Famine in the Promised Land, but no famine in Egypt

During the time of the Patriarchs, there were famines in the Promised Land, but as far as Biblical records is concerned, there was no famine in Egypt. This is hard for the believers in those days. Why were those who believed in God suffering from famine and had to go down to Egypt, which represented the World? Why is the World prospering? Is belief in God wrong?

The Patriarchs were not poor. They were very rich. But compared to Egypt, they were wandering nomads. Egypt is a powerful and rich country with advanced technology. And Egypt had no famine. River Nile is so reliable.

Today, the original Egyptians were gone. In their place are the Arab descendants of Abraham. The other descendant of Abraham, Israel, is now in the Promised Land. God had kept His promise to Abraham. Israel still survives. Israel is rich. However, compared to the World, Israel is small. Like their ancestor Abraham and Egypt, the World is very much bigger and richer. Would Israel prevail, like their ancestor? Would the World perish, like Egypt? The Bible says “Yes”.

Volkswagen Beetle

God does not care about anything except for His own glory.
My wife does not care about anything except for her children's studies.
A friend of mine does not care about anything except for a cottage by the woods.
A blogger wrote that he does not care for anything except to get rich.

When I was young, I always wanted a toy Volkswagen Beetle. It cost $6.00 and was beyond my reach. Decades later, someone gave (or my wife bought) a big toy Volkswagen Beetle for my son. It was huge, much bigger than the original toy that I wanted. I could even buy a second-hand real Volkswagen Beetle, but I would not want to waste my money on old cars. The toy that I used to think I would die without, the car that I thought I would want to buy when I grew up, I no longer want them.

When our chief desire is so different from God, is it so strange that God sometimes refuse to answer our prayers? We may find, in due time, that those that we desire are foolishness and a waste of our time.

You must be Bad to be a Christian

There are many societies, schools and jobs which demand good qualifications before you can join. For example, now the post of the CEO of Hewlett-Packard is vacant, their Board of Directors will choose a person will good qualities to fill the post. I won't qualify for the job. If you want to go to a top school or university, they expect your results to be good.

When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. (Mark 2:17 KJV)
 

However, to be a Christian, there is only one qualification. You must be bad. If you are good, you will be rejected. The God of the Christians, the Father of our Lord Jesus, wants all the glory of the salvation of men to be given to His Son and would not tolerate other factors as competition. If you think you can be a Christian because you have some good points, such as kind-hearted, have done some charitable works, you will be rejected. There is only one qualification. You must be bad. You cannot challenge God for His glory.

Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. (Luke 18 :10-14 KJV)

The Pharisee did not qualify to be a Christian because he is good. The Publican qualified because he was bad.

Always remember this, Christianity is the only religion in the world where Good People go to Hell and Bad People go to Heaven. If you are reading this and is offended, you must be a good person. Watch it! You are on the way to Hell.

El Qanna - Jealous God

God's jealousy means that God continually seeks to protect his own honor. People sometimes have trouble thinking that jealousy is a desirable attribute in God. This is because jealousy for our own honor is human beings is almost always wrong. We are not to be proud, but humble. Yet we must realize that the reason pride is wrong is a theological reason: it is that we do not deserve the honor that belongs to God alone (1 Corinthians 4:7, Revelations 4:11). It is not wrong for God to seek his own honor, however, for he deserves it fully.
Quoted from "Bible Doctrine: Essential Teachings of the Christian Faith" by Wayne A. Grudem, Jeff Purswell.

Goods Works and Idolatory

"Then he uses part of the wood to make a fire. With it he warms himself and bakes his bread. Then--yes, it's true--he takes the rest of it and makes himself a god to worship! He makes an idol and bows down in front of it! (Isaiah 44:15 NLT)"

Man made idols out of good wood, precious stones and metals and with great skill and labour. Then he worshipped his own works. This is the image of the religions of good works and merit. Many good people gave a lot of effort and time and sacrifice for good works and charity. They spared no effort. They went to the poor and lived among them and feed them. They did wonderful works with the hope of saving themselves. They believed that the works would be acceptable because much sacrifice, love and effort had gone into it.

Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs. But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval."

They replied, "We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?"

Jesus told them, "This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent."
John 6:26-29 NLT

Knowing God, Knowing Ourselves

There are many religions and philosophies in this world, all trying to answer questions, such as the meaning of our existence. But there is no answer, unless we know God and ourselves.

Everyone should know about God. He is the creator of heavens and earth, the most important person in this existence. You ignore Him at your own risk. The most important thing to know about God is that He creates all things for His own glory. Once you understand this implication of this statement correctly, you can understand all things in the universe because you know the purpose of creation.

Next we have to know about ourselves. We are all born to be slaves. We can either be God's slaves or our body's slaves. No one is free. If we choose to be slave to the body, you are choosing a limited and perishable master. If you choose to be slave to God, you have access to infinite resources and eternity.

Humility

There is this quote, "Humility is a strange thing; the moment you think you have it, you have lost it." The truly humble gives glory to God. "Humility is pride in God" (Austin O'Malley 1760-1854).

God looks for Faithfulness. Man looks for Giftedness.

God looks for faithfulness. Man looks for giftedness. God does not need gifts. He is the Giver of Gifts. "That is why the Scriptures say, "When he ascended to the heights, he led a crowd of captives and gave gifts to his people." (Ephesians 4:8 NLT)" "Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:12 NLT)." "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10 KJV)."

Easy to Choose the Correct Religion

Many people said that there are many religions in the world. It is so confusing and nobody knows which is real. Actually, things are not as difficult. When classified by method of salvation, there are only two religions in the world. One is of grace, the other of works. There is the third option of atheism, which believes that there is nothing after life. So this brings the decision down to deciding which method of salvation is real or there is nothing after life.

If you think there is nothing after life, well, "let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die (1 Corinthians 15:32)". If you think that salvation by grace is true, you only have one choice, the religion of the Bible. If you think that salvation by one's own effort and work (i.e. meritocracy) is true, you have a bewildering number of choices, such as the reincarnation religions of Hinduism and Buddhism, or the monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The other polytheistic religions are mostly dead, killed by Christianity, Islam or Atheism.

So the confusion of choices will occur if you want to save yourself by your own effort. There are many methods, ranging from Theravada Buddhism, which require your 100% effort over many life times, to the other religions which require effort plus faith in varying degrees. Your effort includes the performance of different rituals, stipulated by the religions. If you think that salvation by works is true, I think you ought to put in a lot of effort to study these religions and decide which of these is true.

As for me, salvation is by the grace of God, who sent His Son Jesus to die for my sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Not of works, lest any man should boast (Ephesians 2:9) and God’s heaven be filled with boasters. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them (Ephesians 2:10) to the praise of the glory of His grace ((Ephesians 1:6).

God's Mercy the Sole Criteria for Salvation

"Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity (Matthew 7:22-23 KJV)."

Many people like to use their works as the basis for salvation. If only they could depend solely on God's mercy, like the publican in Jesus's parable, who smote his breast and cried out, "God be merciful to me a sinner (Luke 18:13 KJV)."

Author arrested on charges of criminal defamation and contempt of court

Alan Shadrake, the author of ‘Once a Jolly Hangman: Singapore Justice in the Dock’, was arrested on 18th July 2010 on charges of criminal defamation and contempt of court.

I have no objections with authors revealing corruption and injustice. I take issue with his motives - he is against capital punishment. That is one of those pet topics of the liberal human rights activist. Like I said earlier, after the gay rights, the other pet topics, such as euthanasia, anti-capital punishment would come to the fore.

If you dissect the logic of these activists, you will find that basically they are saying this:
"I have the right to do anything I want. You cannot do anything to me, without my permission."

Thus gay sex is okay as long as it is consensual. Euthanasia is taking one's own life, so it is a right. Capital punishment is inflicted on oneself by the State, therefore, it is not allowed. Any other punishment would probably be disallowed. Only counselling is possible.

The rights that the human rights activist wanted for themselves are the rights of the Ultimate Selfish One, the Creator of Heavens and Earth. Thanks to the selflessness of the Ultimate Selfish One, who do all things for His own glory, who sent His only begotten Son to die for our sins, we are able to be selflessly good.

Our losses, crosses and disappointments are blessed

In his 4th August entry of Faith's Check Book, Charles Spurgeon wrote this:
"What a joy to abide under the divine blessing! This puts a gracious flavor into all things. If we are blessed, then all our possessions and enjoyments are blessed; yea, our losses and crosses and even our disappointments are blessed."

I wish to bring special attention to this: "our losses and crosses and even our disappointments are blessed". And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28 NASB). Thus our losses, crosses and disappointments should never become our concern. Ultimately, we shall see the glory of God when these are turned into blessings.

The Glory of God and the Bondage of Man

There are two facts that every Christian ought to know:
1. God does not care about anything except His own Glory;
2. Men are born slaves, but, humanly speaking, they can choose between two masters.

God does not care about anything except His own Glory. And the purpose of sending His Son to die for our sins is to glorify the Father, "just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:4-6 NASB)." "Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him (Isaiah 43:7 KJV)."

Jean Jacques Rousseau began his treatise "Social Contract" with this dramatic statement, "Man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains." But the Bible claims otherwise. We are born in bondage, either to the flesh, or to God. There is no freedom. You choose which master you want to serve and be a slave to that master. For Christians, "you have been liberated from sin and become enslaved to God, you have your fruit, which results in sanctification—and the end is eternal life! (Romans 6:22 HCSB)."

This is the end of all men, either an eternal life enslaved to the Creator who made men for His own Glory, or an eternal life burning in hell, enslaved by your flesh, ever craving, but never satisfying.