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Jesus replied, "‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:37-40 NLT)

And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" He said to him, "What is written in the Law? How do you read it?" And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself." And he said to him, "You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live." (Luke 10:25-28 ESV)

The Heart is Desperately Wicked

If there is righteousness in the heart, there will be beauty in the character.
If there is beauty in the character, there will be harmony in the home.
When there is harmony in the home, there will be order in the nation.
When there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the world.
Sri Sathya Sai Baba, 13 January 1970

The big question is "IF". If there is righteousness in the heart, then truth would be recognized and all the good things will follow. But the Creator of heavens and earth (Psalm 146:6), the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, who is, and who was, and who is to come (Revelation 1:8) had declared this:
"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9 KJV)"

O people, do not believe those who were born of a father and a mother, who died and were buried, who were, but are not and will never come, yet claimed to be more than human. No truth will come from them.

Sai Baba is buried

Sai Baba is buried. I don't think he will coming back in any objectively provable way. Of course someone may claim to be his reincarnation in future but nobody can prove it.

Let us believe the only verifiable resurrection in history, the only person who claims to be God, born of a virgin (a natural impossibility) and resurrected after death (another natural impossibility). After resurrection, He walked around and showed Himself to those who know Him in private and in public.

"Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you--unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed" (1 Corinthians 15:1-11 KJV).

Let us not believe those who are born of a father and a mother, died and was buried, but claimed to be more than human.

Male Hen or Hunchback

I have to decide between a male hen, the only such in the world, and a hunchback. Should I vote the hunchback and send the male hen into extinction, or should I vote for the male hen, and the hunchback may come back as a No-Cloths MP?

Decisions, decisions...

Sai Baba died on Easter

Today is Easter. We celebrate the resurrection of the only one who claimed to be God and proved it by rising from the dead.

Satya Sai Baba, who are among the many who claimed to be a god, had also died, like any sinner. His followers believe that he would rise again three days later, like Jesus Christ. We shall wait and see.

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23 KJV)
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23 KJV)

Democracy

Many people in America believe that democracy will solve the world's problem. When George Bush II attacked Iraq, he hoped to inject democracy into Iraq and the Middle East and usher in a new period of peace and justice. Now Obama believes that the Jasmine Revolution will bring democracy in the Arab world and will resolve all the economic problems and injustice.

The Bible says nothing about democracy. The Bible does not favour any form of human government. The Bible requires us to obey the government (Romans 13:1-7), but only when it does not contradict God's commandment (Acts 5:29).

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (Matthew 6:33 KJV)

Jesus and Technology

My anti-technology friend was glad that Jesus came during the time of the Romans. He said, "If Jesus were to be born today, can you imagine Him using handphone and holding a video conference to preach the Gospel?"

Quite true. And He could not be crucified. Torture and capital punishment are no longer fashionable.

Technology in Heaven

A friend of mine always look forward to Heaven. He said, "There will be no technology in Heaven. No more computers and no hand phones." I told him that technology is not limited to these. In the building of houses, tables, chairs, clothings and even wheels, technology is also required, except that these are traditional non-IT technologies. For a moment, he was not too sure if Heaven will have technology. Then he replied, "It would be like the Garden of Eden." Well if Heaven is like the Garden of Eden, then technology will not exist. After all, Adam and Eve are naked. They do not even have clothing technology. I definitely think they do not stay in houses.

The Story of Four Collections of Books

I would like to tell the story of four collections of books.

The first collection is of five books called the Law, written by Moses. The Samaritans, the Jew and the Christians regard this collection as holy books. The first prophecy of God was found in the Law. God promised the serpent that the Seed of the woman will bruise his head (Genesis 3:15).

The next collection of books is called the Prophets. It is a compilation of books written by various prophets. The Jews and Christians recognized this as part of their holy books. The prophecy of the Seed of the woman is now clearer. A virgin shall give birth (Isaiah 7:14). Now we know why it is the Seed of the woman and not of the man.

The third collect of books is the New Testament. Written by the Apostles and followers of Jesus Christ, it is recognized as part of their holy books by the Christians. The prophecy of the Seed of the woman is now fulfilled (Luke 1:26-38).

The final collection contains only one book, the Koran, which is supposed to be God's message to one prophet, Muhammed. It is only recognized by the Muslims.

Transfer of Wealth

Today, I heard of this for the first time, before the second coming of Christ, there would be a transfer of wealth from the unrighteous to the righteous. The lady who told me this was commenting on the increasing frequency of natural calamities. And she added, "I am now waiting for the transfer of wealth from the unrighteous to the righteous."

I wondered where these ideas came from and I checked the web and found these verses which the Word Faith churches claim to support the end-times transfer of wealth:

Isaiah 60:5-6 NASB
Then you will see and be radiant, And your heart will thrill and rejoice; Because the abundance of the sea will be turned to you, The wealth of the nations will come to you.
A multitude of camels will cover you, The young camels of Midian and Ephah; All those from Sheba will come; They will bring gold and frankincense, And will bear good news of the praises of the LORD.

Isaiah 61:6 NASB
But you will be called the priests of the LORD; You will be spoken of as ministers of our God. You will eat the wealth of nations, And in their riches you will boast.

Isaiah 66:12 NASB
For thus says the LORD, "Behold, I extend peace to her like a river, And the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; And you will be nursed, you will be carried on the hip and fondled on the knees.

Then these are the verses which are also to be considered:
Proverbs 13:22 NASB
A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children, And the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.

Proverbs 28:8 NASB
He who increases his wealth by interest and usury Gathers it for him who is gracious to the poor.

Ecclesiastes 2:26 ESV
For to the one who pleases him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given the business of gathering and collecting, only to give to one who pleases God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.

Punishment for theft - Bible vs Koran

The basic principle in Biblical law is an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. The one who commits the crime must be given a loss equivalent to the damage he had caused:
But if there is any further injury, then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise. (Exodus 21:23-25 NASB)

Apparently, the Koran has the same principle:
We ordained therein for them: "Life for life, eye for eye, nose or nose, ear for ear, tooth for tooth, and wounds equal for equal." But if any one remits the retaliation by way of charity, it is an act of atonement for himself. And if any fail to judge by (the light of) what Allah hath revealed, they are (No better than) wrong-doers. (Surah 5:45 Yusuf Ali)

In the case of theft, this principle also applies in the Bible. If a thief steals, then he or she shall lose what was stolen with additional penalty to compensate the victim.
If a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it, he shall pay five oxen for the ox and four sheep for the sheep. (Exodus 22:1 NASB)

In the Koran, the hands of the thief are cut off. The victim does not benefit, and the thief lose his or her hands and Allah is exalted.
As to the thief, Male or female, cut off his or her hands: a punishment by way of example, from Allah, for their crime: and Allah is Exalted in power. (Surah 5:38 Yusuf Ali)

The Will of God and the Will of Man

The will of God is to glorify Himself. He does that through weak vessels called men.

The will of man is to glorify himself. If he glorifies only his only self, he is a Selfish Man. If he glorifies his larger self, such as country, humanity or human ideals, he is a Selfless Man. Selfless Man are usually respected.