I've been dreading returning to this blog.
Mainly because I do not have any more time, yet I have made a commitment to update the goings-on in my ministry for a first-world Philippines.
I am not going to apologise for the brag, but it feels AWESOME to see what has been given us flourish.
10 boxes of toys, 200 laptops, countless books, donated clothes, shoes, and almost $60,000 AUD in cash given.
Now the challenge is how to make the most out of the laid infrastructure.
Influence 30 children, that's 30 families blessed... Influence 30 teachers that's 900 families reached.
Watch this space!
Sunday 4 November 2018
Tuesday 27 October 2015
“Universities need a big reality check”: How our education system is failing small business
“Universities need a big reality check”: How our education system is failing small business: Australia’s education system isn’t gearing up graduates with the right skills to support the nation’s small businesses.
Tuesday 29 September 2015
How did Jesus become God? Is it Damaging for Children to be Bible Educated? and other questions that do not plague people
The two articles are polar opposites of the same question.
My main aim in producing such a stark comparison is to demonstrate how an idea, viewed differently, can have enormously varied end results.
Dr John Dickson is the co-founder for the Centre for Public Christianity and he invited Dr. Michael Bird to participate in the open discussion for this thread .
"Historian" Bart Ehrman has his say with his new book publicised with the Huff
A wonderful quote I agree with (with a my own paraphrase, of course) is, "It is not hard to make the argument that if Jesus had never been declared God, our form of civilization would have been unalterably and indescribably different." In my own paraphrase of this sentence, I would rather he said, "accepted" instead of "declared".
Then he gets a bit weird... as if he did not bother to read the Bible itself: "Many believers - at least very conservative evangelical Christians and others who have not had much contact with biblical scholarship - will be surprised to learn that Jesus did not spend his preaching ministry in Galilee proclaiming that he was the second member of the Trinity. In fact, as I argue in the book, the followers of Jesus had no inkling that he was divine until after his death."
Acquiescence of Divinity is not pronounced (or "declared") like a false god gaining followers or in the Papal tradition, white smoke coming out of the chimney. Time and time again, Jesus's Lordship is not only pronounced by Him in a synagouge, rather it was deciphered by His closest followers, it was evident to the Jewish leaders, it was witnessed by the on-lookers, it was broadcast by the people He healed and by the exorcised demons themselves and finally it was revealed by His resurrection.
Jesus did not BECOME God... HE IS.
I am begging the readers , regardless of your belief status, to look at the source of the allegation.
I instill this ideal in my children. All ideas are worth considering. But when considering, you need to look at the idea as a whole and make a judgement call as to adopt this ideology or to disregard it based on its merits. (I know it sounds funny having a four and six year old listen to me intently as I mold their minds for logic)
Then, there is also this "scientific" claim : Religious Children Struggle To Separate Fact From Fiction
If you then investigate further the abstract reads: "The results suggest that exposure to religious ideas has a powerful impact on children's differentiation between reality and fiction, not just for religious stories but also for fantastical stories."
Why would you compare such a hypothesis on children who, by definition of law, are not even qualified to testify unless certified? The premise of the experiment has flaws, but the conclusion mass media has made about the inference is libelous at best.
I am a Christian. I am under NO FANTASIES that my faith is perfect. I am aware that in the pantheistic buffet that is our postmodern world Christianity is a sane, dare I say, logical choice!
I consider myself a fallen defender of the Christian faith. Not that I am out of the Lord's salvation, more that I am not the most desirable role model to follow. I know bits of history, bits about the bible, quite a bit about science and logic all bound by my love of Jesus.
TL;DR - DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE TILL YOU READ THE REFERENCES!!! Sheeple follow the crowd. Think for yourself and make a decision based on the evidence provided.
My main aim in producing such a stark comparison is to demonstrate how an idea, viewed differently, can have enormously varied end results.
Dr John Dickson is the co-founder for the Centre for Public Christianity and he invited Dr. Michael Bird to participate in the open discussion for this thread .
"Historian" Bart Ehrman has his say with his new book publicised with the Huff
A wonderful quote I agree with (with a my own paraphrase, of course) is, "It is not hard to make the argument that if Jesus had never been declared God, our form of civilization would have been unalterably and indescribably different." In my own paraphrase of this sentence, I would rather he said, "accepted" instead of "declared".
Then he gets a bit weird... as if he did not bother to read the Bible itself: "Many believers - at least very conservative evangelical Christians and others who have not had much contact with biblical scholarship - will be surprised to learn that Jesus did not spend his preaching ministry in Galilee proclaiming that he was the second member of the Trinity. In fact, as I argue in the book, the followers of Jesus had no inkling that he was divine until after his death."
Acquiescence of Divinity is not pronounced (or "declared") like a false god gaining followers or in the Papal tradition, white smoke coming out of the chimney. Time and time again, Jesus's Lordship is not only pronounced by Him in a synagouge, rather it was deciphered by His closest followers, it was evident to the Jewish leaders, it was witnessed by the on-lookers, it was broadcast by the people He healed and by the exorcised demons themselves and finally it was revealed by His resurrection.
Jesus did not BECOME God... HE IS.
I am begging the readers , regardless of your belief status, to look at the source of the allegation.
I instill this ideal in my children. All ideas are worth considering. But when considering, you need to look at the idea as a whole and make a judgement call as to adopt this ideology or to disregard it based on its merits. (I know it sounds funny having a four and six year old listen to me intently as I mold their minds for logic)
Then, there is also this "scientific" claim : Religious Children Struggle To Separate Fact From Fiction
If you then investigate further the abstract reads: "The results suggest that exposure to religious ideas has a powerful impact on children's differentiation between reality and fiction, not just for religious stories but also for fantastical stories."
Why would you compare such a hypothesis on children who, by definition of law, are not even qualified to testify unless certified? The premise of the experiment has flaws, but the conclusion mass media has made about the inference is libelous at best.
I am a Christian. I am under NO FANTASIES that my faith is perfect. I am aware that in the pantheistic buffet that is our postmodern world Christianity is a sane, dare I say, logical choice!
TL;DR - DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE TILL YOU READ THE REFERENCES!!! Sheeple follow the crowd. Think for yourself and make a decision based on the evidence provided.
Sorry Folks!!!!
 |
| Assessments, moving houses, selling laptops |
Soooo busy that I have forgotten I have had not updated this webspace of mine.
Long story short, we have successfully delivered the laptops to LEAD Christian School!
I will post more pics once we have breathed in much needed air. Just so much stuff to do.
We're visiting the Philippines from 1 Jan till 20 Jan!! It should be a great time to take pics and post them up.
all for now!!
Wednesday 29 April 2015
It's over $9000 !!!!!!!!!!!!
 |
| Serious?? For shipping donated second hand laptops??? |
We can go ahead and ship them bad boys.
Me: We're a not for profit that wants to ship 120 donated laptops to Laguna, Philippines.
Them: Do you use Li-Ion batteries?
Me: Yes! They are the most efficient way to power electronic devices now a days. Is that an issue?
Them: We classify them as dangerous goods. You need to fill in a waiver, mark them as dangerous and ship them separate.
Me: You do know that it's lithium ion... as in it is in a redox compound within a dry cell, wrapped inside an insulated container...
Them: What?
Me: Sure! re-packaging them now... how much is that again?
Them: around $7000 plus port taxes and GST.
Me: <dialtone> .......
So this conversation was around the end of March. Now 30 days later the Lord gave us a contact that can potentially give us the same service but for only $500 + GST. How?? Door-to-door delivery baby!! Love the Filipino networks.
However, I did pursue this avenue previously and received a similar answer to above. I have heard it mentioned that with prayer, coincidences happen.
I praise the Lord too for my wife's heart. As she created the LEAD video, she noticed the shoes on some students are worn out and in need of attention. So she reached out to our networks and collected outgrown shoes that would have been thrown away anyway. We collected 40 pairs so far. There will be a lot of very happy kids.
Real life really has a way to bring your intentions to a grinding halt. I am familiar with having multiple things going on. But this is the first time that my actions (or in this case, inaction) are going to impact families and children in this magnitude. Scary stuff.
My greatest hope is that the students we minister to take it on themselves to pay forward the blessings they have been given. May their hearts be bold enough to take hold the reins of their life's direction and with the Holy Spirit move in the direction that the Lord wants them to go.
We just need to look at a few generations to train and then they can find mentors from the previous batches.
The legacy I want to be remembered for, is the amount of love I have for the Lord manifested in my family and my ministry. Even if the Lord takes me away right now, I know that steps were taken towards the destiny He set aside for me.
Next Stop: Theistic Evolution! Why is this important??
Tuesday 10 March 2015
Victory - Praise His Name
The Concert went off without a single hitch. Performers were incredibly talented, the food sold well (we sold out of the Pinoy BBQ Sticks) and the lucky prizes went really REALLY well.
We profited $1209.10 for the night. PROFIT. That is a lot of money to allocate the transport of 120 laptops to LEAD Christian School.
Top this off with our Shoe Drive:
Who buys new school shoes for their kids each year? If you have a pair of old school shoes still in reasonable condition that you're planing to throw away or donate, please consider donating them to our Shoe Drive! In 2 weeks time, using the funds raised from our Restore Concert last weekend, we'll be sending XO laptops generously donated by One Laptop per child to LEAD Christian School in the Philippines. We raised more than we needed, and with those funds we'd like to also ship much needed school shoes to those same poverty stricken kids. Shoes can be dropped off to our church on Sunday morning from 9:30 - 12 noon (Rouse Hill Public School, Clower Ave) or to our kids club session in the Margret Catchpole room at Rouse Hill Town Centre from 2pm-3:30pm. Alternative arrangements can be made by emailing Lyn Vergara at info.at.sanctuary@gmail.com. Please share.
Lyn did the video above. She noticed that some children wore shoes that were quite old and worn. The Lord moved her heart and she initiated this move. I think we are up to 30 pairs of shoes already and the momentum is gathering.
If there is a lesson we learned from "Restore" it is that the Lord needs willing people. He will bless your work, you just bring your heart. Have the humility to allow the Spirit to move your heart to be in-line with His will.
Now it is just logistics!!
Monday 23 February 2015
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