Golden Nuggets

Some interesting blog posts I've come across recently that definitely deserve to be forwarded to friends and families :)

Cahaya Nusantara a young blog that seeks to translate quality Christian resources for the Bahasa-speaking community in East/West Malaysia posed a tricky question: Pentingkah Apa Yang Ku Percaya? (Way to go, guys!!)

"Dalam bidang keagamaan kita sering mementingkan keikhlasan iman kita (contohnya, adakah anda betul-betul mencintai Tuhan?) lebih daripada kebenaran iman kita (contohnya, adakah kepercayaan ini benar?). Saya merasakan ini sangat pelik.

Sebenarnya, apakah maksud kepercayaan?"

(I like the poem "Andai ada pelita di tangan, "Masakan disimpan di dalam peti?
Andai ada genggaman garam, Masakan dibuang ke dalam laut?" Reminds me of how rich and dispersed spiritual gifts are in the body of christ, if you could help and willing in this project? Join in the party)

Alex wrote on The Renovation of our souls :

"Some of us may have been Christians for so many years that we have become too comfortable in church. We may not be aware of an inner shift in the soil of our inner spiritual life away from God. Maybe we have been praying less and do not attend prayer meetings anymore. We find less and less time to read the Bible. Where once there was an urgency to share about Jesus with our non-Christian friends, there is none now. We find ourselves putting less and less into the offering bags.

It may even have been years since we regularly examine our lives to see whether we are living a life glorifying to God. We share less and less with each other about what God is doing in our lives. Our emotions are more often full of anger than of gratitude. Anger is a sign that we are not content with what we have. If that is so, we may need to do some renovation in the garden of our souls."

David Tan wrote God In The Dock on the atheistic 'backlash':

"The famous Darwinist Richard Dawkins is especially virulent in his views and it is no secret that he thinks religious adherents are bigots and nutcases, and are the cause of the world’s woes. I’ve not read his latest book ‘The God Delusion’ but it’s already a bestseller. I picked up this quote from the book that says; "Stalin was an atheist and Hitler probably wasn't, but even if he was ... the bottom line is very simple. Individual atheists may do evil things but they don't do evil things in the name of atheism."

Well, I’m tempted to say that Stalin and Hitler and their ilk may not have killed millions in the name of atheism, but they definitely did so in the name of natural selection. Why Dawkins should point the finger at religion and exonerate atheism, needs no rationale. But why not invoke what is obviously a demonstrable evidence of survival of the fittest when people kill each other (whatever the motivation)? So what’s wrong with indulging in a little gene pool cleansing?"

Sherman wrote about the Games Ministers Play:

"I was having a long chat last night with a younger brother of mine who’s in training for the full-time ministry. The basic essence of the discussion rested upon the reality that few people today understand the most fundamental functions of a minister, which are to conduct the sacraments (together with living the incarnational / sacramental life) and to preach the authentic gospel of Christ. Even senior pastors; they’re most often taken in by church growth models and programmes focused on acquisition and retention.

The model of ministry has evolved uncritically. A pastor is now gauged by how effective he is in managing a church which propels around programmes and systems. The pastor is consciously seen as coordinator, manager, and organiser; everything but the sacramental presence of Christ among his people".