RL Allan ESVR

Two parcels came in the mail today - Oh Hallelujah! Was hoping they would arrive before Christmas, but instead they arrived today. Praise the LORD for their safe arrival.

Of the two, the parcel from Glasgow was especially special. I have been waiting for this for... hmmm... more than a year now?

It's my new RL Allan ESV Bible in gorgeous Chocolate Brown Highland Goatskin... :D

With bigger fonts...better text block cuz of better papers (supposedly)... and lined papers behind!

It's the brand new RL Allan ESV Reader's Version!

ESVR is the fruit of a joint effort by Evangelicalbible.com & RL Allan in trying to produce the BESTest ESV Bible - a Bible with all the features Bible lovers deem MOST important.

So u could only imagine the buzz in blogsphere over the past weeks ever since the Bible was (FINALLY) ready to ship. The SINGULAR question on everyone's mind has been - is the ESVR the ONE? Is it truly BETTER than ESV1?

Before I join in to give my 2 cents on the BIGGEST UPROAR so far concerning the issue of ghosting, here are a few pix comparing the ESVR to other Bibles.

The ESVR is considered "largish" as u can see from the pix. But NOT so large as to make it an inconvenience to carry to the Church, or ur Bible Study class.

* A study of the different "yapp" - from semi-yapp (top) to full-yap (middle) to ESVR's semi/full yapp.

One feature I truly like - the semi/full yapp.

And also the red-under-gold treatment for ESVR is waaaaaaay better than the pinkish ESV1 series. It was a relief to me :)

Now, the MOTHER of all buzz...BLEED-THROUGH or GHOSTING...

Comparing with ESV1:

* ESVR - Top, ESV1 - Left & Right.

With all the recent uproar over ghosting issue, when I received my ESVR, the very first thing I did was to check the level of ghosting...and I must say the ESVR isn't that much better than the old ESV1... :(

Update @ Dec 30th: ESVR paper definitely feels better quality than ESV1. Whiter too.

Comparing other Bibles with BOLD FONTS:

* ESVR - Left, Cambridge KJV Presentation - Right, Cambridge KJV Concord - Bottom.

Some at blogsphere have speculated that the ghosting of ESVR could be due to the extra BOLD typeface it uses... Well, when I compare it to my other two bibles with BOLD typeface, this "excuse" doesn't stand... :(

Comparing to Other Known Bibles with "Opaque" Papers:

* ESVR - Left, InTouch NASB - Top, Cambridge NKJV WM - Right, Cambridge KJV Cameo - Bottom.

Hmmm...clearly the others have better papers :(

So, conclusion - yes, ghosting IS an issue, and there are better papers out there.

But does that mean I am disappointed & gonna send back my ESVR? NO WAAAY!

Somehow I am not really THAT affected by the ghosting issue. The ghosting is only bad at those few places, like Psalms, Job...etc. But the majority of the Bible is totally "readable". Besides, I have "survived" using ESV1 for my daily bible reading for the past year...and I totally enjoyed every single minute of it. (THANK YOU, RL ALLAN!)

So I am going to ENJOY using my new ESVR next year as my MAIN Bible for my daily Scripture reading... :)

Happy New Year to u all!

7As!!!

Last night we celebrated Ah Liang's EXCELLENT PMR result - 7As - with makan :)

We are proud of you, dude! Praise the name of Jesus!

Christmas!

Only after I sat down and scan thru the photos did I realise something amazing this Christmas...

Here shows Ah Hui, Bella & Amy serving as ushers...

Here is Ai Ping helping out with some more youths serving as ushers...

Here is David & Ah Hui been part of the worship team...

Here is Evelyn serving as MC (well, I forgot to take a more "proper" pix :P )...

Here are all the kids performing a dance routine...

Here is Bernard giving his amazing testimony to the goodness & faithfulness of God Almighty...

By the GRACE of God EVERY SINGLE ONE of my family members is serving in one way or another this Christmas! This is truly the BESTEST Christmas ever! Hallelujah!

* Click pix to enlarge.

Lastly, here are the kids making friends with a bunch of youths from South Korea who are passionately serving Jesus, our LORD & SAVIOUR, as His ambassadors!

Merry Christmas to u all! Jesus is KING!

New Pups!

New pups - all 6 of them! (4 were eaten by mom)

Count the Cost

What does it cost to become a Christian? Everything.

Evelyn's Sharing

Most blessed to hear my sister sharing on a totally God centered message last Sunday. Praise the LORD!

And also such a great joy to see my brother & my sis-in-law rising up serving in the house of God :)

All glory be to GOD Almighty! And much thanks to the care & support of my pastors & church elders.

A short video clip:

Hallelujah!

More Birthday Celebration - Chin's Dad!

Few weeks back, Chin's dad celebrated his birthday with a big party!

Wonderful to see his children, grand kids, close relatives & buddies all turning up for the big dinner...

Members from Chin's dad's caregroup, Church elders & pastors were invited too.

And yours sincerely too...still with the longish hair look...

And where brethren are gathered, there are singing!

My favourite dish of the night...Pork Leg!

But by the time I got a chance to sit down, it was almost ALL GONE! :(

The BIGGEST SHOCKER of the night? Here Pastors are "caught" YAM SENG!!!

Joke joke! ;)

Last but not least, a video that captures the joyous mood that night...by the lovely relatives:

Praise the LORD!

EU Presidency

It has been a while since I last blogged and with so much on my mind it is "difficult" to decide what to blog first after such a long break (by cybernet standard)...

Last Friday, one of my care group members shared excitingly about my Pastor's recent sharing on Daniel 9 (of which I have yet to listen to)...so I thought may be this NEW EU President would be an appropriate first blog...

Just last week, EU finally has a President. And the guy is from Belgium, the current PM of Belgium.

What makes the story so interesting especially among Bible prophecy circles is cuz of these 4 verses from Daniel 9:

"Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place. Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time. And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed. And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator."

(Dan 9:24-27)

This "Prince who is to come" is supposedly THE Anti-Christ who is to come at the end of the age. He will be the one who finaaaaaaaaaaally could put "an end" to the troubles in the Middle East.

So is Mr. Herman Van Rompuy the Anit-Christ? ;)

Well, I dunno. Most likely not. But what interest me MORE than Mr. Rompuy is the fact that this EU Presidency - this position, this title - is now a reality.

This could indeed be the beginning of the end :)

Bestest B'day!

Thank You, Pastor Frank & Belinda!!!




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Nick

Bless the LORD.

Why Obama Won Nobel...

...because the Olympic committee turned him down earlier this month... :P

Kindle Going GLOBAL...NOT!

I was SO EXCITED when I saw Kindle is finally going GLOBAL (100 nations!) from Amazon this morning!!!

But when I checked further, Kindle is NOT - I repeat, NOT - ready for Malaysia. What a blow!

Then I quickly checked if my neighboring countries are having better "luck"... Singapore, no... Thailand, no.... Brunei, no.... Indonesia, no.... Sigh, so I guess SEA isn't exactly a big enough market for Amazon.

Then for the fun of it, I keyed in "Cambodia" - and I got the "SHOCK" of my life - Kindle is available for Cambodia! And so is Papua New Guinea....

Then I keyed in "Zimbabwe" - and BINGO! Kindle is available in Zimbabwe! And so is Rwanda!

Now, I am NOT implying Malaysians (or Singaporeans) are more "deserving" but something is definitely NOT right here!

I am gonna email Mr Bezos for sure.

iPhone 3GS & FantasyLens

My iPhone 3G was "drowned" accidentally almost 2 months back and it wasn't until last week that I got the replacement - a new iPhone 3GS.

I must say the new iPhone 3GS is indeed a much better phone than its predecessor . Three things I really like about the new iPhone: 1) Longer battery life, 2) Much snappier performance, 3) Better camera.

Everything just loads & runs so much faster/smoother - almost instantaneous. No more lagging in opening/running my OliveTree bible apps! (Or any other apps!)

Over the weekend, I decided to test the camera performance. And I must say it performed much better than I expected too. Granted, it is ONLY a 3.2 mega pixel cam, but the pictures are way better than its predecessor in terms of details, colors, contrast, grains...everything! (Btw, the video is good too.)

In fact, the quality was good enough that I purchased 2 photo apps (which I never did with my old iPhone). And I must say so far this USD0.99 cents FantasyLens has my vote as the funnest app!

Below is a sample :)

LOL!

Eternal Golf?

And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

(Joh 17:3)

Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

(Psa 73:25)

2nd Chance After Death?

Do our dead ancestors still have a chance (of salvation) though they never had the chance to hear the Gospel?

Hmmm...the answer should be VERY straight forward, right? Just in case u wonder, the answer is NO.

Yet I was surprised to hear some beloved bro/sis-in-Christ have a contrary opinion. Of course I am still trying to find out which Scriptural verses formed that opinion, or under what circumstances/pretext was this subject discussed.

First, I could TOTALLY understand why we wish our dead (but unsaved) ancestors still be given a chance to accept Jesus as LORD & Saviour. After all, hell is real, heaven is real, and MOST importantly, God is real too. And which of us true believers don't ache for the salvation of the unsaved living as much as for the unsaved dead?

And hypothetically speaking, salvation should be a ZILLION times easier for these dead souls who are literally burning in Hades now!

Have u not read the story of the Rich Man & Lazarus?

And he called out, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.'

(Luk 16:24)

Did Abraham answer the rich man: "Errr...son, u gotta burn a bit longer...be patient...wait for Jesus to resurrect u bodily...then u choose Him, ok? U still got a chance..."

Unfortunately NO.

Then we read the rich man begged Abraham to SEND Lazarus BACK to warn his 5 other living brothers of this 'place of torment'... And how did Abraham answer?

But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.' And he said, 'No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' He said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.'"

(Luk 16:29-31)

Salvation is only possible while a person is still living.

For he says, "In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you." Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

(2Co 6:2)

again he appoints a certain day, "Today," saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts."

(Heb 4:7)

TODAY is the day.

Judas Iscariot

I was listening to a podcast on the doctrine of Perseverance of the Saints and interestingly, "Peter & Judas" were used as an example to illustrate this doctrine.

We know BOTH Peter & Judas "betrayed" our LORD Jesus Christ. Peter denied the LORD 3 times while Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 silver coins. So the question raised was - since both were "wickedly bad", how come our LORD chose to forgive Peter only?

The above reminded me of a conversation I had with a dear brother in Christ not too long ago. The question was along similar line - How come the LORD did not save Judas? The brother's logic was - without Judas' act of betrayal, Jesus wouldn't have been handed over to the religious leaders which ended in His crucifixion. So in a sense, Judas "deserved" some mercy for his "contribution" to the salvation of mankind, and not to mention the fact that he DID spend 3 years with the LORD (kinda like - at least for old time sake la)....

On a side note, I guess that's a similar logic that applies to the Mary of RC. After all, without her participation, Jesus would not have been born...and so on and so forth...and one thing led to another...the Mary of RC now is basically a Goddess all by herself...but thats another story altogether :P

So coming back to the question - How come the LORD did not forgive Judas?

Well, the short answer is - Judas deserved death a zillion times over & was foreordained so.

The Scripture is crystal clear that Judas Iscariot deserved NO MERCY. Jesus called him a devil...a son of perdition:

Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the Twelve? And yet one of you is a devil." He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the Twelve, was going to betray him.

(Joh 6:70-71 ESV)

"While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.

(Joh 17:12 NASB)

It is also crystal clear that Jesus knew loooooooooong ago (from before the foundation of time) that Judas would betray Him. In fact Jesus CURSED Judas:

"But behold, the hand of the one betraying Me is with Mine on the table. "For indeed, the Son of Man is going as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!"

(Luk 22:21-22 NASB)

So case closed for Judas' end and his ETERNAL damnation.

But what about Simon Peter? O...BLESSED is Peter... :)

"Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers."

(Luk 22:31-32 NASB)

BLESSED are you Saints, you Elect of the LORD... for our LORD has prayed long ago that your faith MAY NOT FAIL... Hallelujah!

Was Adam "Real"?

It is SO SAD to see men of God, theologians, self-professing Christians who DOUBT the very Word of God in the name of "science" or "worldly wisdom" despite the plain & clear teaching of the Bible. Not that I look down on "science" or "worldly wisdom"... but I do feel like bashing these men "lovingly" :)

So is Adam a true historical figure - the VERY first man God created as per described in Genesis? The Adam who was mentioned repeatedly by Lord Jesus, by the Apostles throughout the NT?

Is this belief or faith in the existence of a historical Adam important? MUCH MORE than most would realise. It isn't hard to imagine once we start to allegorise Adam, we will soon start to allegorise the accounts of Creation itself? Sodom & Gomorrah? Cain & Abel? Noah? Abraham? Moses? Jonah? Or even Jesus? Before long, the whole Bible starts to read more like a mythological book written by men who were trying to find meaning to their existence in this unfamiliar universe...

U don't think so? Look around u... there are plenty of such "churches/christians" around today...

Sometimes, child-like faith is good. Very good.

At that time Jesus declared, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children;

(Mat 11:25)

John & His Lizard

Err...not too sure what kind of lizard this is, but John knows...

According to him, this is the "biggest" yet that he has caught...

Loving Approval of Men

for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.

(Joh 12:43)

The crucible is for silver and the furnace for gold, And each is tested by the praise accorded him.

(Pro 27:21)

Guilty.

Biggest Enemy - Self

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. (Col 3:5)

Remembering 9/11

Hard to believe it has been 8 years and 1 day since.

Still can remember vividly I was home alone that evening...wife & kids in Sibu...and I was STUNNED when I turned on CNN....thinking what a MAJOR freak accident that was!

And only much later did the whole world realised - American was under ATTACK! I also remember I was on the phone with my buddy Peter and I said something like: "O man, this time FBI & CIA are SCREWED for sure."

For a short while, America was united like never before - one heart, one spirit. And there was a revival of sort rippling across the nation. The world was changed literally "overnight" by 9/11.

Shortly after 9/11, in mid of 2002, my own life was changed forever too - the LORD found me :)

YWAM & UPSR

Jane will be taking her UPSR exam this week.

Praise the LORD she had the opportunity to be prayed over by a group of American youths from Youth With A Mission (YWAM) last week.

Here are some other youths been prayed over by the rest of the YWAM team.

And here's a nice skit performed by the YWAM team for the Mandarin church youths.

May the LORD bless them & protect them as they go over to Indonesia for Kingdom's work.