from this point down, its not my stuffs. not being er religion-ist.

Most Christians go through the following sequence of events from the moment they accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior:

1. When they are first converted, they are so happy and excited in their newfound faith and joy. Life becomes meaningful.

2. Everything seems so fresh and new. There is a tremendous change in lifestyle. They have indeed become a new creation.
They make new friends in church, they sing new songs and they love the new environment. Every message from the pulpit strikes a chord in the heart because they are hearing any given spiritual topics for the very first time. Even basic Christian subjects like how to pray, how to read the Bible and how to share your faith sound so new and interesting.

3. Time passes by, and familiarity begins to set in. Excitement is wearing thin as they settle down to a certain routine in church. Things are becoming predictable and a little boring. Even the suit worn by the pastor doesn’t look as fashionable as it used to be; and the programs of the church are not as thrilling as before.

4. You begin to see people and things at close range. You begin to see the flaws and faults of churchmates and some leaders; but don’t forget that they see yours too. Inevitably, there are clashes of opinions, disagreements, arguments and misunderstandings.
Now going to church is not so uplifting anymore. At times, they even dread the thought of it.

5. What has happened to the new creation? They begin to feel like hypocrites. As things seem so stale and smelly, they feel more like old and unhappy creatures.
What in the world is happening? Going to church is no longer a delight but a chore.

6. They come to this conclusion, “There is no love in this church. People are uncaring. Let us find a better church where people are full of Christ’s love and care.” So they leave church with a huff and a puff.

7. At first, people and things appear to be fresh and invigorating again in a new environment. The church friends seem more caring, the worship is more anointed, the message seems hot from Heaven’s oven (freshly breathed by the Holy Spirit) and even the pastor looks more spiritual.

However, with the passage of time, familiarity once again sets in; and they begin to see everyone and everything at close range … Well, let me spare you the usual, inevitable and familiar details. History has repeated itself …
©http://www.ronytan.com/ - inspirational

I(Rony Tan) was born into a Taoist family. Like most idol-worshipers, my parents claimed to be Buddhists, despite the fact that they knew next to nothing about Buddhism.

True worshipers of Buddha do not worship idols or dead ancestors. In fact, Buddha himself, humble as he was, had never instructed his followers to worship him.

But like many Chinese in those days, my parents worshiped a great variety of gods. Being fearful and superstitious, they sought to worship whatever their relatives, friends and neighbors recommended. Yet, for many years, they mistakenly thought they were Buddhists.

Although my heart was not in it, I blindly followed them and also called myself a Buddhist. This is a basic error in belief among most Chinese families. They have no basis for worship to begin with.
Even till today, most people, who claim to be Buddhists, are actually Taoists. And they are not even practicing Taoists because they know very little about both Buddhism and Taoism.

It is, therefore, not far-fetched to state that most people who claim to be Buddhists are wearing that religious label out of filial piety. It is important to understand that we should not be honoring our parents by blindly following their religious errors. But instead, we should objectively seek the Truth and then lead them out of errors into God’s Truth. That is the greatest honor we can pay our parents.

When I was a little boy, I was terribly fearful of the many idols I had seen. They looked so fierce and menacing. I was told that they were carved out of wood or stone and painted to look angry and hostile so as to ward off evil spirits.

But I reasoned within myself that they looked so evil themselves. Even the supposedly gentler-looking statues looked ghostly and scary to me. I wasn’t sure if they could ward off evil spirits or they were evil spirits themselves; but I was certain that they were no deities. In fact, they put me off.

When I was in my teens, I could not help noticing that those so-called gods were so confined to specific places determined by the worshipers, and they were so helpless too.

When my aunty was about to shift house, she brought down her dusty idols from a high, blackened corner of the room to wash and clean them up. After drying their stained bodies, she put new clothes on them. They still looked fierce but helpless – fiercely helpless. The sight of it all seemed so strange and unbelievable.

Not long after I had become a Christian, I was talking to a carpenter in his workshop. In those days, my evangelistic fervor was totally devoid of wisdom and sensitivity.

Trying to provoke him to reason objectively about his man-made god, I said, “You can move freely, but your god is fixed by you in a spot. So what’s the point of worshiping such a god?”

He smiled proudly and said, “You don’t understand, that’s the way I like it. When I want him to bless me, I will come to him where he is. When I want to go to a bar to drink and enjoy myself, he cannot see me.”

I was speechless because he still couldn’t see the point. Perhaps he also thought that I was a dummy because I chose a God Who could see me in everything that I do as He is with me everywhere I go.

©http://www.ronytan.com/ - biography
credited - ronytan.

dont feel like packing today. going Kbox later i suppose x.x

its such a pity when i once attend church in my rebellious stage, the pastor had to talk about how this universe was formed, by God. pushing science theories aside in a laugh. insulting scientist and all. so as a dedicated sci-fci person as i was in the past i got rather pissed off and insist til now that i dont believe in God.