Wednesday, November 21, 2007 at 20:48

“Why is it that we constantly parade Christian athletes, media personalities, and pop singers? Why should we think that their opinions or their experiences of grace are of any more significance than those of any other believer? When we tell outsiders about people in our church, do we instantly think of the despised and the lowly who have become Christians, or do we love to impress people with the important of the men and women who have become Christians? Modern Western evangelicalism is deeply infected with the virus of triumphalism and the resulting illness destroys humility, minimizes grace, and offers far too much homage to the money and influence and “wisdom” of our day.”
- D.A. Carson¹

“For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.””
- 1 Corinthians 1:26-31

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Wednesday, November 21, 2007 at 16:44

For a while now, I’ve been using a black Pilot G-Tec C4 pen as my primary writing instrument. It’s a great pen for writing and always puts a smile on my face when I’m writing lecture notes, to doodling in my journal. There are also refills, which are great, if you can get a friend to buy some for you overseas (they’re not available in Canada).

I’ve recently felt like I needed some more colour in my writing, primarily because the biochemistry lectures require some sort of differentiation in drawing proteins and plotting graphs.

I made my way down to Staples, hoping that there would be different colours in the same G-Tec line. To my dismay, there was only red and blue. Respectable colours, to be sure, but nothing as eye catching as a nice bright orange, green, or yellow. I finally decided on a set of Staedtler Triplus Rollers.

They come in a nice variety of colours and a nice case as well. They’re quite ergonomic in their design (a rounded triangular prism) which makes for easy writing. They’re also a bit cheaper than the G-Tec (15.00 for a pack of 10, compared to 4.00 for one G-Tec).

I have a couple of complaints about these pens though. They’re definitely not as consistent as the Pilot. The thickness is a bit too thick for my taste. The G-Tec is a 0.2 mm, whereas the Triplus Roller writes at a 0.3 mm thickness.

If I had done a bit more research, I would’ve known that Pilot actually releases a very full colour set of G-Tec pens overseas, known as Hi-Tec.

Also: Find out more in this post: What to use for writing in your Bible. I just bought a set of 6 Pigma Micron pens.

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Tuesday, November 20, 2007 at 23:36

After thinking much about Mark Driscoll’s post on Digital Sin, I have decided to make some adjustments in my use of technology. Technology is a wonderful gift, but it must be used wisely, as with any gift that God has brought into our lives. I have, again, uninstalled MSN Messenger. I hope that this time, it will be for good. I have wasted far too much time, idling on the service, relying on it to further my friendships. Instead of typing my life away and wasting time, I hope to be able to see and hear friends with all the imperfections and inflections of the human voice. I long to feel the tangible, nostalgic feeling of a hand-written letter, neatly folded in a compact shape. I hope for a time where we can truly enjoy the people that God has placed in front of us. It’s time to lay down the things that cause me to sacrifice what’s more important: family, friends, and … well, people, really.

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Tuesday, November 20, 2007 at 16:32

“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith — that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,”
-Philippians 3:7-10

There is a big difference between knowing about God and knowing God. I’ve been going through J.I. Packer’s Knowing God and it has been a really good experience. There is a big difference between how much I know about Him and how I must truly know Him!

I serve in my fellowship, I serve when I go back home, I read theology, I try to meet up with my friends and keep up with them. All worthy causes, to be sure, but all of these are rubbish if they are not put in the right perspective of placing Christ as the centre of my universe. Instead of making them the jewels for my own name, they must be counted as rubbish for the sake of Christ. How can I boast in these feeble works when it was Christ who opened my eyes to Him, despite my rebellion against Him before He started His work in me? How can I be proud when the Son of God died on the Cross for me, despite all that He knows about me, all the sin that I have and will do? As John Newton once said, “Why then is dust and ashes proud?”

“Love is the overflow of joy in God that gladly meets the needs of others.”
- John Piper

The good works that we do are implications of the gospel, not aspects of the gospel. Serving in fellowship is an implication of the heart-changing, life-reforming work of Christ in my life. I do them, not because I desire to have a name, but because I love Christ and I find joy in Him. I gladly serve in my fellowship because I love Him. I pursue that joy in God, through Christ, and gladly serve and further my knowledge of Him as an implication of the good work that He has begun in me.

“If you find me short in things, impute that to my love of brevity. If you find me besides the truth in anything, impute that to my infirmity. But if you find anything here that serves to your furtherance and joy of the faith, impute that to the mercy of God bestowed on you and me. Yours to serve you with what little I have.”
- John Bunyan

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Tuesday, November 20, 2007 at 12:05

“As to your opponent, I wish, that, before you set pen to paper against him, and during the whole time you are preparing your answer, you may commend him by earnest prayer to the Lord’s teaching and blessing.”

- John Newton
(found at Doxologist)

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