| home | archives | pictures | email me | aim : yakob78 | friends | blogger | |||||||
previous posts surgery wk 4, day 24: gastrectomy, colon resection... HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY, TIM!!! tk is becoming a ... surgery wk 4, day 22 today was one of those days ... in nj post call today. after rounds, pretty much ... surgery: wk 3, day... i don't remember someone sh... i'm on call tomorrow, and will be in the operating... HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY, CHRIS!!!!!!!!!!!! Bush's ultimatum it has begun. bush announced t... surgery wk 3, day 17 (yesterday) surgery clinic. ... surgery wk 3, day 18 heeheehee... playing hooky.... |
my neck still hurts: it's uncomfortable even to lie down in bed and sleep. and to boot, i was feeling nauseous all day. starting to worry me.
****** war in iraq: today's top headlines: -More U.S. troops headed for Iraq -Pentagon to send 120,000 more troops to region -Another round of explosions rock Baghdad -Pentagon: 12 Marines missing, 14 wounded in fighting around Nasiriya -Iraqi information minister warns Iraq will be the "graveyard" of coalition forces ****** christian fellowship mtg bible study on galatians 1. on the gospel: the gospel is something that is tossed around quite a bit. this bible study really forced me to examine it, to delve into the meaning for me. it is traditionally known as "the good news," or the first four books of the new testament. but there is so much more to it. john 3:16 is often quoted: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. " there are 4 key components of the gospel : 1) we are all sinners. not one person on earth can claim to be without sin, and the consequence is death, and eternity in hell. 2) God loves us (the entirety of the bible can be seen as greatest love story ever) and, 3) gave his son, Jesus, the only one who was without sin, to die for us, that we might be redeemed, 4) and have a eternal relationship with God but is this just "good news," as in, DUDE, the LAKERS won their FOURTH championship!!? no. it's much more than that. as sophie's world says, every person will face the ever important questions in life: "who are you? why are you here? how was the world created? is there will or meaning behind what happens? is there a life after death? and how ought we to live?" the gospel is the answer to the these basic questions every person will face. it is the culmination of the great love story as described in the bible. it is the answer to those moments in life when everything else fades away in the background, and you are by yourself, holding that solitary moment, seeking a higher truth and meaning. it is the answer to the identity problems so many of us have. it is the only source of joy that can fill us with overwhelming joy, even in the direst of times. it is THE guide to live this life. an analogy (which obviously can't do justice to the importance of the gospel, but may make easier to understand): imagine, if you will, being a orphan. you've been feeling somewhat ill lately, not exactly sure why, and you are lying on a bed in the hospital. what if someone were to come to you, to tell you that you have a life-threatening disease, that will surely eat away at your body and end with death. what if that person also told you that there is a rare cure, rare and expensive... and when your faces crumbles, that person then smiles and tells you that there is good news: by extensive search, it was discovered that you had been separated from your father at birth, and your father has been found! in fact, your father is the president of the hospital, and HE will pay for this cure. can you imagine? the thoughts that would run through your mind!! - oh no!! i am sick, and i'm going to die... - there is a cure, but it is impossible for me to obtain it. - i have a father! i am not a orphan! - my father will pay for my cure! all these thoughts, at ONCE! it is more than good news. it is quadrouple whammy, a entirely new meaning to life. your eyes are opened to your death, and the inevitable. you understand the cost for the first time. you receive the greatest gift, completely free. and this new identity! and thus, an amazing new relationship begins... this is the gospel. it is not just something to know, to store in your head, to be able to recall in bible study. not something to accept and live as you did before. it is something to dwell on, to meditate on, to rediscover everyday. like waking up each morning to what seems like a strange room, wondering where you are, and then everything comes rushing back. you HAVE A FATHER who loves you. you with all your quirks, faults, and traits. all of you. so close to death, but now you are saved, and have life. life will never be the same. ****** this past sunday, dave (my younger brother) and i were discussing revelations. what an amzing book. i mean, the bible itself is amazing. there is no book in the entire world that comes close to it. but look at just the book of revelations! i mean, from a non-christian point of view, you have to wonder at the craziness. just absolutely the wildest stuff one will EVER read. it's incredible that some ppl think that this book was conceived by mere men 2000 years ago. even in our modern age, when we watch movies about weird things, extraterrestrial stuff, sci-fi, there is nothing that comes remotely close to the bizarre stuff in revelations. but think! back in the day when men walked the earth on sandals, and had to create myths to make sense of things around them, what human mind could possibly have created this story? i'm even amazed that john was able to even receive this vision that God gave him. can you imagine, having a vision like this?! dude, if some of you think MY dreams are crazy, what is this? dreams that we have are based on things that happen, things that we've seen, things that we've read about, things that we've thought about, somehow sitting in our brains, pulled together in a strange sequence. but revelations! there has NEVER, EVER, EVER been anything like that. no such images are typically just sitting in a person's mind. furthermore, consider all the amazing epic stories of modern times. consider popular movies that hit a certain chord within us. star wars. braveheart. matrix. dune. consider every single sci fi series. where do you think such ideas come from? ponder hard. i'm not trying to PROVE anything. i'm not sure anything can be PROVEN. just trying to stir our minds, christian or non-christian. think, and think deep. i challenge everyone to read revelations, all the way through. it's not that long. it will seriously blow your mind. yakob at 10:14 PM |
|