6 Months Later... and a Year Older

Time changes everything. It's free, but it's also priceless. You can't own it, but you can use it. You can't keep it, but you can spend it. Once you've lost it, you can never get it back.

Yes, I am finally back to pen down something on my now 'rusty' blog (in the metaphorical sense of course). How're all of you who have so faithfully returned repeatedly over the past 6 months to see if Yours Truly has put up some new post? I sincerely hope that all's well with you who are reading this, and if you share the same faith as I do, may the Lord do a good work in your life today! xD

This hiatus of half-a-year has given me time to reflect about the past year, about what I would resolve to change this year; as I experienced a major wake-up call, something I did not expect, something that made me realise how much I needed to get my life back into perspective. I believe that everything happens for a reason, and the past 6 months have given me time; time to reason, time to think, time to believe, time to mature, time to care, time to fellowship, time to pray, and most importantly, time to love. Also, there's just so much to thank God for, but that'll be for another post-to-come.

More significantly, as I'm writing all this down, I know that for better or for worse, I turned a year older 1 hour ago. My birthday wish this year is somewhat similar to what Solomon asked from God: a wise and discerning heart (1 Kings 3).

As I turned 23, I recalled something related to age (something medically relevant as well) that I read a while back, that might interest some of my more medically-inclined readers: the enigmatic but awe-inspiring story of Brooke Greenberg. Just like any other toddler, she likes to giggle and crawl around. She's 76 cm (30 inches) tall and weighs about 7 kg (16 pounds), but Brooke was born in 1993. At 18 years old, she's still trapped in the body of a 1-year-old due to a rare condition called Syndrome X (and no, it's not the Metabolic Syndrome that some of you know so well!). A doctor observed, "Her cellular age does not match her actual age." Some people believe that she's the world's first "immortal". It is really a medical mystery of this century!

I just ended my Paediatrics posting, and will begin my Obs & Gynae posting next week! Really enjoyed my Paeds posting thoroughly and no doubt am gonna miss it! I'm also blessed to have awesome subgroup mates! =D Cheers D,V,S & YP!

Yeah, so folks, this is Yours Truly once more, hopefully with more things to add to my blog in the coming weeks! Till then, take care y'all & God bless!! =D

*listening to City Harvest's God of My Forever*

~Tim~

The Greatest Sacrifice in History!

"He had to die so that we might live". I know I'm reiterating the famous statement on the right that all of you see every time you visit my blog, but because 4/4/2010 is also Easter Sunday, I felt like emphasizing it. =)

Newaez, Yours Truly juz got back from Easter Sunday service at City Harvest Church JB. It was a good one, and not juz because of the great company (Rachel and Nick... haha sorry Grace, you juz happened not to come with us today, but I understand). Pastor CK delivered a memorable message; and usually, I don't really give credit to sermons on my blog, if there were any to begin with. There were 3 instances in his sermon which really touched me on a spiritual and emotional level, and I'm pretty sure it touched both "NicHel" as well. Haha, kudos if you got that! =D The following is what I mean:

#1: A really powerful, heart-seeking, message-inspiring video about the power of forgiveness. The video showed a man visiting his father behind what seemed like a prison centre, where visitors are allowed to see and make contact with the inmates/death row convicts across a transparent bulletproof-glass-like structure. His father had neglected, rejected and made use of his son, and displaced his trust in the process. The man expressed all these not by verbal words, but by words written on flash cards: "You neglected me", You rejected me", etc. His second last card showed us why: the father had killed his wife, the son's mother. All this while, both parties were in tears and wrought with sadness, grief, and regret. His final card showed that although the son was deeply hurt, he forgave his father.

#2: This is an analogy of God the Father's decision to sacrifice his one and only begotten Son, Jesus, on the cross to pay the price for our sins. It tells the story of a father who worked at a local train station who brought his 6-year old son to work one day. The father allowed his son to play by himself as long as he was within a safe distance from the railroad tracks and within sight. However, the father got tired as the hours went by. What he did not realise was that his son was unknowingly moving closer and closer to the tracks as time went by. When he finally realised this, his son was already at a foot's length away from falling over. Then, the inevitable happened. The son fell onto the rail tracks and his foot got stuck in it. However at that very moment, a train was heading exactly in that direction towards his son. Both father and son panicked. One good thing was that the track leading up to his son was split into two separate tracks (let's call them Track A1 and A2: the one his son was stuck in was A1). The person controlling the flow of trains (which was the father) could alter the wedgie at will to make the train go in the other direction by the push of a button. Also, the train could only be controlled, started and stopped by the conductor inside the train. Unfortunately, Track A2 was closed due to fatal faults to the lining and structure and still under major repair. So as you can see, the father now had 2 options: push the button and let hundreds, maybe thousands, of people die, or not push it and let his son die. He had less than 10 seconds now to decide what to do. With sweat trickling down his face, the father froze in place. Both his heart and brain were in a heated debate: the former telling him to push the button to save his son's life, while his brain sought to reason with the logic of killing 1 to save a thousand. Finally, as adrenaline continued circulating in his body, he did not push the button even though every muscle in his body wanted to... He let his son perish to save the many lives aboard the train.

#3: The final instance is a comparison of humans and sin to ants and honey. Ants, as we all know too well, are attracted to sweet things like sugar. Some of us are like ants too, with a sweet tooth as people call it, but that's beside the point. Honey is a food made by certain insects. It is sweet, and ants love it. However, it is also sticky, and when any ant attempts to soak itself in it, or merely collect a bit of it, the ant will get trapped in the substance, with no chance of escape forever. The life of that particular ant as we all know it, will cease to exist from that point onwards. In the same way, honey is like sin. For humans to resist sinning is like telling an ant to resist collecting honey. Once caught in sin, forever a sinner. Even the strongest-willed of human beings are not perfect, and like the Bible says in Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God". However, we can rejoice in the fact that the chains of sin binding us are gone when we accept Christ as personal Lord & Saviour for what He did for us on the cross. =D Hallelujah!!

Yeah, so I hope these 3 instances will benefit one and all to rethink Easter as a whole. It's not about Easter bunnies or Easter eggs per se, but rather about the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day. Christ has conquered death, so that through Him, we may conquer death as well! Have a great Easter and an awesome week ahead, dudes & dudettes!!

Blessings,

~Tim~

The Socrates Test

In ancient Greece (469 - 399 BC), Socrates was widely lauded for his wisdom. One day the great philosopher came upon an acquaintance who ran up to him excitedly and said, "Socrates, do you know what I just heard about one of your students?"

"Wait a moment," Socrates replied. "Before you tell me I'd like you to pass a little test. It's called the Test of Three."

"Test of Three?"

"That's right," Socrates continued. "Before you talk to me about my student let's take a moment to test what you're going to say. The first test is Truth.
Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?"
"No," the man said, "actually I just heard about It."
"All right," said Socrates. "So you don't really know if it's true or not.

Now let's try the second test, the test of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my student something good?"

"No, on the contrary..." "So," Socrates continued, "you want to tell me something bad about him even though you're not certain it's true?" The man shrugged, a little embarrassed.

Socrates continued. "You may still pass though, because there is a third test - the filter of Usefulness.
Is what you want to tell me about my student going to be useful to me?"
"No, not really."

"Well," concluded Socrates, "if what you want to tell me is neither True nor Good nor even Useful, why tell it to me at all?" The man was defeated and ashamed.

This is the reason Socrates was a great philosopher and held in such high esteem.

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Sometimes, we tend to hear things about other people from others, but that is exactly why we need to know which voice to listen to: the Good, the Bad, or the Ugly. There will be times when even the closest people to us will tend to hurt us, whether intentionally or unintentionally, but if the relationship/friendship has been built on strong, unshakable trust, then it is definitely worth saving! Unless proven otherwise, give each one a chance to voice his or her opinions before passing judgment. Everyone deserves a second chance at something, and this can be seen more clearly by Christ's obedient act more than 2000 years ago.We did not deserve Jesus' sacrifice on the Cross, but it is by Grace we have been saved! We have inevitably been given... a second chance... our God is the God of Second Chances!

Jesus, help me to make the right decisions in life, especially when it involves the many people I cherish and love. Help me to open up my ears to what is true, to what is good, and to what is useful, both for myself and for Your kingdom. Help me to seek Your will in everything I do and glorify Your name!

~Tim~

The Trinity: The Only 3-in-1 You'll Ever Need!

The Christian doctrine of the Trinity teaches the unity of Father, Son & Holy Spirit as 3 persons in 1 Godhead. Each of the persons is understood as having one identical essence or nature. not merely similar natures. The members of the Trinity are said to be co-equal and co-eternal, one in essence, nature, power, action, and will. All three are eternal with no beginning. It is one of the hardest concepts to grasp in Christianity... even for seasoned scholars of Christian theology.

If you're looking for a complete and thorough understanding of the Trinity, look elsewhere! This post isn't meant to cover it in detail, but merely to reiterate the fact that it does exist, or in this case, co-exist. However, I was rambling around with my personal Christian Database of Information (CDI)... and I came across this interesting conversation involving the 3 persons of the Trinity and the angels in heaven. Juz thought I'd wanna share it with you.. since it's simple to understand and defines the individual roles of each of the persons in the Trinity. So enjoy!

God: Angels, do you know what I was just thinking about?

Angels: Of course not! What were you thinking about, Sir?

God: Christians seem to have forgotten what kind of power they have available and the Devil keeps on deceiving them!

Angels: Sir, what exactly are you getting at?

God: I have made My children in such a way that when the world is sitting, they would be standing... When the world is standing, they would stand out... When the world stands out, My children must be outstanding... And when the devil dares the world to be outstanding, My people will be the standards to be used!

Jesus: They (Christians) are also forgetting the words in Ephesians 1:3

God: Please read it out!

Angels: Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly places with every spiritual blessing in Christ! So what do we do now since the end is almost near?

Holy Spirit: My presence is still among men and I will teach and remind the Christians of all that we have discussed.

Jesus: I will also continue interceding for them and stand in for them even in their weaknesses.

God: I will make sure that I give to all those who ask of Me, seek Me, and try to find Me. The blessings I have promised them through My Son, Jesus Christ will be delivered to all those who discover that I, Jehovah, am ready to bless them! Not because of any special things that they have done, but just because I love them!

Jesus: I will also give all My followers who are willing to carry out My will, the strength to carry on!

Angels: We are all backing the Trinity, and even the devil cannot stop us!

Blessings,

~Tim~

Is He Enough For You?

All of You is more than enough for all of me

For every thirst and every need

You satisfy me with Your love

And all I have in You is more than enough

You are my supply

My breath of life

And still more awesome than I know

You are my reward

worth living for

And still more awesome than I know

All of You is more than enough for all of me

For every thirst and every need

You satisfy me with Your love

And all I have in You is more than enough

You're my sacrifice

Of greatest price

And still more awesome than I know

You're the coming King

You are everything

And still more awesome than I know

More than all I want

More than all I need

You are more than enough for me

More than all I know

More than all I can say

You are more than enough for me

Chris Tomlin - Enough

The lyrics to this song are simple, yet meaningful in its own unique way. Lately, I've been listening to a lot of Chris Tomlin's songs, especially the older ones. This is partly due to 2 reasons. The first being I 'accidentally' took my sister's "Hello Love" album to KL, and have been listening to it from time to time (as I have a 6-disc CD player in my CRV, I get to swap CDs with the touch of a button without the hassle of changing discs =D) The other reason is that I've noticed that the worship leaders in FGT's youth service a.k.a. 365 include many of his hit songs, namely "Sing, Sing, Sing", "Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)", "God of this City", and this one, "Enough".

I like how Chris makes his own versions of popular songs and improvises them to suit his style of worshiping God. His voice is both authoritative yet genuine, and in some songs, the quality of his music is noteworthy, some stating that he is the best worship leader in the world right now. Even Time magazine has noted that he is the "most often sung artist anywhere", with millions of worshipers singing his songs every week in churches across the globe.

p.s. Btw, "He" in my post's title refers to Jesus Christ, and not Chris Tomlin. =p And this is a short post before my faculty's retreat to Pulau Tioman... so there will be no more updates till I get back... Till then, adios & tc!

~Tim~

Love

I just finished watching the first two episodes (two-hour season premiere) of the fifth season of One Tree Hill. Yeah yeah, I know I'm supposed to be studying/mugging hard, but let's just say I'm taking a break. :P It's also because I am a huge fan of the show and have been a "faithful follower" ever since it was first aired on Sept 23, 2003. One appealing factor is that it has many elements that any teenager/youth/young adult can relate to: Abilities, talents, decisions, emotions, drugs & alcohol, fear, friendship, forgiveness, love, lying, peer pressure, pride, relationships, and the list goes on.

(WARNING: Spoiler ahead, read at your own risk!)

It's four years into the future and the Tree Hill gang has finished college. Now, their lives have taken completely different directions. Lucas has written and published a book, Brooke has made it big in the fashion industry with her brand "Clothes Over Bro's", Peyton is pursuing a career in the music business but is miserable, and Nathan and Haley continue to raise a now older James Lucas Scott.

There's one scene where I was moved, and it was a phone conversation that took place between Peyton and Brooke. It talks about love (or the lack of it), and how people tend to look for it in all the wrong places. The following is the actual conversation, word-for-word, that took place:

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Peyton: Hi, it's Peyton. Yeah, I'm sorry. I know it's late there, I just... what happened to us? You know? I don't know who I am anymore. Or how I got here. I miss who I used to be. I wanna have a home again, ya know? And real friends. You know, the kind of friendships we used to believe in. I miss that. And I miss you. I guess I just miss all of it. Does any of that make any sense?

Brooke: Yeah, it makes all the sense in the world, Peyton. Four years ago, it all seemed so clear, didn't it? Conquer the world, save the world, live happily ever after.

Peyton: Are you happy, Brooke?

Brooke: Sometimes. Not always. Are you?

Peyton: No.

Brooke: Okay, then let me ask you something. What is gonna make you happy, Peyton? Is it how you look? Or the car you drive or the people you know? Is it money or celebrity or power or accomplishments? Because I have all those things and I don't think it's enough.

Peyton: Well then, what is?

Brooke: Love, I think. And that love can be for a boy or a girl or a place or a way of life or even for a family. But where you find it is up to you.

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Indeed, many questions are running through your mind right now: Where do you find love? What makes you happy? You could have all the things in the world that money can buy, but can you honestly say that you can "buy" love? And even if you could "buy" love, how could you be certain that that"love" is genuine, and not reciprocated out of man's selfish ambitions?

Kudos to Joann for the following quote that I found on her blog. It not only makes a lot of sense, but it reminds us all about the essence of true love:

Love isn't about finding someone you can live with; rather it's about finding someone you don't want to live without.

Anyway, I'd like to emphasize on the LOVE OF GOD at this point. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13 that you can die for God, but if you don't have love, it's worthless. By having this love of God, we can learn to love others too. Jesus said in John 13:34-35, "As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." Maybe there are times when your actions aren't always what you want them to be, but if you love God, He alone will know it. Galatians 5:6 says, "The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love".

Your love for Him and others is what matters most.

Hence, I would like to share something brilliant about mathematics and how it can even be applied to God's love that you can think about and lose some sleep over:

1 x 8 + 1 = 9
12 x 8 + 2 = 98
123 x 8 + 3 = 987
1234 x 8 + 4 = 9876
12345 x 8 + 5 = 98765
123456 x 8 + 6 = 987654
1234567 x 8 + 7 = 9876543
12345678 x 8 + 8 = 98765432
123456789 x 8 + 9 = 987654321

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1 x 9 + 2 = 11

12 x 9 + 3 = 111

123 x 9 + 4 = 1111

1234 x 9 + 5 = 11111

12345 x 9 + 6 = 111111

123456 x 9 + 7 = 1111111

1234567 x 9 + 8 = 11111111

12345678 x 9 + 9 = 111111111

123456789 x 9 +10= 1111111111

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9 x 9 + 7 = 88

98 x 9 + 6 = 888

987 x 9 + 5 = 8888

9876 x 9 + 4 = 88888

98765 x 9 + 3 = 888888

987654 x 9 + 2 = 8888888

9876543 x 9 + 1 = 88888888

98765432 x 9 + 0 = 888888888

987654321 x 9 - 1 = 8888888888

9876543210 x 9 - 2 = 88888888888

Brilliant, isn't it??

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And look at this symmetry:

1 x 1 = 1

11 x 11 = 121

111 x 111 = 12321

1111 x 1111 = 1234321

11111 x 11111 = 123454321

111111 x 111111 = 12345654321

1111111 x 1111111 = 1234567654321

11111111 x 11111111 = 123456787654321

111111111 x 111111111=12345678987654321

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From a strictly mathematical viewpoint:

What Equals 100%?

What does it mean to give MORE than 100%?

Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%?

We have all been in situations where someone wants you to GIVE OVER 100%.

How about ACHIEVING 101%?

What equals 100% in life?

Here's a little mathematical formula that might help
answer these questions:

If:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O

P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Is represented as:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.

If:

H-A-R-D-W-O-R- K

8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%

And:

K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E

11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%

And:

A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E

1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%

THEN,
look how far the love of God will take you:

L-O-V-E-O-F-G-O-D

12+15+22+5+15+6+7+15+4 = 101%

Therefore, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that:

While Hard Work and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will get you there,

It's the Love of God that will
put you over the top!

x Smile! x

~Tim~