Learned new trick: Showing Calendar as a folder in Outlook App. Was forced to deal with this when my boss Scott was having issue finding it. Apparently there's this "Folder List" when right clicking on the Mail-Calendar-Tasks panel, that gives a new layout the to left panel so that in addition to the calendar view, mail/inbox view, there's this mail/folders view which includes calendar, contacts, tasks, everything as folders in one panel along with the inbox folders.
Twitter source code leaked on Github, looking for "culprit". I find this very funny because it is the "conservative" (sort of) capitalists (Ben Shapiro's kind) vs. the liberal "socialists". One upheld the copyright of intellectual "properties" in guise of moral code; the other treated these in guise of loyalty. And now the two clash and their worldviews get swapped. For better or worse, I find it too funny to figure out right now because it's really none of my business at the moment, let these two extremists clean up their own messes.
3/27/2023 Received Nadia's gift today: Sony Swimmer's headphones/Walkman. Since bluetooth, as a wireless technology, cannot go through water, the only solution is to have a mp3 headset which preloads mp3 files before use. I've loaded "The Impeccability of Christ" from 2018 of the Reformed Forum podcast. Ready and excited to use it for the first time in my next swim. Not today, because it wasn't charged.
After today's swim, I then went to eat at the only Taiwanese Restaurant I know in Edison: Edison Noodle House. We've ate there before and the service wasn't great. The food didn't leave much impression. I just had to make sure today by myself. 肉羹米粉 (Taiwan park Thick Soup with Rice Noodle $13.83 including tips - I chose 18%) Broth taste is blend. Didn't seem authentic enough.
Brandan Robertson - a progressive young "pastor" who's gained more and more traction on youtube and the interests of many "apologists" (I use quote on apologists because I don't believe in the official title of it, the proper term would be preacher, biblically speaking. These apologists are usually not reformed, but I do give them credit for actually doing some evangelical work more than the reformed):
It is interesting, after knowing that he became Christian at 12 in a Baptist church, that together with the late Harry Emerson Fosdick, that the Baptists seem to produce quite a number of progressive folks. I wonder if this has anything to do with their fundamental background. And I'm not considering the "human nature of Christ is uncreated" error most Baptists hold to.
Got an abandoned SPG PC Dell Optiplex 9020 (Win 10 pro, Intel i7, 16GB Ram, 500GB SSD) from work for a church brother. Though not heavy, it was bulky enough to carry home in a big plastic bag. Yet, I managed to stop by my favorite noodle soup house on 27th Street, as well as making a stop at NYGC after that for some PC setup that Tuesday night. It wasn't until today, a Saturday, when I tested the PC, that I realized that it failed to turn on. I thought it was the PSU (I almost bought the $37 replacement unit from Amazon), but thanks to Youtube, that blinking orange light on the power button could also just mean memory chips needed to be reseated or that the CMOS battery was gone. I dealt them both and it's working now. Could have done it last night because the Windows Update 1-2 hours was just not worth my time.
I thought David Tong would lunch with me today but he never got back to me as he promised yesterday. So I just had to puasa for lunch today. Though I would take him as a busy man by means of benefit of the doubt, I do notice interesting comparison between him and Alex. Alex broke up with Stephen Tong due to complicated reason yet he is willing to communicate with anyone in private; While David seems to be "busy" enough to ignore any private contact as much as he could. Well, at least to me. I don't know how he fellowship with others at a more personal level. The only other possibility I could think of is that he had a misconception of me in way that would distant himself from me, for that, I know not the cause except from the likes of Laura Lin. But this is theory too far fetched to consider at this point. In conclusion, despite their connections with Stephen Tong and his influence, Alex has both brain and heart, while David appears to be only the brain. That said, I do look forward to fellowship with both of them. Separately or together.
Interestingly, David Tong replied at night to apologized for forgetting it. It seemed surprisingly sincere. So we shall see. There is no intention of testing him, I just wanted to make sure we are on the same page with each of our own ministries.
At GCC, we have a worship team. I do not think the pieces chosen were of "reformed" nature, despite the insistence of it by the one choosing the pieces. These are modern pieces that appear to not take the composition seriously in the sacred, biblical sense in my view. Though I won't go as far as unbiblical. It doesn't necessarily mean they are against the Bible, though they maybe threading between a fine line between Godly and unholy. These are composed by groups like CityAlight, Sovereign Grace, etc. focusing on "reformed" lyrics but nothing about the music and melody as if they are liberal about them. Therefore, they do not heed the warnings from the golden calf exodus and the fact that all things are made after its kind, including musical style, instruments, etc. Their musical style, as far as I can tell in my limited but earnest learning in music, is closer to new age and pop. In that sense, they follow suit the Israelites who presented the golden calf as their own way of sacrifice and worship to God, these modern composers present their pop culture musical style to God.
I certainly have learned much from David Chin's 陳子虔博士 workshop on Bach 漫談音樂與信仰: (simply just google/youtube search for 陳子虔 for more)
That said, what shall I do. Do I quit the team? I had previously said to Nadia that if Tom quits, I quit. But then when she publicized it, I think I must address to difference: That my reason for quitting would be independent of Tom's. Despite difference perhaps even in theology, I believe Tom was close enough to the reformed faith, though at times I do not agree with his assessment of musical choice: i.e. his rejection of "Mary did you know" as Roman Catholic's veneration of Mary, etc. But like many English churches in NJ, I notice that you cannot do without guitars. As if every musicians here were raised in a rock star's footsteps.
So I shall remain. For guitars, rock stars, mostly draw their inspiration from Bach, who drew his discovery out of his piety to God. I best remain to trouble myself in learning the secrets of music, but with caution: So should Tom depart, my days in the team are numbered as well.
Update 8/12/2026: This is thus far the most extensive I've heard Stephen Tong explained "Biblical Music": Tanya Jawab #173: Apa it Biblical Music?
"Sensual Festival" is what I called this charismatic movement on FB. And this was what I posted, I just updated it with #5.
1. The standard rule: the more it is advertised as revival first, the less serious of a commotion it should be taken in general and the more it behooves us to remind ourselves of the Lord's warning in Matthew 24.
2. Not man but Scripture defines revival:
Greatest revival in OT, by Jonah
Greatest revival in NT, by John the Baptist
Great revivals are never about the events & festivals, but the preachers (i.e. George Whitefield, etc.) and their message first.
3. The Holy Spirit never points to Himself but only to Christ.
4. Anything else is self worship in guise of God's name (i.e. using the Holy Spirit in vain) and perhaps even demonic in guise of Christianity to fool the children of God.
5. God's name will still be raised and His glory shown regardless, but Uzzah's name will forever be despised.
That said, many prominent Christians want to keep a cool head on this..."it is wise to be patient"
Now, after a week or two, they are not heard from anymore.
I have no time for these. I think on the those sensitive in true evangelism and cultural mandate with zeal would quickly be able to tell what's going on and call the bluff, because you love who you evangelize, you have no time for fake evangelism.
Many love to say "I will go evangelize", especially when they retired, when they got nothing else to do. But yet, they look down on people, on cultures. They couldn't dare live with those whom they evangelize. Go Home! I will not speak of evangelism even with these, for they are a waste of my time. Their zeal is as this Asbury festival, having the outward appearance only, fooling themselves into doing God's work.
Now, are there in the midst be blessed by God? Very likely, for I believe even Hitler's action was used to cause conversion to Christianity. But that is God whom we praise, we commend and thank God for the likes of George Whitefield, we do not thank God for Uzzah, we thank God for punishing and making example of Uzzah.
Update 3/15/2023:
John MacArthur called it Chords over Christ: John MacArthur summarized the reason well in the recent Shepherd’s Conference Q&A session when he described what happened at Asbury as “chords over Christ.” “Shut off the music and see what happens,” he challenged.
It should be Christ over Chords, not the other way around:
Calvin Stapert helpfully makes this point with reference to Ephesians 5:18–19 and Colossians 3:16: “Spirit filling” does not come as the result of singing. Rather, “Spirit filling” comes first; singing is the response. . . . Clear as these passages are in declaring that Christian singing is a response to the Word of Christ and to being filled with the Spirit, it is hard to keep from turning the cause and effect around. Music, with it stimulating power, can too easily be seen as the cause and the “Spirit filling” as the effect.8
Although their comments above dwarf in comparison to Stephen Tong's take on this issue: Music is the deepest expression of emotion. Therefore, the composers, not just singers, need to be aware and cautious.
I can't wait to for the Shepherd's Conference 2023 to be posted online. They have a habit of posting these annual events free online: https://www.shepherdsconference.org/media
With the EVScope (purchased in March 2020 for around $3k with backpack), battery died due to long term abandonment (supposed to keep charge at most every two months), and recently purchased a new pack for around $70, I now keep this next to me in the office, I shall start building astro gallery with this as learning experience.
This gallery should be well organized. So I need to build a sort of table for it. This way I could compare image qualities between each take of the same object. So it will be a separate page from this journal, though may have links from these entries.
It is good to have the power to uphold justice. However, the more such power and authority is given, the stronger one must seek out to destroy the injustice on his own side.
America strives to be such a force, especially in other nations, however, when it fails to take care of the tiniest injustice committed by Americans against other nations, it will back fire badly. Very badly.
This is why I would say and have said: If you are not truly, completely for God, He will not only take away what He's given you, but rightly, justice, takes away what you already have and give to another, even your very enemies.
Therefore, be careful also, in how we judge other nations. Though we do not succumb to the wickedness of others, we must even pay more attention to not think ourselves so great that we do not need to discipline our own or give our own smallest wickedness a free pass.
There is one obvious kind: Those who either claim or present or somewhat indicating themselves to have helped stephen Tong organize this or that events or to know Stephen Tong at some personal level:
This is the type one should stay away from. Beware of them. For they are very likely to be not true servants of the Lord. It shows in their own ministries: They don't grow, they are stuck in their own profession without much witnessing, some mutate from one theological form to another, some become anti-gospel-centered.
