Paul Long's Ramblings

1 May 2011 Pastor's notes .... to read click HERE Back to Galatians ....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4z0TPEPDMgo&feature=share What?! I want in as I can make a huge fortune doing practically nothing! (Just being cheeky here!) :-) So if 1 million account holders (for a conservative start, counting all the BN people and govt servants), each email sent will rake in RM 500,000? How to make a fortune doing nothing ... 1. Welcome email 2. CNY greeting 3. Raya Puasa Greeting 4. Raya Haji Greeting 5. Deepavali Greeting 6. Might as well add in Thaipusam even though it is not a national holiday ...(1 Malaysia mah) 7. Wesak Day Greeting 8. Christmas Greeting 9. Might as well add in Easter (1 Malaysia mah) 10. Merdeka Day! 11. FT Day 12. Prophet Muhammad's Birthday 13. Harvest Festival 14. Melaka as a historical City day 15. Gawai 16. Awal Muharam Ok what else ... (sorry if I missed out anyone's holiday - not meant to be exhaustive) 17. Oh yah, Agong's BD 18-30. What about the other Sultans and also the governers s...

My EASTER bulletin's Pastor's Notes .... to read click HERE

Some photos taken by James ... Dan and Bec - so great to have them involved in our church youth ministry. Dan's the outdoors expert and took care of the many outdoor activities The camp cooks - all planned by Irene (on the right)! I love our inter generational wide age range "youth" camp! Low tide on our branch front camp site means we can walk over to the "island" among other things Outing .... which as usual; I skipped so I could nap! :-) All kinds of tents A couple of meters from the tents ... One thing I love is that you can be next to the ocean and smell the stench of rotting fish and raw sewage and other pollutants :-) more tents ... Little "island" across our camp site Swimming at a nearby bay Another of Dan's fun activities - turning coke cans into mini cookers After watching, time to make their own cooking cans And cook pancakes! Something edible found in the sea Youngest cam...

Why Using the Word "Islamophobia" is Misleading By Tawfik Hamid www.tawfikhamid.com      Name-calling with the term Islamophobia is an aggressive tactic popularized by apologists for Radical Islam to silence individuals who attempt to tell the truth about Jihadist Islam.    In the spirit of "the best defense is a good offence," accusations of Islamophobia were first slung broadly in this country to suppress attention to the Islamic Jihadist motivations of the perpetrators of the September 11th Twin Towers attack.    Most recently Islamophobia name-calling has been utilized with renewed vigor to discredit Rep. Peter King (US) whose Congressional Hearings threatened to expose the realities of the ideological basis of terrorism. The accusations of Islamophobia have been also used to silence European Politicians such as Geert Wilders and UK Academics such as Patrick Sookhdeo. The psychological term phobia describes an excessive and   irrational ...

For the 17 April 2011 bulletin - a Palm Sunday devotion To read, click HERE

Had a good Home group meeting - practically everybody was there so it was crowded and the discussion was interesting (albeit a bit sensitive). Then slept past midnight last night and dreamed a lot on all sorts of things :-) and then at 5.30 AM woke up wide awake ... but with a headache :-(. Think I had too much mental activity last night (and did not watch TV in case some of you were wondering). Think it also had to do with finally finishing reading "Sacred Pathways" by Gary Thomas earlier in the evening after coming back form the office. So here's some ramblings on the book. IMHO, a very interesting book (I got it last year from a Bible College as a gift for my "services" as a Supervisor for a church  intern) The book is easy to summarize - the sub title puts it clearly - "discover your soul's path to God". Basically the author lists "nine sacred pathways" and then discusses each of them and then ends each discussion with the ...

I think more people need to spread Tawfik Hamid's views and his cause to reform Islam from within. Was Muslims' violent Reaction to Burning the Quran Preventable? By Tawfik Hamid www.tawfikhamid.com Last Friday, at least seven United Nations workers were killed (including two who were beheaded) and several more were injured after officials said a protest in Afghanistan against a Florida pastor's burning of the Quran turned violent. On Saturday, the deadly attacks extended to Kandahar.  Nine have been killed and   several   were also injured. The violent reactions of the Muslim's on the streets which have resulted in the killing of many innocents are a result of the perception that Islam has been insulted.  This has occurred on several other occasions such as the publishing of cartoons of prophet Mohamed by a Danish newspaper, the comments of one of the participants in a beauty queen competition about prophet Mohamed in Nigeria  November 21, 2002, and rumors t...

Fourth Week of Lent - April 6, 2011 "Jesus said...'My father goes on working, and so do I'." (John 5) The relationship between Jesus and the Father is so intimate it is like breathing. God offers this same intimacy to you and me, breathing love into us, and with this breath inspiring us to breathe love into others.  'It is good for you that I'm going, Jesus said, 'because if I go, I can send you my Spirit, my breath. - Henri Nouwen

My Pastor's Notes for the 10th April bulletin. To read, go HERE

Dr. Ng Kam Weng's response to the 10 point press statement by Idris Jala. Always a helpful read To read click here.

No need for me to blog on this. Rama says it much better than I could ever do ... and more :-) To read, go here .

It is a scary world out there. Egypt seems to have become even worse without Hosni Mubarak. :-( Even with reputable Muslims speaking out, many are not listening. What is more frightening to me is that forced conversion to Islam where torture is often used is not just allowed but practiced and praised by the same group of people who are making these demands. God have mercy! ASSIST News Service (ANS) -  PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609-0609 USA Visit our web site at:  www.assistnews.net  -- E-mail:  assistnews@aol.com Thursday, March 31, 2011 Muslims in Egypt Demand Release of Alleged Convert to Islam By Dan Wooding Founder of ASSIST Ministries CAIRO, EGYPT   (ANS)  --  A Middle East journalist is reporting that hundreds of Muslims staged a protest in front of the State Council on Wednesday, March 30, 2011, during the hearing of the case filed by a number of Muslim clerics with the administrative judiciary court, contesting the validity of...