souls are not shaken just stirred

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honey

i had a late lunch today. i felt hungry at one point, but persisted on working for an odd little while. and when i was about to heat my lunch in the microwave, the whole container, unexpectedly, just flipped out of my hand, and landed upsite-down on to the kitchen bench. huh! i suppose i was hungry enough not to be any less clumsy than i am at times.

so i cleaned up, threw off half of my meal (including all the dishes), and then went upstairs to get a pre-packed lunch for $5 on salary sacrifice. i had no idea which one to try, so i just picked one. they tasted great and were fulfilling, even though i haven't finished them. there were two types in a container. half side was brocolli, sweet potato with tahini. the other half was parsnip, spinach, honey roasted walnut and cashew.

i just love honey. last night, i drank three-quarters of a cup of warm milk (i'm lactose intolerance) with honey. and the taste just stuck in my mind. that's it, i'm going to buy more money (i mean honey, i swear it was honey that i intended to type, but it turned out to be money, gah!) at aldi.. now.

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a question from the bible study of Ephesians

dave sent the email below. it was my question as i remember from our discussions with others. if you have ever thought about it, feel free to throw in your two-cents worth. i once read from a commentary, but vaguely remember how it's explained. even when you think you know as much, there are always things that you will learn more of from the Bible.

Ephesians 3:1-13

Hi Vy,

remember last time we were discussing study 4 in the leaders meeting when we read Eph 3:5, and it mentioned that the mysteries were made known to the apostles and prophets. We then ask how is it that the prophets knew about the mysteries. However, it just occured to me that Paul wrote that sentence in this way:

"which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit."

The first underline suggest that people before the time of Christ did not know about the mystery, therefore I dont think the prophets of the old testament knew about it either, and I dont think we could find references of the mystery being made known to the prophets of OT.

The second underline suggests that the revelation was made "NOW" by the spirit, which I think meant that only after the time of Christ the mystery was then revealed. The problem is then why is it necessary for Paul to write that the mystery was revealed to the "prophets" since there are no prophets after the time of Christ.

I think there may be 2 interpretations that can be drawn from the word prophets.

1. It may refer to the prophets of the OT, and that the spirit reveal to them the mystery of Christ, even after they are dead.

2. or it may refer to the prophets of the New Testament which as mentioned by Peter in the day of Pentacost; interpreting the word prophet as one who foretell the future ie: the second coming of Christ.

Ok so, what do u think?

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note to self #171106

this morning, i had to catch a bus. i had 10 mins left for the earliest one, and the next one would be another 30 mins. i need at least 8 mins to reach the bus stop. i didn't feel like having my breakfast, not until i reached the office later. i remembered i haven't much cereal left at the office (my vegemite run out :). therefore, i needed to fill in yet another jar to bring. and by the time i put on my shoes, i had spent 4 mins at least. but i moved on. i ran intermittenly throughout, hoping to get on the bus just in time.

i missed the bus. i had to wait at the bus stop for another 25 mins. it was cold, but i had my overcoat on. so i read my book. fine. and waited. freezed.

there's just something that i learnt about myself. i think i prefer to 'stuff up', taking the troubles of running out of my breath while having clearly known that the chance to overcome is less than one in two THAN to let thing be, it's a non-crucial one somehow, and therefore give myself a break. crikey, when i can't stop myself, the only thing to stop me is reality (and off course God is behind all things). don't i just like a bit of challenge many times.. (better still if this helps me to not be in for a challenge with others, not easily understood perhaps).

simply, which one are you, run or wait?

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B. What is the importance of John the Baptist in the story of Jesus (using all three Synoptic Gospels)?

The Gospels are the story of Jesus in the written form, bringing forth the proclamation of God’s Kingdom through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus, the Messiah or God’s Anointed One, is the climax of God’s plan in the salvation history. All things were created by Him and for Him[1]. All four Gospels accounts agree that ever since the point of time of Jesus’ life on Earth, the Kingdom of God has come to men[2]. Long before the coming of God’s Messiah, God’s prophets in the Old Testament had also been prophesying about the coming of God’s Kingdom through a Servant whom God loved and who would restore the Kingdom of God[3].

John the Baptist was one important figure in the New Testament who was referred to as the beginning of the gospel (Jesus’ life). He fulfilled the prophecy of the prophets Isaiah and Malachi[4]. As the “voice of one calling in the desert, prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him”[5], he ministered at the side of the Jordan river, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins because “the kingdom of heaven is near”[6]. Later on as John was put into a prison, we also found Jesus preaching on a similar message as John’s that demands a repentance of the heart and believing in the good news[7]. Jesus Himself was the good news and by believing in Him who would later die on the Cross, forgiveness of sins is made possible. Here we see that John the Baptist was a pre-cursor to the Lord’s mission, preparing the people to look forward to the real forgiveness from God.

As the Lord’s messenger, John the Baptist was not the Messiah. The Jews, including the priests and the Levites seemed to have mistaken John as the Messiah. However, John denied that identification and made it clear that the One who would come after him was a more powerful man than he was and that the Messiah would baptize with the Holy Spirit[8]. Despite this, Matthew recorded that Jesus submitted to John’s baptism to “fulfill all righteousness”[9], meaning to be obedient to God’s plan and to identify with the needs of God’s people [Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, pg. 387]. The Spirit descended on Jesus upon His baptism, preparing for His ministry following the temptations in the wilderness. The gospel took on its toll.

The teacher of the Law at the time of John and Jesus taught that Elijah must come first “before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes”[10]. Jesus here interpreted John the Baptist as the Elijah figure[11]. As a forerunner for Jesus, John had suffered under the hands of Herod Antipas and Herodias (and later on was executed). Despite the pressures, John faithfully preached on the coming Kingdom of God. This is all too clear an indication that the Son of Man would also suffer under the hands of men. As John had prepared the repentant people for the coming of Jesus, so it was said that Elijah would restore all things [Barnett, 1991].

On another occasion, Jesus also claimed that John the Baptist was more than a prophet, and from a human perspective, the greatest human being[12]. As a prophet, John the Baptist inaugurated the coming of God’s Kingdom. When he came into the scene, John the Baptist ended the era of the Law and the prophets [Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, pg. 388].

References:
- Barnett, Paul. 1991. Mark – The Servant King. Aquila Press, Reprinted 2006.
- Green, Joel B.; McKnight, Scot (Editors). 1992. Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels. Intervarsity Press, Reprinted 2001.

[1] Col. 1:16; Jn. 1:3
[2] Mt. 4:17; Mk. 1:15; Lk. 4:21(v.18-21 are quoting from Is. 61:1-2); Jn. 1:9
[3] Is. 42-53 and many other OT passages.
[4] Is. 40:3; Mal. 3:1
[5] Mt. 3:3; Mk. 1:2-3; Lk.3:4-6
[6] Mt. 3:2; Mk. 1:4; Lk. 3:3
[7] Mt. 4:17; Mk. 1:14-15
[8] Mt. 3:11; Mk 1:7-8; Lk. 3:15-16; Jn. 1:19, 26-27
[9] Mt. 3:15
[10] Mal. 4:5; Mt. 17:10; Mk. 9:11
[11] Mt. 17:11-13; Mk. 9:12-13; also Mt. 11:13-14
[12] Mt. 11:10-11; Lk. 7:26-28

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is it really equal but different?

i thought i'm not going to post this entry at all. but later on, decided to post not in too much details. i had a long discussion with a friend over the phone last night. it lasted more than an hour. we didn't plan it. it didn't surprise me that things will be a bit messy when two different points of view are thrown on the subject of submission (or rather the ordination for women priests). i suppose the word 'submission' has carried a different meaning the day feminism was born. i was rather surprised however at myself for thinking that everything was fine, until i have to conclude that i don't really know my friend quite well right from the beginning. by the end of the discussion, things are very much floating around the circles. nobody seems to have been able to 'convert' anyone. humanly speaking, this is rather disappointing for me, but i think it is for this reason that opportunities may exist for future follow-ups. one step at a time, i don't expect for my friend to change her point of view over one course of convos.

this afternoon, i can't help but posting having read this article. i won't say too much about it, but it is quite a well-known tactic that the liberals as well as the media have always used to lay their hands on the evangelicals on issues like women ordination and homosexual priests.

what are your thoughts?

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