dannytalk ™ A Danny Ng Blog

1 O LORD, you have searched me

and you know me.

2 You know when I sit and when I rise;

you perceive my thoughts from afar.

3 You discern my going out and my lying down;

you are familiar with all my ways.

4 Before a word is on my tongue

you know it completely, O LORD.

5 You hem me in—behind and before;

you have laid your hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

too lofty for me to attain.

7 Where can I go from your Spirit?

Where can I flee from your presence?

8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,

if I settle on the far side of the sea,

10 even there your hand will guide me,

your right hand will hold me fast.

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If you haven’t read the news, Carrie Prejean – Miss California was set to win the Miss USA crown but became first-runner up because of her response to Perez Hilton’s question regarding gay marriages.

When asked by Perez Hilton on her views on whether other states should legalise gay marriage like Vermont, the fourth state to do so, Carrie stood up for her beliefs and responded that a marriage is between a man and a woman, therefore no, she does not support gay marriage.

I think this severely pissed Perez off (as you can see in the later part of the video) because he’s gay if you didn’t know.

First thing that comes to mind is, why on earth is Perez Hilton a judge at a beauty pageant? He’s a celebrity blogger who indulges himself with gossip and a lot of trash media. Not only does he lack quality judging abilities, he’s even taken that response as a personal insult and insulted her intelligence via his website. Very unprofessional. Has Miss USA become the new Jerry Springer pageant show?

Read the rest of this entry »

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I just read an article on BBC news about a ‘No God’ campaign backed by the British Humanist Association which has posters on 800 buses in England, Scotland and Wales with the slogan ‘There’s Probably No God. Now Stop Worrying And Enjoy Your Life.’

I seriously don’t get why do atheists, agnostics or any other non-Christians in a generalised way think and believe that faith in God is about rules, regulations, worry, intimidation and suppression. Have they even attempted to read the Bible in context and try to understand the beauty, relevancy and usefulness of it? To see it from an open mindset and learn that it is possible to apply the teachings of the Bibles to day to day life? To see how relevant it is to modern day society as the human nature has not changed over the past two millennia but yes, the mode of transportation has, from donkeys to cars.

The human nature is still full of pride, lust, deceit, greed and anger. This does not and will not change over time. And you know what? The Bible addresses all of them.

Anyways, back to the campaign slogan. First of all, let’s break down the slogan into three parts.

1. There’s probably no God.
2. Believing in God will make you worry.
3. Believing in God will make you not enjoy your life.

I won’t be addressing point 1 as that’s a big topic and it’ll take forever to address it. However, I’d like to point out point 2 and 3.

I’m glad the atheist’s agree that we should stop worrying. Even Jesus said so, but much earlier.

25″Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

28″And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. -  Matthew 6:25-34

The second point that the atheist’s encourage you to do is to enjoy your life. Well, Jesus said that too! Surprise surprise!

10 The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. – John 10:10

Well, some might argue that the advertising campaign is just for laughs and Christians should just chill and laugh with it. So what if we rephrased the slogan to ‘God probably exists. Now Stop Worrying And Enjoy Your Life’?

I wonder what and how the atheists might respond to that.

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A song by Faith Hill about the birth of Jesus, the strife and troubles that Mary & Joseph had to go through.

Absolutely beautiful. I especially love it at 3.35 when she sings hallelujah!

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I was jogging along the sandy shore near where I live this evening, enjoying the blend of scarlet and indigo sunset. The waves gently lapping the shoreline and the wind against my face, I felt my burden lightened and at peace with each stride succeeding the other.

As I was doing my dips and pull ups at a local playground, there was a family: mother, grandmother and two children. There were rib like bars where kids could happily climb up to the platform to then slide down the parallel bars, onto the bark laden floor.

There was this child, probably no older than 3 years old, wanting to climb the rib like bars. So the grandmother gently lifted him to the first bar, giving him just enough support for him to still reach out to the next bar with his feet, making sure that he doesn’t fall at the same time as the distance between each bar was probably near a full stride for the toddler.

I was then reminded of how Jesus’ disciples asked who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven and Jesus replies by saying that unless we have child like faith, we will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, those who humble themselves like a child is the greatest (Matthew 18:1-4).

This observation in the playground reminded and taught me a few things.

1. God wants you to go through life step by step.

   No shortcuts as how the grandmother insists that the child starts from the first bar and not onto the platform immediately.

   It reminds me on how people (myself included) always want the easy way out without journeying through it.We want the end and not the means. If we are to share the glory of Christ, we too are to share Christ’s suffering (Roman 8:17-18).

2. God wants you to do the work and not everything be done for you.

   Like how the grandmother will not move the child to the next bar until the child stretches out his legs and has a foothold onto the next bar.

3. God is always there for you, to uphold you making sure that no harm comes upon you.

   There were times when the child lost his footing and was about to fall but the caring hands of his grandmother was always there to catch him. I’m not saying that if we place our trust and hope to God, our lives will always be smooth sailing. In fact, we are promised persecution as we continue to live our lives for Christ’s sake (Matthew 5:11-12).

   Just like the slight fall that the persecution we endure is compared to the glorious reward we have in Christ. How many times we have stressed and worried ourselves to death over things that when we look back at it now, seems insignificant?

I was amazed at the child’s faith in his grandmother to always uphold and keep him safe. Despite the challenges in front of him that he had to face, his focus was on the prize: getting onto the platform. He did not look behind, to the side and to the obstacles before him. He simply wanted to get onto the platform and trusted his grandmother to get him there (Phillipians 3:12-14).

So I pray that I trust God not through words only but through my actions (James 2:18). That the troubles and difficulties in my life, I face with perseverance to refine my character (James 1:12), to shape and mold me into the man God wants me to be.  That I would keep my eyes on the prize, pressing and straining towards it, and forgetting what is behind me.

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