Here, I continue with part 3 of my series of posts about the Gospel as interpreted by T.F. Torrance in his book The Mediation of Christ; a book in harmony with Who Jesus is and the ancient Church's view. This time I will tackle only paragraph 3, which says:

"Jesus Christ died for you precisely because you are sinful and utterly unworthy of him, and has thereby already made you his own before and apart from your ever believing in him. He has bound you to himself by his love in a way that he will never let you go, for even if you refuse him and damn yourself in hell his love will never cease. Therefore, repent and believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour."

This passage is loaded yet again with the tremendous Good News about Jesus and all of Humanity in Him!

Suppose you were in a life and death situation, and you desperately wanted to live! You could only grab either a strong chain, and survive, or grab a weak chain, and die. Which one would you grab in order to live? Isn't it EASY to evaluate what you would do in order to live?

In another scenario, what if your small child was hanging precariously from a cliff, and their only options for survival were to a.) grab your hand with their small strength, or b.) have you grab their small hand in your HUGE strength (by comparison). What would YOU do to see them saved; to see them be who they already are in their relationship with you, forever?

That's easy, too!! YOU WOULD TAKE A HOLD OF THEM AND SAVE THEM! Wouldn't you?!

In the above statement, Torrance is trying to make this dynamic in our relationship with Jesus clear! By definition, sin means being "weak!" - or having no REAL purity of strength; being powerless and tainted! It means humanity hanging precariously from a cliff toward permanent death and non-existence (as Athanasius might have put it).

Now, what is God, being good and gracious to do? Is he to be seen as worse than you? Would he give his child only the option of grabbing His Huge Hand and holding on for dear life, or else? Or, is our Father to be seen as he is revealed in Christ? One who knows and sees that you and I are utterly incapable and unworthy of Him; as the Father who knows that if He is to have us permanently with Him, He must take a hold of us?!

Just as our "natural" reaction to our child in the above predicament would be to grab them and not present them with or even ask them which option they wanted, we, too, have been taken hold of by Jesus apart from our believing and doing anything! And, in fact, wouldn't you (if you had all strength and power) grab a hold of your child and NEVER LET THEM GO?!

C'mon now, be for real!!! If for whatever reason you can't think of your child in this way, then substitute any person that you REALLY love and care for!! After all, God SOOOO LOVED the World (cosmos) that He gave His only begotten Son..." - John 3:16! In other words, the Father, Son and Spirit put His full weight and strength as God behind securing us from disappearing forever down the gaping "sin hole" in Jesus - the fullness of God in a human body!!" Col 2:9!!

For one who already believes in Jesus Christ, we believe that with the exception of Jesus Christ, or the Son of God made flesh, everyone has sinned in human flesh! This makes everyone too weak to be saved by their own decision, belief or faith doesn't it? If God requires 100% faith for salvation from someone who obviously can't offer it, then it stands to reason they could never be saved, right? All humans, by scripture, are in just such a position! Romans 3!

How then are we all to be saved UNLESS Jesus saves us? Unless Jesus steps into into our exact position and lives and does for us what we obviously cannot do for ourselves? And if what Jesus did to save us was done 2000 years ago, doesn't it stand to reason that it had to be done to all of us - then?! How can we escape such clear and godly logic as revealed in Jesus and through careful discernment of the scriptures?

Finally, Torrance concludes this paragraph with the proper and Trinitarian Who is Jesus logic! If the Triune God has thrown His weight behind grabbing a hold of us in the Person of Jesus Christ, who could dare escape such an eternal grip?! I mean, this is THE Father grasping us in HIS Son, in THE Spirit! This isn't some human fable about Superman, Ironman or, God forbid, the Incredible Hulk!

I have seen some women leave an audience of many people with their child bound firmly in their grip while the child was throwing a tantrum of the most violent sort! You have probably seen or even done this, too! Solely because of the child's temper and action, combined with the parents fury (and pride because of the public spectacle), that child was NOT going to escape the parental grip, no matter what! They might hurt themselves TRYING to get out of the parents embrace, but it was them, the child, who was going to get hurt, NOT the parent or the parents pride!! No Way!! :-) You can feel me, can't you!! Ha-Ha!! :-)

God's grip on humanity is similar to this real life scenario! Because Jesus (God!) has taken hold of us in his godly pride, and not have us be a spectacle of the enemy, he has taken hold of us in such a way that he will NEVER let us go! The only thing that is going to happen, that can happen, to us, if we don't ever line up with our embrace in the Father's arm is get hurt! Experience hell! Be damned in God's grip!

But God will be damned before that should ever happen! We will be who we are, and He will have us with Him - embraced and in His arms - regardless!! Therefore, we might as well repent! We might as well respond to the loving nature of the grip and live in proper alignment with it, and not live alien to it! It starts hurting too badly to keep flinging our elbows in anger and breaking our own jaws and bones in the process! The Father's grip on all of humanity, in Christ, is NOT going away! He will be our God and we will be his people!

Believe in His Love, therefore! Be and Live in His embrace with obedience! Do not Be and die in His embrace in disobedience! BUT - whether we live or whether we die - we are the Lord's - forever and always! Romans 14:8!

If i have to watch another Chris Marker film, i'm going to smack someone.

i mean it.

I'm really hating this friggin froo froo coffee drinks. There is no place for decaf!! If you are to drink coffee you must drink it right!! None of this almost coffee. I mean what the hell? Seriously? Coffee is caffinated, which means you drink it caffinated, which means you don't screw with a good thing! If I go into one more coffee shop and they ask, "Would you like that in decaf?"  I will have a caniption. I do not want decaf, if I ask for a french vanilla latte I want a french vanilla latte. Ugh, people these days. It's like diets and calorie counts. None of whichg concern me. I will protest this. i understand that some people need it but really they can order it there is no need for the cashier to ask if I want decaf. Are they trying to say something? Oh no you did not. I will have such a problem. The whole point being:If I want decaf I will ask for it. Do not, by god, look me up and down and suggest it.

Issues the affect ordinary folk are complex  (our current financial crises, health care reform, how to eliminate poverty) and I want someone who will take the time to think deeply,  search for the answers, read widely, and connect with peoples hearts and intellects.    I want someone who is willing to "change" when the facts are examined and it makes sense to go in a different direction.   I want someone who is striving for perfection even though they know it is unattainable.  So, I will stay on my high horse.  I will stay committed to doing my very best, to stretching myself, to growing, to staying on the path of the extraordinary and hope that anyone elected to office, who is given the sacred trust of the people, would do the same.

so are some of my art classes.

i disagree with the guy that said God needs us people to worship him in order for him to be considered greater than us; that he needs us for his existence. I disagree strongly.

For those that missed it, Stephan Harper made a statement last week about ordinary Canadians not caring about the arts. After my evening at Nuit Blanche, I found myself thinking about his statement more and more. I've concluded that Stephan Harper embodies what I believe many high school students to be (at least in Barrie).

Uncritical
Unexposed
Cliquey

The most obvious failure in Harper's comment was his concept of the "ordinary Canadian." There is no such thing. The product of multiculturalism is diversity; thus, nothing is normal and no one is ordinary.

Harper has taken hold of the Canadiana that is Tim Hortons and beavers and Kraft Dinner and hockey, and has applied it to everyone; a logical fallacy and proof of village idiocy. Just because he and his white buddies take their kids to hockey every Saturday morning and watch the game on CBC at night does not mean that they are the standard.

What's sad is that the leader of our country has pigeonholed the majority of us as homogenous, low-culture, sports-watching meatheads with no concern for critical thought and new ideas. In a single statement, Harper completely undervalued our creativity, diversity and intelligence. He told the world that Canadians are as simple as the Mackenzie brothers.

What's even sadder is that he chose to sustain his views by cutting arts funding. If he really thought that "ordinary Canadians" didn't appreciate art, shouldn't he be rectifying the problem? After all, cultures that pour into their arts are the richest and the ones we know the most about.

I feel like Harper and his cronies are the jocks in high school. Even though there is nothing inherently better (or worse) about sports than art, the jocks win out because a prewritten social script has already determined that they are cool. Sports = popular. Arts = nerdy. Nonsensical, but often the case. It's time for Harper to grow up and realize that those definitions are shallow, inaccurate and harmful.

I should say that I'm not heavily involved in the arts community. But I still recognize that we have one and I know that the people in that community are some of our smartest. It's a mistake to alienate them.

After the break, there will only be around two months left for this semester. (So FAST!!) And in a few weeks time, it is study week already!! Then FINALS!! (O_Olll) And very soon, my 1st year 1st sem will end;just like that. Wow.

Anyway, I must admit I didn't really had any fun this break. Haha. I was worrying about this and that. Silly me but can't help it. But I went out to have lunch with my friends just now and I am very happy that I get to meet them before going back to UTP again. They were my very funny, wacky and smart companions back in secondary school time. They did silly things again just now and no doubt that we were quite loud (everywhere also like that. Lol.) and maybe annoying (to some people. Don't care.). Haha!! But that's what we do and we laugh about it. I love them and I really treasure them. All the best in the STPM! :) Miss you guys always...

The last line is the group we always call "Sungai Merah" in the class. All red! :D

For us to gain the affirmation that we crave, we have to become contortionists and morph into all sorts of odd shapes in order to fit into a mold of collective appeal.

Here’s the dilemma. Our environment is not static. We are all moving. Prosperity has given us a tickle in our nose and it has caused us one giant sneeze. It could be described as the movement of adjusting and readjusting. We, as a society, are as though asleep and stupidly shuffling and thrashing, looking for the more comfortable position than the last. It’s hard to hold onto things. We were grabbing while we were awake. We are grabbing while we are asleep. Now, I can’t tell one from the other. Am I awake right now? Am I even alive?

The culture we composite is connected. Our world seems to be sharing one brain. We have made up our mind what we accept and what we reject. These are unmistakable ideals that shape not just what we think but also why. They are ideals so widely accepted that we cannot see any need to escape it. We embrace them and they dictate how we are to live. So rather than our lives being our own, they are shared. This collective ideal infects the aesthetic aspect of our mind. It isn’t one individual who decides for himself or herself what is good or true, it is the shared mind. It’s a collective effort. In a general sense, society as an organism is itself as though asleep and stupidly shuffling and thrashing for a new position that is more comfortable than the last.

The corporate entity is not as much deciding as it is being decided for. The individual is merely taken along for the ride. We refer to this entity as “they,” such as, “you know what they always say,” or “they raised the prices.” The better word would be “we.” “We built a new bridge,” or “We have made a new law” or "You know what we always say." No one individual could ever make decisions so definite and final that it determines a set of ideals that every other individual unanimously accepts.

I would be wrong to believe that I was deciding for myself how I would think and how I would live. Neither can it be said that someone else is deciding for me or bossing me around—as if I were not a part of society. The more true approach would be that society is I and I am society. True authenticity is martyred on the cross of collectivity. I am no longer able to ask what it is that is truly beautiful, but only what is acceptable. In the shared mind, which options are most praised? We are to set about attaining and mastering those ideals. It is not a matter of being exceptional at all, but one of being most ordinary. What does the shared mind affirm, and how can I master that?

Our celebrities and idols are truest victims of the violent sneeze. When they receive awards and affirmation by me, they articulate that they are just ordinary human beings. Truly, they are. They are the most extreme example of ordinary that exists.

The picture that we’ve arrived at then is one of an entire culture in bed together. Individuality is lost. We are deep in our shared sub consciousness, and stupidly shuffling and thrashing, looking for the more comfortable position than the last. Rather than seeking and embracing them, ideals are rejected. Too much belief in what should be only promises to deliver, but simply cannot. If I esteem what can be over what actually is, then I am not anymore being authentic. Instead, I will just settle for what is.

Two victories need to be won to prevent this body from an involuntary suicide. We must once again recognize individuality and celebrate it. Secondly, we must allow room for something sacred to rise above things which are temporary and passing away.

Firstly, individually needs to be recovered if there is to be anything sacred. Secular and sacred need not be polarized antithetically from one another. They are every bit as interdependent as the individuals who understand them. Something infinite is shared with that which is not. The things beyond the physical world are expressed within it. The word “secular” takes on a necessary role. This may be understood as a stage upon which the players are performing. “All the world is a stage,” and yet there is more than merely a physical dimension understood in the word “world.” Revelation is a perfect example of this. When someone beholds revelation, that is the place where the sacred and secular mix. If the players on the stage are to act out a story, or reveal something ordinary to an audience, there must be a plot.

Without a variety of ideals, there is no variety of individuals. There is no story worth waking up for. Without a celebration of ordinary individuals, the picture is quite violent. As we understand story, there must be a conflict of ideals, a tension and a friction of minds. When society operates upon widely accepted ideals, the only conflict that exists is physical—man verses man. It would look like a competition, each one for him or herself in an all-verses-all, uphill race toward the most comfortable position. This is not a complete rejection of ideals. It is a celebration of only one set of ideals. To obtain what society celebrates, I must be very good at securing its ideal. This requires a deliberate and calculated assassination of any person standing between me and the perceived ideal, namely “happiness” or “contentment”—the new status symbols for the 21st Century.

Secondly, it is only in the sacred that something ideal can exist and also be attainable. Anything less than ideal is not generically secular simply because it is human. It is secular because it is constantly shifting, causing us to respond by thrashing and pulling, kicking and shifting. This martyrs authenticity because the individual is following societal leading, rather than something sacred. That which is ultimate cannot reside among society. It rests above it, someplace infinite. Within the sacred, the man-verses-God mystique is found—something angels long to share with us.

This is an anthem for the ordinary. It is a challenge for any of us to be strong in conviction, popular or not, and get into the game. We are to be actively involved in creation, not passive. We are to be having dominion over and subduing our broken planet as agents of life and love--light and salt. Instead, we are letting the appetite of the world blind us. Pleasure-seeking and thirst for power has us persuing that which culture obsesses about. We all want affirmation. We're addicted to ourselves. Rather than the cultural mandate to go, teach, love, we are letting culture impose its whole contradictory set of values onto us--be what you want, believe what you want, and look out for number one. Rather than using love to defeat our enemy, our enemy has defeated love. At the same time we are to have a stance toward culture, we are also taking a stance against it. This is what the Bible calls followers. This is never popular.

When light changes our perception

On October 3, James Nachtwey revealed his TED prize wish. Visit XDRTB.ORG.

37 photographs. 3 minutes. Millions of lives to save.

Lord of brilliant light
You separate the night
And everything inside
You are
The One who calms the seas
And every part of me
With just a word You speak
You are
You are.

I give You all of me for all You are
Here I am
Take me apart
Take me apart
I give You all of me for all You are
Here I am
Take me apart
Take me apart

Angels bowing down
Beneath the rushing sound
A voice that thunders out
You are
The one who holds the stars
And the beating of my heart
Exalted above all
You are
You are

All I am I want to lay down at Your feet

and

Tara Donovan

Both artists currently feature in this exhibition

I promised to follow up on the last post by elaborating on and clarifying the rich things T.F. Torrance was trying to get across to us about Jesus the Christ. I would like to clarify, and put in my own words, the first two paragraphs from his writings on pp.94-95 out of The Mediation of Christ. Here are the first two pararaphs of his writing again:

“How then is the Gospel to be preached in a genuinely evangelical way? Surely in such a way that full and central place is given to the vicarious humanity of Jesus as the all­ sufficient human response to the saving love of God which he has freely and unconditionally provided for us. We preach and teach the Gospel evangelically, then, in such a way as this:

God loves you so utterly and completely that he has given himself for you in Jesus Christ his beloved Son, and has thereby pledged his very Being as God for your salvation. In Jesus Christ God has actualised his unconditional love for you in your human nature in such a once for all way, that he cannot go back upon it without undoing the Incarnation and the Cross and thereby denying himself."

Wow! What a delicious Gospel mouthful! Here is my translation of what Torrance is trying to get across to us:

In his first paragraph, Tom Torrance is stressing that there is a genuine WAY to preach the Gospel, and by implication, a disingenuine way to preach it. To me, Torrance's writing is reminiscent of the words of the Apostle Paul in the book of Galatians where he writes in chapter 1, verses 6-9,

"6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are confusing you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should proclaim to you a gospel contrary to what we proclaimed to you, let that one be accursed! 9 As we have said before, so now I repeat, if anyone proclaims to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let that one be accursed!"

T.F. Torrance is emphatic that in the Gospel, Jesus must be given His proper place and be seen as the Gospel Himself!! The Gospel is not primarily a doctrine, creeds, or statements and words trying to describe Jesus! Jesus, or the Son of God made human, IS the Gospel in His own literal Person and Being! Your best friend is not the words "best friend" written on a piece of paper, or the words "this is my best friend" that you say to other people when describing your best friend! Your best friend is ACTUALLY your best friend - him/her, the person to whom your words and writings are pointing!!!

Torrance understands that because Jesus is the one who created and sustains all things, when he stooped and stepped into our actual humanity, he was actually living out our humanity for us, and in us! Literally in our full blown and carnal humanity! Just as Adam had some type of literal impact on all of us when he sinned as a human being, so Jesus Christ had an impact on all of us when he undone Adam's sin as a human being! Romans 5!

Jesus not only became part of his creation, he is the One Who perpetually sustains everything in creation! If Jesus doesn't sustain it, it can't, and doesn't, exist! Therefore, Jesus' influence on everyone and everything is vastly greater and more significant than a mere sinful man like Adam's influence!!!! In the exact same sense, what you do with and in your life does NOT have as much influence as Jesus' life has on your life!! You ARE who you are in Jesus!!

In the love of the Triune God, Jesus did all of this for us, and TO us, without asking for our input and waiting to see what we would decide about it. He cast God's vote FOR us before we could even think about trying to have a thought about it. He lived our life for us, AS US, graciously, freely, and without our having to change our current and bad ways first! Before YOU, literally, were born, Jesus lived your life for you, before the Father, as an acceptable life and loving response to the Father's Love!

In the 2nd paragraph, Torrance is emphasizing that the Father's problem with you was not that you disobeyed his laws! We have all disobeyed his laws, but the Father, Son and Spirit are not legalists who care more about rules than relationships! They don't care more about things than they do people!! The Father doesn't care more about Himself than he cares about you!! The Father loves you and I so much He decided that our rule breaking and fleshly and weak tendencies would NEVER keep Him from US - the people, the relationship He values!

The Son made us from dust and knew we would fall on our faces!Therefore, the Triune God planned to send Jesus before the foundation of the world to become our humanity for us, and remain forever a human for us, so that our perfect humanity would always be upheld in Him, even if we inevitably broke some of the rules!!

Torrance reveals in this paragraph that God will never undo what he has done for you, and you will always be acceptable and alive forevermore in Jesus! In order to undo His love and life for you, God would have to change Who he is and undo everything he has done in the Life of Jesus on our behalf, and that simply ain't gonna happen!! Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever!! Hebrews 13:8! Because Jesus is exactly like His Father and the Spirit, there is NO chance that any Person of the Godhead will think differently of you or love you any less!! Colossians 1:19-20!

Because of Who Jesus is, you and I don't ever have to fear that we will never exist again after our physical death, or that our loved ones who have died will be snuffed out, permanently! There is no such thing as being annihilated! The only time we would have to fear having no existence at all is if we can imagine Jesus having no existence, because our lives are upheld, literally, in His!!! The Father, Son and Spirit have decided that you and I will live forever, regardless! God has pledged and given Himself to us, in the human being Jesus, as our eternal guarantee!!

Again, to undo all of what He has done, God would have to deny Himself, but that is IMPOSSIBLE because God CANNOT deny Himself or he would NOT be God!!! 2 Timothy 2:13! None of this is theory or based on fallen human reasoning! This is what we see Revealed LITERALLY in Jesus the God/Man! The Triune God is ACTUALLY and UNCONDITIONALLY our Salvation in Jesus' own Person and Being!!!!!

Chew on, and rest in, all of this for a little bit, and I'll be back to tackle another paragraph or two on the next blog post!! :-)

Anyway, last Tuesday, my friends and I went to this centre which provides special training for the people who have mental difficulties. We call them the special people. The centre takes in special people that are from 7 to 25 years old. As I said, it is a centre, not a house and it is called Ray of Hope. It situated in Bercham. We took a visit to this place in conjunction with our Moral Studies Project. There, I met a 7-year-old girl named Murphy. I would put her picture here but I can’t do so to avoid any sensitivity. Anyway, about Murphy, she has mental disabilities. She didn’t want to join the class activities and she was a bit selfish. Haha~ However, she can understand what I tell her because some older kids have difficulties in understanding what we are trying to say. She was also very “manja” to me like hugging me and wouldn’t let me go away from her. She cannot spell her name correctly and she is still trying to remember number 1 to 10. Despite her mental disabilities, she is still an adorable little girl who requires a lot of attention. Then it came to my mind that her guardian must have a lot of difficulties as they can’t leave her alone, afraid that she might do something dangerous. They have to spend a lot of time just to guard her from doing anything harmful. They also need to spend time and effort to teach her about daily life and all. It is very hard but they will do it because they care and they love her. It is very inspiring. I had a good time there and it was tiring (honestly) but happy. J We are going to have a second visit next Tuesday!

A piece of work from Murphy in the class :)

Oh yeah, my life is recently surrounded by cats. In UTP, cats and come home, cats also. Haha~ When I got home, I saw two kittens!! >.< The Mummy cat that my family erm, feeds it (we don’t allow it to come into our house, so maybe a half-pet?? O_O) and she gave birth to two kittens! They are still very small and my Mum says they gave her nothing but troubles. Lol~ The kittens are adorable. When I go near them, they gave a sound “Kyaaaahhhh~” in attempt to scare me away. XD They are very shy as they are still young. The Mummy cat has no problem with me going near her kittens. Hehe... However, the kittens have disappeared since Saturday. Mummy cat couldn’t find them and her belly is full with milk, making her very uncomfortable. She was upset and didn’t eat much until today. The kittens are nowhere to be found. Poor them~ :(

The two kittens!! One white and the other one greyish black. :) But they are lost now. Sigh.

ROME, JULY 20, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of a commentary by the Pontifical Household preacher, Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa, on the readings from this Sunday's liturgy.

* * * 

The Friends of Jesus
18th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Genesis 18:1-10a; Colossians 1:24-28; Luke 10:38-42

"Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha was burdened with much serving."

The village is Bethany and the house is that of Lazarus and his two sisters. Jesus loved to stop there and take some rest when he was traveling near Jerusalem.

Mary was stupefied that for once she had the master all to herself and could listen in silence to the words of eternal life that he spoke when he was taking his rest. So she sat there at his feet, as is still done today in the East. It is not difficult to imagine Martha's half-resentful, half-joking tone when, passing by them, she says to Jesus: "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me."

It was at this point that Jesus said something that by itself is a mini Gospel: "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her."

The tradition has seen in the sisters a symbol of the active and the contemplative life respectively; the liturgy with the choice of the first reading (Abraham who welcomes the three angels at the terebinth of Mamre) shows an example of hospitality in the episode.

I think, however, that the more evident theme is that of friendship. "Jesus loved Martha, together with her sister and Lazarus," we read in John's Gospel (11:5).

When they bring him the news of Lazarus' death he says to his disciples: "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep but I am going to wake him up" (John 11:11).

Faced with the sorrow of the two sisters he also breaks down and weeps, so much so that those who are present exclaim: "See how much he loved him!" (John 11:13).

It is wonderful and consoling to know that Jesus knew and cultivated that sentiment that is so beautiful and precious for us men -- friendship.

Of friendship we must say what St. Augustine said of time: "I know what time is but if someone asks me to explain it, I no longer know what it is." In other words, it is easier to intuit what friendship is that to explain it in words.

It is a mutual attraction and deep understanding between two people, but it does not have a sexual component as does conjugal love. It is a union of two souls, not two bodies. In this sense the ancients said that friendship is to have "one soul in two bodies." It can be a stronger bond than that of family. Family consists in having the same blood in one's veins. In friendship one has the same tastes, ideals, interests.

It is essential to friendship that it is founded on a common search for the good and the true. That which binds people who get together to do evil is not friendship but complicity, it is "an association that corrupts," as is said in judicial jargon.

Friendship is also different from love of neighbor. The latter must embrace everyone, even those who do not return it, even enemies, while friendship demands reciprocity, that is, that the other corresponds to your love.

Friendship is nourished by confidences, that is, by the fact that I confide in another that which is deepest and most personal in my thoughts and experiences.

Sometimes I say to young people: Do you want to find out who your true friends are and rank them? Try to remember what have been the most secret experiences of your life -- positive or negative -- and ask yourself to whom you confided them: those are your true friends. And if there is something in your life, so deep and you have revealed it to one person only, that person is your best friend.

The Bible is full of praise of friendship. "A faithful friend is a strong support; whoever finds one has found a treasure" (Sirach 6:14ff.). The proof of friendship is fidelity.

According to a popular saying, "When the money goes, friends go." True friendship does not fade at the friend's first problem. We know who our true friend is during the time of trial. History is full of great friendships that have been immortalized in literature. But the history of Christian sanctity also knows examples of famous friendships.

A delicate problem with friendship is whether it is possible once one is married. It is not said that one must completely cut off all the friendships one has cultivated before getting married but there must be a rearrangement if the newlyweds are not to experience difficulties and crises.

The surest friendships are those that a couple cultivates together. Among those friendships that are cultivated separately those with persons of the same sex create fewer problems than those with persons of the opposite sex.

Often in these cases the presumption that one is above all suspicion and danger is punished. Films with titles like "My Best Friend's Bride" [Ed.N. Father Cantalamessa refers to the Italian translation given to the title of the movie "My Best Friend's Wedding"] speak volumes about the problem, but apart from this extreme they also create serious practical problems. You cannot go out with friends every night leaving the other (usually the wife!) alone at home.

For consecrated persons, the more certain friendships are those that are shared with the whole community. In talking about Lazarus, Jesus does not say "my friend Lazarus" but "our friend Lazarus." Lazarus and the sisters became friends of the apostles too according to the well-known principle, "My friends' friends are my friends." This is how the great friendships were between some saints -- the one between Francis of Assisi and Clare, for example. Francis is the brother and father of all the sisters; Clare is the sister and mother of all the brothers.

welcome..
this blogs was intended to be my log book as a student in life, in doing things..
i hope what i wrote in this blogs will be useful for us..

...cheers...
\(^o^)/

“You know, this Billy Joel is very much American. Every Syllable smells American ”. People should listen to Billy Joel more often.

Some time I think almost everyone is ordinary people and sometime I get a strange thought that no one is ordinary. Every one has some uniqueness that they are no more ordinary people. Do you agree?

I wrote this last night and I am posting it today so that I can cultivate the habit of posting one, at least one daily.

In this blog post I want to share with you my favorite passage out of all the books I have ever read so far! It completely and positively transformed my entire experience of life when I first read and understood it! I was freed and liberated for life in ways that I cannot fully describe with words! In other words, I was floored!

THIS passage is an example of how the Gospel of Jesus Christ REALLY should be preached, and what is REALLY meant by the Good News! I hold it up as my prime example for preaching God's Good News, and am striving to say this same thing in all of my communication on this blog! To understand this is to understand why it is called Good News - period!!

It is taken from pp.94-95 out of the book entitled, "The Mediation of Christ", by the late Thomas F. Torrance. He writes in a very deep and profound way, and this is more of his "simple" writing! :-)  Most of you should be able to read and understand the words just fine, but I don't want to leave it to chance. Therefore, I will take the next few blog posts to elaborate on this passage in more explicit detail, to help you see the richness and practical expression of what is being communicated.

Here is the passage:

"How then is the Gospel to be preached in a genuinely evangelical way? Surely in such a way that full and central place is given to the vicarious humanity of Jesus as the all­ sufficient human response to the saving love of God which he has freely and unconditionally provided for us. We preach and teach the Gospel evangelically, then, in such a way as this:

God loves you so utterly and completely that he has given himself for you in Jesus Christ his beloved Son, and has thereby pledged his very Being as God for your salvation. In Jesus Christ God has actualised his unconditional love for you in your human nature in such a once for all way, that he cannot go back upon it without undoing the Incarnation and the Cross and thereby denying himself.

Jesus Christ died for you precisely because you are sinful and utterly unworthy of him, and has thereby already made you his own before and apart from your ever believing in him. He has bound you to himself by his love in a way that he will never let you go, for even if you refuse him and damn yourself in hell his love will never cease. Therefore, repent and believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour.

From beginning to end what Jesus Christ has done for you he has done not only as God but as man. He has acted in your place in the whole range of your human life and activity, including your personal decisions, and your responses to God's love, and even your acts of faith.

He has believed for you, fulfilled your human response to God, even made your personal decision for you, so that he acknowledges you before God as one who has already responded to God in him, who has already believed in God through him, and whose personal decision is already impli­cated in Christ's self-offering to the Father, in all of which he has been fully and completely accepted by the Father, so that in Jesus Christ you are already accepted by him. Therefore, renounce yourself, take up your cross and follow Jesus as your Lord and Saviour.

To preach the Gospel of the unconditional grace of God in that unconditional way is to set before people the astonishingly good news of what God has freely provided for us in the vicarious humanity of Jesus.

To repent and believe in Jesus Christ and commit myself to him on that basis means that I do not need to look over my shoulder all the time to see whether I have really given myself to him, whether my faith is at all adequate, for in faith it is not upon my faith, my believing or my personal commitment that I rely, but solely upon what Christ has done for me, in my place and on my behalf, and what he is and always will be as he stands in for me before the face of the Father.

That means that I am completely liberated from all ulterior motives in believing or following Jesus Christ, for on the ground of his vicarious human response for me, I am free for spontaneous joyful response and worship and service as I could not otherwise be."

Please tune in to my next few posts as I clarify what is written here, and hopefully in a way that really reaches you where you live, move and have your daily being! :-)

I used to find Jesus kind of strange and rather silly when I read how He interacted with his disciples after his crucifixion and resurrection.  Several times Jesus would sort of surprise them or nonchalantly walk up behind them and join their conversation as if nothing happened. If I were Jesus, I'd be like "LOOK!  I'M ALIVE!!!"  But Jesus doesn't ever do that, and I always thought that was weird and kind of funny of him.

Back in May I was at a spiritual formation retreat with fellow InterVarsity staff and we studied Luke 24:13-35.  Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem.  They were talking with each other about everything that had happened.  As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him.

It's weird to me that they couldn't recognize Jesus though they were just talking about him.  I have to think Jesus wasn't in disguise or playing games with them.  I'd like to think of Jesus as silly, because I think that's fun, but there's really probably some deep spiritual meaning behind why he pops up to his people as if it ain't no thang...

And there is.

We talked about how Jesus often likes to meet us in the ordinary, but if we're not looking for him there, we'll miss him. That is so telling of our humble King, isn't it?

It was an incredible confirmation for me about what I felt the Lord was teaching me--to find him in the ordinary.  The truth is that most of life is ordinary.  We breathe, study, go to work, take showers and brush our teeth (hopefully), eat meals, wash dishes, talk with friends, and have very ordinary experiences most of the time.  Actually, considering how much of our lives consist of ordinary things I'm glad Jesus likes to meet us in the ordinary because otherwise we may not see much of him.  Then again, if we miss him in the ordinary we won't see much of him either.

I feel like I'm on a treasure hunt.  It's amazing to me that the two men on their journey to Emmaus didn't recognize Jesus, whom they were just discussing.  How difficult it is to find Jesus in the ordinary.  But to my frustration this is what the Lord is teaching me.  I felt as though God said to me, "Audrey, you've learned to worship me and find me in the fullest of times when my presence has been strong and forward, and you've learned to worship me and find me in the desolate desert, but now it's time to find me in the ordinary." Unforunately, I also felt like God was telling me that this season wouldn't end until I truly learned to see him in those places.

It's been 5 months, and it's been boring to be quite honest.  Mostly because I haven't been trying very hard.  The ordinary is...ordinary.  Mundane, even.  For me it takes discipline and reflection to recognize the Lord in the mundane...discipline that I've been avoiding, which is why it's been 5 months with little to show for it.  There's an exercise that is helpful called the Daily Examen that I'm supposed to be doing, but DANG I just want excitement!!  I like when God just smacks me in the face!  And mostly, I don't like to have to work for it.  haha.  However, I know that 1) God will be faithful to not take me out of this season until I've learned what he's trying to teach me, and 2) once it becomes second nature to see God in the ordinary my relationship with God will grow to new depths that I couldn't have otherwise gotten to.

So, here's to the ordinary.  If anyone wants to practice it with me this is the Daily Examen...

The Daily Examen

The goal is to see how the events of the day have made an impression on you.  What touched you?  What stirred your emotions?  What created a sense of conviction or resolve, doubt or fear, hope or gratitude?  Then, where was Jesus for you in that experience?

1. What happened today that moved me towards God?
2. What happened today that moved me away from God?

Practice Exercise

Reflect back over the day since the time you woke up.  Note anything that made an impression on you during the day.  (stirred emotions, etc.)

Which of those things that touched you moved you towards God?  or caused you to cry out for help, give thanks, experience a sense of awe or talk to Him?

Which of those things moved you away from God?  Or caused you to doubt, turn away, give into temptation, and distract you from paying attention?

As I'm learning to live life with Jesus I see that the ordinary is what the majority of life consists of, so if I hope to live life with Jesus for a while I'd better learn to find him in the ordinary.

It has been days and months since I posted the last one. Wait a minute it is almost an year since I wrote the last posting. These days my life is so boring, I did not even notice that an year passed by and I did not even feel it.

I am not sure anyone would read this blog ever. But want to write still. Wanted to write what I feel.

Sometime anonymity makes one secure and write what they feel and it makes one more honest.

Talked to family members this morning, who are far away from where I live. It was not a pleasant talk. I did not like to talk like this with my family and for that matter anyone else.

But lately I am becoming aware of that the way people are so selfish and look for personal benefits in everything instead of doing something good.

I may not call my family for a long time after this day. Let me see. Sometime time is a healer. I would let it cool down. Changed the picture to match the name of the blog.

This should be enough for the day in Diary section.

"The wounds inflicted by the past 10 years of violence and destruction should be acknowledged as part of the steps towards healing," the Zimbabwe Christian Alliance said in a 17 September statement. "The need for healing at grassroots level is critical if this agreement is to be meaningful to ordinary Zimbabweans," the group added.

In Geneva, the Rev. Ishmael Noko, who is a Zimbabwean theologian and general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation, described indications by the wider global community that it would wait and see how the agreement works in practice before providing aid to the country as "a strategy for failure". Noko said, "If the international community waits, the moment will pass. Like the political leaders in Zimbabwe, the international community must put other considerations aside, and focus on the welfare of the people of Zimbabwe."

Report from Christian Telegraph

isn't the kitten a beauty? it was one of the four kittens in my previous post. this little orange kitten was playing around in the drain after its "feeding time". the drain is covered by blocks of cement with holes in the middle of it. i was lucky to capture one of the four kittens from a hole. it stayed still for me to take its photo. i really enjoyed the moment i took its photo. :) FYI, there are so many cats in UTP. you can see them everywhere! black, orange, white, mixed colours, etc. they are annoying at times (they did their "nature call" in one of the toilets in my house! >.<) but there are times where they show valuable expressions. expressions that are very meaningful and priceless in my eyes. i hope to capture those expressions, permanently. :D i just love them (the expressions, not the cats. :P). btw, i am new in taking photos and am a fresh newbie in photoshop-ing. i am learning. i really hope and want to take photography as a hobby.i just need some time and money! :P ehehe...

as for today, i did my Engineering Drawing test 1. it was not as complicated as i thought it would be. XD i finished the task but i hope i got it right. >.< till my next post! haik!!