Dr. M. A. Thomas: A Soldier of the Cross

To view videos from Dr. M. A. Thomas' Memorial Service, visit Hopegivers. I miss you, Appachan!

Alternate Ending for BBC's Ballykissangel ;)

BBC's Ballykissangel (Series 1-3) is probably one of my favorite TV shows. But, it turns out that, in Series 3 Episode 11 ("The Reckoning"), Ballykissangel becomes Ballykillangel :) Enough said. Instead of watching that episode, watch this clip instead (thanks javelinbk) and just pretend that this is the end of the BBC hit drama :)

Heaven or Hell - The Afterlife (Life After Death)

Just finished reading Lisa Miller's article "Far From Heaven" on Newsweek. Quickly reviewing, I liked how she ended with a call to 'humble ourselves before all that we don't understand.' I didn't like how she did not go further into Jesus' answer to the Sadducees regarding life after death. (BTW, the article's got it wrong: the Sadducees were not asking about the man with seven wives; they were asking about the woman with seven husbands in succession). In the biblical passage, when the Sadducees (who did not believe in life after death) asked Jesus regarding whose wife the woman will be in the afterlife since she has been the wife of seven brothers in succession, Jesus answered, pointing out the ignorance of the Sadducees in knowing God's Word, "In the resurrection, they neither marry nor are given in marriage." Jesus' answer sheds light on what Lisa Miller missed to include in her article -- the biblical view on heaven and hell.

The article includes various personal views of heaven: 'laying my head on my Grandma's lap', 'driving a yellow Cadillac in heaven', 'eating peppermint ice cream', 'enjoying the company of 72 virgins', etc. I wish the article would have contrasted those views to the view of the afterlife revealed in God's Word: Heaven is a real place where we spend eternity in God's presence, and hell is a real place where we are eternally separated from God's presence.

Therefore, the news that God has provided a way for us, through King Jesus' loving sacrifice, to be able to spend eternity with Him is indeed the Greatest News ever.

iRecommend: That's My King!

I saw this for the first time at the 2010 FBCJax Pastor's Conference. This video is not mine; I got it from Vimeo. This video is set to the famous sermon by Dr. S. M. Lockridge.

Still Paying for 411? Use Free411

UPDATE: GOOG411 shut down on November 12, 2010. More info here.
UPDATE: BING411 shut down on June 1, 2012.
I know the title says GOOG411 and BING411; I opted for 'and' instead of 'or' for a reason. While GOOG411 is excellent (and faster) in connecting you to a local business or organization, BING411 goes further in providing local weather, traffic, directions, travel, etc. Try for yourself: GOOG411 (1-800-466-4411) & BING411 (1-800-246-4411).
FREE411
If you don't mind ads being played while you wait, you can also try FREE411 (1-800-373-3411), which has an added feature of free residential directory.
If you would rather pay for 411 services, ignore these above mentioned FREE options.

Mac vs PC Campaign in BBC's Ballykissangel :)

Been watching BBC's Ballykissangel recently, and I think there could be a possible (unintentional) Mac vs PC campaign in BBC's Ballykissangel. The show is about life in Ballykissangel, a fictional village in Ireland. You can read more about it here.

In the show, there are two priests: Father MacAnally and Father Peter Clifford. You can probably see where I am going with this. Anyway, what the show portrays about Father Mac and Father PC is surprisingly true about a Mac and a PC, respectively. In the show, Father Mac is the not-so-popular-with-the-townspeople priest, and his only supporter seems to be a wealthy business man. On the other hand, Father PC is very popular among the townspeople, people-friendly, and has the support of the common people. I don't think this is what BBC was trying to say, but at least it is in line with my view of Mac vs PC :)

I'm only in Series 2 now. I don't know how either of them would turn out, but PC is still (and probably will remain) my favorite! BTW, if you are a Mac supporter, please don't be upset; Father Mac is not that bad ;)

Martyr's Oath (as heard at Hopegivers Graduation)

I take a stand to honor the Lord Jesus, with my hands to save and serve the mankind

I take a stand to honor the Lord Jesus, with my feet to spread the gospel to the uttermost parts

I take a stand to honor the Lord Jesus, with my lips by proclaiming the good  news to all who hear and by edifying the body of Christ

I take a stand to honor the Lord Jesus, with my mind as I meditate upon His word and promises to me

I give my earthly treasures and all that I possess to follow the way of the cross

I commit to love my family, orphans, widows, lepers, the wealthy, and the poor to the way of the Christ

I surrender my will and my life to His will and to His life

I commit to service of the Lord by being a good steward of my time

I surrender this body on earth for the perfect will of Jesus

And should my blood be spilled, may it bring forth a mighty harvest of souls

I pledge allegiance to the  Lamb

I will seek to honor His command

I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes

As a soldier of the cross, I stand with the apostle Paul in saying that “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain”

Lord Jesus, Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven

I love my India; I love my fellow citizens; I want to show them the love of Christ

Whether by life or death, I must glorify Jesus

Seow Biblical Hebrew Vocabulary

If you are learning Biblical Hebrew and you use C. L. Seow's A Grammar for Biblical Hebrew, then you might find this post useful. Here is a list of vocabs from Seow's book, in Hebrew alphabetical order (alphabetized by consonants, not vowels), as well as in chapter and word-type order. For those who like colors, here is a color-coded version :)

As far as I know, this list is up-to-date with Seow's book. If there are any mistakes, I apologize for any misguidance. If you want to edit this list, there are some Excel files here.

My sincere thanks to katadrew.com for the link & Lionel Windsor for the original list.

The Greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven

I could not resist putting up this picture of some of the children at ECETrust's Children's Home. From left to right are Hannah, Jonathan, and Lovely.
Matt. 18:1-4 (ESV)> At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" And calling to Him a child, He put him in the midst of them and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."

Requesting Prayer for Dr. M. A. Thomas

Please be in prayer for my grandfather Dr. M. A. Thomas as he has been hospitalized with pneumonia. For updated information, please visit Hopegivers.org