Month: September 2015

Too forgiving

chan news commentary

The headline reads ” Man Shoots infant son, ex-girlfriend in Alabama Church”

Fortunately, the girlfriend and the baby survived due to the quick thinking of the pastor. However, such a criminal act on an innocent baby, let alone his defenseless mother inside of  a church is a vile act. One can even say it is a devilish act.

But then the pastor says that ‘he forgives the shooter”….. really???

What is there to forgive? The shooter planned this attack and sought to kill the innocents and yet we say we forgive. Couple of months ago, a similar shooting in South Carolina where 9 people DID NOT survive. But in that incident – we are also asked to forgive.

I think we are too quick to “forgive”. These “people” or criminals premeditated these acts. They don’t need forgiveness. They need to be seen for what they are… mentally unstable. I guess it is the politically Christian thing to say ” I forgive” when in fact you really want to have vengeance and to beat the living hell out of someone who would harm a baby or anyone else…. in church or any other place.

How long will we as Americans hide our heads in the sand when over and over again- innocents die, are wounded and scarred? It is time to stop being so forgiving. I think for victims to say “I forgive you” helps the victims. HOWEVER, criminals should not hear the words “I FORGIVE YOU”. I think mentally that gives them some relief.  BUT the criminal should NOT feel relief but rather they should feel the full effect and guilt of what they have done without someone saying ” I forgive you”.

Mental illness does not need forgiveness- it needs real solutions- whatever they may be. We as a nation need to address it. It is real and it makes headlines every day in one form or the other. Just let us not cover it up with ” We forgive you” when really we don’t.

The face of evil

chan politics

We don’t have to look very far for evil. It is staring us in the face with the Iran deal and the things this government is doing. Evil axis is no longer those “other” nations. With this deal, the US has become the biggest sponsor of terrorism and a terrorist nation.

And if the government can be so blatantly bold faced to have side agreements to this disastrous deal that potentially jeopardize our nation, our future and our children’s future- then  what else is in store for the remaining tenure.

It appears that every President seeks 2 terms in office. And the last term becomes a reckless journey of self importance. The people always pay the price and we certainly will pay the price for this bad deal in the very near future.

Still Waiting

chan Faith

In the Gospel of John, chapter 4- we read of Jesus waiting for the woman at the well in Samaria.

She came and found that He offered her something she was longing for all her life. While He was waiting to give her living waters, she was running around trying to satisfy her thirst. She was looking in all the wrong places.

In 12 days time, on September 28th, the 4th blood moon which started in 2014 is scheduled to show itself. The Christian community is looking for something big to happen.

I think in 20 days time- Oct 6th- something will happen in our government and it will be big. I could also be very wrong and nothing happens out of the ordinary.

Only time will tell if all the fuss is really “much ado about nothing” or if in fact the stars (or moons) have really predicted something catastrophic.

UPDATE: OCTOBER 7th 2015

Just wanted to update the blog.

20 days have come and gone and a lot has happened.

I saw the “blood moon”- It was amazing. So just to summarize the major events in the last few days

  1. The Pope came to the US and has left
  2. The Speaker of the House resigned
  3. The US has seemingly abandoned Israel in the United Nations. When the Prime Minister spoke- the camera panned to the US delegation – the room appeared almost empty.
  4. Russia started ground operations in Syria and appears to be the military power in charge in the middle east.
  5. The US made an error in military strikes and have struck a “Doctors without Borders” facility killing at least 22 people.
  6. Flood waters have devastated the coast lines of South Carolina
  7. Massacre in Oregon- mentally ill shooter
  8. 6,000 prisoners to be released at the end of the month.

The list goes on and on….

Everyday- the headlines seem to shock us.

To know Christ

chan Faith

Phil 3:10 “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death” (KJV)

This is a powerful verse in the scriptures and if we truly analyze this – we see 3 things

  1. The desire to Know Christ
  2. The power of His resurrection
  3. The fellowship of His suffering.

This scripture embodies the Pilgrim’s progress in a nutshell and within lies the answer to the question “why do bad things happen to good people” and the understanding that although you do good things with good intentions and in theory it has all the facets of being a good thing… yet it results in such pain and persecution that you sometimes doubt whether you should have done these things in the first place.

And then -even though you do 99 good things and 1 bad thing- it is the bad thing that people remember. We are quick to make outcasts of people and to judge them if they do not fit in with us.

This gets me to think about the parable in Luke 15:4. About the lost sheep. That sheep was lost and was an outcast.

We are so quick to judge others based on our understanding, our beliefs, our customs and traditions and our culture that sometimes we do not give the other person a chance or seek out the person who made a mistake. For this reason and in these situations, I ask myself the question…

“What would Jesus do”

It is a question we need to ask ourselves in our daily walk, in our daily life. When the opportunity for doing good arises…just do it.. in spite of the consequences. If you see a person in need… help them to the best of your ability.

For if indeed we want to know Christ and to walk in the power of His resurrection, we will suffer persecution, rejection, pain and a multitude of “bad things”.  But like Paul in Phil 3:14, “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” So too, for His glory..we ask ourselves the important question of “WWJD” and then we set our gaze towards Him. Phil 1:6 tells us ” Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ”.

Christ came to cast us in… we who were once outcasts and destitute in spirit. He came to give us grace… CAST IN GRACE.

Grace of God

chan Faith

Have you ever considered why we appear to be magnets for negativity? It seems as if we pick up or attract the negative things around more than the positive- it seems by default.

Do we as human beings have a default setting? We try as much as possible to be the best we can but …. when things go wrong and mistakes happen, we default to believing the worst about ourselves. Perhaps this is a product of our environment, our circumstances and our culture …… and perhaps many other things too.

But these things appear to channel or program our default setting. What if we were to reprogram ourselves and the way we react to situations?

Sometimes- I really think it is only by the grace of God that we really exist on this planet- given the inhumanities and atrocities that are committed day after day.  And then there are the personal tragedies that enter into our lives ….

But truly – it is the Word of God that guides us and seeks to set us free from the prison of negativity that seems to be our default. Isn’t that why Christ came on the earth…. to set us free from ourselves…. And have you really wondered at the purpose of salvation and the magnitude of that work …. in the context of resetting our default setting.. to experience something greater than us and our way of thinking.

Just a thought—–

First Day at School

chan People with kids

Today is September 2, 2015. My first post to say Welcome! I have wanted to start this blog for a long time, just to share my thoughts, events and things that may be of some significance- at least to me- in the grand scheme of things.

My 3 year old son started to go to school yesterday. First day- I got up with butterflies in my stomach.

He slept late.

I nervously packed his snacks wondering if I should put an extra packet of juice.

He rolled over on the bed and took an extra snooze.

At the school -with my heart thumping, I walked up the stairs, rang the bell and held him tightly.

He walked into the school and went about exploring the classroom.

I stood staring – wondering what I should do next. Should I sneak out or kiss him goodbye? The teacher beckoned me to go ahead and leave.

With tears rolling down my cheeks, I walked out the door as if I was committing the greatest felony in sneaking out without saying goodbye.

Oh how I wish I was a fly on the wall! I waited for the phone to ring – the teacher telling me that he could not be consoled and that I should come pick him up and take him home immediately.

Nothing! The phone did not ring. I just knew he was screaming his head off, rolling on the floor- like he does at home. I looked at my watch – it was only five minutes into the session. What should I do next?

I went home- did the chores and waited patiently for the time to come. End of school day- I was the first one waiting for dismissal. Not knowing what to expect- I dreaded the worse.

Instead, he walks out- the perfect prince, hand in hand with his new teacher and a smile on his face. What! A smile instead of sobbing…. Was it just me?  Yes- First day of school…… sooo stressful for parents!