Tag, You're it!

Isaiah at Joie de Vivre tagged me to reveal seven things that most people don't already know about me. So, here it is...

1. I like to reminisce about the good ol' days even though they're not really all that good (especially the 80s).

2. I don't like pets (except maybe gold fish. It's something to do with the water and the way they swim; It looks so relaxing)

3. I'm quite a gadget freak. Don't even start with me regarding Apple stuff.

4. I know I shouldn't but I have problems with self-confidence.

5. I like to travel and watch time-travel movies. If I could travel through time, I definitely would go back to the 80s.

6. I can't stand self-righteous or legalistic Christians.

7. I like to cook (I make mean hot-and-sour soup) and watch cooking show or go to cooking blog (I'm not saying whose...Carol)

That's it about me. Now I'm gonna tag:

1. Jeremy Myers of Till He Comes Blog
2. Carol Rode of Oh for the Love of Food Blog
3. Michael Rumende of Rejoice in the Lord Always Blog

C'mon guys. Keep the ball rolling. This is fun.

The Dog and The Shadow Pt. 2

When I was in Singapore Bible College, I had a lecturer who later became my spiritual mentor. His name is Sabin Huang. I would go to his house every Monday morning to talk to him about anything and absorbed his wisdom as much as I could. His style was rather unconventional, to say the least. He was not a conformist, but in a good way. He's a brilliant lecturer, an astute Bible student, and to me, a wonderful mentor. He even preached at my wedding and was instrumental in my going to Dallas Theological Seminary.

One of the things I remember he taught me was the spiritual application of this fable. He even drew up a diagram (see above) which I think connects brilliantly a lot of theological truth taught in the Scripture. He said, ”The devil often tries to make us think like the dog and plays mind games with us and tricks us into giving up what we already have to get what we do not need. What we have is Christ. He fulfills all our Needs. We are complete in Him (Colossians 2:10) But the devil makes us think that we need more. - More love, more security, more approval and acceptance. When we try to grab the Idols that seem to provide us with more love, more security, and more approval, we lose the opportunities to enjoy our abundant life in Christ. “

Distinguishing between what is real and counterfeit, between needs and wants, between what God offers and what the devil offers, is indeed critical to the success of our walk with God.

The Dog and The Shadow

I love Aesop's fables. I think the dude was a genius. One of my favourites was a story about a dog and his shadow. A Dog was crossing a bridge over a stream with a piece of meat in his mouth, when he happened to see his own reflection in the water. He thought it was another dog with a piece of meat twice as big; so he let go his own meat, and dove into the water to attack the other dog to get the larger piece. But, of course, he got neither. One meat was only a shadow, and the real meat he already had was carried away by the current.

What shadow have we been chasing in place of the real thing? Lord help us not to become like that dog.

So God said, in effect, “If that’s what you want, that’s what you get.” It wasn’t long before they were living in a pigpen, smeared with filth, filthy inside and out. And all this because they traded the true God for a fake god, and worshiped the god they made instead of the God who made them—the God we bless, the God who blesses us.
(Romans 1:24-25; the message)