why we had to ask God to not lead us into temptation.

Does it imply that if we didn't pray that, we would be lead into temptation?

The line from Psalm 23 does show that we don't deserve it or wouldn't want to be lead in the path of righteousness...

Alright..enuf...

back to work

Here's a short article related to this topic:
http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/AskPastorJohn/ByTopic/77/2540_What_hope_can_we_have_for_lost_loved_ones/

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Why do little children suffer and die?

Before you read the discussion below, my opinion is this.

These things happen to show how selfish the world is. The rich get richer, the poor get poorer...
The rich seem to be giving a lot to charity...But really, if they buy one less car, so many would have been fed...

Humans..we fail la...

The discussion on this topic can be read at:
http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/2285_answering_radio_interviewers_on_why_suffering/

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Seek

If you're a fellow Christian...seek

If you're anyone else looking for answers...seek

Personally, I  seek..fail..seek again ..fail...get something..think it would help...fail...get up again..seek..get encouraged....failed...seek................

Perhaps, the most lazy way I seek for answers is to listen to sermons...

It's better than doing nothing...

The end times are here..but they won't mean anything if our very own lives are at dead ends...

One of the source of biblical challenge and encouragement can be found here:

http://www.desiringgod.org/

i have no excuse as no truth is hidden...no truth that we need is hidden...just seek...

We all have no excuse as resources are everywhere...

Sometimes listening too much or reading too much also tires us down...things get stale...but there should be balance..we have to learn that.

mirror mirror hanging on the wall,

hearing but not doing leads to our fall.

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mirror mirror....

 

When I look into the mirror, I see .... 'me"...duh...but not the "me" I'm supposed to be though...

Physically, a bit thin...that's all my mom complains about...

But inside, there are many things I don't like..and yet I go on living like that...

It's like what the bible says bout seeing yourself in the mirror and doing nothing about it.

James 1:22-24 (New International Version)

 ²²Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. ²³Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror ²⁴and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.

 Whether you're a Chrisitian or not, it does apply. Most of us just talk but never do.

When I find myself getting "lost", somehow I will be lead to God's Word or message. Either in church or in a meeting my mom "forced' me to go to...or just last nite, a book at my mom's friend's house.

I just had a bad day on Saturday...mostly due to my own foolishness but still God knew I needed Him...or perhaps I knew I needed him...

My mind was tired and at times lazy to question God or seek for answers...so I just succumbed to any other thing than to seek God...I'm still dissatisfied with certain things. Sometimes I get caught up by things which are unnecessary to worry about...

Yup, even now I'm still struggling. I'm writing this just to start something...

What am doing with my life? It's March already...

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