Christianity a partner finder?

i heard a particular someone say this not long ago.
all of us have qualities that we pride ourselves on.
for me.. it probably would be me fitness that i would pride myself on.
If God were to take that away, what is gone? Our pride.

how do we normally look for a girlfriend or boyfriend?
well, first we size ourselves up. and see and judge for ourselves if we kind of 'qualify' to be with that person. so.. when God takes away my fitness, would like i still qualify to be loved?

And also, what if being a Christian becomes a pride issue that makes us seem a 'class higher' so to speak than the normal guy?
to a Christian girl, or guy, his choices in finding a girlfriend or boyfriend are limited to just Christians. why. its not so much a pride issue, but more a God issue. the only thing that makes a christian different from non christian is the person Jesus.
Not too many people accept this 'christian' Jesus. This weird guy who goes around telling everyone he is God. not many people accept that this Jesus, who is a man, is a God, the God.
There are then again many Christians who call themselves Christians but don't have Jesus in their lives. They might study the bible day and night and live religiously, yet not know God in an intimate way... perhaps not the way a person who sins in the area of porn and knows how easy it is to fall back into bad habits.

The thing about being a Christian, which many people i feel misunderstand is that Christians are big sinners too. You don't have to be perfect to be a Christian. Jesus preached to who?, the lost, the tax collectors, the prostitutes, the con men, the swindlers, the people whom society judged to be unworthy. And what,. they became christians.

The common misperception of a Christian too often is some holy too shoes guy/gal who has no sense of humor and enforces and demands that everyone has to be a Christian or he would burn in hell.Of course that is true. people wouldn't love the hellfire and repent message.

The Christian guy/gal is simply described as someone who has Jesus. All else matters less.

The problem that the church has is probably its use of lingo. Sometimes, in a church, an newcomer would feel completely alien. Its as if in church you have to learn a whole new way to talk. Like.. every word has to be followed by a 'halleighluya!" or. .. amen.. and if u are religious you have to do this and that.. and it makes Christianity seem like some sort of rules u have to follow to attain nirvana.

again i repeat. A Christian just has Jesus.

and Jesus is who?..
i like the way pastor Mark Driscoll describes what Jesus isn't.
Jesus probably wasn't good looking.. there isn't anything in the bible that says Jesus was a handsome man, with long hair long robes, looking like a hippy. Jesus probably was a normal man in appearance. Just think... along the lines of... a carpenter, cuz thats what Jesus was working as when he was alive. He probably had short hair, cuz long hair would get in the way if he was hammering wood. just imagine... a hippy attempting to swing a hammer...all the gangly hair.. flowy robes.. Jesus probably wore short sleeves and was quite toned. He walked alot,so he was lean. but thats about it. Jesus was a normal guy.

He even had friends who saw him grow up like you and me. They obviously didn't think he was God because he was too normal to be anyone other than a man. they had seen this man, Jesus grow up. Yet these were the very men who couldn't believe that Jesus's claims about himself being God were true. Imagine me...
telling you i'm God.

ya right.. go tell the mountain to me and i want to see that happen too and i'll believe you are God.

i've always wondered why people would be so wary about Christians. they are like salesmen who come knocking on your door..
* Knock knock*
*Door opens*

CHristian:.. hi, i'm so and so... My God is so big and you are so small, my God is right and you are wrong and there is nothing you can do about it. My God can cure all diseases, heal all sicknesses, make the blind see and the lame walk. He can even ressurect.if you need any help or advice, give me a call have a nice day!
*door slams*

my point is this..
The issue non-christians have with God probably isnt' Christianity itself or even Jesus as a man. I mean, to them Jesus is probably like Ghandi or Mother theresa or dalai lama or buddha.. he's just another man who teaches to be good. of course with one difference.

Jesus claimed to be God.

THat was the main reason why the religious priests crucified Jesus. And it was the only reason they could think of to crucify him because he was faultless in every other way.. they tried to trap him using the law of Moses and failed miserably... the crowds who followed Jesus were so big initially and he was definitely more popular than any of these boring, stern priests who are totally no fun.Jesus even performed miracles.. he provided for the needs of the people...but still .. these priests, instead of seeing the proof being laid before them of Jesus's divine nature, the priests could only see that they were given 2 choices. They either believed the miracles were really from God and that Jesus was God and worshipped him, because priests by just being priests have to worship a God, or they would simple have to ignore the miracles, the proof of Jesus's divine nature, and accuse him of blasphemy. Ironically, the clubbers, the smokers, the hookers. these probably weren't the people who wanted Jesus dead so much..

its funny.. how i started off writing about Christianity being a partner finder.. and ended up talking about Jesus.. but...
thing is.. at the end of the day, its all about Jesus.
This man who is God, who is our attorney on the day of judgement.. this man who is the son of God in heaven..
This man is called Jesus..

Everything in Christianity hinges on just this person. Everything.
Which is why the da vinci code was so controversial amongst Christians. Everything i believe in about Christianity falls as long as you can prove undeniably that Jesus didn't raise from the dead. You'd just need to prove that and all christianity would be just a pathetic religion that has been nothing more than another altruistic reinterpretation from another philosopher. And only then, will i stop becoming a Christian.

Chronicles of a christian.

yup.. thats me! :) a Christian.

i just came back from a reunion dinner with my crusade friends.
:)
its interesting to see new faces. quite a delight actually. but with the new faces come a certain awkwardness and unsureness of how to react. i for one want to just go up and say hi. yet.. there's this other part that just looks out for some familiar face to talk to like David or Joel or Janice or Eudora or Michelle or Sam or Jo or Rudy .. basically the more senior crusaders. << that probably is the number one causes for segregation within the church as a body. the fear of just saying hi to someone you don't know. amazing ya? how something so seemingly harmless has such big implications.
there was this group of exchange students whom we met from Iowa..acctually i didnt' really meet them.. i just saw them.. didn't say hi or nothing..
it was weird. how i wanted to say hi, but i didn't want to. and i could run this in my head over and over again.. but at the end of the day.. hmmm i guess i just want to know them and find out about these angmohs who have so rarely popped by for a crusade event. i was happy that today was such a boisterous day.so many people turned up for the crusade new year dinner.

but this incident kinda strikes me in an unexpected way..

kinda gave me a better idea about my introverted self.

i find myself weird sometimes.. how one moment i could be so high.. and the next.. feel like.. a worm. wanting to hide in the soil.
all these happening within the span of just minutes.

anyways, aside from that, i talked to vic today. was delighted to see him at SDE block after his crusade LM. yeah. its kinda cool cuz somehow, now, when i see him, i see someone who's growing from the pain he's experienced. in fact i feel more comfortable talking to him than i ever did.

Its wonderful when you have a friend. :)

:) and may i add, a friend from God.

welll..i think i should sleep. i'm not exactly the most fun person to be around with now. i've been sleep deprived. GIMME SLEEP! :)

i think i behave different when i don't get my sleep.

oh.. this thought just came into my head. sometimes, live just feels much more free when you don't give too much of a damn about your self image.

emo

it feels weird sometimes when i read my blog.. especially if i've written an emo post.. on hindsight.. most of the time my emo-ness seems kinda silly and uncalled for. and reading that makes me feel silly too.
but its weird though.. how powerful and strong those feelings felt at that time.. even though they might be illogical and irrational.

Feelings.

The emotions are running wild.
You don't know if they are your instincts trying to protect you or just something you shove at the back of your head.

I"M FEELING SO STRESSED OUT>well in korea i dont feel this way..
anyways.. YOU KNOW this feeling??..
when you think you've got something really important you need to do??
then a hundred million other worries just whiz past your head.. and sujddenly.. that important thing you needed to get done.. does not seem all that important.. and... you start worrying liKE CREAZY!!!

Thats how i'm feeling now.
gosh.. and i'm like saying to mjyself.. rich.. u need to do this and that and this and that.. and.. thing is.. i havn't done nothing..
i've just read my bible.
argh...
MY attention span seems so short..

also had this other feeling before?
you worried soOOOOOoOooOO much about something one day.. and the next.. you don't even think about it.
and you wonder.. whats wrong with me? was that thing i was worrying about even worth worrying about???
ok.. now i'm inspired to turn back o the bible.

if ican make it through tomorrow.. which is kind of a dooms day for me.. then.. good. yeah.. :)
sometimes i hate myself for being sooo slack.

well but i'm not actually slack. i procrastinate too much.. hmm...
i think thats the same with Eve too.
URGHHH!H!H!H!!

GOTA CLEAR MY CRAP!!!!!!!!
ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

*richard goes for head banging session*

ok.. i need to remove this .. think... part in my brain..
everytime i tell myself.. "i think i need to do this" i never really get down to doing it.
instead.. i have to start saying stuff like " i'll get this done by today by hook and by crook.. and it will be my excuse to focus less on everything else" or wait. that don't sound too nice.. like.. i'm gona put myself in a trance that makes me a robot instead of a human.. okokokok!??!?!?
so how???
KK.. how about does this mental note sound ? " once i accomplish this task.. i don't have to think about it anymore.. do it once do it good."

yeah sounds good.

if u asked me hows God in my life today?
i'd tell you .. not very good.
been letting some comments said get into me over the new year and my brains been kinda fuddled up.. having some momentary identity crisis. YOu know.. i suddenly had an epiphany. at the end of the day everyone needs to remember the image he has of himself.. and not the image that people have of him. and that image of ourselves usually is the image that God gives us. on my part.. i've been getting comments that i look like a korean ever since i went there. hmm.. i don't know.sometimes i get drawn into that train of thought.. and think myself different.. and special.. blabla.. but at the end of the day i'm still Richard Yew the Singaporean guy born to my mom who's peranakan and my dad who's a malaysian but became singaporean.i've got 3 awesome siblings. 2 lovely sisters and a wonderful bro. Have a lovely girlfriend who is always bubbly and energetic so much so that at times.. she's like a hyper active child.

well i think i needed that self reminder.. but for now..
ITS TIME TO WORKK AND WELLL GOD HELP! !!! :)

Chinese new year

Got two cows

TRADITIONAL CORPORATION

You have two cows.
You sell one and buy a bull.
Your herd multiplies and the economy grows.
You sell them and retire on the income.


AN AMERICAN CORPORATION

You have two cows.
You sell one and force the other to produce the milk of four cows.
You are surprised when the cow drops dead.


A FRENCH CORPORATION

You have two cows.
You go on strike because you want three cows.


A JAPANESE CORPORATION

You have two cows.
You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk.
You then create clever cow cartoon images called 'Cowkimon' and market them World-Wide.


A GERMAN CORPORATION

You have two cows.
You re-engineer them so they live for 100 years, eat once a month, and milk themselves.


A BRITISH CORPORATION

You have two cows.
Both are mad.


AN ITALIAN CORPORATION

You have two cows, but you don't know where they are.
You break for lunch..


A SWISS CORPORATION

You have 5,000 cows and none of which belong to you.
You charge others for storing them.


A CHINESE CORPORATION

You have two cows.
You have 300 people milking them..
You claim full employment and high bovine productivity.
You have the newsman who reported on the numbers arrested.


AN INDIAN CORPORATION

You have two cows.
You worship them.


A MALAYSIAN CORPORATION

You have two cows.
You signed a 40-year contract to supply milk at RM0.06 per litre.
Then midway through, you raised the price to RM0.60 or you cut the supply.
When the buyer agrees to the new price, you change your mind again and now want RM1.20.
The buyer decided you can keep the milk and they go look for milk that comes from recycled cows or the cow urine instead.
Your two cows retire together with the Prime Minister.


And last but not least,

A SINGAPOREAN CORPORATION

You have two cows.
One cow-peh and one cow-bu.

Thanks Gilbert for sending me this brilliant email.. cheered me up

The list of people i call friends.

hmmm..
shall i be a mean ass and start listing down publically all the people who mean anything at all to me?

Well.. maybe i shouldn't write down who i think are my friends..
but.. as i was reading the blogs of people around me..
church friends, archi friends..

i felt lucky that i know these people personally.
people whom i thought were difficult turned out to be the very people i have grown to be fond of. I always smile at the thought of these precious friends. i feel happy.
God has placed these people who are genuine and unpretentious. Aware of their faults and sometimes unabashed about them. Sometimes i look at people who call themselves Christians.. and i think i'd rather hang out with my non christian friends who are more truthful to themselves. Who says you need to be a christian to teach someone to be more Godly. God can use anyone to teach u about Himself.
but of course then, my heart for my non-christian friends is that they would also come to know the God that i am still learning about. Jesus. The person who died so we could live. if that even makes sense.

point of the matter here though is that, i would just want to thank God for the friends i know now. My ex studio mates, my fellow exchange archi mates, my church friends, my family, Eve. i smile each time i think about u guys. and each time i think about u guys, i'll compare myself to u guys and think... how lucky i am, to have a friend who is better than me in someway. yeah. i could be hanging around with one of the most brilliant people to be in Singapore, or Korea or who knows ???

so yeah.. a pretty emo post. but heart felt too. so u shld b honored to be my friend ! Waha!

where does your confidence come from?

as i write this post.. i'm going through what i feel is a crunch time.
i feel this is the time where i can't afford to b a kid.
gota b responsible.

but, i will need confidence first..
so where does my confidence come from?
it came from man.
and it still does to a large extent.
but slowly, i'm seriously rethinking my whole idea of where my foundations are.
where have i been building my foundations so far for the last 23 years?
foundations in terms of what has been the major factor that has been driving me to make my decisions. the major foundation that i rely on when i need to interact with people. to a certain degree it has always been a mixture of what the bible says, coupled with my fear of man. that's how i interact with the people around me.the want to impress.

it sometimes seems cool to be oblivious to the talents that God has given us. but it is not that cool.

the christian life always says, God's first.

but it is always in the crunch times that we see how far this Christian motto holds true in our own lives. I've not had many crunch times. but during many of these crunch times, i'm not proud to say that i didn't put God first. for if i did, it would have been very clear from my actions.

why am i writing this post.
to be honest, i'm requestioning myself and asking myself the fundamental questions of how far am i going to be a Christian?
how am i going to be a christian to other people?

Like Andrew, who very honestly and objectively stated that he had to get right with God before he decided whether or not to go back to the worship ministry, i too have to get right with God once again. i was very encouraged when i heard Andrew's reason for stepping aside from band for a period of time. What he said i felt was from his heart.

its a pain.. when i think about all the work that has to b done in the midst of the new year preparations. My school work.. my portfolio to prepare.. church commitments... family, friends, loved ones. God. Juggling all these at once...

Only God could do that..
but yet, i am hopeful.

things will work out. i'm sure.
because my spirit tells me that.
and.. i'll have to learn to trust the instincts that i've been given.

i'm back in Singapore

I'm back! :)
in Singapore.
yup i've been back from Korea 11 days counting today.
celebrated my 4th year anniversary with Eve and her birthday on the first of Jan 09.
and number one question that i've been constantly bombarded with is ..
how is Korea?.
and most of the time.. i don't know what to say..
its ok . its fine. are my usual replies.

i've not really sat down and evaluated my stay in Korea.

if u asked me.. i think it was a fruitful stay for a few reasons.
the people i met in Korea.
and the experiences i had.
Travelling from place to place. working in an overseas architectural firm.
aside from that.. hmmm Korea really reminds me of Singapore in more ways than one..
we aren't really different when u put aside our language difference.

i was in minds cafe too at clark quay. with my ex studio, Fabian, KaiLun, Ying Ying, Yu Mei, Mark . yup. was really fun. we were playing who's the boss...
which really is fun. :) lol if u have v interesting people around.
anyways.. its dinner time now..
:) yay.
i'm so hungry.