Tears
It's been said that no man is worth your tears, and when you find one who is, he wouldn't make you cry.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Defense of my Faith
This is a response to a Muslim man asking on a discussion board what the concept of the Christian God is, especially pertaining to Catholics. He said that our concept of God is wrong, and that we are confused.
And here is my response:
Dear Y,
C is right. You have come here not with an open mind to study the 'fors' and 'againsts' of Christianity, but have only brought a bucketful of negatives.
As for knowing what is God, surely.... in your heart, you would know. He comes when your heart and your mind is open, not when you are looking for riches, or 4D number, or fame, or power, or clouded by lust...
He comes when you need protection, He comes when you are afraid and lonely. He comes, not in the form of a ghost, but in ways that you can feel and 'see', not see.
I believe that God is good. And when I pray for guidance, He will come to me. That is the faith that spoke to C, and spoke to me.
I believe that God came to me, when I needed Him most, and He has made me a kinder, more loving, more understanding person. If that is not God talking to me, then who is?
The Devil is asking me to forgive the people who burnt our churches? The Devil is asking me to speak kindly and not take offense by your words? The Devil is asking me to pray for these people who burns our churches that they may see that what they are doing is wrong?
I think not.
So please, don't insult our sensibilities by saying that we don't know God's loving touch when we feel it in our lives.
God always shows us that we must do what is right. Even if it is painful. Even if it is difficult.
C has experienced it. So have I. So I am pretty darn sure it was not Satan talking to me when someone touched my heart and asked me to forgive my aggressor, who had physically hurt me, so many years ago.
It is very obvious from your repeated postings over and over again, that you don't understand, and that you don't wish to.
As for ayour argument that we may use Allah, but the translation in our Bible is not right... I don't understand it. You are in the group MENENTANG PENGGUNAAN NAMA ALLAH OLEH GOLONGAN BUKAN MUSLIM. But nevermind that.
How do we then translate: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; Do not have any other gods before me?
No, rest assured, none of us here hate you, or find what you write offensive, however, bear in mind that we are no fools. We know when you are sincere, and when you are not.
There is a lot of bigotry when it comes to Catholicism, many misconceptions and misunderstanding... The only way to counteract such bigotry is by telling the truth, [as we know it]. However, in my experience, many do not wish to listen, or to understand, wanting to believe what they choose to believe. This type of bigotry reflects on the ignorance of the person itself. A, S, B, P, C and myself have defended our church and our faith, but we are also prepared to let go and to move on.
If God chooses that you understand one day, it will happen. And I trust in Him to let that happen. In His Will, and in His Time.
However, if you wish to know what the Catholic concept of God is, as much as I was taught, like C says, it is Love. In my home, we have a beautiful picture. In it is a Cross. One the Top of the Cross was written God. One the right was Faith. One the left was Hope. One the bottom was Love. And the words: And the greatest of these is Love.
Why do we not react to the bombings of our churches? Because we understand that concept. We practise it. There is a hymn sung in church, it goes: They will know we are Christians by our love, by our love... They will know we are Christians by our love.
GOD IS LOVE. Faith, Hope, Love. And the greatest of these is Love. On this facebook group itself, are the words that are the greatest testimony of Christian living: LET ALL THAT YOU DO BE DONE IN LOVE.
You keep saying we are hurt. You are wrong over and over again.
No we aren't.
Because we are Christians. Because we let our actions speak louder than our words. Because we believe GOD IS LOVE. And because we let others know we are Christians by our Love.
WE LET ALL THAT WE DO BE DONE IN LOVE. BECAUSE OUR GOD IS A LOVING GOD. OUR GOD IS LOVE.
And by His Great Love, He gave us His Son, that we may Understand that Love, Feel it, Know it, Learn it, Practise it, Preach it. Because in His Infinite Wisdom, He knew that by such Great LOVE, He would give us Faith, and Hope.
And here we are, 2010 years later. Still going Strong. Because of His Great Love. And we will preach our Christianity by PRACTISING it.
NOT by hundreds of academical discussions and papers.
But by LIVING our lives as Christians. By LIVING our lives with LOVE. By touching the lives of the people that come into contact with us and giving them Faith and Hope that there is STILL humanity, there is STILL forgiveness, there is STILL love in this world despite the hatred we see around us. Every single day.
Now do you understand why I say our religion is a LIVING religion? It is not about a book. It is about LIVES. It is about CHRISTIAN LIVING. It is about practising, on a day-to-day basis what it MEANS to become CLOSER to God.
You can read about religion as much as you want. Espouse it in forums, debate it with learned people in conference rooms, in libraries all around the world. But do you PRACTISE it? Do you LIVE it? Do you KNOW what God means? What he TRULY means? Have you spent your time tending to the cancer patients who are dying? Gone to spend time with people whose only thoughts are of survival?
How will the people who need to survive KNOW God when they can't even read? When they have nothing to eat?
You can argue phrases after phrases, verses after verses to them... but do you show them Kindness? Do you show them Compassion? Do you give them Faith? Do you give them Hope? In humanity? Do you show them LOVE?
We who profess with our tongue that Christ is our Lord and our God, CAN.
We CAN. We HAVE. We WILL.
We don't believe in salvation by faith alone. But by faith, and by good works practised because of that faith. By our lives, we have proven it.
We have done it time after time again.
Pope John Paul II forgave and BLESSED his Muslim assasinator.
Mother Teresa sacrificed her beauty, her youth, her life for the poor of Calcutta.
We Christians here in Malaysia, are rallying to pray for the forgiveness of those who bombed our churches, and also to protect and guide us in this time of persecution and trial.
We Christians live by example. And THAT is the way we KNOW our God. THAT is the way we UNDERSTAND Him.
Not on paper. Not in a book. Not on forums or discussion boards. But with our spirits. With our souls. With our very lives.
God bless you, and peace be upon you.
AMEN.
And here is my response:
Dear Y,
C is right. You have come here not with an open mind to study the 'fors' and 'againsts' of Christianity, but have only brought a bucketful of negatives.
As for knowing what is God, surely.... in your heart, you would know. He comes when your heart and your mind is open, not when you are looking for riches, or 4D number, or fame, or power, or clouded by lust...
He comes when you need protection, He comes when you are afraid and lonely. He comes, not in the form of a ghost, but in ways that you can feel and 'see', not see.
I believe that God is good. And when I pray for guidance, He will come to me. That is the faith that spoke to C, and spoke to me.
I believe that God came to me, when I needed Him most, and He has made me a kinder, more loving, more understanding person. If that is not God talking to me, then who is?
The Devil is asking me to forgive the people who burnt our churches? The Devil is asking me to speak kindly and not take offense by your words? The Devil is asking me to pray for these people who burns our churches that they may see that what they are doing is wrong?
I think not.
So please, don't insult our sensibilities by saying that we don't know God's loving touch when we feel it in our lives.
God always shows us that we must do what is right. Even if it is painful. Even if it is difficult.
C has experienced it. So have I. So I am pretty darn sure it was not Satan talking to me when someone touched my heart and asked me to forgive my aggressor, who had physically hurt me, so many years ago.
It is very obvious from your repeated postings over and over again, that you don't understand, and that you don't wish to.
As for ayour argument that we may use Allah, but the translation in our Bible is not right... I don't understand it. You are in the group MENENTANG PENGGUNAAN NAMA ALLAH OLEH GOLONGAN BUKAN MUSLIM. But nevermind that.
How do we then translate: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; Do not have any other gods before me?
No, rest assured, none of us here hate you, or find what you write offensive, however, bear in mind that we are no fools. We know when you are sincere, and when you are not.
There is a lot of bigotry when it comes to Catholicism, many misconceptions and misunderstanding... The only way to counteract such bigotry is by telling the truth, [as we know it]. However, in my experience, many do not wish to listen, or to understand, wanting to believe what they choose to believe. This type of bigotry reflects on the ignorance of the person itself. A, S, B, P, C and myself have defended our church and our faith, but we are also prepared to let go and to move on.
If God chooses that you understand one day, it will happen. And I trust in Him to let that happen. In His Will, and in His Time.
However, if you wish to know what the Catholic concept of God is, as much as I was taught, like C says, it is Love. In my home, we have a beautiful picture. In it is a Cross. One the Top of the Cross was written God. One the right was Faith. One the left was Hope. One the bottom was Love. And the words: And the greatest of these is Love.
Why do we not react to the bombings of our churches? Because we understand that concept. We practise it. There is a hymn sung in church, it goes: They will know we are Christians by our love, by our love... They will know we are Christians by our love.
GOD IS LOVE. Faith, Hope, Love. And the greatest of these is Love. On this facebook group itself, are the words that are the greatest testimony of Christian living: LET ALL THAT YOU DO BE DONE IN LOVE.
You keep saying we are hurt. You are wrong over and over again.
No we aren't.
Because we are Christians. Because we let our actions speak louder than our words. Because we believe GOD IS LOVE. And because we let others know we are Christians by our Love.
WE LET ALL THAT WE DO BE DONE IN LOVE. BECAUSE OUR GOD IS A LOVING GOD. OUR GOD IS LOVE.
And by His Great Love, He gave us His Son, that we may Understand that Love, Feel it, Know it, Learn it, Practise it, Preach it. Because in His Infinite Wisdom, He knew that by such Great LOVE, He would give us Faith, and Hope.
And here we are, 2010 years later. Still going Strong. Because of His Great Love. And we will preach our Christianity by PRACTISING it.
NOT by hundreds of academical discussions and papers.
But by LIVING our lives as Christians. By LIVING our lives with LOVE. By touching the lives of the people that come into contact with us and giving them Faith and Hope that there is STILL humanity, there is STILL forgiveness, there is STILL love in this world despite the hatred we see around us. Every single day.
Now do you understand why I say our religion is a LIVING religion? It is not about a book. It is about LIVES. It is about CHRISTIAN LIVING. It is about practising, on a day-to-day basis what it MEANS to become CLOSER to God.
You can read about religion as much as you want. Espouse it in forums, debate it with learned people in conference rooms, in libraries all around the world. But do you PRACTISE it? Do you LIVE it? Do you KNOW what God means? What he TRULY means? Have you spent your time tending to the cancer patients who are dying? Gone to spend time with people whose only thoughts are of survival?
How will the people who need to survive KNOW God when they can't even read? When they have nothing to eat?
You can argue phrases after phrases, verses after verses to them... but do you show them Kindness? Do you show them Compassion? Do you give them Faith? Do you give them Hope? In humanity? Do you show them LOVE?
We who profess with our tongue that Christ is our Lord and our God, CAN.
We CAN. We HAVE. We WILL.
We don't believe in salvation by faith alone. But by faith, and by good works practised because of that faith. By our lives, we have proven it.
We have done it time after time again.
Pope John Paul II forgave and BLESSED his Muslim assasinator.
Mother Teresa sacrificed her beauty, her youth, her life for the poor of Calcutta.
We Christians here in Malaysia, are rallying to pray for the forgiveness of those who bombed our churches, and also to protect and guide us in this time of persecution and trial.
We Christians live by example. And THAT is the way we KNOW our God. THAT is the way we UNDERSTAND Him.
Not on paper. Not in a book. Not on forums or discussion boards. But with our spirits. With our souls. With our very lives.
God bless you, and peace be upon you.
AMEN.
Friday, January 08, 2010
2010
So many things have happened recently....
And I have so many things on my mind...
But before all that, I figure I should write out what I plan to do this year first. Not exactly resolutions, just some goals:
1. To step out of my comfort zone.
I want to do things I never thought I would do, things I never thought I COULD do. Well, if given the opportunity, I'd like to try. It's time. How would I know what I can or cannot do if I do not try?
2. To live life.
To attempt work-life balance, to stop and smell the roses sometimes, to enjoy what I do, or to find something to enjoy. We have only one life to live, after all.
3. To write again.
I've been putting this off for years, it's time to pick this up again. Who knows where it will bring me?
4. To travel more.
I've always loved travel and culture. Now that AirAsia has zero fares, it should not be an excuse to not do the things I love. I recently got back from Manila and loved it. I should do this more often. Even if I do it alone.
5. To be happy with myself.
For so long, I let my insecurities get in my way. This year I want to learn to enjoy my own company, like I used to. To do things on my own a little bit more. I've started doing that again in 2009, and I hope in 2010 to continue.
6. To take more serious steps about my 5 year goal.
To save more money, to look to the future, to plan for a house, to plan for a career. I'm not getting any younger. It's time.
7. To pick up a hobby.
Gardening, dancing. Something. I haven't figured that out yet, it wouldn't be easy. But it's a goal, nonetheless.
8. To be a better person.
Simple. Just to be better than 2009. Humbler, kinder, more loving, more compassionate.
I think these are good goals to work towards... now I hope I can keep this up, not just for this year, but for years to come. :)
And I have so many things on my mind...
But before all that, I figure I should write out what I plan to do this year first. Not exactly resolutions, just some goals:
1. To step out of my comfort zone.
I want to do things I never thought I would do, things I never thought I COULD do. Well, if given the opportunity, I'd like to try. It's time. How would I know what I can or cannot do if I do not try?
2. To live life.
To attempt work-life balance, to stop and smell the roses sometimes, to enjoy what I do, or to find something to enjoy. We have only one life to live, after all.
3. To write again.
I've been putting this off for years, it's time to pick this up again. Who knows where it will bring me?
4. To travel more.
I've always loved travel and culture. Now that AirAsia has zero fares, it should not be an excuse to not do the things I love. I recently got back from Manila and loved it. I should do this more often. Even if I do it alone.
5. To be happy with myself.
For so long, I let my insecurities get in my way. This year I want to learn to enjoy my own company, like I used to. To do things on my own a little bit more. I've started doing that again in 2009, and I hope in 2010 to continue.
6. To take more serious steps about my 5 year goal.
To save more money, to look to the future, to plan for a house, to plan for a career. I'm not getting any younger. It's time.
7. To pick up a hobby.
Gardening, dancing. Something. I haven't figured that out yet, it wouldn't be easy. But it's a goal, nonetheless.
8. To be a better person.
Simple. Just to be better than 2009. Humbler, kinder, more loving, more compassionate.
I think these are good goals to work towards... now I hope I can keep this up, not just for this year, but for years to come. :)
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