ever since having closer interactions with certain persons, i've been thinking more and more about the doctrines of different denominations and churches.  why is it that our doctrines seem so diverse?  why are there so many conflicts between different denominations, so much so that people can fall out with each other?

the first conclusion we have come to is that we have more in common than we think.  indeed this is true.  we all believe the apostle's creed and the nicene creed.  we pretty much agree on all the tenets of christianity.

i think that as humans we tend to emphasize our differences rather than our similarities.  we see that too in how everyone wants to become rich and famous, to become above the rest.  but sometimes it's not helpful, especially if BOTH views are not wrong.

i stand by my belief (for now at least) that the primary purpose of life is to enjoy God and Christ and His work on the cross.  Enjoying communion with God in all aspects of life.  now there are many ways to do this, all of which are equally important.  my church tends to emphasize our rights as children of God, in our ability to get close to God, to claim healing and prosperity in Christ.  Conservatives tend to emphasize the need for holiness/sanctification, the need to lead a life that is untainted from sin (as far as is possible).

now, BOTH ARE RIGHT.  i believe strongly in both.  I believe that God has provided for our health and well-being and for our unbroken communion with Him.  that is an important part of life- without health and well-being it is (somewhat) harder to be a light to the world.  reaching out to others, blessing others, sending missionaries, are not things that are free.  yet at the same time, to focus entirely on this and to ignore the need to lead a holy life is to cheat ourselves of the fullness of the gospel.  it is foolish to think that we can have perfect communion with God and still live in sin.  To want to dwell in the pleasures of sin while walking with God is like settling for 1 hard, stale cookie when being offered a 100-course meal at a 5-star hotel.  why would you want to do that?

every church emphasizes different things.  my pastor once said if two churches were identical, then one would be redundant.  perhaps.  in any case, the gospel is so big, so wonderful and so complex that one church cannot fully capture all aspects of the gospel.  no church can do justice to the gospel in the sense that one church cannot fully express the riches of all facets of the gospel (or even just one facet, for that matter).  that's why we all need each other!  we need our brothers and sisters to provide different perspectives, to teach us the other parts of the gospel that our home church does not emphasize.

this presents a dilemma of sorts.  each person can only commit his time on sunday to one church (realistically speaking).  on one hand one knows that the teaching from one church is not enough to present a deep and balanced view of the gospel, and yet on the other hand one cannot (realistically) attend more than one church.  what's one to do?

the obvious solution (to me) is to make learning the gospel an everyday affair, not just a sunday thing.  to read a variety of books, to listen to a range of sermons.  but above all, to ask the Holy Spirit to show one the truth in all things.  let us not get arrogant regarding our own churches, but let us in humility consider others greater than ourselves, as people from whom we can learn and further our knowledge and understanding of the cross.

(to the tune of germany's national anthem)

We are heirs of God Almighty,
Apple of the Father's eye;
Free, forgiven, loved, accepted,
Clothed in righteousness divine.
Chosen to be pure and blameless
From before the world began;
Grace for every situation,
Sheltered in the Father's hand.

We have Christ at work within us,
Shaping us to be like Him;
Resurrection power sustaining
Freedom from the snares of sin.
Saying no to flesh desires,
Saying yes to righteous ways;
Filled with passion and with power,
Lights that burn in darkened days.

We've the Spirit without measure,
Helper, Comforter and Guide;
One who brings the gifts of heaven,
One who comes to walk beside.
Taste of heaven's endless pleasure,
Guarantee of what's to come;
Causing fruit to grow in action,
Bringing glory to the Son.


beautiful words..... we sang this in Westerly Road Church on sunday.  i think the words have so much theological riches in them.

anyway im out to lunch.  in other news.... i'm back home!!! :D

miss you!

i'm left with just one exam (on wed), and then sophomore year will be over already!!!  wow time flies SO quickly...

much as i like home (i.e. singapore), and much as i would like finals to be over, i don't think i'm ready to leave princeton just yet.  there needs to be some kind of closure to this semester/year... i want dead wk!  the wk before graduation where we just play and play and play, and see the alums who come back.  i want to see the seniors graduate...

but oh wells.

i think another reason im not all that keen on going back home is the uncaring culture singapore seems to have, as epitomized by the singaporean tourist that everyone's been talking about since the myanmar disaster.  and although i don't want to cast judgment on the tourist (i don't know what i would have done if my life was in such danger), i must say that having lived in america for 2 years, i feel that singaporeans are indeed a selfish bunch (myself included).  singaporeans in general are very materialistic and self-centred.  is that a product of society?  perhaps.  hopefully things will change.

myanmar, and then china.
and we, at princeton: http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200104/brooks.
i fear i may have gone that way.
pray for all those affected by the disasters.
and for the apathetic elite.

Lately God's been pointing me towards praising Him.  ytd was the first time in a while that i read my Bible for quiet time (i had been reading Christian books for quiet time before that), and the passage for the day was 2 Cor 9, which talks abt cheerful giving among other things.  and then at night, the chapter that i read from my Christian reading happened to be about giving praise after having prayed.  finally, today's sermon was all about praising the Lord, with the scripture reading coming from Psalm 126.  talk about a big hint!

i think we (by "we", i mean "i") underestimate prayer and praise.

"Believers should be full of joy and love, like a sponge is full of water.  Then when the devil puts pressure on you, all that oozes out is joy and love instead of griping and complaining!"  - Kenneth E. Hagin, "Praying To Get Results", pg 64.

i reach singapore in 20 days time.  wow.... time really flies by quick.  in a blink of an eye, sophomore year is coming to a close.  all that stands between me and that are 3 finals (pray for me guys).  this yr has been a lot better than freshmen yr in many respects... i definitely feel more at home here.  it's hard to recall all that has gone on in the past yr, so many things happen in one year!  i shal find time to look through photos from the year sometime.

and i get to go to korea and california this end aug/early sep! :D:D

after seeing a powerpoint presentation that my dad sent me on peru....

I WANNA GO!!!!

so classes ended on friday (well actually they ended on thursday for me), which marks an end to 2 years of classes!  well yes there's still reading period and finals to tackle, but let's think abt that later...

so this weekend was house parties weekend!  it's really just an excuse for dressing up, good food, and a whole ton of pictures!  friday was formals, sat was semi-formals, and sunday was lawn parties.  i had TONS of fun :)  dressing up was not exactly my thing, but hanging out with the other sophs was :)  pictures are up on facebook.  i realize that now we're able to share photos that are on facebook with pple without fb accounts.... so if you want to see them, shoot me an email at my princeton acct and i'll send u a link.

three more wks of exams/papers, then it's back to singapore!

what do you know, a tayberry does indeed exist!

last night i had amazing vietnamese squid in NY i want to go back soon :)