haunted

Few weeks ago, my pastor gave a sermon during our church service. I kept thinking about his words, “God only gives you sweet dreams. If you had a nightmare, it must not be from God. Hahaha..” I couldn’t understand. Was that just a joke? Or a real statement? I didn’t confront him to find out the truth tho’.

That night, I thought of these words again & again before I closed my eyes and ventured into the dreamworld. That very night, I had a nightmare. In my dream, I saw a friend, someone whom I’ve not kept in touch for some time. I dreamt that she had long been in deep trouble. When I get to know about it, it was too late. Then I woke up. Troubled. “How is she doing?” I wondered. And I remembered my pastor’s words again. “God only gives you sweet dreams. If you had a nightmare, it must not be from God. Hahaha...” “Why must he “Hahaha” at the end of his sentence?” I thought grouchily.

So the next day I decided to call her– just to check her out. She was a depressed person when I called her (I was not surprised for she had always been so, she’s a pessimist). We chatted about life troubles, work, people, money, family and etc. Then she started to talk about something which she’s never told anyone – she’s being haunted. She had not told anyone about this, for she was sure that nobody will believe her. I believed her.

Quickly I told her the reason why I called her up – my nightmare. But I didn’t tell her the details, for I know for sure that it will only bring her down. So I comforted her, and told her to pray to God for help. She replied, “Don’t ask me to pray! I’ve prayed so many times and I’m tired. I give up. It’s useless!”

“Which God did you pray to?” I asked.
“I’ve tried many gods, I went to the temples and prayed and just last week, I went for channeling (rasuk tuhan). I tried his remedy and it’s totally useless!”
“No wonder why it's useless. The God I’m talking about is the one and only God on heaven and earth, whose son is Jesus Christ, our saviour.” I interrupted her lamentations.
“We have totally different thoughts. 100% different. I’m a Buddhist and you’re a Christian.”
“Are you sure that you’re a Buddhist? Buddhists do not go to the temple and pray and burn incenses…” To cut things short, she was very adamant that since she had sought so many gods, there’s no reason to seek Jesus for help. She believes now that only she alone can help herself.
“How do you help yourself?” I was curious.
“Let them do whatever they want unto me. I won’t care.” She replied.
“But why? When there’s a way for you to cast them away from you, why can’t you give it a try?” I had talked to her about pastors casting out demons from people in churches and tried to coax her to visit a local church there. She was interested, but steadfast to her rule, “I’m a Buddhist.”

It was a very, very long talk. To the end I remembered my objective of calling her – to help her if she needed any, and not to bring up any argument. So I did not push her far. But I reminded her, “Try all ways you want. But if one day, you find that no one can help you, not even yourself, and you really badly needed help, call out to Jesus. Ask him to save you. And you’ll be safe. Trust me.”

Those were the same words many people had repeatedly told me few years ago, which had ultimately brought me to Jesus. And He saved me, indeed. Praise Lord. ;-)

Dai Yee Long

For the Chinese-speaking people, I’m sure they’ll understand the title of my article today. For those who don’t, the direct translation will be, “Big Ear Hole.” It implies something that will drill the hole in your ear bigger and bigger, until you lose your brain and head. Haha.. that’s my own understanding. Well, the actual meaning would be, loan shark. Or better known as, “Ah Long”.

The recent death of the 3 siblings murdered by their parents with bleach and kitchen gas surely has saddened the Malaysian folks. As usual, fingers started pointing everywhere, including the other family members and friends who didn’t lend a hand, government who didn’t put a stop to these loan sharks’ businesses and etc. A friend or family member may help you once, twice, thrice... but definitely you don’t expect them to clear your junks your entire life! You have to first look into the root of the problem. First stop creating junks.

My point here is, my dear friends, don’t point fingers at people when things do not turn out right. In the first place, one should never loan money from these people. They are not called SHARKS for no reason. Whatever problem you may face, DO NOT APPROACH THESE SHARKS.

Well, if you do not want to approach these people, dun think that the banks will supply you personal loans without checking your background first. Those with dirts and dusts in the financial history will be unlikely for any loan candidate. So, the core issue is, do not get into any kind of debt in the first place.

These are a few reasons why people run into debts.
Gambling habit. A fatal habit, which can actually drag the whole family into the fire of hell. Buying share without understanding the company’s nature is also a form of gamble.
Pleasure in using credit cards. While credit cards are definitely a necessity in today’s modern world, but always check your balance. And spend only what is necessary. Keep a habit of writing your personal spending accounts in order to keep track of what you’ve spent on. Many people, despite a zero credit, still dares to buy furniture, handphone and other accessories with no worry in their mind. Daring in this case could spell you trouble fren…

Bought cars and houses… without planning. Too many downpayments with too much of car loans.

Bought too many insurance. Having insurance is fine, good… but one do not need too many of them. Once you start to have problems in your current job, where will you get the money to pay up the thounsands of insurance bill? This applies especially for the young parents who started buying insurance for their children at infancy age. Halo?? Ultimately, either you run into debt, or your premium becomes void – which means you lose money also.

So to my friends out there, keep yourself clear of these four debt-inducing issues. =) All the best.