Sunday, September 27, 2009

Today: The Great, the Good and the Struggle

The Great:
Pastor Smith's sermon taught us the meaning of "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." It was so moving and so insightful. I was with the Spirit. Thank the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Good:
Today was my first time at adult Bible Study. We just started Ephesians, and there was so much for me to learn that it feels like a blur now. One thing that struck me was the idea of living in Christ and what that means. I will have to continue to study this concept.

The Struggle:
Twice today, people asked me why I wasn't serving the Mandarin congregation. What bothered me about those two encounters was that these two individuals spoke with a lot of presumptions about me, telling me in essence, that I *should* be serving the Mandarin congregation, and by not doing so I am betraying or doing a dis-service to the congregation. I'm not sure if the fact that others are prejudging me the only thing that bothers me. For sure, this has been ongoing for several weeks now, and I don't know how to talk about this to others without showing frustration and maybe even a bit anger at this point. This is something I will have to pray for.

To my Christian friends: please pray for me as well.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Legion, Man Possessed by Many Demons (click)

During Care Group this week, S. and A. talked about a book they were reading. The book is about how Christians should select foods for their regular diet. Among the foods that Christians should not eat, pork is one of them. The reason is because pigs are considered unclean. Here are two mentions of how pigs are unclean:

7 And the pig, though it has a split hoof completely divided, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. 8 You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you.
Leviticus 11: 7-8

11A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. 12The demons begged Jesus, "Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them." 13He gave them permission, and the evil spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.
Mark 5: 11-13

I personally have never liked pork that much. The only time I absolutely find it irresistable is when I eat Cantonese style roast pork. I can't resist the crispy skin. Ribs are nice, but they're not always that tasty. Pork chops are just negligible. So, I think I'm going to pursuade my family to eat less pork - less, because I doubt my parents could completely give it up.

I have not been able to go completely vegetarian, but perhaps abstaining from pork is the first step. I have to accept that this is a long process for me. Such a big change in my life cannot happen over night.