The Whole is Greater than the Sum of its Parts

2020 is only 40 days old and here I am again recollecting all the new year spirit that had crushed to pieces in order to make life on course again. Not easy, I must say, especially when Copenhagen’s wind blowing in its full speed this week. I might have lost some pieces in the famous Copenhagen’s Four Lakes on my way biking home.

Good Karma

Do you believe in karma?

I do.

Christmas prayers

Tell me that prayers do not work, then I will stop praying.

Today, I just wanted to share another answered prayer that I would need to look back to when I felt all my prayers were not answered.

Christmas feeling

“The God-honoring path may mean personal pain, financial sacrifice, or loneliness.” – ODJ. 

I am feeling lonely lately. I miss a person who always entertains and amuzes me with his stories. Especially in Christmas time, the season brings back sweet memories of stupid stories we had last Christmas. It’s funny how today’s devotion reminds me of loneliness. That it might be just the exact thing that God requires from His daughter. Frankly, it bewilders me. Why would a loving Father asked His daughter to be lonely for His sake? 

Christmas faith

We fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen (2 Corinthians 4:18).

So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

Spritually bullied at Christmas season

So today, is the 8th of December 2015. I felt spiritually bullied. In Spain, today is a public holiday because Spain celebrates The Feast of the Immaculate Conception.

It is celebrating the solemn belief in the Immaculate Conception of theBlessed Virgin Mary. It is celebrated on December 8, nine months before the feast of the Nativity of Mary, which is celebrated on September 8. It is one of the most important Marian feasts celebrated in the liturgical calendar of the Roman Catholic Church celebrated worldwide. (source: wiki)

I perfectly understand that people dont share the same belief, but in a group where I am in, people mock, ridicule, and make joke on this day. I felt so.. so sad. Been living in the country where Islam is the majority belief, I have never felt spiritually bullied like today. What did Jesus do to them that they do this to him?

RE: I refuse to refuse anyone

I  was reading I refuse to refuse anyone, a blogpost by J.S. Park when I remembered my conversation with my at-that-time new friend in Berlin. She shot me point blank by saying ‘you are christian, of course, you do not accept the idea of LGBT community’. And I spent a whole 45 minutes trying to explain to her what my view is. That was my first open conversation about LGBT community outside Indonesian community or christian community, in a language that is not my mother tongue.

The short reading made me re-question my view about LGBT community and I am confident to say the same Truth that I still hold tight until now, that:

1. God did not create LGBT community. If He did, The Bible would have recorded it.
2. Jesus died for everyone who is in LGBT community. The Bible says He died for us all.

What’s the different of me and you with everyone else in the LGBT community? Nothing. He did not create us for what we are as well. But Jesus died for us anyway. If someone then asked me, can a gay person be a pastor? Then I would ask back, can a thief be a pastor? Or can an adulterer be a pastor? Or can a sinful person be a pastor?

But I am still struggling to answer another question, which is, can a gay couple get married in a church?

I know church is for sinful people. Like a hospital is for the sick and not the healthy, hence church is for sinful people and not holy people. I know all is welcome.

But…

Church is also a community that (try to) observe the Holy Bible. And marriage sacrament is arranged carefully by the Bible how it should be and for who it should be. I dont think that church should marry any guy couple. And I think it’s not against human’s right.

I am a very sinful person. But if I asked a church to marry me with a man, who is my husband-to-be, I am pretty sure they wouldnt mind. What makes me any different with a gay person? I might be even more sinful than any gay person in this world. And just because… I am allowed and he is not. I do not understand, yet.

My question goes back to the gay couple who is asking to be married in a church. Why would you want to be blessed from people who dont want to do it for you in the first place? Is it also just because you need the legal status of marriage, even though the term marriage hold by the church is different with the one you hold?

Everything is still vague. But until it is clear for me, I refuse to refuse anyone. And to judge others.

Richard Dawkins

The word became flesh.

I came across interesting quotes by Richard Dawkins for two days in a row. I guess it’s healthy for our logic and faith to exercise our apologetics, which I have never felt the need for before. I challenge you to explain your christian faith without using christian keywords to people who do not know that you are a believer. Do not use words like: Christian, Christ, Jesus, God, The Bible or any other keywords. I did that yesterday. Boy, it’s difficult.

Here’s an interesting reading of someone to make a contra point of Richard Dawkin’s notorious statement. If Richard Dawkins was right

San Mames, Bilbao Athletic

And athletes cannot win the prize unless they follow the rules.

A cry

Hear my prayer, LORD, listen to my cry for help; do not be deaf to my weeping.