Don’t Get Caught Unaware…

Posted by uhnet on February 23, 2012 in Author's View, Thoughts of Uh-net | ∞

Today’s morning trip to work was not the usual. With a 20 to 30-minute delay of Blue Line trains from Long Beach to Downtown Los Angeles, police were scattered on every train station telling people of the delay due to unknown technical or mechanical reason. I knew, I was definitely coming late for work. Like everyone who wanted to get on board first, I scampered through the crowd thankful that I always carry a messenger bag securely hang across my body for fast and hands-free movement.

I normally listen to Chuck Swindoll and Adrian Roger’s morning preaching, but today is different. I have to be alert and focus on my surrounding. I needed to silence my headset connected to my Iphone. The temporary halt to my usual morning commute was more than a McDonald’s caffeine dose. I was wide awake. Who would not be on an overcrowded train?

I stood at the opposite side of the train door with my right hand grabbing the steel piece handrail attached to a tiny post. At least I was secured and balanced to where I was thronged at by the crowd. Even though I am nearsighted and can not read small words from afar, but from where I was standing, I had a clearer view of the people around me. My brain was telling me to move my fixation from one person to another – like a careful scanning device. From my visual perception, I know that if the train halted suddenly, many of these people standing would definitely hurt themselves. For a reason that not only because they were standing on an overcrowded space, but more so because these people were oblivious of their surroundings. They rather poke and text on their small cell phone devices, read on their Kindle or Nook while each person has his own earphone glued in to their ears. Although people may have good reflexes, I don’t think they would be able to apply the same immediate response if sudden and unexpected trauma happened while they were on standing position and playing Fruit Ninja using their phones or other small gadgets on a moving jammed train. I know it’s not good to write, but as a precautionary, it is best to pay extra attention (not on the game, but on your public surroundings) than to have your head sliced like water melon.

Have we become so addicted to these electronic devices that we can’t be bothered even for few minutes not to touch it? I wanted to scream atop of my lungs to ask people to not do anything using their gadgets and just be mindful of their environment. I myself am guilty of poking and commenting on my Facebook account while seated on commute (normally), but somehow, I know when not to use my cell phone and pay attention to what’s happening around when needed.

I know that there were two ladies on my right side – one in her teenage years or perhaps in her early twenties, and the one next to her is in her late 50s – both were texting; and the other lady on my left side reading from her Kindel is on her late 40s to early 50s. Both older ladies carried tote bags while the younger one adorned herself with a small messenger bag and colorful phone case. The man next to the older lady on my right side is about 6 feet tall and carried a black brief case that matched his black suit perfectly. The younger guy in his early 20s was not even two inches away from that well-suited man; he’s wearing rugged jacket and torn jeans and has brownish blonde goatee which to me looked so untidy. I can go on and on and describe at least three more people who were standing near me, not to mention the people farther who were also busy with their miniature gadgets.

The good news is nothing untoward like accident happened on my way to work, and here I am typing on my keyboard the lesson that I think I want to share. Just few hours ago, Argetina declared a two-day mourning period after a train-crash yesterday killed 50 people and injured more than 600. Here’s the news that I gathered from CNN:

Passengers told reporters the crash sounded like a bomb blast.

The crash injured 676 people,Telam reported. Family members flooded local hospitals, clamoring for news of missing loved ones.

“The strongest impact was between the first and second car,” with the second plunging “about six meters into the first,” Federal Police spokesman Fernando Sostre said.

The train was traveling at 26 kilometers per hour (16 mph) when it entered the station around 8:30 a.m., according to Schiavi.

“We do not know what happened in the last 40 meters,” he said.

The train’s 28-year-old driver had just started his shift and had a good record, the transportation minister said.

Earlier Wednesday, Schiavi said authorities believed there were problems with the train’s brakes that caused it to smash into a barrier at the station.

Picture taken from ABC 7 News - Website

This is an unfortunate and very sad event. Nobody had seen it coming. It was an accident. This is for the same reason that God had warned people many times to consider their ways. For we do not know what lies ahead.

Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. Proverbs 27:1

The Lord is the only One who knows the future. He shared it to us through His Written Word. God wants us to be ready.

³⁴And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.

³⁵For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Luke 21

The train wreck that happened in Argentina may not happen to us. But the Lord is warning us that an impending judgment is coming for those who do not believe on Jesus Christ. People are busy with many things that can easily preoccupy their minds and their lives. Eternal values become of lesser priority. Don’t get caught unaware.

Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. Matthew 24:44

and… If you were left behind, it would be worst than sudden impact!

Tags: coming, God, impact, jesus, judgement, ready, sudden, train crash, unaware

Rain Gently Falls…

Posted by uhnet on February 15, 2012 in Author's View, Thoughts of Uh-net | ∞

The foreboding rain is evident as the dark clouds form to what seems to be a cluster of bluish gray cotton. Heavy… I gazed, very still for a while looking past the glass wall in my office. Windy…Actually the showers have been gently falling intermittently since nine this morning. Lazy – is what I feel. It would be nice to stay in bed doing nothing, but there is no such leisure when you need to work.

I like rain once in a while. It brings comfort and uniqueness to a regular prolonged non-rainy weather. Although it’s still winter, this shower is a welcome change in Los Angeles area. In short I like it. I’ve got to wear my rain boots which I seldom do, with my orange raincoat and orange beanie cap.

And he said also to the people, When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it is. Luke 12:54

Science has explained that the water condensing in the clouds has to become heavy to fall to the earth to become rain. But really, it doesn’t take a genius to know that rain is coming. The nature tells us. God has created everything with unique pattern and rhythm for creation to function as a whole. Rain comes from God.

Behold, God is great, and we know him not, neither can the number of his years be searched out.

For he maketh small the drops of water: they pour down rain according to the vapour thereof:

Which the clouds do drop and distil upon man abundantly. Job 36:26-28

It is fascinating that this simple process of how we get rain is explained in ancient days at the time of Job when man was considered primitive by modern science. And yet Elihu’s assertion on God’s total control even in a small droplet makes these ancient believers much wiser than any modern scientist who does not believe in God.

Whether it’s a droplet or a heavy fall, we thank God for this wonder.

Picture taken from the Internet

The Greatest is Love…

Posted by uhnet on February 14, 2012 in Author's View, Thoughts of Uh-net | ∞

Today, one dozen of long stemmed red roses without the base costs about $39.98. If you add a small teddy bear, a small box of chocolate, 3 small spa lotion and scent will cost you roughly $69.95. The usual morning traffic is a little slow, probably due to the street vendors selling cheaper flowers wrapped in hearty print cellophane. Flower shops have only one day out of 365 days to raise their prices this much. Restaurants are definitely full including the cheaper ones like Home Town Buffet. It doesn’t matter if people buy flowers which are more than three times the regular price – It’s Valentine’s Day!

Historically, Saint Valentine’s day was observed to honor the catholic martyrs in 496 AD. However, this Roman holiday evolved into a romantic occasion where lovers expressed their love by giving flowers and cards. Now, universally, people not only express the romantic side of this special day, but also to convey love in general to anyone special.

Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned. Song of Solomon 8:7

Love is really the strongest factor for deep emotions and commitment. But only one Sublime Love can never be measured because it can never be equaled by anyone else – that is the Love of God for humanity.

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13

And now abideth faith, hope, charity (love), these three; but the greatest of these is charity (love). I Corinthians 13:13

Because of God’s Love, He gave His only begotten Jesus Christ as a ransom for all. Faith and hope will someday be fulfilled to its fullest when the Lord takes us to His abode. When we see Jesus face to face, faith is not anymore the basis of our belief. Therefore, we will not anymore hope when the reality of seeing the Lord in heaven is finally met and fulfilled. But Love abides forever, because that will remain even when we are already in the presence of the Lord – that is why Love is the Greatest of them all.

Tags: faith, God's love, greatest, hope, love, roses, valentine

Teach Us To Number Our days…

Posted by uhnet on February 13, 2012 in Author's View, Thoughts of Uh-net | ∞

“I am old”, is what I always hear from people in their 50s and onwards. To some, being old is synonymous to their level of ripeness when wisdom far outweighs their previous level of silliness in life. I never thought age as a number… not yet. I like to think of it as correlating to my own personal maturity – although not confined on biological deterioration, but more on mental and spiritual stability. Experience makes us old, although not exactly in chronological sense and years of our existence. When I was 23, I thought I was old because I needed to tackle mature stuff – and there was a call to be one. Then, some ten years after, I stopped being or wanting to be matured, and reverted to being less matured in handling life’s challenges. The ideal is to be always progressing in life, but because of bad choices, you regress a little. When you are awakened and confronted with the truth that you can not always remain silly, then you stop and again try to be the person that you should be in the short span of time God lend to us.

Ladies especially, like to look at their friends’ pictures especially their classmates or batch mates from some years back via Facebook, and see who looks younger than themselves. We like to compare who has maintained the youthful-look and figure through the years. When wrinkles and crow’s feet start to make their imprints on our collagen-diminishing face, and sagging skin start to emerge – we know that we are on a stage that we can never use the word “cute” anymore. This is the time when women buy 30,000 iu of Vitamin E as facial moisturizer, and gulping antioxidant supplements as miracle pills to somehow delay at least the signs of aging.

It is a blessing to be in this age where I am now. It is good to see and know how the Lord unfolds His plan through normal sequences in life. It is good to see the new inventions, progress and development over the years. It is my desire to remain alive until the Lord comes back for His children. We do not know when Jesus will return – it maybe tomorrow, or few more years from now. If the Lord would grant me a longer life, I would like to live healthier and free from debilitating disease so I can enjoy life to the fullest. Although, there are things and situations that I can not control, but it is always my choice of whatever I want to feed by body with, hence, to remain healthy is also my aim.

Starting January 4, 2012, I adopted a diet lifestyle which is nutrient-dense food. I consumed mostly vegetables and fruits, about 80% of what I eat daily. I refrain from eating meat and dairy, and when I do, I eat just a small slice just to satisfy my palate from craving. It was not a hard transition because I like vegetables since I was young, and I am not really a meat-eater. But having a sweet-tooth myself, it was harder to eliminate cakes and pastries and other junk food.

I am on my 6th week, and I think I will stick to the diet for as long as I can, hopefully, forever. This is not one of those diet fads that people like to ride on a wagon and fall off should they decide for another fad-diet-ride or just simply stop. I choose this lifestyle because for me, this is the healthiest way to eat and live. This is working for me because I am not constrained to eat small portions thereby feeling restricted to enjoy eating; I eat as much as I can without counting my calorie intake. The effect on me: I feel lighter, and have more energy. I lost about 7 lbs on my first month.

I turned 48 last month, and by the grace of God I am not dependent on any medicine. The only pills I consume are Vitamin D, and later will add few necessary supplements.

Caleb was 40 years old when he was sent by Moses together with Joshua and ten others to spy out the Promised Land. He was given a promise of inheritance because he followed the Lord wholly in his life. Forty five years later, Caleb as an 85 year old man remained as strong (physically) as he was when Moses sent him to spy. He asked for the mountain(as his inheritance) where the Anakims (their enemies) still live, which means continuous war over the enemies. Through the years Caleb maintained his spiritual integrity, and I believed his physical strength. Although his life was witnessed during the ancient biblical history, Caleb’s physical strength is not impossible to achieve even in our days. It will be a blessing to live the life that God wants us to live with the strength to go along with it – both spiritually and physically.

10And now, behold, the LORD hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years, even since the LORD spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old.
11As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in.
Joshua 14

FOR NOW, I want to close this blog with a simple video presentation of my last birthday. God bless us all.

Tags: age, birthday, caleb, days, number, old

Hand-Written Letter

Posted by uhnet on November 2, 2011 in Author's View, Thoughts of Uh-net | ∞

Picture from the Internet

When was the last time you received a hand-written mail, posted with a stamp and delivered to you by a mail man? Mine was ages ago, and it was not even an intended letter but just a hand-written note enclosed in a package I received. I remember more than twenty years ago, I had few love-letters sent to me via traditional mail carrier. Although they did not appeal to me at that time because I didn’t have romantic feelings from the sender, looking back now, it was still a good gesture from someone who would spend time writing, sealing, and mailing a hand-written letter.

I had my first email account in the early 1990s. It was something big then, but since only few of my friends had email accounts at that time, I ended up sending emails only to my colleagues whom I shared the same modem on a dial up internet mode. Through emails, I wrote people nice letters. Although ink and paper were not anymore involved, to me it was not impersonal - only a better form and tools for communication, much more who would not like a faster delivery?

Nowadays, there are other and more options to communicate via internet. Aside from the email which has become the traditional tool, we have e-cards, text messages via cell phones and other gadgets, and the very popular Facebook which is now the leading social networking site, not to mention the video callings. You just switch on your gadget, or get connected 24/7 and tap with your index finger – and you will be connected to an ocean of friends on your list. Anything that can be digitally processed is now just a tap away with an icon which we call Apps – and as what everyone says – there is an App for that! Hardware and software developers have inch by inch successfully eliminated the space in between people when it comes to communications.

It is nice to read emails, but not the forwarded ones. I normally delete forwarded emails even though they are nice, and interesting. I like personal mails or emails. Nowadays, I missed receiving emails that really reflect the senders’ (normally friends) persona and tell me stories just about anything. That is why I appreciate an email sent to me by a friend few weeks ago, which I only opened and read as in five minutes ago only. Why that long? You see, I had to sort the wheat from the tares of emails that were sent to my inbox. All my Facebook notifications of the groups that I belong, people who tag me with their photos, and friends who mentioned me on their posts – they go to a particular email account. Why do I opt for such notifications? Because it is another way for me to know what is happening when I am not log on or around my social networking circle – my other eye. I noticed that we share a lot of personal things on the internet, however, we become more and more impersonal in our ways of communication. I miss the character of an old-fashioned letter. Even a simple and short hello makes the personality of a hand-written letter be more appreciated these days - A letter devoid of digital drama.

Although the form of communication has drastically changed since the wide usage of internet, receiving a hand-written card from a friend or dear one still excites me. I don’t know anyone anymore who still writes and mails a letter – it is now considered an old-fashioned style.

Now, consider the second personal letter of Apostle Paul to Timothy. Paul was imprisoned in a dungeon and in chains – serving his term in a prison cell in Rome for proclaiming the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. On his letter, Paul was already anticipating his death. Although his situation is somewhat dark, yet it was very lucid and well-written. You can feel the travail that Paul was experiencing, and yet he was able to warn and encourage Timothy about his faith. Paul’s letter became an encouragement to many believers all over the world through many generations. It was considered a pastoral letter, but the bonds of friendship and brotherhood is deeply felt. It was very personal – because his faith was also personal. During their time, it was normal for a sender to mention his name first on the letter than what we know now as our traditional closing and signature, and then followed by the salutation to the receiver. Here are few verses that I find very emotional, but very articulately written:

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day; Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy; Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;

Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.

For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit. Grace be with you. Amen.

2 Timothy 1:1-4.8; 2:1, 11-13; 4:6-8, 22

This letter abides forever. It has endured the testing of time. Men and women had been like the personal recipients of the same letter whenever it is read. In fact, it is one of God’s written love-letters for us. His Spirit is felt – it is His.