Paul Long's Ramblings

The LOST grand finale was finally shown on NZ TV last night and I must say that I found it so disappointing. I think the writers were over zealous in trying to hook us onto the show and in the process also got lost!.In fact I think the got lost the whole of the last season and were stumbling about in the dark, and the more they tried to answer the numerous loose ends they created, the more they messed up. Were they writing the each episode straight after the last one? I think I will boycott watching some of these series if FLASH FORWARD ends up in a similar fashion. I can think off the top of my head half a dozen better endings that would have been more satisfying ending despite the fact that they would not tie off the many loose ends. Yet even then, it would only be possible if they did not write season 6 the way they did and complicate the story line even more, If they just tied up a few loose ends every now and then in each season, it would have made their task so much easier....

I finally finished my class notes (8 hours worth!) for my fast approaching short term mission trip to Cambodia. Just e-mailed it off to the missionaries to be vetted and for their feedback. As they have never had any problems with my class notes in the past, I think it is not premature to exhale and give a big sigh of relief that one major project has been done. Still have more work of course related to our team practices etc but it is a nice feeling indeed! I am also slightly ahead of time in terms of my general sermon preparation too despite the major distraction of overseeing the church repair works and feeling under the weather. I have been forced to take 4 panadols a day over the last few days (headaches and last night, a fever). I know the limit is 8 a day but I just don't want to take pain killers unless I really have to. Mouth ulcers also developed during this time though my taking of vitamin B the last 2 days is helping a lot! It's not that I actually have to overs...

Am talking about a literal headache. *sigh* Please ... no migraine attack today!! I had to take pain killer last night. One moment okay as usual and then suddenly pain kept building and within half an hour, oh so painful ... And now the sound of my neighbour's lawn mower is adding to the headache :-( Too many things happening at one time this week. And the current stormy weather hasn't helped as it has been waking me up quite a bit. Anyway here's a familiar verse that is so encouraging and a classic peanuts comic strip! 2 Corinthians 12: 9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.

Just posted up my latest Pastor's Notes. To read, click HERE .

Yesterday was Pentecost Sunday and our church caught fire in the middle of the sermon! Unfortunately it was not the kind of fire we wanted as it was not a spiritual fire but a physical one, *sigh* But it sure added excitement to the morning and even in the midst of exiting the church, everyone kept their sense of humour and even laughed aloud at my quirky joke about "another reason why we need to give generously to our church building fund as we do need a new church building!" A master electrician friend, Carey who came to check the wires and assist the fireman in the assessment "complained"  that "this is the result of fire and brimstone sermons!"  *:-) Our visiting speaker, Steve Kumar, whose sermon I had to interrupt half way told me that this was exciting for him "to preach and set a church on fire"*. * all approx quotes lah .. Anyway here's a couple of photos (more on my church website - though none of the smoke coming out of ...

Jesus' Compassion Jesus is called Emmanuel which means "God-with-us" (see Matthew 1: 22-23). The great paradox of Jesus' life is that he, whose words and actions are in no way influenced by human blame or praise but are completely dependent on God's will, is more "with" us than any other human being. Jesus' compassion, his deep feeling-with us, is possible because his life is guided not by human respect but only by the love of his heavenly Father. Indeed, Jesus is free to love us because he is not dependent on our love.

I googled myself today and saw this. I can't figure out why my old defunct multiply blog still comes up ... but it is interesting that my own blog is the first on the list. It's nice to be No. 1 in something even though it is nothing significant! LOL Lots of Paul Long's around but still a pretty unique name :-) Nice that my church website comes up in the search as well. But the FB hit one is not me but another Paul Long. Guess that's because I am not really a FB user. Then for fun I googled a few other people ... Allan Yong (the entertainer) and found him on No. 3 - the other Allan Yong's were different people. But of course when I googled Sivin Kit, he was on the whole page! LOL To be expected - the super connected linked guy that he is, and I have to say that Sivin Kit is a very unique name for a clearly unique person :-) About 119,000,000 results  (0.21 seconds)  Starred results for  Paul Long My Blog  -  paulmagic.multiply.com/ Paul Long's ...

Yes. I also get a lot of exercise. I am so committed to exercise that I also even exercise in my sleep :-). I toss and turn on a regular basis and my legs also move a lot. My nose was running the whole of Tuesday - now that's a lot of exercise. :-)

The Ideal / Perfect Pastor .... from various sources :-) I had better not add my own lest it be misunderstood. LOL The Perfect Pastor The perfect pastor preaches exactly 10 minutes. He condemns sin roundly but never hurts anyone’s feelings. He works from 8am until midnight and is also the church janitor. The perfect pastor makes $40 a week, wears good clothes, drives a good car, buys good books, and donates $30 a week to the church. He is 29 years old and has 40 years experience. Above all, he is handsome. The perfect pastor has a burning desire to work with teenagers, and he spends most of his time with the senior citizens. He smiles all the time with a straight face because he has a sense of humor that keeps him seriously dedicated to his church. He makes 15 home visits a day and is always in his office to be handy when needed. The perfect pastor always has time for church council and all of its committees. He never misses the meeting of any church organizat...

Just posted up this week's Pastor's Notes. To read click HERE .

I say "oh oh" because I predict this will become an issue of major religious unrest if this is a pageant that has Miss USA going to another country to vie for a Miss Word or Miss Universe etc title. An Arab Muslim in a swim suit? This will not be acceptable to many. And even more contentious is that according this this morning's news, she also won (a couple of years ago) a pole dancing competition. Arab woman crowned Miss USA A 24-year-old Arab-American has beaten 50 other women to take the 2010 Miss USA title. Rima Fakih of Dearborn, Michigan, won the pageant at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip after swimsuit, evening gown and interview competitions. When asked how she felt about winning the crown, she said, "Ask me after I've had a pizza." Fakih nearly fell while finishing her walk in a long, strapless gown because of the length of its train, but she made it without a spill and went on to win. During the interview port...

The Free Malaysia Today report .... has this title: SIBU VOTED FOR INTEGRITY, DIGNITY AND TRUTH ... By Pushparani Thilaganathan ANALYSIS  SIBU: After a nerve-racking night, Sibu woke up this morning to etch a new pathway to the future without Barisan Nasional’s political patronage, which for so long had benefited some but had been a bane to others. Sibu chose timeless virtues over money in yesterday’s by-election, which was occasioned by the death on April 9 of BN’s Robert Lau Hoi Chew. DAP’s Wong Ho Leng beat BN’s Robert Lau Hui Yew, the former MP’s nephew. In an immediate reaction to his razor-thin loss, Lau said: “Sibu will lose out a lot now. The state BN will lose the confidence of the federal government.” Sibu is an inland town, located at the confluence of the Rajang and Igan rivers. The population is predominantly Chinese, but there are sizeable numbers of Malay-Melanaus and Dayaks (Ibans, Bidayuhs and Orang Ulus). Former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson once said: ...

Another reason to read comics! :-) BTW, I recommend Jesus as the ultimate real superhero that will never let you down.

Yesterday was Youth Sunday at KCC. Excellent service led by our youth that was well received by both young and old, new members, old members and visitors. I took photos and here's a few of my boy in action. Nice theme that linked the whole service was how the youth as younger Christians needed the wisdom and support of the older more matured adults. A Both were involved in the music / worship - Andrew on acoustic guitar and Steven on bass. Steven was involved in a skit (that illustrated how the temptations and struggles of today's youth are the same as that faced by adults. And Andrew was one of the youth who was interviewed as to his challenges as youth and what God was doing in his life.

How do I comment on this comic strip without being misinterpreted? :-)

Got this from another blog .. THEOLOG .. I  shall not comment on this! I  shall not comment on this! I  shall not comment on this! :-) "Sunday's Coming" Movie Trailer from North Point Media on Vimeo .

I dream too much. And this time I traced last night's restless dreams to of all things, my Bible readings! As usual my dreams had images of things on my mind ... some of which I did not realize until I dream about them! :-) I woke up a few times again last night (to use the bathroom) ... weak bladder problem and I suspect I may end up with a prostrate problem some years down the road *sigh*... but I digress. Anyway among the dreams that I remember from last night was attending and participating in a funeral (the details were too bizarre so I won't even try to describe it) but the emotions were rather strong. There was a lot of peace and calmness and even joy, but then there was also some sadness, a tinge of regret? and at one stage for a brief moment  fear (like ghosts and demons).  When I woke up what came to mind immediately was my thoughts on a few passages of Scripture that I have been reflecting on for the past week.  The first is the passage on Ecclesiastes...

It is lovely to read old comic strips like Peanuts (now classic peanuts). Isn't Snoopy's example what we all need to do and see more often?

Just posted up my Pastor's Notes. To read click HERE . Relates to the devotion ... an article by NZ HERALD Last month the Law Commission released its long-awaited report on alcohol, recommending the drinking age be raised from 18 to 20. The  report  detailed the harm alcohol caused to young people. nzherald.co.nz recaps the commission's findings: * Adolescent drinkers between the ages of 12 and 17 are more likely than older drinkers to suffer unprotected and unwanted sex, violence, assault, arrests, road crashes and other adverse social consequences. * Alcohol contributes to the deaths of more young people aged 18 to 29 proportionally than any other age group. * Alcohol disrupts physical and cognitive development and increases the risk of later alcohol-use disorders and other mental health problems. * More drivers aged 20 to 24 are involved in alcohol-related fatal road traffic crashes than any other age group. * One in three young men aged 18 to 24 - the greatest prop...

An excellent article from a Muslim scholar. See his bio data at the end of this article. His fifth point highlighted in red and bold letters is my personal emphasis. Who is to Blame for Terrorism?   by Tawfik Hamid   www.tawfikhamid.com    The recent terrorist attempt in New York's Times Square [1] (possibly conducted by Islamist terrorists) [2] and the global nature of Islamic terrorism [3] in the last few decades raises an important question: Who is to blame for these acts of terror? Let us assume that a father teaches a child to hate his neighbor. Years pass and the child becomes a young adult full of hatred towards this neighbor leading to the end scenario where the young man kills his neighbor. Shall we only blame the child for killing the neighbor or shall we also blame the person (or people) who taught him how to hate?    Is it acceptable to ignore the role of the teaching person in this process of killing? The same applies to terrorism, Shall w...