helm's deep

In movie trilogies, I tend to like the second installment as my favorite of the series. For example, Star Wars (which there is a great excitement of the new film coming out). The first film (The New Hope) provides a solid introduction and fun, and the third film (The Return of the Jedi) gives a proper ending showing the maturity of the characters and the resolution of the all the problems, it is the second film (The Empire Strikes Back) raises the excitement to new heights with great action and unexpected drama (regarding the character's background and the danger of mis-using the force).

On the most recent Batman series, many agrees that the "Dark Knight" was quite spectacular and the best of the three films, thanks to its psychological depths, and the dilemma of the main characters as hero or anti-hero.

I really like "Lord of the Rings", and I have marathoned the series twice (once w/ extended version, once without it). In addition, I have seen the individual films a couple of times. Definitely, I like the second film the most, "Two Towers". I feel that it has a better pace than the other films (not as slow as the first film, and more organized than the third one). 

I personally enjoy the battle at the Helm's Deep the most of all the battles in the series. The good guys were at a numerical disadvantage, trying to defend the last fortress of Rohan with an army that consisted of a majority of untrained soldiers. Whereas, the opposite army consisted of violent and ruthless beasts that want nothing other than the annihilation of men. Thanks to the aid from the Elf army, and the prowess of Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli, they managed to stand firm until the most reinforcements arrive; which is when Gandalf and exiled Rohan legion comes on the sunrise, and finishes the enemy's army, which is a great scene to repeatedly watch.

This set of scenes made me think about the recurring evil that occurs on our world today, and that we are to stand firm with perseverance against it, until our Lord Jesus Christ comes back to exercise His justice to all.

The recent events of terrorism in Paris has made me think about how should I stand in terms of military intervention against terrorist groups. Tragedies like occur so often nowadays, which is quite sad, and also in a way desensitize people about these issues. Paris was a big deal (and got lots of media coverage) because it was a strike against a Western state, though I don't think we should forget about the more frequent tragedies that occur in African and Middle Easter countries.

After this, of course there is a big push for countries to retaliate against the terrorist group, and to actually have a coalition (i.e. more countries participating other than the US) that can effectively dismantle this threat.

As Christians, we understand that the some of the major tenants about our faith is about grace, and how we should offer grace to others that have harm us. Bible passages like Romans 12:21 or 1 Peter 3 tell us that we should not repay evil with evil, but instead we should repay with goodness. Matthew 5, on Jesus' sermon, He speaks about how if we are slapped on the right cheek, we should turn the other side to them. Looking at these in a brief manner, it seems that we are to not retaliate, and that the Lord will be in charge of exercising justice or repayment (vengeance is of the Lord as in Romans 12:19). 

Of course the thought of just sitting and waiting is hard to accept when there are many people suffering because of this evil organization. So I had to consult some theologians on their views A helpful article explains about John Stott's view on the "Just War": http://blogs.thegospelcoalition.org/trevinwax/2013/09/12/why-john-stott-changed-his-mind-on-pacifism/

He basically explains that as individuals, we ought to not repay evil with evil. But on the matter of state (government), we are to submit to our authorities (Romans 13), and if our government decides to retaliate, then this is ok because God can use governments as instruments to exercise His punishment. In a way he separates the "person" with the "state".  He lays out a few key components that made this retaliation "just":

• its cause must be righteous
• its means must be controlled
• its outcome must be predicable 

The heart of this is that the intention has to be good (or righteous). Of course we can argue about the "intentions" of many countries performing military intervention on countries in conflict are not always pure (secret agenda, a double standard). This is a true reality of our fallen world.

Another helpful article is from John Piper, regarding whether Pacifism is the way to go or not: http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/did-jesus-teach-pacifism

Part of me think that defending the innocent and the path of the "lesser evil" might be other argument for military intervention. 

Certainly, this is a very relevant issue today, and I really want to acquire a biblical stance on this.

Still, I can rest assure knowing that our God is sovereign over this situation, and that we have hope that He will deliver us, and that He will exercise justice on the due time (similar to the scene of reinforcements during Lord of the Ring).

It is my prayer that God of compassion will help the needy on the affected areas. I have faith that our God will work and not withdraw even when evil is so apparent on our times, because He is great.

end of an era

Yep, I have moved out from the place known as "OPP", and it was a pretty hectic week dealing with packing and moving lots of stuff. In the future I should consider taking at least a day off when moving.

I have been blessed with being part of a house where all members are fellow believers. We share common goals, and we naturally share the things we have, and we do our chores, and we encourage one other. Also, we usually open up our place for other people to come over for many type of activities such as fellowship, small group, worship practice, inviting good friends for dinner, movie nights, etc.

Definitely, choosing who to live with is a very important decision.

God has taught me a lot in terms of serving others through my years in undergrad (when I used to live at westcourt) and afterwards at OPP. 

One aspect of community that I like is to be able to have people gather outside of the weekly meetings (church, small group) so that we can get to know people more on smaller group settings, and be able to serve and encourage them better. Many times, great discussions and encouragements come from unplanned gatherings.

There are many good memories at OPP, even though I was happy to leave, part of me does miss being there. I was slightly panicking on last Saturday that this would be my last Saturday I get to sleep in at my old room. Yeah, I was the last one to leave, and got to spend a few solemn minutes one-on-one with the empty apartment. 

It is indeed the end of an "era" that corresponded with my life stage of transitioning from school to work. Now I do look forward on what God has prepared on my future place, and there will certainly be no end for more fellowship to occur.

unlimited bladeworks

"I am the bone of my sword,
 Steel is my body, fire is my blood,
 I have created over thousand of blades"

There is a very popular anime series called "Fate Stay Night", that has 3 different stores, and one of them is called "Unlimited Blade Works". The overall story consists on 7 selected mages, and each of these mages summon a specific warrior to fight one another. The last one standing gets to win the "holy grail", which grants any wish.

One of the interesting aspects about this show is the substance in the dialogue. There is a big emphasis on elaborating on each of the characters' ideals and their reason to fight on this war.

One of the main characters, Shirou, has a noble ideal of wanting to save and help everyone, to the extend that he does not care about his well being. He has a kind heart and is always offering his help to everyone around him. When the bad guys show up, he is the first one who stands up to offer protection.

But his peers consider him to be very naive and idealistic, as it is not possible to save everyone. There is a cost associated with a choice (helping personA means I might not be able to help personB). And his peers (especially those who care for him) are irritated when Shirou becomes impulsive to help others but does not take care of himself.

But his future self, who is portrayed by another character (summoned on this timeline, don't ask me why) tries his best to stop Shirou from pursuing his ideals. The reason is because his future self has gone through many disappointments and frustrations while trying to follow his ideals on saving everyone. His future self realizes that it is not possible to save everyone with his efforts, and bitterness grows on his heart as he is not able to protect everyone from getting hurt by bad people.

The is a major dilemma in the life of Shirou, who after various internal struggles, concludes that he will continue pursuing his ideals, even if it is not realistic and may bring many disappointments, because the desire to save everyone brings him hope.

I remember when I was part of the CCF Welcome Team, that a few of us had a common desire to care for everyone (specially the newcomers), and we wanted to reach out to every single person who attended CCF at least a few times, and wanted to make sure they would attend fellowship so that brothers and sisters would look after them. We did many initiatives in order to maximize a "safety net" so that we can "save" everyone from falling off in the cracks of now been able to integrate into CCF. I vividly remember that we even made a very elaborated spreadsheet with all the newcomer's names, and information about their program and what they like to do, and their potential as leaders, etc... (now that I look back, it feels slightly stalkerish haha).

In reality, no matter how hard we tried, there would be people who might not respond to our goodwill. Some people will choose not to join any fellowship, some will get distracted by other priorities, and some might even forget and not appreciate the investment (care and time) that you spend on them.

It is very easy to become disappointed and discouraged at the lack of results when serving at a ministry. This experience has taught me various lessons about serving:

• First priority is my relationship with God. If my main focus is on a ministry, then I am valuing my performance and the results over the greatness of the love and grace of God. 
• Understanding that God loved me first, and that God's love is unconditional (no matter how much I failed or how much I tried to prove myself, His love does not depend on that) enables me to love others. If I fail do understand this, then my serving becomes more transactional rather than serving out of love.
• It is not up to me. It is up to God, His own timing and providence, to save people (God might use another servant to minister to this person). The results are not up to me (for sure God has given us wisdom to make good decisions and execute on them, but ultimately God is the one who can transform hearts). If I fail to understand this, then I would take the matter with my own hands and will grow frustrated if no results are seen.
• Persevere in prayer. Do not lose hope when good work is not rewarded with tangible results. If God has given you a vision, then let us put our trust in Him, that He will carry you through to accomplish what He intends for.

second place again

Yesterday was the soccer final for the Copa America (it's like an equivalent of the Euro Cup, but for South America), and Argentina played against the host team of Chile.

This was an excellent chance for Argentina, captained by the best player of the world Lionel Messi, to make up for the loss of last year in the World Cup against Germany. Argentina have not won a major tournament since 1993, and Lionel Messi (who has broken crazy records with his club Barcelona) has never won a major tournament with his national team.

Considering the talent that they have in their offensive front, they should have no issues in scoring: Di Maria (key player for Real Madrid to win the UEFA Champion League last year), Aguero (led Manchester City to win Premier League in 2012), Pastore (helped Paris Saint Germain win the French league since 2012).

Plus, they have above-average players in the defensive front: Romero (goalkeeper that has proven to be reliable), Otamendi and Demichelis (solid defenders), Biglia and Macherano (gladiators in the midfield). This team is really a monster.

But they lost against Chile in penalty shootouts, and once again are got a second place.

I have been a fan of Argentina since 1994, when I first watched them defeat Greece 4-0, I instantly fell in love with the Albiceleste. I was very sad when they lost against Germany last year in the World Cup (especially because I was in Brazil, watching the game on a big screen in the beaches of Copacabana, after getting bad night sleep at the airport and standing for more than 4 hours). This time I was really hopeful but ended up being disappointed again.

A major portion of the disappointment comes from the fact that Argentina did not play to its maximum capability. They beat Paraguay brilliantly 6-1, showcasing their offensive weapons. Against Chile, they only had one very good chance to score (I even jumped from the couch and slide onto the carpet, causing a small laceration on my left knee).  It's true that Chile is a really good team, and that they played smart and rough, but most key players in Argentina under-performed or failed to deliver on the most decisive moments (some argued that it is the pressure or anxiety or that they are not "sweating the T-shirt" enough).

This reminds me of how Christians should behave at decisive moments. We spend a lot of time studying the bible at church and in small groups, and we learn a lot. But when opportunity comes for us to help the needy, to share the gospel, to provide a reason of our hope to those who do not believe, to serve the church community, to reconcile with someone, to confront someone about the truth of the Word of God, or any other activities that pushes us outside of our comfort zone, do we act well on these decisive moments?

It is so easy to just not do anything about it and have the easy way out, but our mission is a different one as salt and light of this world. And once we take the step to do the right thing, I am hopeful that God will provide and equip us with the right words and actions.

why I care about the remake of FF7

This week it was announced there will be a remake of video game called "Final Fantasy 7". It is an old RPG (role-playing game) that came out on PlayStation 1 in 1997.  The announcement of the remake of this classic game has a deep impact on many of the fans of this series. People were shouting and screaming of joy when they saw the trailer. My housemate was also screaming too, and when I saw the trailer I was also yelling.

The announcement actually increased the stocks of Square Enix by 2.9% (highest since 2008). This is insane.

Final Fantasy 7 is the first game I played from this series, and I proudly own an original copy of the PS 1 game. The game is highly excellent, a great story, very likeable characters, awesome soundtrack, and unexpected twists on the plot, a classic. There is huge debate among FF fans between which game is the greatest, and it is usually between 6 or 7. FF6 is a very solid game, but 7 is always my personal favorite as it was the first game I played, and it has influenced me to play various subsequent games from the series.

Why is this such a big deal? Mainly because many of the people from my generation grew up with this game. This was the first pseudo-3D RPG that came out and it was revolutionary, plus the story is so compelling. Also the recent installments of the series have been fairly mediocre, so this remake of the classic series is definitely a big deal.

The reason why I like RPG quite a bit is because it involves a journey, where a character goes about on the following activities:

1. there is some sort of evil, and the main character can get involved to save the world
2. saving a damsel in distress or helping dear friends
3. collect a bunch of weapons important items that are useful in the journey
4. made comrades who join in the journey
• each party member has a special set of skills, each member's strengths make up for other's weaknesses, and when all combined it is very effective in battles
5. explore the world and find information to figure out what to do next in the journey
6. fight battles to acquire more level and skills
7. use a super flashy final move to finish off the main battles

Gaming usually tend to have a negative connotation as many people use it as a way for escapism or it can be a stumbling block for time stewardship. I think some of the elements from gaming that attract us to it, tells us about certain longings we have as human. And I think we should try to satisfy these longings and bring the battles into real life (and not just fight them in the game). Each of us have a journey of faith, that involves:

1. there is much evil in the world, be proactive in getting involved to bring good (participate in furthering God's kingdom)
2. serve in your local community
3. collect knowledge from Word of God that will equip you for every work
4. get to know solid comrades in your journey, comrades who will pray for you, will encourage you,  whose strengths make up for your weaknesses, especially in serving
5. life is not always certain, trust God as you explore different possibilities
6. as you go through challenges and trials, your faith is strengthen each time, and your character is molded to be more like Christ
7. as you matured in the faith, God will enable you to do more than you can ask or imagine, and bring great victories in big struggles

champion's thirst

Recent weekend, the UEFA Champion League Final took place, between Barcelona (Spanish champion of La Liga) and Juventus (Italian champion of the Serie A).

I read various comments about the game and saw highlights multiple times, and I can conclude it was an excellent game. I was not able to watch it, because I chose to spend time with friends in Toronto, which is also very precious.

Barcelona won the game 3-1, and for many that was an expected outcome due to their formidable world class strikers and of course, the best player of the world, Lionel Messi. But Juventus did put a good fight, and had its chances as well. The Italian press have commended the Juventus team, and stated that they lost but they have nothing to regret from.

Barcelona won its 4th UEFA Champion League in last 10 years, which is a great accomplishment, and it has shown the dominance of the Barcelona team in Europe.

It is also worth mentioning that one of the symbol player and captain of Barcelona, Xavi (who is close to the end of his career) played the last game with the team. He is considered to be one of the best Spanish player ever, and he is a very classy midfielder who can direct the pace of the game with his precise and accurate passes.

There is a usual saying that it is hard to reach the top, but it is harder to maintain at the top. Barcelona has been in the top of club level soccer for a while. It is challenging because once you have conquered a trophy, the thirst for such victory might be quenched. And it is hard to find ways to refueled this thirst that will drive the players to give 110% of what they got to win the same trophy again tomorrow.

Analogous to Xavi, there is also a very classy midfielder in Juventus, Andrea Pirlo. He is good, like really good. Also near the end of his career, but he can still play at a very high level, building crazy passes, and he is considered one of the best free kick shooter in the world. After the game, there were pictures and video showing Pirlo crying. One would said this is normal, as they just lost the final, and they are disappointed. But one has to understand that Pirlo have a very successful career already; he won the World Cup with Italy on 2006, and he won the Champions League twice with his former team Milan. He had already experienced this type of victories. But in the end he cried, that shows that he is a winner, and still thirst for more.

I think both Xavi and Pirlo are great champions, who have a steadfast thirst for more.

Similarly, I remembered clearly the thirst I had for God when I first believed. But as I grew, due to struggles and busy-ness, it is easy to not have the same level of thirst for God, and one can easily become complacent. This is always a constant battle for me. 

I pray that the Spirit will cause me to thirst for God more and more.

"You, God, are my God,

    earnestly I seek you;

I thirst for you,

    my whole being longs for you,

in a dry and parched land

    where there is no water." - Psalm 63:1

breakfast of champions

Breakfast is such an enjoyable meal!

And there are many types of breakfast that I enjoy:

Traditional Chinese - congee with deep fried dough rolls:

HK style - very runny eggs with milk tea

Another HK style - Pineapple bun with a "thin" layer of butter and milk tea

Classic - McDonald's Sausage McMuffin with double hash browns and coffee

The picture from McDonald's breakfast was taken recently, as I was a groomsman of a good brother of mine, and we decided to eat this on the wedding day. Actually, McDonald's breakfast has always been a choice in my experience as a groomsman. Meaning my friends are real champions as they select the best breakfast possible!

I have been groomsman six times (one for a cousin, and five for brothers who I have met in university). And I will be a groomsman again in September. Some friends were joking that I am now a professional groomsman, and some work colleagues were telling me that I will be bankrupt soon. 

(Having a hard time coming up with right words here on how I feel...)

I feel very honored that these men of God considers me a close brother and I feel very privileged that I can witness their very wedding day as a groomsman. I am very blessed that I have met many brothers who I can just be myself and enjoy fun moments together, go to challenges and struggles together, study the bible together, serve together, confide in them whatever is on my heart, and pray together. We are all appreciative of each other in this "brotherhood". Now that we  are spread around different parts of Canada, we don't get to see each other that often, but still it is very easy for us to pick up from where we left.

Life is a difficult thing, and God has placed these brothers in my life to make it easier for me. 

I have quoted this verse many times, but will do it again:

"I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." - Philippians 1:3-6

- I thank my God every time I remember my brothers

- I always pray with joy when I pray for them because we shared a special bond on partnering together in the gospel

- I am confident that God will continue working powerfully in their lives even they live far away and I don't get to see them often