In a recent assignment for my Hermeneutics class, I wrote the following about the theme of the Bible:

The Old Testament is God’s Word about Christ, for the message of the New Testament is that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the Old Testament – all of God’s promises to Jacob, Isaac and Abraham, as well as the royal line of King David. The covenantal promises that were made by God in the Old Testament finds its fulfillment in the New Testament testimony of Jesus Christ.

For in the past few years, I felt like I was in the inter-testamental period — the so-called 400 years of silence between the Old and New Testaments when it seemed like God was not speaking or working in Israel. God had promised his people a land to possess, a King who would rule over them, a Savior who would save them from their enslavement to the Greco-Roman powers.

In that time, the Scriptures do not tell of the faith of the Israelites, but it was there. In the silence, God was working. In the silence, God was working out his plan to redeem a people for himself. Those people and those generations probably struggled very hard to keep their faith and their Jewish religion: for without the Temple they were stripped naked of all that made them Jewish — except for the “boundary markers” of Sabbath, circumcision and food laws. Four centuries is a long time of silence, and nothing compared to the 3 years that I have experienced.

And despite the difficulty in keeping the faith, I now know that God had never forsaken me. He has kept the promises that he has made 100%. In these first days in my own so-called “new testament”, the means of salvation is the same as it was in the old: faith in God alone. In the New Testament, the way God saves his people has never changed, and is the same as it was in the Old Testament and Inter-testamental period: sola fide. Read the rest of this entry »

My new Moleskine notebooks (large, ruled, in Red!) failed to arrive on time from Barnes & Noble today. UPS had a mess up…

Exception Reason: INCORRECT ROUTING AT UPS FACILITY

Exception Status/Resolution: THE PACKAGE WAS MISSORTED AT THE HUB. IT HAS BEEN REROUTED TO THE CORRECT DESTINATION SITE (RESOLUTION)

UPS: You have never failed me in the past. We’ve always had a very amicable relationship… but this was just unacceptable! I love you… but this is strike one :@ ARGGGH!!

Two weeks back at home in Toronto has come and gone pretty quickly, and I’m about to leave for Louisville again in about 8hours. My whole time I was home, I was mentally preoccupied with my baggage that Greyhound had lost. After a few phone calls earlier this week, I learned that they had found my luggage and that it was on its way from Detroit to Toronto. Yesterday (Wedns), I went downtown to pick up my luggage from the Toronto Greyhound station. Praise God, everything inside was intact and nothing was stolen

Let go, let God.

On Sunday, I visited the church of my former English Pastor and attended their English Worship service. It was a very small service, only max 25 people in the little classroom in which it was held. My main thought the moment I stepped into that little room was: “What am I ever going to preach to these little kids?!” The room was filled with little Chinese kids, mostly high school, a handful of university students and a few parents/deacons in the back. And me, the odd visitor from Kentucky. The church is looking for an English Pastor, and I am contemplating the possibility of becoming an “ordinary pastor”. If the opportunity came, what would I do? Pray for me and the sermon I would preach to this little flock on Sunday, July 27.

On Monday, I attended the wedding and reception of two long-time church friends. After a 1.5 year engagement (!) and about a decade of dating, they finally — F I N A L L Y — got married. The wedding ceremony was actually pretty good, with a pastoral exhortation in Cantonese that was pretty funny. The ceremony was actually enjoyable — though my mind was preoccupied with a certain somebody back in Louisville which made the time pass by much quicker! All in all, it was actually somewhat an enjoyable experience to catchup with friends I have not seen in a while. I’m very happy for the bride and groom and pray that their marriage would magnify God in Christ.

Wednesday night, I had a dinner at a friend’s place downtown. He’s recently graduated from Ryerson University and is about to head back to Hong Kong in July permanently to work for his families business. My friend Lili and her boyfriend (”the Nut”) was also there — Lili is leaving for Hong Kong in June, for a year, to teach English at a primary school. I’ve known Lili since my second year at Ryerson, and it is a sad occasion to say goodbye to her. I will miss her dearly, especially all the conversations we have had in the past 5 years about the drama I cause. Nevertheless, I hope to see her in Toronto in December for Christmas — hopefully to introduce her to my better half! LOL

Well, there’s more to be said about love and life. My mom’s grilled me enough about it during this trip home, and I have a few words to say about the maturity of Christian singles. I’ll save that for later. If I don’t post anything for the next little while, it’s because I’m attending the New Attitude conference from Sat thru Tues, and I’ve got a job interview on Wednesday for a “Seminary Housing Liason” position on-campus.  Pray for that — I need a job! lol

Ta ta for now…

Global Warming is the phenomenon of increasing average air temperatures near the surface of Earth over the past one to two centuries.

Since the mid-20th century, climate scientists have gathered detailed observations of various weather phenomena (such as temperature, precipitation, and storms) and of related influences on climate (such as ocean currents and the atmosphere’s chemical composition). These data indicate that Earth’s climate has changed over almost every conceivable timescale since the beginning of geologic time and that, since at least the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the influence of human activities has been deeply woven into the very fabric of climate change.

During the second half of the 20th century and early part of the 21st century, global average surface temperature increased and sea level rose. Over the same period, the amount of snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere decreased.

The Keeling Curve, named after American climate scientist Charles David Keeling, tracks changes in the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in Earth’s atmosphere at a research station on Mauna Loa in Hawaii. Although these concentrations experience small seasonal fluctuations, the overall trend shows that CO2 is increasing in the atmosphere.

A series of photographs of the Grinnell Glacier taken from the summit of Mount Gould in Glacier National Park, Montana, in 1938, 1981, 1998, and 2006 (from left to right). In 1938 the Grinnell Glacier filled the entire area at the bottom of the image. By 2006 it had largely disappeared from this view.

Graph of the predicted increase in Earth’s average surface temperature according to a series of climate change scenarios that assume different levels of economic development, population growth, and fossil-fuel use. The assumptions made by each scenario are given at the bottom of the graph.

"global warming." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008.
Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 2 May 2008
http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9037044.

As my sister said to me recently, “boys are stupid :P”

This is what Dr. Dr. Robitussin Cough DM said to me earlier today:

Stop use and ask a doctor if
cough lasts more than 7 days, comes back, or is accompanied by fever, rash, or persistent headache. These could be signs of a serious condition.

Loss of voice & bad cough: check
Fever: check
Persistent headache: check

Sighs… I have been stupid — I admit that my pride got to me. The next time these symptoms ever come back together, I will be sure to seek professional medical attention! For now, know that God has been good and gracious to me

The Maple Leafs are currently 12th in the Eastern Conference (which is equal to 4th last). I haven’t paid much attention to them in the past few years. I used to consider myself a “die hard Leafs fan”, but lately, I don’t seem to care much. Why? Because even if I take my eyes off of them and stop screaming at the TV for a few months… they are still nowhere near winning the Cup.

The last time we won the championship was in the 1966-67 season — which means it’s been over 40 years since our last championship! Is there any hope yet? I’m a Calvinist — so that means of course there is hope, as long as we keep our faith in Jesus Christ alone We are predestined to win the Stanley Cup again; it’s only a matter of time. All we need to do is trust in the Lord! It’s not like they’re not going to win it unless we cheer them on…. right?!

(HT: Pocketfish)

I’m in the middle of finishing a book review (due Wednesday) and studying for midterms (1 today/Tuesday, and 1 online to be completed by the 25th), but thankfully, my mom back in Toronto loves me so much that she took some time to email me a prayer. I didn’t get her permission to post this, but I’m sure she won’t mind!

“Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for calling Alex to study your words in Kentuchy. Thanks for Your guidance. Please be with Alex, grant him wisdom so that he can remember all the materials and help him to write his exam. Make him sleep well and have a clear and smart mind when he wakes up tomorrow. Please be with him and protect him whenever he goes. Thank you, God and praise the Lord. We pray through Jesus name, Amen.”

Yes and Amen!

I love my mom