My Journal

Easy: Is their life a life of sacrifice or a life of luxury?

Ask them: What is (still is) your biggest sacrifice in life?

A bit harsh? There's an alternative:

Observe what they pursuit more - a life of luxury or a life of sacrifice? Which one makes them happier? Watch how they reason/understand a life of sacrifice - do they find it joyful or ridiculous?

With the introduction to BSF, first by my mom, and after that by Clyde from church, I participated their Online version. I came prepared - knowing that they of the non-denominational denomination and based on puritanboard's info, that they lean towards Baptist-Arminianism. ubermadchen of that forum also gave a interesting historical background: That BSF was founded for women originally. When I spoke to Clyde, I realized that I was wrong about Anne Graham (Billy Graham's daughter) being the founder of BSF, she had led such a group before, but she wasn't the founder.

While most people are familiar to BSF as a local Bible study group, I am more interested in the online Zoom ones. It's global, I can connect with Christians from around the world. But at the moment, the farthest one (Mandarin group) is a Malaysian Chinese in Brazil, when I joined the Mandarin group. It is still interesting to meet everyone so far (mostly Seattle, at the moment). I joined the Mandarin group to expose myself to Chinese Christians, since I have no other choice, being that the only reformed churches in NJ I've met are English speaking ones.

When I joined, they were on their last day, so I didn't learn or get anything other than chatting. So I immediately left the first Mandarin Zoom I joined half way through as everyone tried to share each's own "testimonies" for about 20 mins each. Another good thing with Zoom, come and go as you please I suppose. I read some of their material, mostly asking about how you feel about this, how you think of that...very shallow questioning. But it was the last material I read, so perhaps that's not the main study material, which if they had, I didn't get a chance to look at. Apparently, BSF is seasonal: i.e. From around October to May, then summer vacation. Which is when someone from the second BSF Mandarin group shared his church's (in Seattle) online Bible study for me to join when I asked if anyone knew about online Bible Study groups around the world. This Covid thing really motivates me! This also reminds me of the Monmouth Chinese church I visited, they also have Zoom sessions.

I joined the the LECC (Seattle)'s Friday Bible study for the first time and they were doing 2 Samuel 12. I think they're doing expository study, so I definitely like it, regardless if they are not reformed. They still relate biblical matters very well and are serious on studying God's word, and not just about chatting or testifying themselves, which would have been a No for me. I can look pass the Arminianism or wrong view of denomination or even rotating leading roster.

I've learned that in these situations, it's best to not talk or teach them all the time if I find them knowing less but rather, asking questions in ways that stimulate their thinking.

John Calvin did Bible study everyday, and more than once a day. So it's natural I find Bible study group everyday. Because I wished I was in Calvin's time, if not the time my Lord was on Earth. This is perhaps the best blessings there is: Zoom/Online Bible study groups. I do hope I find good ones, because there are really really bad ones, particularly the ones influenced by Charismatics. If not, at least I could consider kickstarting a reformed online group, after all, it's a good idea that the Reformed Christians haven't really done much about. Closest one was Reformed Forum and though it's very professionally done, but it's a single topic with set period, and I had to pay $400 for a single "cohort" session/class. Although, even though the entire session was somewhat nominal, but I got to set a one-on-one talk with professor Lane Tipton, that was an incredible bonus.

Since I'll be looking for expository style Bible study groups, I will start my own commentary entries accordingly, building my own commentary of the entire Bible in this journal, as I've already done for James, John, Exodus, Job, etc.

v6: When engaging in heated debate, even theological ones, be aware that God is present. We often argue as though God is not there as the chief ruler and observer. A lot of theologians argue with the same short sight.

John MacArthur's Gospel approach to Muslim. Instead of debating which religion has more denominations, MacArthur went straight to the point: I know God personally and I know He will not forgive your sins.

With all the fear of hiring in a society that loves to sue, ex-workers suing for ill-treatment, for being fired, anything goes and the court may likely side with the one who could act sadder, perhaps it's a good idea to indicate some kind of disclaimer or under oath, that I will not sue, so feel free to test and terminate me (as long as the hiring is genuine and not some cheap trick to get a small task done for free when you have no one - I think I got tricked once, should have just deleted my "testing task" after that, those sneaky bastards, but this will all be on me, not on the company, so that the ones hiring me need not be concerning themselves with such trivial things). I prove my good, I don't need the court to be on my side. And this is how much I trust them as well.

I need to start my own specialized Psalms Entry. But perhaps not all 150 chapters in one thread. I'll just break each chapter into a single entry.

Digging old notes to transfer back here to the cloud: Craig Parton, someone Janet Mefferd interviewed once on Martin Luther and the Reformation. And apparently he's into Bach as well, considering Bach as the 5th Evangelist. May not be a major figure but he's someone to look into on these: Martin Luther & Bach.

Exodus 24:11 - An interesting note brought up by Phil during the fellowship meal at the buffet that I never paid enough attention to. God miraculously allowed certain people behold and commune with him, eating and drinking. This is a rather unique exception to the general principle - no man could see God directly without coming undone. John Calvin had no problem with this, if being made the exception. Although Keil and Delitzsch advised caution:

We must not go beyond the limits drawn in Exo_33:20-23 in our conceptions of what constituted the sight (חָזָה Exo_24:11) of God; at the same time we must regard it as a vision of God in some form of manifestation which rendered the divine nature discernible to the human eye. Nothing is said as to the form in which God manifested Himself.

Service Fee vs. Tip: Are they the same? Yesterday's fellowship meal at the Flaming Grill Chinese buffet restaurant was presented this minor but interesting dilemma. Some individual thought it they are not the same thing, while many of us (especially Asians) had taken for granted that service fee = tip. We knew that when the group exceed certain number of people, usually 6, the tip/gratuity/...ehem...service fee, is automatically charged. On the bill, it says service fee while listing the tip options with various %. So I can see how one would easily "fall" for it. I guess because the Asian culture really just don't like the tipping system, we are prone to equate these two as one and the same thing. I understand how one could justify otherwise - larger crowd, need more "labor" to deal with, hence service fee is required, tips not included. However, in any non-tipping countries, such as Malaysia, Australia, NZ, etc. we do not have restaurants that charge "service fee" for bigger crowd. So interesting when the bill's returned to be signed, Nadia told me (I was unaware) that it has changed from "service fee" to tip. So that may have explained why I heard that certain individual commented "this is very sneaky" - I didn't know why he said it at the time.

Secondly, one would justify that there's a difference between service fee and tip based on IRS/legality issue. Which I looked very quickly, but feel like it is really unnecessary to go there unless you are very happy at being legalistic and paying tax to the government thinking that you are some sort of patriotic citizen whose contribution matters more than it actually is. For example, Minnesota even levied law against pool tipping. The tip must go directly to the service member. I think this is ridiculous, this is the restaurant's own business, not something for the government to get its nose in.

Thanks to pastor's sermon yesterday, I realized that apparently "awesome" is used only for God, or at least in the English tradition. I shall try to be aware of this semantic.