Bible Reading of the time (NT): 3 John

The only chapter in the book as well. Another private epistle: to Gaius.

v. 2: 2  Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.
This shows that one should pray for others' well being and health, in addition to their souls. But of course, this is still different from the Pentecostal way of "God is the Healer, you will be healed...I can see that God will visit you and heal you soon!"

v. 7: Gaius is known to welcome servants of God (possibly preachers).

v.8: Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.

v.9: Diotrephes, does not acknowledge John's authority, having his own autonomous mind, making vain accusations, not welcoming, etc. Not welcoming the brothers, hmmm, reminds me of some church that is too proud to welcome anyone.

v.10: John does not hide the ugly side of people, unlike many leaders in churches today.

v.14: "Friends" is used here again.

2 John & 3 John were private letters which John only provided summarized key points. To elaborate more, he would have to meet them as stated in the last part of the books, so that they could be edified.

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Bible Reading of the time (NT): 2 John

Chapter 1 (Only one chapter in this Epistle)

This is a personal letter, to a lady with her children.

John stressed on the importance of TRUTH. This reminds me of a Rev. David Chen, who sort of scorned at the importance of truth.

Love one another in truth. Such is the commandment.

If however, this love is tested by those who do not have the right doctrine, we do not receive such into our house or send them greetings. v.10

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There are still Doctors who do Pro Bono work - Even in New York City

But unfortunately, Dr. David Ores is facing tax problem (which he thought had been taken care of due to his non-profit status) and eviction. Wish I could help him out.

This news is inspiring for me.

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Absolution from Papists

The error of absolution from the pope/priests was made clear to me in one episode of Da Vinci's Demons (S02E10 intro), where the pope refused to grant this to an enemy responsible to the death of the pope's daughter. In history, it is not uncommon to see illegitimate children of popes or "sexually active" popes.

One would argue that this is simply a humble comfort from the pope/priests to their subject to assure them salvation. However, though I will not accuse this principle of power-hungry first, I see a strong lacking in the teaching of reliance upon Christ. Many evangelicals today aren't that different actually, they usually exist in the Christian counseling community. By mere words of "you are fine", "that's Satan's words, don't listen to him", etc., they failed to pursue a biblical center growth in their subjects.

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Civil Disobedience a Christian Concept

Though popularized by Mahatma Gandhi, the idea originates from Christians, when they refused Ceasar as Lord. This was different than rebellions or demonstration march (peaceful or not) by the Hebrews or the civil rights movement.

The Christian concept of civil disobedience is passive when facing oppositions but active before the Lord.

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Ravi Zacharias on Secularization, Relativism & Privatization

These leads to the following:

Secularization (post Christian godless culture) => no shame.

Relativism (anthropocentric Christianity) => no reason.

Privatization (Mind your own business Christianity) => no meaning.

Very interesting example by Zacharias.

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New Project: Pay Homeless to get their Autobiographies

I don't usually give in the subways. Sometimes, I try to be generous on the streets.

That is not enough. The thought of preaching the Gospel to them is always the first burden. Often times, I got let down due to the fact that they thought they knew Christianity and consider themselves "very" Christians already. On the other hand, I had always felt I'm in a rush to do something else.

So, given enough time, I should be able to use my money to good use, by collecting some of their own testimonies/autobiographies. And evangelism must never be lacking

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A Good Site/Video for Hikers - New York

This guy makes his own video all by himself (perhaps not the editing part), as he hikes the trails and mountains, particularly in New York. His documentaries are very enthusiastic and provide good resources for other hikers.

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Whispering Gallery - Grand Central

I did not know Grand Central has this amazing architecture until now. One of the secrets of the train central (others were deepest city basement, roof clock access, etc. which I think requires authorization).

These whispering walls are of intentional design, apparently. Grand Central is not the only one with such. One person speaks at the corner of the domed shaped ceiling wall, the other could hear it at the opposite corner. Wish I had known this earlier and showed it to my dad and brother.

Of course, I would have to try this out myself as well.

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Transgender - Sex Change Regrets Ministry

A website dedicated to such thing, that is very common in the West:

http://www.sexchangeregret.com/

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