If Jesus is...

I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.
-- St. Paul to Timothy, from 1 Timothy 6:13-16

Keep the commandment of Jesus until He returns!

Although these words were initially given by Paul to Timothy, it's hard to ignore the high emotion here, nor is it easy to escape the charge as a general command to all Christians. That is, if you believe what Paul says about Jesus and God.

Jesus will return, or in the language here, appear.
God will (re-)send Him.
And God is the blessed and only Sovereign.
God is the King of kings and Lord of lords.
He alone has immortality.
He dwells in unapproachable light.

These statements are true, and not believing in those statements will not make them untrue. Hence, whether you keep the commandment of Jesus or not will have ever lasting consequences.

Two questions, then.

If you doubt the objective, eternal truthfulness of these statements, why do you try to imitate Jesus?

If you do believe the statements to be true as they are, then why are you content with your feeble attempt, nay, failure to keep Jesus' commandment?

Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards: #42

42. Resolved, frequently to renew the dedication of myself to God, which was made at my baptism; which I solemnly renewed, when I was received into the communion of the church; and which I have solemnly re-made this twelfth day of January, 1722-23.

How often do you look back on the day you were baptised, or declared your faith and accepted by a church as a member? Why not re-dedicate yourself today to the One who is worthy of your all?

(Source: A Puritan's Mind)

Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards: #41

41. Resolved, to ask myself at the end of every day, week, month and year, wherein I could possibly in any respect have done better. Jan. 11, 1723.

When overdone, it may cause you depression, but without reflection or retrospection, how can anyone learn anything or improve?

(Source: A Puritan's Mind)

30 years

I wrote 29 years last year today.
Today is my 30th birthday.

As I was reflecting on my past, I was again reminded of how gracious God has been all my life. I just cannot believe how merciful He is.

Why does this perfectly good God love me, a wicked sinner?
Why is He so patient with me, an ignorant rebel?
Why did God pay such a high cost for such a lowly being like me?

O, what shall I render to the LORD for all His benefits to me?

Book Review: The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat

I think one could brush this book off as a mere collection of weird stories.
The fact that they are grounded in real clinical cases may cause some others to ponder on the stories a little bit longer.
For others, these real life cases and the deeply thoughtful and sometimes even hopeful analysis of them would provide a rich source of extraordinary human lives, from which humanists may glean much that supports their ideals.

As a Christian, I saw much brokenness in all of the cases, even though some may protest against such labelling. I hope they don't misunderstand me. I think Dr. Sacks himself would understand me saying that all people in the book, Dr. Sacks included, are one way or another "broken" beings. When one acknowledges his brokenness, a Christian redemption can be explained in a way that is especially charged with hope. In this view, I think I can recommend this book to all.

You can buy this book from Borders or Amazon.

Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards: #40

40. Resolved, to inquire every night, before I go to bed, whether I have acted in the best way I possibly could, with respect to eating and drinking. Jan. 7, 1723.

I would benefit from this resolution. Almost all people who live in the developed country would.

(Source: A Puritan's Mind)

Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards: #39

39. Resolved, never to do anything that I so much question the lawfulness of, as that I intend, at the same time, to consider and examine afterwards, whether it be lawful or no; except I as much question the lawfulness of the omission.

This one is a little confusing. I think here's what Edwards is saying.
When the lawfulness of an action is questionable in my mind, and would lead me to re-examine the situation again afterwards, I will not commit to that action. One exception to this rule, however, is that if I would also question the lawfulness of inaction as well, then I cannot be bound by this resolution.

Did I parse Jonathan Edwards' words correctly? Anyone care to correct me if I'm wrong?

But if I did understood his words rightly, then, I think this would be a good model for me when I am faced with dilemmas.

(Source: A Puritan's Mind)

Maximum Joy Guaranteed

I know many people would not get this message. But if you are one of those few who wonder what Christian faith is about or why I am so excited about Jesus, it is partly because knowing and trusting Him guarantees the absolute maximum joy a human being can ever have.

Do NOT waste your life.


(HT: Rebs Kim)

Caterpillar

I don't know what this commercial is for, but it's pretty nice.

(HT: TED)