My personality profile - I

Just did a test and got a report. Here's part of what I believe an accurate assessment of myself:

When someone needs your help, you think before you act. You believe deeply in personal freedom and individual responsibility. You think it is vital that people learn to take care of themselves so that they don't become dependent upon others. You believe that actions have consequences, and people need to accept the consequences of their actions if they are to learn from their mistakes and grow. You believe that if you keep rescuing people out from trouble, they will never learn to do it themselves.

You believe that compassion has a role to play in life, in a structure of values that encourages people to take care of themselves. Uncritical tenderheartedness does as much harm as good. In an emergency, of course, you're there to offer help and if someone has helped you out in the past there is no question about your loyalty. But whenever it is realistic, you are convinced people should take care of themselves.

You devote adequate time to take care of your own needs and wants, in part because it makes you happy with your life. You cherish personal independence for yourself and others.

There's more than one template

I was talking with a friend over dinner a couple weeks ago -- there're more than one template to narrate one's religious conversion. Both my friend's and my conversion experiences happen to not fit in the traditional mold that pinpoints a specific date/time/occasion during which one accepted Christ and which then defines the watershed of one's born-again experience. It's true that many people came to know Christ like that. Yet, I'm so glad to read the sharing of a rising Christian figure, knowing that more people would be aware of the "exceptions" and won't pressure or be pressured by other Christians unncessarily.

Below is a question asked during an interview with Tullian Tchividjian, pastor of New City Presbyterian Church and the grandson of Billy Graham.

When your prodigal journey ended and the Lord brought you to himself, do you consider that your conversion or had you just been in a period of backsliding, having been converted before your rebellion?

I actually address this issue in the book because for so long it bothered me. I grew up in a church that pressured people to identify a particular time and place when they became Christians. In fact, I grew up believing that if I could not recall the moment God saved me, then I was at best a second-class Christian or at worst not a Christian at all. I really wrestled with this about seven years ago. My mom told me that I prayed and asked Jesus to come into my life when I was five years old, but I don't remember anything about it. What I do remember is how drastically my life changed when I was twenty-one. It frustrated me not knowing for sure whether my relationship with God began when I was five and "prayed the prayer" or when I was twenty-one and my life clearly changed. Did I become a Christian when I was five and then simply rebelled until I was twenty-one, at which point I "rededicated" my life to God? Or did I become a Christian for the first time at twenty-one? I didn't know, and it really bothered me. I wanted to pinpoint the time and place. My spiritual life depended on it, or so I thought. About that time I had lunch with Arnie, one of my wisest, most godly friends. As I shared my struggle with him, he looked at me and said, "Tullian, does it really matter? The Bible has a lot more to say about how the Christian life ends than how it begins." I dropped my fork. He was right. I thought about all those places in the Bible that speak about finishing the race, obtaining the prize, pressing on, and straining forward. I felt a huge weight lift off my shoulders. Pinpointing the time and place I became a Christian didn't matter, ultimately. What did matter was my daily pursuit of God. What did matter was my need to continue in the faith from that day forward. John Stott said, "He who stands firm in the faith to the end will be saved, not because salvation is the reward of endurance, but because endurance is the hallmark of the saved." Arnie helped me see that my ongoing endurance, not my ability to isolate a moment when my relationship with God began, is what helps me be certain about my relationship with God today.

蝴蝶大概在幼蟲的時候就愛上花

這 句 電 視 對 白 意 思 是 -- 人 的 喜 愛 多 是 從 年 幼 就 定 形 了. 我 覺 得 自 己 確 是 這 樣.

Venice in Macau?

The indoor canal inside the Venetian Macao Resort Hotel features both Chinese-style sampans and Venetian gondolas.

The Venetian, Las Vegas

Mom and dad at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas in Dec 2006.

In the recent decade, Las Vegas has been attracting families and tourists in addition to gamblers. The hotels/casinos are arrayed with eye-catching designs, coupled with relatively inexpensive yet good food and spectacular entertainments, "Sin City" doesn't seem that blatantly sinful anymore.

I remember feeling "wow" in the Venetian Hotel at Las Vegas. The indoor canal under a fake sky ceiling, with the expensive shops on the sidewalks, is on a different floor away from the slot machine. It's really not that bad.

Now that the Venetian is opening in Macau and billed as the world's largest casino in Asia's largest building, is Macau the new "Sin City"? I can't imagine if even just 1% of China's large population flock to these casinos.

How should one pray?

三舅母的壽宴

細 個 在 香 港 過 農 曆 新 年 會 與 家 人 一 起 去 拜 年 聯 繫 親 戚 ﹐ 但 移 居 美 國 後﹐ 一 般 來 說﹐ 我 們 與 親 戚 的 交 往 是 "零"。 父 母 輩 因 為 出 入 交 通 不 便﹐ 與 住 得 比 較 遠 的 親 朋 相 聚﹐ 往 往 要 靠 子 女 作 司 機。而 我 這 方 面 的 "服 務 分 數" 絕 對 是 不 合 格 的。

因 為 老 爸 過 世﹐ 我 與 少 部 份 親 戚 聯 絡 上 了﹐ 三 舅 母 的 兒 女 們 為 他 們 母 親 慶 祝 生 日﹐ 就 邀 請 我 母 親 --也 就 是 他 們 所 稱 的 "九 姑 姐"--和 我 們 倆 姐 妹。 昨 晚 的 三 圍 臺 壽 宴 中﹐ 除 了 三 舅 母, 及 兩 位 cousins 我 稍 有 印 象﹐ 和 一 位 在 老 爸 的 安 息 禮 拜 見 過 面﹐ 其 他 的 cousins, nephews, and nieces, cousins-in-laws, nephew-in-law, grand-nieces, 全 是 第 一 次 見 面。

回 家 的 路 途 上﹐ 我 深 深 的 覺 得﹐ 教 會 裡 的 弟 兄 姐 妹 與 我 的 關 係 ﹐ 好 好 醜 醜 才 真 像 是 我 的 家 人﹗

Not gracious at all

I'm referring to myself with this title. I was convicted by God that in the past weeks I had spoken and thought ill of people -- two things our fellowship learns to stay away from:

從不論斷 don’t judge
從不抱怨 don’t grumble

I'm asking God and them for forgiveness, although most of them don't blog (which makes this eaiser).

What's my scariest mental handicap? Blindspots! I ask you to give me constructive criticism whenever you see some attitude or words or actions that dishonor the Lord or stumble people. And I thank you.

The Gospel in Dever's simple English

"The good news is that the one and only God, who is holy, made us in his image to know him.

But we sinned and cut ourselves off from him.

In his great love, God became a man in Jesus, lived a perfect life, and died on the cross, thus fulfilling the law himself and taking on himself the punishment for the sins of all those who would ever turn and trust in him.

He rose again from the dead, showing that God accepted Christ's sacrifice and that God's wrath against us had been exhausted.

He now calls us to repent of our sins and to trust in Christ alone for our forgiveness. If we repent of our sins and trust in Christ, we are born again into a new life, an eternal life with God."

Mark Dever, The Gospel and Personal Evangelsim (2007), p.43.

Teamwork

"As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

Proverbs 27:17 (NIV)

2 days after our 818 BBQ/Movie Event, I've talked to and heard from enough people to get their views to complement mine, here's what I'll remember.

I learned a lot, especially about the importance of teamwork. That was actually the most difficult part. Because the leader went off to a business trip for two weeks, so several individuals took it upon themselves and acted as leaders here and there. It was subtle -- many of us insisted on our own ways of doing things, choosing to make judgment calls, instead of following instruction -- but i felt its negative impact.

It's true that we had some unity -- we all wanted to outreach to non-believers. However, our ways of doing things are so idiosyncratic because we're different; we don't think alike nor work in identical styles. When we're working as a team, the idiosyncracy makes things less interesting than challenging.

When does a leader insist to be followed, when does one let it slide? When should a team player simply follow instruction? When can he make his judgement call and deviate from the leader's decision?

Good-intention is simply not good enough. We all got to learn to work rhythmically with one another.

David's heart

"Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it."

Ephesians 2:8 (NIV)

Many of us have been busy preparing for the 818 event. Time to quiet down & rest well. I (quasi-)unplugged my phone and listened to Dr. Lee's commentary on the Books of Samuel this morning. I was at CD 6, in which he talked about the rise of David.

Lee's reading of the character David is refreshing - that David was not "young and innocent" when he killed Goliath; and that he was calculative to tell Saul in public that he spared his life even tho' he had the opportunity to harm him; and he might be warning others not to harm him as God's anointed one, when he seemingly referred to Saul by saying that he wouldn't kill Saul for the same reason.

I agree with Dr. Lee's general reading of David's complex and scheming character (not unlike Jacob); and that God chose him not because of, but in spite of, his character. This is good and comforting, as there's really no need to put up a front to earn God's love.

This also reminds me to re-orientate myself and know my place before 818 tomorrow. Do I still think that He uses us because we're any good? Ha. Rest well.

Let's spread kindness around

A good story that I received in the email:

One day a man saw an old lady, stranded on the side of the road. So he pulled up in front of her Mercedes & got out. His Pontiac was still sputtering as he approached her.

Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her? He didn't look safe; he looked poor and hungry.

He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold. He said, "I'm here to help you, madam. Why don't you wait in the car where it's warm? By the way, my name is Bryan Anderson."

Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough. Bryan crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire.

As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down the window and told him that she was from St. Louis and was only just passing through. She thanked him for coming to her aid.

Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk. The lady asked how much she owed him. Bryan never thought twice about being paid. This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need, and God knows there were plenty, who had given him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way.

"If you really want to pay me back, the next time you see someone who needs help, you can give that person the assistance s/he needs, and think of me," Bryan replied. He waited until she started her car and drove off.

A few miles down the road the old lady saw a small cafe. She went in to grab a bite to eat. It was a dingy looking restaurant. The waitress came over and brought a clean towel to wipe her wet hair. She had a sweet smile, one that even being on her feet for the whole day couldn't erase. The lady noticed the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant, but she never let the strain and aches change her attitude. The old lady wondered how someone who had so little could be so giving to a stranger. Then she remembered Bryan.

After the lady finished her meal, she paid with a hundred dollar bill. The waitress quickly went to get change for her hundred dollar bill, but the old lady was gone by the time she came back. She noticed a note written on the napkin: "You don't owe me anything. Somebody once helped me out, the way I'm helping you. If you really want to pay me back, here is what you do: Do not let this chain of love end with you."

Under the napkin were four more $100 bills.

That night when the waitress got home from work and climbed into bed, she was thinking about the money and what the lady had written. How could the lady have known how much she and her husband needed it? With the baby due next month, it was going to be hard....

She knew how worried her husband was, and as he lay sleeping next to her, she gave him a soft kiss and whispered soft and low, "Everything's going to be all right. I love you, Bryan Anderson."