Random stuff

Some Updates

A friend reminded me that I had not been blogging for almost a month.. in some ways, that's a good thing, coz I really have been trying to be more disciplined in how I spend my time, especially when it comes to surfing the web.. full-time work, and part-time studies (the 1 semester, condensed into 1 month Systematic Theology course, by Douglas Milne that I took at BGST was intense, but enriching..) also took up most of my January..

In addition, so much superb stuff (and some really bad stuff) is already on the blogosphere, and I'm really not sure if I can VA (value add) in anyway.. As someone (i can't remember who) once told me, "If you've got nothing good to say, just shut up.".. Heh heh..

Two things I came across

So, instead of sharing anything new, thought I'd point to two pieces of writing that challenged, and encouraged:

(i) Kingdom of God vs Kingdom of Self

This one stung:

"I would ask you again to be humbly honest with yourself as you are reading. If I sat with you and I listened to recording of the last month of your words, whose kingdom, what kingdom, would I conclude those words are spoken to serve? Would it be the kingdom of self with its self-focused demandingness, expectancy, and entitlement? Would I hear a person who is quick to criticize, quick to judge, quick to slam, and quick to condemn, because people are always violating the laws of your kingdom? Is the greatest moral offense in your life an offense that someone makes against the laws of your kingdom? When this happens do you use words as a punishment or as a weapon? Do you use words to rein this person back into loyal service of the purposes of your kingdom of one?" - Paul Tripp, "The Kingdom of Self vs Kingdom of Self"

A prayer from a sinful heart:
Lord, how I've sinned.. Change me, cleanse me.. May the words of my mouth and the mediation of my heart be pleasing to You, my redeemer and my Lord. Amen

(ii) C J Mahaney interviews Wayne Grudem

This next one, of C J Mahaney interviewing Wayne Grudem, just struck me at how down to earth these guys are.. no airs, just 'regular' guys (though giants of the faith) seeking to live in the will of God:

"I find in those times of quietness, when I’m not praying about anything in particular but simply resting in the Lord’s presence, that he will bring to mind solutions for problems, or people I need to contact, or things I need to write, or things I should not spend time doing, or any of a number of other things. I also find that over the course of the entire Bible reading and prayer time a deeper sense of peace and rest in the Lord’s presence comes on my heart."

"For personal enjoyment: I just finished a new Vince Flynn novel, Extreme Measures. I think I have read all of his books and I enjoyed them a lot (the terrorists are the bad guys and the Americans are the good guys, and the Americans win in the end). But I liked this last one the least because it was so inconclusive at the end. I’ve also enjoyed a number of spy novels by Daniel Silva within the last year (the hero is an Israeli Mossad agent). These are “escape” novels that give my brain a change of pace."

"Arizona has such great weather that it’s possible to run outdoors in your own neighborhood year-round. And I drive to a gym about five minutes from my house and lift weights following the general outlines of a program in the book Body for Life by Bill Phillips. A good friend who is a doctor told me that as I age I will continually lose muscle mass and be prone to injuries and weight gain unless I lift weights in addition to aerobic exercises. My motivation in exercising is (1) I feel better and (2) I want to stay healthy to be able to serve the Lord effectively as long as I can in this life. "

Read the whole interview here.

A prayer of thanksgiving:
Lord, thank you for raising up men of faith that have been such a blessing to the body of Christ. In helping us to know You, Your word, and the way You desire us to live here, on earth for Your Kingdom. Grant that they would continue to have the grace, wisdom, strength and empowering to do Your will, and to know You intimately. Grant also that others would see in them something of Jesus, and be edified, encouraged, and enflamed for the Kingdom. Amen.

PS: Interestingly, I tried to follow the Body for Life programme a couple of years ago. But a combination of pure laziness, poor time management, and a nagging doubt if desiring a buff bod was really "in the will of God" made me stop. That's the problem with over-spiritualizing everything I guess.. A simple desire to "feel better", and to "stay healthy to be able to serve the Lord" should be good enough motivation to exercise.. ok, gonna go for a run tonight then..