muses

During yesterday’s CG out, I asked my group to share examples of Christians whom they have witnessed to be filled with the Holy Spirit. There was silence for a good few minutes. I thought aloud that it was scary we (including me) can’t readily think of people who are filled with the Holy Spirit (whether it be in our church or otherwise). But soon, we got the ball rolling, and we all agreed with one another on the examples we shared: there’s the sister who loves the Word of God, shares of the joy in studying His Word, and takes great pain in preparing her notes to share of the richness of God’s truth; then there’s the married mother who, despite a not-so-easy pregnancy, displayed her desire to give undivided attention to God’s word through Sunday sermons, and exhorted us to love God even though she wasn’t in any serving role.

I wondered why we took so long to share these examples, although we could clearly attest that they are Spirit-filled Christians. Perhaps we have given too much weight to the individuals’ natural abilities. For example, the first sister has a gift with the English language and perhaps we think that her love for God’s word comes naturally with her gift. Or perhaps we have harboured unrealistic expectations of a Spirit-filled person, like a zen-like aura, or a veneer that seems to be unperturbed or untouched by the world. Or maybe it’s our church culture, where we don’t really talk much of the Holy Spirit (except during a couple of Foundation issues). Don’t get me wrong, my church believes in the Person of the Holy Spirit; it’s just that He’s not always on our lips, not in the same frequency and way as some churches. (I remember going to a charismatic church a few years back and someone from there said to me that she felt the Holy Spirit moving strongly in that place. I didn’t feel anything, and I wondered if there was something seriously wrong with me…)

Anyway, I think I need to know the Person more closely and dearly. I need a renewed understanding of the work of Holy Spirit in my life and others’ lives. Help me, Holy Spirit.

Remember Carrie Prejean? Of course not. Who remembers the runner-up of a Miss USA competition? Not unless you raised the ire of the entire homosexual community by declaring that marriage is between a man and a woman at a live national televised event. Unfortunately, she also extended her 15 minute of fame when her teenage scantily clad images surfaced after the competition. Anyway, Donald Trump (who owns the Miss USA brand) decided that she could keep her runner-up title, despite the photos.

But her story presented contradictions that could not be ignored. Her Christian background shaped her convictions on marriage, but her actions didn’t reflect a propriety that should have been influenced by her beliefs.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss’ commentary on the issue reveal the root of a malady that could also inflict Christians anywhere in the world, not just in America:

Sadly, Carrie is the product of a Christian sub-culture that has lost a sense of what it means to be citizens of the kingdom of God and has embraced the values and thinking of this world.

By and large, young adults who have grown up in our evangelical homes, churches, and schools, are buying into a message that they have seen modeled by those around them who call themselves Christians—namely, that Christianity can be divorced from Christ-likeness, and that practical holiness in everyday life is out-dated, irrelevant, or optional.

‘Christianity divorced from Christlikeness’ - frightening yet true. As I examine my discipleship journey with my Foundation class, I wonder if it could happen to me as well. Sometimes I wonder if my behaviour is culturally influenced or is really a manifestation of repentance and fruit of the Holy Spirit. Currently I am in this phase of self-doubt. I can’t help it. But I suppose it’s for my good. I guess I need to be tested to know if I’m really who I’ve made myself to be.

Please pray for me. Pray that there would be genuine repentance where sins are revealed. Pray for faith in 1 John 1:9.

No, I haven’t read Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, but looking at this comic (Stuart McMillen’s illustration of the Neil Postman’s foreword of “Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business”), his book was a prophetic message of today’s world.

Actually I wanted to buy another upsized EVM from McDonald’s today to get the Coke glass, but after reading this, I decided otherwise. I fear that I have succumbed to today’s trivial culture.

Illustration of Foreword from “Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business” by Neil Postman (just one part)

(Highly recommend that you give this a look. Click on the link above. Very thought provoking)

It’s easy for pop fiction to blur the lines between truth and deception, so Westminister Theological Seminary has created this website in response to the questions raised by Dan Brown and the characters in the book (and now movie) Angles and Demons. It’s an interesting site even if you have not watched the movie (I haven’t).