A Stimulus Story

It is the month of April, on the shores of the Black Sea .
It is raining, and the little town looks totally deserted.
It is tough times, everybody is in debt, and everybody lives on credit.
Suddenly, a rich tourist comes to town.
He enters the only hotel, lays a 100 Euro note on the reception counter, and goes to inspect the rooms upstairs in order to pick one.
The hotel proprietor takes the 100 Euro note and runs to pay his debt to the butcher.
The Butcher takes the 100 Euro note, and runs to pay his debt to the pig grower.
The pig grower takes the 100 Euro note, and runs to pay his debt to the supplier of his feed and fuel.
The supplier of feed and fuel takes the 100 Euro note and runs to pay his debt to the town's prostitute that in these hard times, gave her "services" on credit.
The hooker runs to the hotel, and pays off her debt with the 100 Euro note to the hotel proprietor to pay for the rooms that she rented when she brought her clients there.
The hotel proprietor then lays the 100 Euro note back on the counter.
At that moment, the rich tourist comes down after inspecting the rooms, and takes his 100 Euro note, after saying that he did not like any of the rooms, and leaves town.
No one earned anything. However, the whole town is now without debt, and looks to the future with a lot of optimism.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how the United States Government is doing business today.

Canada is Failing History

As high school students across the country sit to write their final examinations this month, Canadians may be shocked to discover that few of them will be tested on what they know about Canada's history.

For more than a decade, the Dominion Institute has commissioned surveys chronicling the national malaise about Canada's history: Four in 10 Canadians cannot name our first prime minister or identify the year of Confederation. Young Canadians often know even less about our country's past than their parents or grandparents.

Full story: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/canada-is-failing-history/article1184615/

I think I am one of them who will fail that course as well...

The first PM is Sir John A. Macdonald...(just google it)

批判的年代

Eugene H. Peterson在其著的 The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language 中說：

But it's trouble ahead if you think you have it made. What you have is all you'll ever get. And it's trouble ahead if you're satisfied with yourself. Yourself will not satisfy you for long. And it's trouble ahead if you think life's all fun and games. There'ssuffering to be met, and you're going to meet it. "There's trouble ahead when you live only for the approval of others, saying what flatters them, doing what indulges them. Popularity contests are not truth contests--look how many scoundrel preachers were approved by your ancestors! Your task is to be true, not popular.

蔡醫在第港九培靈研經會說:

...這也是個專講個人批判的年代，人們只知指指點點，去掉別人眼中的刺，自己置身事外，批評別人，叫人體無完膚。耶穌吩咐我們不可論斷，要先看自己眼中的梁木。也不可定人的罪，因為只有神才可以定罪。

Full story:http://www.hkbibleconference.org/sermon/sermon.php?yearto=2003&subjectto=92&topicto=825&topicto=825

To those who procliam themself as a matured Christian, stop the destruction and rebuild the broken relationship which you are commanded to do it. Don't just talk and think...is time to act!

創造與職場

Just attained this seminar last weekend. Didn't expect too much, but the messages from Rev Yeung were wonderful, also many echoes and thoughts were still hanging around in my mind for the second digestion. Despite all the goodies, in my opinion 4 hours wasn't enough to cover all the materials and topics , it will be even better if he can elaborate more on the verses.

Hope he can talk about the Ecclesiastes next time.

有一種快樂

作曲：嘉琳,蔡志浩
填詞：林夕
編曲：蔡德才@人山人海

從我投入你不相似的世間 便不斷的慨歎
還曾弄濕這雙眼 難明存活怎麼艱苦似攀山
然後回望我非必要的襯衫 換到甚麼讚歎
才明白你縱使苦慣 微笑卻比起一加一更簡單
從此喜悅是發覺原始不等於不快樂
為著豐盛來自分享快樂
你與我都要學

能扶著你是最高的高興
原來完美大志無須比拚
成就最大正是找到使命
散播暖意造就笑聲
擴闊生命 完全為掛念你純真反應
能為你奉獻像溫馨約定 叫我的心境 如水清

鳴謝你令我心輕得可遠飛 認清自己佔有
同樣亦該懂得捨棄 從前爬盡高山哪算了不起

窮青年步父後塵自殺

【明報專訊】一名22歲孝順青年，其父8年前因失業貧困吊頸自盡，剩下妻兒四口。青年自此身兼父職掙錢養家，近日陷入失業、遭扣減綜援 及被追還學費貸款等多重困境，昨日在藍田平田邨寓所留下10多封遺書燒炭身亡。父子相隔8年走上絕路，家人悲慟之餘，還要為殮葬事宜憂慮。 社署 發言人表示，已派員接觸死者家屬提供協助，並可安排發放殮葬津貼。 燒炭身亡青年賴獵羽（22歲），英文名Yama，家人指賴自小患哮喘 病，本與父母及弟妹居於慈雲山，其父任職廚工多年，及後因失業經濟拮据，恐無能力照顧家庭，於01年9月11日在家中自縊。家人為免觸景傷情，獲准調遷至藍田平田邨平信樓現址，賴與母親、14歲胞妹及19歲胞弟居住至今，並申領綜援。

Full story: http://hk.news.yahoo.com/article/090607/4/ckpi.html

Green tea Coca-Cola to make its debut in Japan

Forget "Classic" or "New" Coke. In Japan, you can soon have your cola flavoured with green tea or basil. Green tea-flavoured Coca-Cola will hit Japanese stores June 8, Coca-Cola Central Japan Co. spokesman Katsuya Sato said. It contains tea antioxidants called catechins, leaves a slight green tea aftertaste and is mainly targeted at health-conscious women in their twenties and thirties, Mr. Sato said. "We wanted to cater to people who are looking for something that tastes good but is also good for health and beauty," he said. 2580 (Tokyo) rose ¥10 to ¥1,315 ($14.92).

Are dare to try???

In one of the first major forecasts to be published since the first-quarter growth numbers were released for Canada on Monday, the Bank of Nova Scotia now believes the global economy has reached a turning point, and the Canadian economy will pick up speed quickly starting in the second half of this year.

Link: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy-has-reached-a-turning-point-scotiabank/article1168320/

Hopefully they are right this time.

Where is God??? Where are you???

One of the question that I had encountered when I was sharing the gospel is "where is God". People who asked this question always came up with the poverty, hungry, injustice, and nature disasters around the world.

"Where is God when you said God is love, why did he let this things happen to them?"

I used to divert this kind of questions by asking them to focus the relationship with God alone, just put those things aside and concentrate on the gospel. Because, I really have no clue for answering...why did God let those things happened to us(them)?

After I attained the seminar last year, something had been changed. Christian who proclaims to follow his commission should actually follow his footsteps.

There was one short speech I heard in a few weeks ago had broken my heart. Jesus is love I have no problem to defend the truth of this verse, plus I have no doubt that he loves and cares everyone of us, but I don't see his footsteps among those needy people.

I still don't have the answer of "where is God (why shoud he let these things happened)?", instead, isn't that we had been chosen to carry on his mission and duty. Can we share the blessing that he gave us to those who need it, since we lived in a world far from lacking the basic need.

This is very challenging, but at least I know his eyes is not closed and the job is upon us to finish.

Atonement

In Jesus Christ a new cosmic order of real togetherness has been established forever. We all included, and we all stand called to a radical change of mind, called to rethink everything we thought we knew about God, about ourselves and others, about our planet, our future and life itself. Because of Jesus and of what he has made of the cosmos, we are all called to give ourselves to participate in his world. We are called to let his Father love us. We are called to walk in his Spirit. We are called to love one another with his love for each person. And we are called to participate in his relationship with all creation. And we are promised abounding life in the process. We are free, in a manner of speaking, to live in our own worlds, and free to try to impose them upon Jesus and his world, but such will only produce ever increasing pain. For it is a violation of atonement, of the way things really are in Jesus, of the togetherness that he has established between the Triune God, the human race, and all creation in himself. And such violation necessarily hurts like hell.

Original link: http://baxterkruger.blogspot.com/2009/04/on-atonement.html

Living in our own world (freedom, selfish, self-centered) can be a trap to draw us away from the real heavenly freedom that God want us to have. Also, it will bring suffering, tears, and sadness to our surroundings. Turn my eye toward the life which had been changed by the atonement, live out the reason of why I had been called. Carry on His mission and share our blessing to the one who need it.