Being right and yet so wrong

I have been noticing a somewhat sad trend in some of my Christian friends lately. This has been an observation over some years of knowing them and it is centered around a noticeably steady decline in their conviction and faith in Jesus. Whilst it is hard to tell how someone's faith is doing, there are some clear signs that not all is well. We are told in the Bible to look out for these, within ourselves and also in our brothers and sisters around us, so that we may keep each other accountable and be ready for the Lord's return. And, if there are clear signs that a brother or sister in Christ is in sin, we are to point to it out to them and correct them.

However, there in lies the challenge as most sin is hidden and subtle. Looking at outward appearances fail to show anything wrong. This is even more challenging as most of us are adept at hiding our sins and even convincing ourselves that nothing is wrong. We are adept at putting on our Christian masks, saying "Bless you" when someone sneezes, raising our hands in worship, supporting the right cause, playing Christian music in our cars etc. We say to ourselves that hey, we're still faithful because we do all these things. A bit of sin is alright, we're human and not perfect after all. Jesus' blood will wash it away.

I'd just like to say that a Christian that tolerates sin in their lives, especially habitual sin, is in a very dangerous state. I question their standing with God and even if they are filled with the Holy Spirit. When we tolerate sin in our lives, however small, we open the door to more and soon our small act of rebellion leads us to greater levels of depravity. Christians who continue to sin are deceived and will eventually ignore or justify their failings. Their relationship with God deteriorates as they fall further into Satan's trap. Correcting them at that stage will be an uphill battle indeed.  

I've compiled a list of warning signs from my own experience, lessons that I have personally been taught and also from observations from people that I have ministered to. I hope and pray that these serve as a personal reminder to us. We must ensure that we are vigilant, that we keep awake and are constantly filled with the Holy Spirit lest we forfeit the prize that God has in store for us at the end of the race.

1) Tolerating sin, especially habitual sin, is a clear warning sign that something is not right. Read above.
2) Lack of prayer. Let's not kid ourselves, if you're not praying you ain't talking to God. And if you ain't talking to God, you probably don't know Him very well. My Pastor recommends at least 1 hour of prayer per day although she would gladly advocate more. After all, we are to ceaselessly pray.
3) Lack of joy in worship. We are called primarily to worship God. To joyfully worship Him. If you find yourself lacking joy in a worship service and this has become a trend, I encourage you to re-seek the Holy Spirit to restore this joy.
4) Life taking over. When you find that your priority is your job, material things, money, anything but God. Also saying that you have no time for church (yes, I know there are legitimate reasons too) is something else to watch out for. Not going to church entirely, well, enough said.
5) Negativity. Negativity can manifest itself in terms of speech (criticisms, complaints, gossip), in our thoughts and even in our general attitude to those around us.
6) When was the last time you read your Bible?
7) Pride. This is a tough one as proud people probably don't think they have a pride issue. A good way to diagnose this; when was the last time you had to eat humble pie and did? Do you always think you're right and that everybody else should perhaps be a little smarter? Do you get jealous of someone who actually does better than you?
8) Apathy. Are you apathetic to your fellow man? God certainly is not apathetic to man and if we are to carry His heart in all we do, I would suggest that apathy should not be a feature of our Christian walk. In saying all this, when was the last time you shared the gospel, like properly? I don't mean talking about God, your belief or even showing them your Christ-like behaviour. I am talking about actually sharing the gospel.
9) Something from the list above made you angry and defensive. And you want to send me hate mail and put me straight.

There are a few more but I'll leave it there as I think there's enough to work with here. Typing this has really made me realise my own shortcomings. I am thankful to God that He has been addressing many of these issues in my life over the last few months. They can be painful lessons but they are so worth it. God, after all, disciplines those that He loves and calls his own.

p.s. I am not advocating that we be or even try to be perfect all the time. We can't. What I am advocating though is arresting a noticeable decline in faith that will ultimately lead Christians to spiritual apathy and death.

The use of 'haha'

Haha. Hehe. Hoho. Whatever takes your fancy.

There's a lot hidden behind a simple 'haha' - especially in text speak, that is, text messages, email, FB whatever.

It can convey a genuine sense of merriment or joy. You say `haha` when you actually are, well, laughing.

But just like not all types of laughter conveys the same feelings of joy, merriment or amusement (take for instance, the evil laugh or the uncomfortable laugh or the fake laugh), 'Haha' can take on an entirely different meaning which can actually take a certain level of discernment to figure out. I've recently been observing a proliferation of the use of the word haha, in FB, to disguise hidden messages of angst. I find this all very amusing. Here is a recent example, paraphrased. If you recognise this, don't be offended or insulted or try to send me death notes. Take it as an interesting example. 

The example:

Person 1: I feel sorry for those suckers going back to Uni! 

Person 2 (possible feeling a bit insulted by the statement): At least I get to enjoy my 3 months holiday and freedom and not 4 weeks :P haha.  ----> notice the use of the face icon and haha.

Person 1: True, but I will be enjoying all that money I earn! Haha -----> again the haha

Person 2: I make money in Uni anyway, so I can spend it on travelling the world in my 3 month break, enjoying life! Haha 

There are many other better and more blatant examples that I'd wish to use but alas I fear retribution. If you ever meet me, I can share it with you in person.... unless you're the example.....

Anyways, variations in the Haha will probably be easier to interpret. Muhahaha (evil laugh?), Bahahaha (person with weird laugh?), hhh (person who can't spell haha), hehe (cheeky, mischevious laugh), hohoho (Santa Claus, triumphant laugh). Lol?

Have a great day. Be blessed.

-k

Fell into the trap

Sigh. Fell into the trap of not writing. Should have taken a colleague's advice of pre-writing ten posts prior to starting but alas! Haha.

Here's the Nomos Tangente Norma.

Sorry, not a particularly good photo. It's a mechanical watch which I have to remember winding every morning. It's a fairly discreet watch, not flashy in anyway but I guess people who know their watches would be interested in the fact that Nomos make their movements in-house. 

Back with glass

Side profile

Having worn it for almost a year now, I can reflect on how it is to live with the watch. I did get some initial hiccups. It started gaining time quite significantly when I was on holiday in Seoul, I think by almost +2 mins every 12 hours (or something ridiculous like that). This all came about because it was placed too close to the iPad, which had really strong magnets on the cover...

After sending it off to a qualified watchmaker to sort the issue out, it was restored back to an acceptable working condition. As with the nature of these mechanical watches, they do gain some time but almost at a rate that is not noticeable. 

A month later, it started gaining time again! It so happen that at this point in time, I was on a trip to Sydney (where my authorised dealer was based) and decided to bring the watch to him. After a week with him, he sent it back all fixed. He mentioned a magnetism issue (probably the iPad again!). Happy to say though, the watch has since performed perfectly. I have been careful though to keep it away from the iPad (which has since been gifted to someone) and any general magnetic sources etc.

Only other drawback is the need to wind! Had to make it a habit to wind each morning. It has become a very therapeutic routine. There's something nice about the action of winding a watch at the start of the day.  

-k