Hi all!
I'm back again after a long hiatus but only for a short while. Thank you for faithfully following this blog, though you might just check it for updates once a week.
I'd like to invite anyone out there (yes you!) who'd like to contribute to this blog. You don't need to be IT savvy, we just want your availability and your passion for writing.
If you have time on your hands, do take a look at the blog archive for posts around 2007/2008.
Do drop us a comment together with your email address if you'd like to apply for this vacancy.
Feb 24, 2010
Feb 23, 2010
/ckh
It is good that Kathleen had commented that the articles written are wordy. It is commendable that she would take the time to make known such an observation . These articles are written with three primary objectives. We wait prayerfully for others could jump in the band-wagon to make further contributions, to vary the flavors and share in the joy of working in this plot of the field.
Many have bemoaned that the level of English has declined when compared to decades past. Our youth have also become enmeshed in today’s “short-messages” syndrome. Most do not read enough resulting in a corresponding degradation in expression and the ability to communicate well, and especially in writing. A worrisome situation pervades; the warbling speech or ill-presented treatise may be symptomatic, of a weakness in understanding, or of an unexamined occupation. To a large extent, clarity of expression reflects clarity of thought and understanding. But expression can be practiced!
It is thought that a possible point of entry to alleviate the situation would be to introduce words to fill up the vocabulary. By increasing the vocabulary and manipulating with different modes of expression, it is hoped that with practice, we would be more adept in our knowledge and use of the English language. As with an oil-paint artist, we would be able to emulate his use of the hues with our pastel vocabulary.
We would also desire to encourage the examination of texts from both the New and Old testaments together. Both testaments are woven together and we would be earnest in displaying the interlace that runs throughout.
There are occasions when a slanted posit is intentionally taken and presented. The exercise is intended to solicit examination, consideration, debate and a searching for the LORD Himself. There are ample texts that dispense hard labor in the examination of His word. Together with all the author-apostles, Jude especially mandates that we should be able contenders for the faith, and practicing defenders of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
It is sadly true, that many will not read to understand the several words. They will either resign or skimp over without making enthused effort to check the dictionary. We do not deny that it would require some effort to make improvement, and we will endeavor to hold up the benchmark. In the least, we would have made an effort to stem the decline. We would have stood in the gap.
Finally, it is not just words that would caricature our faith and life in Jesus Christ. It is by His grace, that we are enabled and sustained. He will bring us home. Still, He has endowed us with able minds for words, music and all the other mediums for the praise and exultation of His Name and glories. Would we reciprocate like such lame or lazy slouches, incapable beyond those few expressions, that we replicate? Did the Lord Himself not add that we should love the LORD with our minds also? The lyrics of the hymn writer; who imagined, that even if every stalk were to be a quill, and all the oceans ink, and all the heavens a parchment made; still to write about the LORD, an unending endeavor. Yet, we have an eternity to make the attempt!
Perhaps getting a few more words under our vocabulary, would not be, too small an idea, or poor a place to start.
God bless.
/ckh
Many have bemoaned that the level of English has declined when compared to decades past. Our youth have also become enmeshed in today’s “short-messages” syndrome. Most do not read enough resulting in a corresponding degradation in expression and the ability to communicate well, and especially in writing. A worrisome situation pervades; the warbling speech or ill-presented treatise may be symptomatic, of a weakness in understanding, or of an unexamined occupation. To a large extent, clarity of expression reflects clarity of thought and understanding. But expression can be practiced!
It is thought that a possible point of entry to alleviate the situation would be to introduce words to fill up the vocabulary. By increasing the vocabulary and manipulating with different modes of expression, it is hoped that with practice, we would be more adept in our knowledge and use of the English language. As with an oil-paint artist, we would be able to emulate his use of the hues with our pastel vocabulary.
We would also desire to encourage the examination of texts from both the New and Old testaments together. Both testaments are woven together and we would be earnest in displaying the interlace that runs throughout.
There are occasions when a slanted posit is intentionally taken and presented. The exercise is intended to solicit examination, consideration, debate and a searching for the LORD Himself. There are ample texts that dispense hard labor in the examination of His word. Together with all the author-apostles, Jude especially mandates that we should be able contenders for the faith, and practicing defenders of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
It is sadly true, that many will not read to understand the several words. They will either resign or skimp over without making enthused effort to check the dictionary. We do not deny that it would require some effort to make improvement, and we will endeavor to hold up the benchmark. In the least, we would have made an effort to stem the decline. We would have stood in the gap.
Finally, it is not just words that would caricature our faith and life in Jesus Christ. It is by His grace, that we are enabled and sustained. He will bring us home. Still, He has endowed us with able minds for words, music and all the other mediums for the praise and exultation of His Name and glories. Would we reciprocate like such lame or lazy slouches, incapable beyond those few expressions, that we replicate? Did the Lord Himself not add that we should love the LORD with our minds also? The lyrics of the hymn writer; who imagined, that even if every stalk were to be a quill, and all the oceans ink, and all the heavens a parchment made; still to write about the LORD, an unending endeavor. Yet, we have an eternity to make the attempt!
Perhaps getting a few more words under our vocabulary, would not be, too small an idea, or poor a place to start.
God bless.
/ckh
Feb 10, 2010
Esau I
and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field… And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison…….. (Gen 25:27-28)
Esau espouses a sad and somber testament; one who would serve as an example as we glean through his recorded history. He started life as an avid combatant. In his mother’s belly, he was already wrestling incessantly with his twin, who would bird-dog him, even at birthing. He was born a sturdy child with red hair all over his body. And so he was named Esau, meaning “red” and this color red would haunt him the rest of his life. A strong child, born the elder of twins. “Jacob, still holding on to my heel, yes, but always, only, at my heel!”
In his youth, he loved the spread of the wild and the fields where he would hunt. An able hunter, he excelled in the art of stealth, guile and disguise. So skilled was he, that he was his father’s favorite. Isaac, like any red-blooded male, would be so proud of this manly and adroit offspring; a son who would honor him with frequent savory meals, hunted and cooked with his own hands. Which father would not be so envious? Esau’s hunt was up-close, his bow and arrow a distant cry from modern-day ballistics. Able to scout, stalk and predatory within meters, he was a hands-on, skilled harbinger of death. Esau would not be squeamish ; daring, stamina, brutality, and slaughter were well within his vocabulary and armory. Did he include also, a bizarre fascination for the red, of fresh spilled blood? It takes more than simple resolve, to deliberately skewer even a fallen but not quite dead animal. The gore and the acrid tang of congealed blood, with little water to waste on washing, would be a pungent companion. The smell of the field, his father was accustomed to, was certainly not the smell of desert flowers! Like David, he spent his nights out in the fields, but not as a shepherd. He was the thrilled hunter. They both looked into the same night-skies; they shared the darkness, cold and hunger. They knew the blazing heat, desert thirst and the camaraderie of caves and campfires; only that one was the hunter, the other, the hunted.
A failed hunt and an empty belly egged him to ‘sell’ his birthright. An accomplished cook of savory meats, one wonders over his fetish for red lentil pottage. Was there really nothing else to eat in the whole of his father’s house? Was his brother’s offer or dish so irresistible or was it really with sneering nonchalance, that he had countered Jacob’s own recipe for entrapment? Shylock and his pound of flesh, would look like the choir-boy, when compared with Jacob. Esau was over himself when he so mishandled his birthright. Too much sun, an empty growling belly and an insistence for immediate gratification was to be his ignoble catastrophe. His careless disregard for words and oaths? An over-confidence in that he was his father’s favorite and in his inalienable first-birthed right? A contemptuous estimate of his cissy domesticated twin? He sold his birthright for a bowl of pottage, ate and went his way!
Before we would twit our thumbs, it would be prudent also, not to cast stones at Esau; how dearly do we regard our own birthrights? Have we sold them or are they on offer; for the sun, for the thrill, for our bellies, for pottage or whatever our fancy, for our success, for our repute, for manliness, or our parents even? Like Esau, we may also consider our birthright inalienable, forgetting that we can, like Esau, effectively ‘sell’ them. Once sold, could they be recovered? Esau apparently could not.
It was Esau’s pride that really tripped him over; pride in all that he was, and all that he had established himself to be. Esau, though able, had wanted; always to be his own man.
(To be continued)
God bless.
/ckh
In his youth, he loved the spread of the wild and the fields where he would hunt. An able hunter, he excelled in the art of stealth, guile and disguise. So skilled was he, that he was his father’s favorite. Isaac, like any red-blooded male, would be so proud of this manly and adroit offspring; a son who would honor him with frequent savory meals, hunted and cooked with his own hands. Which father would not be so envious? Esau’s hunt was up-close, his bow and arrow a distant cry from modern-day ballistics. Able to scout, stalk and predatory within meters, he was a hands-on, skilled harbinger of death. Esau would not be squeamish ; daring, stamina, brutality, and slaughter were well within his vocabulary and armory. Did he include also, a bizarre fascination for the red, of fresh spilled blood? It takes more than simple resolve, to deliberately skewer even a fallen but not quite dead animal. The gore and the acrid tang of congealed blood, with little water to waste on washing, would be a pungent companion. The smell of the field, his father was accustomed to, was certainly not the smell of desert flowers! Like David, he spent his nights out in the fields, but not as a shepherd. He was the thrilled hunter. They both looked into the same night-skies; they shared the darkness, cold and hunger. They knew the blazing heat, desert thirst and the camaraderie of caves and campfires; only that one was the hunter, the other, the hunted.
A failed hunt and an empty belly egged him to ‘sell’ his birthright. An accomplished cook of savory meats, one wonders over his fetish for red lentil pottage. Was there really nothing else to eat in the whole of his father’s house? Was his brother’s offer or dish so irresistible or was it really with sneering nonchalance, that he had countered Jacob’s own recipe for entrapment? Shylock and his pound of flesh, would look like the choir-boy, when compared with Jacob. Esau was over himself when he so mishandled his birthright. Too much sun, an empty growling belly and an insistence for immediate gratification was to be his ignoble catastrophe. His careless disregard for words and oaths? An over-confidence in that he was his father’s favorite and in his inalienable first-birthed right? A contemptuous estimate of his cissy domesticated twin? He sold his birthright for a bowl of pottage, ate and went his way!
Before we would twit our thumbs, it would be prudent also, not to cast stones at Esau; how dearly do we regard our own birthrights? Have we sold them or are they on offer; for the sun, for the thrill, for our bellies, for pottage or whatever our fancy, for our success, for our repute, for manliness, or our parents even? Like Esau, we may also consider our birthright inalienable, forgetting that we can, like Esau, effectively ‘sell’ them. Once sold, could they be recovered? Esau apparently could not.
It was Esau’s pride that really tripped him over; pride in all that he was, and all that he had established himself to be. Esau, though able, had wanted; always to be his own man.
(To be continued)
God bless.
/ckh
Feb 4, 2010
Rebekah
Rebekah waltzes into biblical history as a handsome ,hospitable lass, willing not only to provide a faring stranger with a delicious drink of water but water his camels as well. She brought the stranger home to her father and was subsequently willing to follow the old servant to marry a totally before-seen stranger who was claimed to be a relative. The rings and gifts were substantial but what solace would fine clothes and rings provide, when betrothed to a louse. This girl had either a large dose of foolish spunk or faith. A feisty virgin, she decided to veil herself only when she was informed that she was in the vicinity of her groom-to-be. She was blessed to have a husband who would love her.
Unable to conceive, her husband had prayed for her. His prayer was heard, but she labored with two who would struggle continuously within her. She too called on the LORD, and interestingly, the LORD did speak to her, to inform her on her eventuality. One wonders if she ever consulted with her husband on the revelation.
When the boys were being born, the struggle was unimpeded; the elder was birthed with the younger grasping his heel as if in pursuit. The elder, much favored by his father, was a skillful hunter, a man of the field. The younger, her own favorite, a docile, perhaps the more domesticated variety who would be good at making lentil pottage whilst his brother excelled in savory meats hunted from the fields.
When she overheard that her husband was about to bless his favored son, Rebekah committed the unspeakable. She commanded her young son to fetch two lambs for her to prepare a deceitful dish. When the boy was wary of offending his near-blind father and inviting his displeasure, she displayed not a vestige of restraint but embraced on herself whatever curses could transpire. She donned Jacob with goat’s skin cuffs on his wrists and around his nape. She made him wear his brother’s clothes, when they were to be in her safe custody. She commanded Jacob to conspire and connive not to wrest, but to steal Esau’s blessing. She made Jacob claim he was Esau to deceive his father. Jacob bested his mother when he said that the LORD has so blessed the hasted meal. She succeeded.
What kind of mother would do this? What kind of wife could do this? Were her actions moral? Consider, that this was in an era, when wives were quite often regarded as chattels, with their husbands as lord overall. Her mutinous insurrection culminating in deceit and thievery should have attracted serious consequences from the husband. Yet there was none.
There is little recorded of Rebekah after this monumental incident. She simply faded in oblivion. As a matter of fact, even her death is not mentioned, only that she was buried with her husband. There was no record of she, ever receiving the return of her favored Jacob or seeing the fruition of her ways. Still, there is one more mention of her in Romans; where Paul was expounding the LORD’s sovereignty.
On trial for now, is the issue of Rebekah's faith. The LORD has spoken to her and told her His plans. Did Rebekah have to intervene with unscrupulous means to achieve the LORD’s design? Did the ends justify the means? Does morality take a backseat in deference to obedience? Yet, can Rebekah, having been told, simply have folded her arms and let destiny migrate its own course? Is the LORD’s hand shortened? Can faith be without works? Was Rebekah an imponderable extremist? Is obedience paramount? Can obedience be shrouded with disobedience?
God bless.
/ckh
Unable to conceive, her husband had prayed for her. His prayer was heard, but she labored with two who would struggle continuously within her. She too called on the LORD, and interestingly, the LORD did speak to her, to inform her on her eventuality. One wonders if she ever consulted with her husband on the revelation.
When the boys were being born, the struggle was unimpeded; the elder was birthed with the younger grasping his heel as if in pursuit. The elder, much favored by his father, was a skillful hunter, a man of the field. The younger, her own favorite, a docile, perhaps the more domesticated variety who would be good at making lentil pottage whilst his brother excelled in savory meats hunted from the fields.
When she overheard that her husband was about to bless his favored son, Rebekah committed the unspeakable. She commanded her young son to fetch two lambs for her to prepare a deceitful dish. When the boy was wary of offending his near-blind father and inviting his displeasure, she displayed not a vestige of restraint but embraced on herself whatever curses could transpire. She donned Jacob with goat’s skin cuffs on his wrists and around his nape. She made him wear his brother’s clothes, when they were to be in her safe custody. She commanded Jacob to conspire and connive not to wrest, but to steal Esau’s blessing. She made Jacob claim he was Esau to deceive his father. Jacob bested his mother when he said that the LORD has so blessed the hasted meal. She succeeded.
What kind of mother would do this? What kind of wife could do this? Were her actions moral? Consider, that this was in an era, when wives were quite often regarded as chattels, with their husbands as lord overall. Her mutinous insurrection culminating in deceit and thievery should have attracted serious consequences from the husband. Yet there was none.
There is little recorded of Rebekah after this monumental incident. She simply faded in oblivion. As a matter of fact, even her death is not mentioned, only that she was buried with her husband. There was no record of she, ever receiving the return of her favored Jacob or seeing the fruition of her ways. Still, there is one more mention of her in Romans; where Paul was expounding the LORD’s sovereignty.
On trial for now, is the issue of Rebekah's faith. The LORD has spoken to her and told her His plans. Did Rebekah have to intervene with unscrupulous means to achieve the LORD’s design? Did the ends justify the means? Does morality take a backseat in deference to obedience? Yet, can Rebekah, having been told, simply have folded her arms and let destiny migrate its own course? Is the LORD’s hand shortened? Can faith be without works? Was Rebekah an imponderable extremist? Is obedience paramount? Can obedience be shrouded with disobedience?
God bless.
/ckh
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)