Is problem to make us suffer?

........was on sermon 22 July 2007

Winning in this life is determined by our response to problem.
They key of winning in life is optimism.
Problem can make us either bitter or better.

Why God lets us suffer?
1. To make us humble
2. To verify our heart, to prove our character
Deuteronomy 8:2-5

Deuteronomy 8:2 Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.
Deuteronomy 8:3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.
Deuteronomy 8:4 Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years.
Deuteronomy 8:5 Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you.

3. To discipline us as to tame us

Psalm 119:67 Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word.

The Always Kind God

When dealing with tough situation, we must stick to our believe that He is never away from us.

Take a look Psalm 23:1-6, from that we can learn ups and downs of life.

These are 4 situations that can be drawn from Psalm 23:1-6:
1. Good moment
Psalm 23:1.
He guide David and supplied his needs.
Psalm 23:2.
In Christianity, Lord is our Shepard and we are His sheep. Green pastures are food heaven for sheep. So this verse denotes how God provided abundant food and other necessity for David.
Psalm 23:3.
He took care of David.

2. Tough moment
Psalm 23:4

3. Elation moment
Psalm 23:5

4. Joyful moment
Psalm 23:6

Notice that that from 4 situations, God only allowed hard time to touch David once, and in that tough moment He didn't leave David at all.

What about Job? How could God let that biggest-catastrophe-ever to happen?

Hang in there....I will try to remember more today's sermon tomorrow.

Shakespeare in Bible

...off the chlog for a while....

I'm chlogless today because I skipped Church, but I want to add this newsworthy stuff here.

I just heard recently the story about Shakespeare's name in Bible KJV, but I think it's already known by many already.

Is it a pure coincidence? Or
Was it just made up for Shakespeare's 46th birthday celebration? :P

I wonder who was the first to find and write about it?
This person must be an avid-painstaking-persevering Psalm reader.
To make things short, here what I collect from the net:

• William Shakespeare is believed to have been born on 23rd April 1564.
• A memorial at Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon, records that he died on 23rd April 1616.
• Shakespeare's plays were first performed in 1588,when Shakespeare was 23.
• The First Folio of Shakespeare's works was published in 1623.
• Now 23 + 23 = 46
• The King James Bible was first published in 1611, when Shakespeare was 46.
• "WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE" is an anagram of "HERE WAS I, LIKE A PSALM

Now this is how the things work.....
• Open and turn to PSALM 46 of a King James Autorished Version Bible
• Write down the 46th word from the beginning - Shake
• Write down the 46th word from the end - spear
(ok.....so the person forgot the last 'e' in Shakespeare but it sounds alike)

That ignited my curiosity to search further read about KJV.

Query on Proverbs 5

Oh! I would never heard about Alibi Agency (it seems the site is dead already?) if not because of this morning sermon. How innovative it is, an affair aid facility that serves globally and provides false alibi for anyone who wants to have a free-of-worry secret rendezvous with their secret partner.
It's perhaps much easier to create innovation for something destructive.
Anyway, no matter how successful the Alibi Agency covers one's affair; at the end an affair will only cause loss to the ones who commit it. They will gradually lose peace in themselves.
This reminds me to a novel that I am currently reading called Follow Your Heart by Susanna Tamaro. A moving book (actually I am not reading its novel, but its periodical in newspaper. I plan to buy the book too though).

Meanwhile…back to the sermon….
The preacher cited Proverbs 5:3-11 for this morning sermon and they did portray dangerous liaison and its consequences well.
Too bad the preacher didn't explain why these verses only mention 'strange woman' and not to include 'strange man', the womaniser? :(
I don't believe that Bible is preferential; I know there must be explanation about it.

Anyone can help? :D
Not an anti-Bible assertion of course, I don't want to walk away from it just because I don't know one or more things. I've seen so many good things already in the Bible.

In His time He makes everything beautiful

Those words are some of what the reverend lady mentioned today.
As written in Ecclesiastes 3:11, He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

I like those words. If He made everything beautiful in my time right when I want it, then there won’t be so much thrill, less excitement. And life should be of excitement.

We may have had bread of adversity and water of affliction, but.....as taken from Psalm 199:

67 Before I was afflicted I went astray,
but now I obey your word.
71 It was good for me to be afflicted
so that I might learn your decrees.

That’s all for now, the rest I forgot.