The case for faith

I've been reading the Case for Faith by Lee strobel for the past few weeks - I think it has been a good refresher for me. I remember that this book was one of the main books that influenced me to become a Christian again. Really want to say thanks to Huanyan for kindly lending me the book.. it's a easily digestible that is book nice to read, seriously recommend reading it, if you haven't done so recently.

This is the second time that I'm seriously reading this book, and while some parts of it I find not that convincing anymore, one thing that really struck me was the portion of the book titled "the Faith experiment".

"Sitting and brooding over faith and doubt will never make a believer out of anybody," came Anderson's response. "Neither will reading all the right books or hanging out with the right people or even making the decision to believe. Ultimately, you must embark on your experiemnt of faith by doing what faith would do."

"Jesus said that if we continue in his Word - that is, contunie doing what Jesus says - then we are truly his disciples. Being a disciple means you're a 'following learner'. And when you're a following learner, you will know the truth and the truth will set you free."

"Knowing the truth doesn't mean filling your head with knowledge; this is the Hebrew 'know', which isn't gathering information. It's experiential knowledge. Like Adam Eve - he didn't just know her name and address; he experienced her."

"To experience the truth and be set free, you have to be a following learner. In other words, do what Jesus says and you'll experience the validity of it. It's kind of like riding a bicycle. You can't watch a video or read a book about it; you've got to get on one and get the feel of it"

I think that one crucial aspect of faith that I have not remembered.. Just like what the Bible says in James 1:22: " Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." How many times have I challenged myself to go by faith recently..? Not in the recent period of time, definitely.

Will it remove doubt from my life..? I honestly don't think so - even leaders doubt, and even pastors backslide. But is this something that, as a Christian, is worth following? Defintely.

2 big questions been on my mind recently, as the exams approach nearer.

1)What do I want to invest my time in?

and

2)What should I invest my time in?

Jasmine mentioned on Saturday that we should spend some time clarifying our questions Christianity and God. It's quite true that often times we are bothered by some questions or problems in life, but yet strangely enough we are also unwilling to find the solution, or to solve the problem. I fullheartedly agree that it would be good to spend some time on this issue..

Which brings me to the 2 main questions that I'm pondering about now. Just like clarifying doubts about Christianity is an important (and good) thing to do, what other things should I invest my time in?

This whole train of thought was preciptated by my mom, interestingly enough. What should I invest my time in is a seemingly easier question, but just as vital as what do I want to invest my time in.

Frankly, I haven't got the vaguest idea what I want to do with my life. Which isn't very uncommon in general, but, shouldn't life be more than this? My mom has been talking to me about it recently, and I find myself agreeing with her. There should be more to life than this..

I had breakfast today with my mother today, and she was saying that she did a mental count in her head and estimated that she had probably 10000 days left to live, or possibly lesser than that (since she's around her fifties now). What a frightening thought - to be able to estimate a number and say "This is probably the amount of days I have left on this earth". o_O

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Actually, there is a third question in my mind right now, but that one maybe I write about it some other time bah.

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John 20:29 - Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

It's been a long time since I've read this verse, and Jasmine's sermon was a timely refresher for me.

Seriously, another pay hike?

Singapore PM's salary stuns White House official

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A senior White House official on Tuesday admitted he was floored by the news that Singapore's prime minister earned five times more than US

"I'm going to emigrate and run for office in Singapore," the official said on condition he be identified only as "a senior administration official who sits in disbelief after reading that story."

On Monday, the Singapore government had announced a fresh 25.5 percent pay hike for Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, boosting his salary to 2.05 million dollars per year.

Bush gets paid 400,000 dollars per year for doing his job, according to the White House.

Combined with personal investment income, he and his wife Laura reported 618,694 dollars in taxable income in the 2005 fiscal year. They had to pay 187,768 dollars in federal taxes.

But maybe Bush shouldn't feel so bad. The Singaporean's paycheck is eight times fatter than Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's.

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Ok, you know, I'm quite pro-PAP in certain aspects. High pay = anti-corruption. I can accept that. Works for the EPL.

But seriously, you're telling me that if we don't raise LSL's salary by 25%, he's gonna either turn corrupt or hop to a private sector job that pays him more?

To quote Eric's msn nickname - "To the 66.6%, well done!"

Even other countries are laughing at us now..

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Heard from my friend who's working in the banking sector that a recession seems imminent. Let's hope it's not true..