Confession

Lately, I had the privilege of speaking at different venues and to individuals about the need for confession. I believe that people have been shying away from the practice of confession. We don't even use the word confession any more.

It may have been a backlash towards the old tradition of going to confession and confessing to another person (i.e. a priest), but this is a tragedy as confession is the foundation of Christian growth. Without it, we are harbor sin and it prevents us from having true and real fellowship with God and others.

Isaiah 59:1-2 talks about God's ability to save and hear from his people - however, sin separates us from him and how God hides his face from us so that he does not hear our prayers. I believe this is a great picture of how sin breaks our fellowship with God. Our sins of the past, present and the future are forgiven (Hebrews 10:1-10), but we need to confess so that we can allow our prayers to be powerful and effective (James 5:16) and for us to connect with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ (1 John 1:6 to vs. 8 and vs. 7 to vs. 9).

Our generation doesn't talk enough about confession and perhaps that is why there is no revival in our culture and our generation. Perhaps that is why we have a lot of Christians who are not satisfied with their walk with God. Confession means we agree with God our sin. And through it, we can truly be repentitive and move on in our growth.

I got tagged

So, I got tagged by Judy. I never have been tagged before so I consider it an honour. Here are five things that people do not know about me:

1. I used to love techno/rave music. Yes, I must say... I was really into dance music back in the 90's (whoa... that sounds so old). I liked the rap, I liked the beat of the music. I would go to the local library and take out all the rave music they had and made my own dance mixes (like MuchMusic used to have). I also liked popular dance like C&C Music Factory, MC Hammer, Blackbox, Snap (I Got the Power), Technotronic (Pump up the Jam)
2. I know Tai Chi. Some people know I used to practice Kung Fu, but not many people know I used to do a lot of Tai Chi. Tai Chi is fun and relaxing which requires a lot of patience. But little do people know, after a good 30 min. of tai chi, you will be sweating buckets if you are not used to it!
3. I have a brother who is 17 years younger than me. When I used to take him out when he was a toddler, people thought that he was my son. Now, they can't make that mistake because he is getting really tall!
4. I like to read fiction over non-fiction. I like to read epics and always will read fiction over non-fiction. I think it allows my imagination to run free with the story and enjoy an adventure. My favorite books are Lord of the Rings, Tom Clancy novels, John Grisham novels, Robert Ludlum novels, the first 6 or 7 books in the Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan, Chronicles of Narnia. The only non-fiction book I really like and enjoy the most is the Bible.
5. I love to play old computer games. Like a good epic novel, I love a good epic computer game (although the genre has changed over the years). I like a computer game where you can go discover things, interact with characters and has a good plot. Some oldies are the Police Quest games, Blade Runner, Kings Quest games, and good old 8-bit Nintendo RPGs (Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, Maniac Mansion).

So, I guess I have to tag 5 people. Ian L., Tim F., Ian C., Ben J., and Sarah B. Why these 5? They all left comments on my blog the past few posts.

I Can Listen To Rod All Day

A senior colleague, Rod, visited us the past few days and I realized that I can listen to him talk all day. There a few times where I was captured by the stories he told to illustrate a truth from the Word or cast vision on what God can do through a student. It was fascinating.

What I learned from him was the emphasis and importance of prayer and the valuable characteristic of caring and loving a fellow colleague in the Lord.

University Students Don't Know How To Park

Nothing is more frustrating than rushing to meet an appointment on campus only to arrive on campus with no parking spots in sight - especially when parking spots are at a premium because people don't know how to park.

I arrived today on campus and drove by 2-3 parking spots that, if i were to park that car, would have had space for 1 more space for a car to park. Yes, you need skill to parallel park and people say they are horrible, but if you are in there already, why don't you hug closer to a driveway opening or to the parking sign post so that you create another space? You don't need three feet in front AND back of your car!

Now, to give some drivers credit, you could assume that they were tight with the other cars and that a big car in front of them pulled out and a much smaller car took its space, but there are some cases where you clearly see that they could have hugged the car in front of them or behind a lot better. I will take some pictures once I find my digi camera...

Finally, A New Post

Pressure - there are different kinds of pressure. Peer pressure, work pressure, self pressure, then their is blog pressure - the pressure to update your blog.

Anyway, over the past month there were a lot of "blogworthy" events and quotes that I wanted to write on, but it seems that I never get to the computer to write it out. I have come to the conclusion that my lifestyle is not very healthy.

My wife and I had a discussion on this and concluded that life should not be so busy that you come home most nights so tired that you just want to turn off your brain and rest, sleep, wake up and repeat the process again. It is not that your day wasn't productive or effective, but that you pack the day so much that you are in danger of disqualifying yourself from the race in the long run.

Action points to start: 3 times a week, take a walk with Deb; do exercise of some form 1/week

Mel Gibson makes violent movies

I recently watched Braveheart (thanks Matt for the gift) and it was a great movie. I have heard a lot about it, but never watched it. I appreciated the character William Wallace and how he stood by what he passionately believed in and not wavering.

However, after the movie ended, something struck me when I finished watching it - Mel Gibson makes violent movies.

I have watched the Passion of the Christ and heard about The Patriot and his latest movie (can't remember the name), but all of them have very violent scenes in them. Mind you, it may be realistic, but I don't know if I can handle all that violence in real life (ex. Ultimate Fighting stuff). I don't think I enjoy watching that kind of stuff, even in movies.

In discussing with my wife on this topic, she made a very insightful comment. She said, and I paraphrase, "People don't realize the sacrifice in which people go through. For people who live in such times we don't understand the price that was paid. So, we take this stuff for granted and view these movies as gratuitous violence. But you have to look at these movies and try to understand the price the people paid and be thankful". I think is true - that is perhaps why some people like war movies, movies based on true stories, and movies about good and evil.

I have also been reading up on news (a pastime), and have noticed the news articles that highlight how people suspect violent video games have led to violent behaviour. I believe this is true for movies as well. I have watched movies like The Departed and Fearless and I'm becoming more aware of the violence in it.

I think there needs to be a balance when watching movies. I need to be careful that I don't watch gratuitous violence and appreciate the price paid for things like freedom.

All men die, but not all of them really live. Christ came so that we may die and truly live.

Sorry Joe Choi, this blog entry isn't about you - but it was great seeing you over New Year's! What it is about is the incredibly cheap and good looking clothes you can buy at Superstore nowadays. I just picked up a zipper jacket for $15!!!! That is right, $15! And with my PC Points of $20, it was free with $5 to spare to buy other things (like my supercool new gloves with Spiderman-like webbing on the palms). Why do I buy at any other store? I easily saw 3 other items that I could buy because there were so cheap! I had to refrain as I didn't need them, but with styles and prices like these, I told my wife I won't be buying anywhere else (I sound like an ad on tv).

Well, next time I need new jeans or pants, I know where to go...