A personal God (Ever wondered who God is? What does He look like?)

A personal God (Ever wondered who God is? What does He look like?) Take a look at creation.
--

I was once a professor at Britain's largest university, and I held various degrees and academic distinctions. in many ways, i was quite sophisticated - intellectually. But I do not feel in any way intellectually inferior to say I believe the Bible's record of creation.

Prior to believing the Bible, I studied may other sources that attempted to explain man's origin, but I found them unsatisfying. In many cases, they contradicted one another. I then turned to study the Bible - not as a believer but as a professional philosopher.

I thought to myself, At least it can't be any sillier than some of the other things I've heard! To my astonishment, I discovered that the Bible had the answer.

In Genesis, we read a short, simple statement. It begins, "The LORD God" - that is , "Jehovah God" - God's personal name. This term tells us that a personal God formed a personal man for personal fellowship.

The LORD God formed (molded) man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being (soul). - Genesis 2:7.

Here we see the union of God's divine, eternal breath from above with the body of clay from beneath, molded by the hands of the Creator. The union of spirit from above and clay from beneath produced a living human personality - one that can have fellowship with the living, personal God.

- Derek Prince.

animal rights activitists rally at moscow against violence, especially of stray dogs

Animal rights activists hold a rally to protest violence against animals and to demand better treatment of stray dogs in particular, in Moscow, April 21, 2011. – Reuters pic

Japan’s nuclear plant operator pays ‘condolence money’ - Japanese culture (bowing down)

One thing I really liked about Japanese and Koreans is their polite culture - bowing down, in respect and in apology/ regret. I believe this culture was part of the Chinese's until recently, all that's left in the Chinese, is... you only see them bow before their idols/ ancestor/ in funerals.

There's so much meaning in such a simple gesture. It is a act of humility, of sincerity. A person who's proud and floating on air can't easily bow to the people around them. Bow down in sincerity.

A priceless gesture, an honoured culture.

Tokyo Electric executive vice-president Takashi Fujimoto (second left) bows with the company’s operating officers at the news conference at the company headquarters in Tokyo, April 5, 2011. — Reuters pic

japanese boy teaches lesson (tsunami, earthquake, refugee, food distribution)

japanese boy teaches lesson (tsunami, earthquake, refugee, food distribution)

Published on ShanghaiDaily.com (http://www.shanghaidaily.com/

)

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/?id=467066&type=Opinion

Japanese boy teaches lesson in sacrifice

Created: 2011-3-24 0:17:31

EDITOR'S note:

THIS letter, written by Vietnamese immigrant Ha Minh Thanh working in Fukushima as a policeman to a friend in Vietnam, was posted on New America Media on March 19. It is a testimonial to the strength of the Japanese spirit, and an interesting slice of life near the epicenter of Japan's crisis at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. It was translated by NAM editor Andrew Lam, author of "East Eats West: Writing in Two Hemispheres." Shanghai Daily condensed it.

Brother,

How are you and your family? These last few days, everything was in chaos. When I close my eyes, I see dead bodies. When I open my eyes, I also see dead bodies.

Each one of us must work 20 hours a day, yet I wish there were 48 hours in the day, so that we could continue helping and rescuing folks.

We are without water and electricity, and food rations are near zero. We barely manage to move refugees before there are new orders to move them elsewhere.

I am currently in Fukushima, about 25 kilometers away from the nuclear power plant. I have so much to tell you that if I could write it all down, it would surely turn into a novel about human relationships and behaviors during times of crisis.

People here remain calm - their sense of dignity and proper behavior are very good - so things aren't as bad as they could be. But given another week, I can't guarantee that things won't get to a point where we can no longer provide proper protection and order.

They are humans after all, and when hunger and thirst override dignity, well, they will do whatever they have to do. The government is trying to provide supplies by air, bringing in food and medicine, but it's like dropping a little salt into the ocean.

Brother, there was a really moving incident. It involves a little Japanese boy who taught an adult like me a lesson on how to behave like a human being.

Last night, I was sent to a little grammar school to help a charity organization distribute food to the refugees. It was a long line that snaked this way and that and I saw a little boy around 9 years old. He was wearing a T-shirt and a pair of shorts.

It was getting very cold and the boy was at the very end of the line. I was worried that by the time his turn came there wouldn't be any food left. So I spoke to him. He said he was at school when the earthquake happened. His father worked nearby and was driving to the school. The boy was on the third floor balcony when he saw the tsunami sweep his father's car away.

I asked him about his mother. He said his house is right by the beach and that his mother and little sister probably didn't make it. He turned his head and wiped his tears when I asked about his relatives.

The boy was shivering so I took off my police jacket and put it on him. That's when my bag of food ration fell out. I picked it up and gave it to him. "When it comes to your turn, they might run out of food. So here's my portion. I already ate. Why don't you eat it?"

The boy took my food and bowed. I thought he would eat it right away, but he didn't. He took the bag of food, went up to where the line ended and put it where all the food was waiting to be distributed.

I was shocked. I asked him why he didn't eat it and instead added it to the food pile. He answered: "Because I see a lot more people hungrier than I am. If I put it there, then they will distribute the food equally."

When I heard that I turned away so that people wouldn't see me cry.

A society that can produce a 9-year-old who understands the concept of sacrifice for the greater good must be a great society, a great people.

Well, a few lines to send you and your family my warm wishes. The hours of my shift have begun again.

Ha Minh Thanh

My dog eats his pooh vs swallowing down nasal discharges

My dog eats his pooh vs swallowing down nasal discharges - they're different, aren't they?

I dislike going to the doctor, no matter what illness i've got. I don't like to get my body checked, to be diagnosed, and to be given certain medicine which could harm my livers and etcetera... (but then again, on the other hand, sometimes even simple viral or bacterial infection will also harm my liver and etcetra, so... it's a lose-lose situation when one falls sick). Only God's healing hand produces a win-win situation to me. haha. ;=) So I'd rather pray and allow healing take place on its own. However, of late, there have been times when I succumb to external / surrounding pressures or the excruciating pain due to the sickness, then I'll knock on the clinic's door.

Recently a good friend of mine recommended a certain doctor near my place. I visited him once when I had a bout of severe poisoning - I thought my kidneys were shutting down.. but when I met him, he made a few serious checks and explained, "it's only the ligaments pulling, due to the strains in the intestines." I could only hope and pray that he's right. My will's not done yet.

Anyway, 3 days later I recovered. Just a few days ago, after taking some hot n spicy food, my eyes start to swell a bit, my nose get runny abit. By the third day, my voice was "cloggy" (any better vocabulary for this adjective?) and when I went to work on the fourth day, I felt like I could faint anytime of the day. My nasal discharges were thick green, the phlegms I coughed were thick green. I could almost imagine the greenish phlegms lining up the alveoli in my lungs. oops. to cut things short, I took half day mc, and went to see this doc.

So as I walked in the consultation room (after more than half an hour's waiting?), I complained about the fever, lost of voice, bad flu, choked up frontal sinuses, I was almost in tears. It was really miserable a flu. He looked concerned, "What's the colour of your phlegm?"

I told him my phlegms are thick green and running nose with all greenish discharges. With an amused look, he chuckled, "Everything green?"

At this point, my amygdala almost blurted, "Yah, and it's tasty too..." However, thank God the message got truncated at my association cortex and I compared what my clients complained often, "My dog always eats his pooh... is it really that tasty?"

Ouch... what would this doctor think of me if I did not filter this sentence? Will he compare me with a dog?? So my association cortex edited this answer to a simple "yah, yah, haha..."

Sometimes it feels so fun when you can just talk like a child, without any care of the consequences.
It's the same as when you're a student, your stature and language would not mean as much as when you're a working adult.
That goes for a grown up too. Every word that comes out from our mouth - should be filtered, for they will definitely bear consequences, some in ways that we may never know.

Be sure that the words that come forth from your mouth edifies and encourages the listener. I'm learning this. ;=) (which is so difficult to do!!!)