I am your constant companion,
I am your greatest helper or your heaviest burden.
I will push you onward or drag you down to failure.
I am at your command.
Half of the tasks that you do you might just as well
Turn over to me and I will do them quickly and correctly.
I am easily managed; you must merely be firm with me.
Show me exactly how you want something done.
After a few lessons, I will do it automatically.
I am the servant of all great people
And the regret of all failures as well.
Those who are great, I have made great.
Those who are failures, I have made failures.
I am not a machine but I will work with all its precision
Plus the intelligence of a person.
Now you may run me for profit or you may run me for ruin.
It makes no difference to me.
Take me, train me, be firm with me and
I will lay the world at your feet.
Be easy with me and I will destroy you.
I am called Habit!
[Author Unknown]
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Receiving the Kingdom of God like a child
"I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn't receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it."
Mark 10:15, NLT
How can you "receive the Kingdom of God like a child"? Adults considering the Christian faith for the first time will have life experiences that take them way past the ability to be as innocent as children. Jesus does not ask us to put aside our experiences, but he does require a change of attitude: adult self-sufficiency must recognize its need for the sovereign God; adult moral defensiveness must humble itself before the holy God; and adult skeptical toughness must soften before the loving God. Children do not feel supremely powerful, perfectly righteous, or totally autonomous. These are adult fantasies.
Coming to Jesus means to accept his goodness on your behalf, confess your need, and commit your life to his tender guidance.
© 2009, Tyndale House Publishers
Mark 10:15, NLT
How can you "receive the Kingdom of God like a child"? Adults considering the Christian faith for the first time will have life experiences that take them way past the ability to be as innocent as children. Jesus does not ask us to put aside our experiences, but he does require a change of attitude: adult self-sufficiency must recognize its need for the sovereign God; adult moral defensiveness must humble itself before the holy God; and adult skeptical toughness must soften before the loving God. Children do not feel supremely powerful, perfectly righteous, or totally autonomous. These are adult fantasies.
Coming to Jesus means to accept his goodness on your behalf, confess your need, and commit your life to his tender guidance.
© 2009, Tyndale House Publishers
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Is not believing the existence of God rational?
In economics, we assume that every individuals are rational. Rational individuals will make choices which maximize their objective functions, subject to constraints.
In finance theory, we partly believe that every individuals are also behaving rationally and they will minimize risk, for any given level of return. Minimizing risk is rational.
Now, how is it related to believing the existence of God? Why is 'not believing the existence of God' probably not a rational thing to do?
Let see the following arguments,
1. If God does not exist, then there is no difference between believing His existence and not believing His existence. Everyone (believers and non-believers) will be doing fine in the end.
2. If God exists and He has rules or commands for you to follow, then it makes difference on whether you are believing on His existence.
If you are not believing on His existence and therefore certainly you are not going to listen to Him, then it is likely that your might break His rules and it is likely that you might reap something you do not like in the end, such as punishments.
If you are believing on His existence and you are listening to Him, then your life or life-after-death is likely to go well and you will be blessed by all the good things from Him, due to your obedience to Him.
Furthermore, His rules or commands are teaching you good. His rules do not teach you to do something harmful to your life. Right? So, it is a double benefit.
The conclusions are :
A. If you do not believe on His existence, you will be fine only in condition 1
B. If you believe on His existence, you will be fine in both, condition 1 and 2.
On (A), your 'investment risk' is only half-hedged. But on (B), your 'investment risk' is fully hedged. If you are rational, then you will choose to take full-hedge, instead on half-hedged your 'investment'.
Life is also a kind of 'investment'. Make sure you manage the 'risk' well, so that you could reap the benefit on the maturity date.
If I were you, I will choose to believe on His existence, and listen to Him. I am a rational person. Are you rational?
Disclaimer : It is just a thought, which might be worthwhile to consider.
In finance theory, we partly believe that every individuals are also behaving rationally and they will minimize risk, for any given level of return. Minimizing risk is rational.
Now, how is it related to believing the existence of God? Why is 'not believing the existence of God' probably not a rational thing to do?
Let see the following arguments,
1. If God does not exist, then there is no difference between believing His existence and not believing His existence. Everyone (believers and non-believers) will be doing fine in the end.
2. If God exists and He has rules or commands for you to follow, then it makes difference on whether you are believing on His existence.
If you are not believing on His existence and therefore certainly you are not going to listen to Him, then it is likely that your might break His rules and it is likely that you might reap something you do not like in the end, such as punishments.
If you are believing on His existence and you are listening to Him, then your life or life-after-death is likely to go well and you will be blessed by all the good things from Him, due to your obedience to Him.
Furthermore, His rules or commands are teaching you good. His rules do not teach you to do something harmful to your life. Right? So, it is a double benefit.
The conclusions are :
A. If you do not believe on His existence, you will be fine only in condition 1
B. If you believe on His existence, you will be fine in both, condition 1 and 2.
On (A), your 'investment risk' is only half-hedged. But on (B), your 'investment risk' is fully hedged. If you are rational, then you will choose to take full-hedge, instead on half-hedged your 'investment'.
Life is also a kind of 'investment'. Make sure you manage the 'risk' well, so that you could reap the benefit on the maturity date.
If I were you, I will choose to believe on His existence, and listen to Him. I am a rational person. Are you rational?
Disclaimer : It is just a thought, which might be worthwhile to consider.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Listen and Understand
"Then he said, "Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand." (Mark 4:9, NLT)
Some people in the crowd were looking for evidence to use against Jesus; others truly wanted to learn and grow. Jesus' words were for the honest seekers.
We hear with our ears, but there is a deeper kind of listening with the mind and heart that is necessary in order to gain spiritual understanding from Jesus' words.
© 2009, Tyndale House Publishers
Some people in the crowd were looking for evidence to use against Jesus; others truly wanted to learn and grow. Jesus' words were for the honest seekers.
We hear with our ears, but there is a deeper kind of listening with the mind and heart that is necessary in order to gain spiritual understanding from Jesus' words.
© 2009, Tyndale House Publishers
Monday, June 22, 2009
Open Invitation
Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. —Hebrews 4:16
Versailles was made the capital of France by King Louis XIV in 1682 and remained the capital (except for a short time) until 1789 when it was moved back to Paris. The beautiful palace of Versailles included an opulent 241-foot-long Hall of Mirrors. When a visitor approached the king, he had to curtsy every five steps as he walked the entire distance to meet the king sitting on his dazzling silver throne!
Foreign emissaries to France submitted to that humiliating ritual to court the French monarch’s favor toward their country. By contrast, our God, the King of kings, invites His people to come to His throne freely. We can come to Him anytime—no advance appointments and no bowing required!
How grateful we should be that our heavenly Father is so much more inviting! “Through [Christ] we . . . have access by one Spirit to the Father” (Eph. 2:18). Because of this, the writer of Hebrews urges us to “come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16).
Have you responded to God’s open invitation? Come in awe and gratitude, for the God of this universe is willing to hear your petitions anytime. —C. P. Hia
You need to talk with God today,
Your heart’s bowed down with care;
Just speak the words you have to say—
He’ll always hear your prayer. —Hess
Access to God’s throne is always open.
Copyright 2009, RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI 49555 USASaturday, June 20, 2009
Number of hungry worldwide tops 1bn
By Javier Blas, Commodities Correspondent
Published: June 19 2009 13:52 | Last updated: June 19 2009 13:52
The number of chronically hungry people has passed 1bn for the first time – about one in six people – as the economic crisis compounds the impact of still high food prices, the United Nations said on Friday.
The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation said that its latest estimates put the number of hungry people at 1.02bn, up from a revised 915m in 2008. The estimate confirms data advanced by the Financial Times earlier this year.
The new UN assessment signals that the food and economic crisis of the last two years have reversed the past quarter-century’s slow but constant decline in the proportion of undernourished people as a percentage of the world’s population.
Before the food crisis started in mid-2007, there were fewer than 850m chronically hungry people in the world, a level that has been roughly constant since the early 1980s owing to the global fight against poverty and countries such as China, India or Brazil lifting their economic growth over the last two decades.
The most recent increase in hunger is not the consequence of poor global harvests but is caused by the world economic crisis that has resulted in lower incomes and increased unemployment, the UN said in a statement.
The Group of Eight leading nations acknowledged earlier this year that efforts to tackle hunger were lagging. G8 agriculture ministers, meeting in northern Italy in late April, said that the world was “very far from reaching” the UN’s goal of halving by 2015 the world’s proportion of malnourished people.
“A dangerous mix of the global economic slowdown combined with stubbornly high food prices in many countries has pushed some 100m more people than last year into chronic hunger and poverty,” said Jacques Diouf, FAO director-general.
“The silent hunger crisis, affecting one-sixth of all of humanity, poses a serious risk for world peace and security,” Mr Diouf added in a statement. “Today, increasing hunger is a global phenomenon. All world regions have been affected.”
The warning comes after the FAO and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said earlier this week that agricultural commodities prices would rise 10-30 per cent over the next 10 years compared with their average of 1997-2006, less than previously feared because of lower economic growth and oil prices.
Agriculture, long neglected in policy discussions, is now being examined more closely after the 2007-08 food crisis, which saw record prices for staples such as wheat and rice spark food riots from Haiti and Bangladesh to Egypt and Senegal. Wholesale agriculture commodities prices have declined since then, but retail food prices remain close to record highs in many developing countries.
The UN’s World Food Programme is cutting food aid rations and shutting down some operations as donor countries that face a fiscal crunch at home slash contributions to its funding. The agency, the world’s leading hunger fighter, had less than $1.5bn in mid-June, out of a required budget of $6.4bn. With almost half the year gone, officials in donor countries said, it was unlikely that the WFP would receive the money it says it needs to prevent hunger in many poor countries.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
Published: June 19 2009 13:52 | Last updated: June 19 2009 13:52
The number of chronically hungry people has passed 1bn for the first time – about one in six people – as the economic crisis compounds the impact of still high food prices, the United Nations said on Friday.
The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation said that its latest estimates put the number of hungry people at 1.02bn, up from a revised 915m in 2008. The estimate confirms data advanced by the Financial Times earlier this year.
The new UN assessment signals that the food and economic crisis of the last two years have reversed the past quarter-century’s slow but constant decline in the proportion of undernourished people as a percentage of the world’s population.
Before the food crisis started in mid-2007, there were fewer than 850m chronically hungry people in the world, a level that has been roughly constant since the early 1980s owing to the global fight against poverty and countries such as China, India or Brazil lifting their economic growth over the last two decades.
The most recent increase in hunger is not the consequence of poor global harvests but is caused by the world economic crisis that has resulted in lower incomes and increased unemployment, the UN said in a statement.
The Group of Eight leading nations acknowledged earlier this year that efforts to tackle hunger were lagging. G8 agriculture ministers, meeting in northern Italy in late April, said that the world was “very far from reaching” the UN’s goal of halving by 2015 the world’s proportion of malnourished people.
“A dangerous mix of the global economic slowdown combined with stubbornly high food prices in many countries has pushed some 100m more people than last year into chronic hunger and poverty,” said Jacques Diouf, FAO director-general.
“The silent hunger crisis, affecting one-sixth of all of humanity, poses a serious risk for world peace and security,” Mr Diouf added in a statement. “Today, increasing hunger is a global phenomenon. All world regions have been affected.”
The warning comes after the FAO and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said earlier this week that agricultural commodities prices would rise 10-30 per cent over the next 10 years compared with their average of 1997-2006, less than previously feared because of lower economic growth and oil prices.
Agriculture, long neglected in policy discussions, is now being examined more closely after the 2007-08 food crisis, which saw record prices for staples such as wheat and rice spark food riots from Haiti and Bangladesh to Egypt and Senegal. Wholesale agriculture commodities prices have declined since then, but retail food prices remain close to record highs in many developing countries.
The UN’s World Food Programme is cutting food aid rations and shutting down some operations as donor countries that face a fiscal crunch at home slash contributions to its funding. The agency, the world’s leading hunger fighter, had less than $1.5bn in mid-June, out of a required budget of $6.4bn. With almost half the year gone, officials in donor countries said, it was unlikely that the WFP would receive the money it says it needs to prevent hunger in many poor countries.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
Friday, June 19, 2009
Are you being childlike or childish?
"About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?" Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. Then he said, "I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven."
Matthew 18:1-4, NLT
Jesus used a child to help his self-centered disciples get the point. We are not to be childish (like the disciples, arguing over petty issues), but rather childlike, with humble and sincere hearts.
Are you being childlike or childish?
© 2009, Tyndale House Publishers
Matthew 18:1-4, NLT
Jesus used a child to help his self-centered disciples get the point. We are not to be childish (like the disciples, arguing over petty issues), but rather childlike, with humble and sincere hearts.
Are you being childlike or childish?
© 2009, Tyndale House Publishers
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