The Hand of God
Preparing the way for the Lord was the famous word from John the Baptist. How I only wish today people would heed the message again, especially toward what is to come in the future. The justice of the Lord is going to arrive, no later in his watch. It is time we come to cultivate humility and repentance, and not walk away from Jesus. He is hurting for the sins of this nation, as well as the sins of our life, and he longs for us to turn back and walk in his freedom.
If only the Holy Spirit will come quickly on the city in full, so that more people's eyes can be opened and be saved. Dullness and anxiety is the mood of our time, but who can bear the wrath of judgment, the end time of his mercy and grace?
"To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless.
To the pure you show yourself pure, but to the crooked you show yourself shrewed.
You save the humble, but you eyes are on the haughty to bring them low."
- 2 Samuel 26-28
Beast of Nature
The state of affair to life is often a distracting matter. A rough guess to locate the constant source lies somewhere to a need to micro-manage my choices. More than the consequence that meets the eyes, but a need to understand the options, becomes an exhaustive and futile exercise. I had to reminisce what it was that I felt so fresh and clean just a week ago, during those 3-day fast when all things irrelevant are swept away; it was a needy heart that only God can fulfill. A needy heart that persists in struggles between conviction and ambition; it is in between the tension that God often allows life to suffer. And then I want to quit the game, wishing only to become a creature of comfort. So life spirals into much ado about nothing; those same circular footsteps, the whims for more limelight even as the curtain is long closed.
But to this convoluted mess a choice has been made, a yielding confession, and an offering confession, in exchange for a peace of my heart.
Snippets of
what I've learned in the last month or two…
1. Leading people to follow Jesus and seeing their hearts changed makes it worth all my sacrifices.
2. In life we all walk in the direction of our expectations; I expect to leave a trail of extraordinary stories to tell at the end.
3. Obedience to God means: do not second guess myself what I wish I could’ve become today.
4. Not in vain means: Seeing the light that you’re almost as good as the people you work with, almost.
5. Having gastritis is a great discomfort few rarely understood; having repeated ill-diagnosis on gastritis is a circus to some kind of chronic self-torture; seeing finally a bruised and bleeding GI after over 12 years makes you want to praise and curse God at the same time.
6. Verse of a great comfort: “The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.” Isaiah 32:17
7. Dullness is the worst feeling in life, because it makes you feel useless.
8. In the end we shall all die; bodies and souls return to dust. And afterward tossed into the wind and forgotten, just like all the rich and beautiful people before us.
9. Last but not the least, my favorite quote:
A man is known,
By the company he keeps.
And the pig gets up,
And slowly walks away…
The Invisible Hand
It’d been a while since I posted anything new and fresh, but that does not translate to the dullness of life by any chance.
Lately I’ve been keen in watching the news on subprime implosion and the coming credit contraction. Last Friday the Federal Reserve decided to lend out 38 billion dollars to ease the overnight Inter-bank borrowing rate spike, by ways of 3-days termed-repos on the agency grade Mortgage-Backed Security (MBS) such as Fannie Mae. This was in addition to the 24 billion dollars that came to rescue just the day before. A year ago I would not have the interest nor the knowledge to care for a news headline like this, but I’ve since owned a passion in learning about the state of our economy. The catalyst really began from my frustration in looking for an affordable housing (condo/townhouse) in the Seattle/Eastside area. Today how I transited from house hunting to stock-watching is no longer as important or relevant on the records as to what I’m discovering everyday, given my geek nature. It is indeed one of the greatest stories yet to tell – in watching the Great American Greed gets unfolded.
The Friday termed repos will last only 3 days including the weekend, before the borrowing banks will have to pay back the Fed with principle and interest. The action to inject liquidity was synchronized around the globe, from the European Central Bank ($213 billions) to Japan ($8.4 billions), to Canada ($1.55 billions), Swiss ($1.68 ~$2.5 billions) and Singapore ($1 billions) I can’t imagine how the demand for cash can be so great and urgent in such a short notice, unless something smelly is going south. Understanding that lending can only secure the current commitments that are taking place, any future IPO’s, stock buyback and institutional borrowing should be subjected to newer lending standards imposed by banks who will very possibly become risk averse and demand to know the real values of the CDO (collateral debt obligation) and many other asset-backed securities that are currently floating in the market (by $trillions), obfuscated in their pricings.
Given that the stock market has been trading sideway the last two weeks, with ever-increasing volatility, there are now more and more voices in Wall Street asking the Fed to lower the Fed Fund Rate. In addition, over $1 trillions of subprime mortgage are ready to be reset in the coming months of the year and the pressure on people to have to dish out more on their monthly payments will also mean we are going to see more defaults, by those who mis-price themselves in the housing market. There are already clouts of political influence rising to want to help out the “unfortunate” mass, but alas, lowering the interest rate will greatly cut back on the value of dollar currency, which has already been degraded much in the last few years. Foreign banks that are holding reserves on US dollars will soon see the debasing of their asset (in comparing with their own inflation rate) and reconsider the course of holding a losing currency. What would the Fed do, help the bankers and self-destruct the US dollar, or watch the liquidity evaporate and asset values depreciate all across the board (another word: recession)?
Today the Fed has injected another $5 billons in repos. In the past only the Treasuries notes are allowed in the trading but now the Fed, obviously wanting to help out the banking elites, has agreed to purchase the MBS in wholesale…
P.S. I owe everything I learn, the lingos and the meats, from Barry Ritholtz (http://bigpicture.typepad.com/) as well as Michael Shedlock (http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/). They are absolutely the best Internet blogs I’ve yet to find.
A Mere Baking Thought
If anyone likes to ask me (or care enough) today what is the indispensable quality a church leader must possess without a second thought I’ll say it is a warrior heart. A good Christian man knows how to live an upright life for himself but I’d much preferred a fighter who is not afraid to bleed his heart out for Jesus and his church.
In an unrelated story, Diego Chico Corrales, a rising boxing star at age 29, has just died from a motorcycle accident when he (riding in 100 mph) hit the back of a car, flew over and got ran over by an oncoming traffic.
Dan Rafael (the author) is obviously very fond of this man and his way of life.
http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/columns/story?columnist=rafael_dan&id=2867504
“It wasn't the only time Corrales showed guts and will. How about when he was knocked down five times by Floyd Mayweather in their junior lightweight title fight? Corrales kept getting up until his corner threw in the towel, a move he raged against. There was also his first slugfest with Joel Casamayor, in which Corrales suffered a horrific cut all the way through his lip. Although the fight was stopped, Corrales begged to continue as blood poured from the wound. Trailing to Acelino "Popo" Freitas, Corrales rallied, knocking Freitas down three times to win”
“I vividly remember sitting inside the Mandalay Bay Events Center watching the spectacle of the fight with Castillo unfold. When Corrales was knocked down for the second time in the 10th round, most of us sitting ringside thought it was over. But Corrales had a warrior heart and a never-say-die attitude. He got up both times and then rallied to score one of the most incredible comebacks in history. Not just boxing, mind you. Sports history.”
I never boxed, never got into a serious fight in my life, and I can count the number of times I’ve watched the matches. But when I read this story my heart just goes out for him, because Diego understood that a fight (or life) is over the moment he no longer counts himself dead. If only the dude knew how to fight for people’s hearts and you give me a few good Diego, and I’ll show you a church that overflows in the scale of Pentecost.
Self Amusement
Ask a Mexican: http://www.ocweekly.com/columns/ask-a-mexican/
Maybe I should run a column of something like “Ask a Chinaman”.
Q: “Why is ‘Chinaman’ considered derogatory?”
A: I am just as well puzzled. The English suffix of –nese actually refers to things of object and thus ‘Chinese’ and ‘Japanese’ ought to sound even more condescending (and why do Koreans get all the break?). Personally I think there is an underlying flattery that ‘Chinaman’ is named in equal rank with “Englishman”.
Q: “Why do Chinese eat weird stuffs like inner cow linings?”
A: Once upon the time when China was in her most glorious days of history not found in the Bible, parents fed their kids cow linings and cultivated them on different tastes of food, natural or acquired. The movement grew its momentum and offended the Indians very much, and they fought wars over whether cows are meant to be worshipped or eaten. Until today this divisive issue remains one of the hot flashes in Asia and the Bush administration are asking both countries to lay down their arms to aid the war on terror.
Q: “What is the difference between a Taiwanese and a Chinese?”
A: A Chinese prides himself in everything Chinese but gets offended in being compared with other Chinese. A Taiwanese considers himself everything Chinese but gets offended in being called a Chinese. (It's okay if you don't get the joke...)
Easter Sunday Rant
Stayed up LATE both into Friday and Saturday night, needed to talk and pray for a friend about relationship plus other etc cetera in life. It got me to participate and witness the hand of God moving and building his kingdom into people’s heart, but man, the lack of sleep is really killing me…
In the past I’ve attempted to swim, just like many others, in the sea of relationship and was fast drowning over by its mysterious complication and endless heartache. But if I were asked again to share any new shed of light it is in truth God has made it simple for us to choose and to enjoy. To this new revelation I have a big shout-out: that life is simple to love, as much as Jesus is simple to trust. Cynicism about relationship comes out of nothing but pretension that we want to have the cake and eat it too, except there is none to be found (you be honest and tell me what the cake is).
To all the ‘nice guys’ out there: You know how everyone is at the different stage in life and she needs her freedom to be where she belongs. And I know how much you like to change your course to come to where she is so you two can somehow meet eyes to eyes. The reality is, that is RARELY ever going to happen! Even given the benefit of doubt, you are asking for an inward-looking puppy love that will likely be consumed by insecurity and oppression. Please, know where you are and where you ought to be; follow Jesus on a firm path and let the princess makes her choice. And this is how you shall lead the family and how you can become the head of the household (speaking like an authority).
And if I have just offended anyone, it is a promise that no animal cruelty was used in the writing of this post.
Who is mighty to save?
Synergy (http://dict.die.net) n:
The working together of two things to produce an effect greater than the sum of their individual effects.
Having listening to Steve Morgan for over a year and half now every Sunday, I think I’ve pretty much heard of everything he has to preach about humanity, Jesus, salvation, and the advancing of God’s kingdom. It is indeed disappointing that it took less than two years to hear his repeated sermons like he promised we would, but just like the good old Bible each time we read we receive its unique revelation in pace with where our hearts longs, trite and true. And as such lately I’ve found myself enthralled with his teachings on worship, or more, just the idea of worship flusters a great overwhelm in my heart.
The reality of this world ultimately ends not in the understanding of truth, but in the assertion of power. I love it when Steve described everything we do either derived its authority from God, or from someone else. Even the cynics and unbelievers are blinded to and offended by Jesus not because of their understanding, choice or ignorance, but they are being held back, knowingly or unknowingly, by the stronghold of enemy, the master of all lies. Without imagining the titanic clashes of angels and demons, battling in their ether space, even in this material universe we constantly face conflicts, and we are asked to resolve them by means of authority either from God, or from someone else. In the past kings were crowned because they exercised dominion and control; revolutions were cried because the powerless struggled to re-establish new orders, and wars were fought to protect and to conquer. Laws and order do not convince; they were shown strength by the people who installed and swore to uphold. Even science do not make impact with abstraction and proof; breakthroughs change the world because they shake people’s beliefs, and accurate descriptions of nature help to make winner of wars and profits for market.
And thus, worshipping God is to worship his power and strength, to sing of his mighty mountains, his vast dessert, his endless galaxy, and the ocean, and the fire. To worship God is to recognize that doing so to everything else is vain and useless. Even refusing to worship is in the end a form of self-worship, if only one can see and admit such a folly. Though the word has been more often spoken and fed with macaroni & cheese, I can’t find a better diction to describe how God comes upon to those who seek him, in his house of church, in his kingdom and dominion, and fill us with a glimpse of his wonder in parts. If only God would wipe out the mountains and the stars to have our attention, but instead we are asked to sing songs to worship him, and to hear his gentle whisper…
“And the word of the Lord came to him ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’
“He replied, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.
“The Lord said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’
“Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.”
1 Kings 19:9~13
