To Whom Shall We Go?

Then said Jesus unto the twelve, "Will ye also go away?" Then Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God." ~ John 6:67-69

Simon Peter's answer struck a chord within me. He knew the futility and hopelessness of a life without Jesus. Peter had tasted of the river of living water, and he knew that there could be no turning back; he had found true life.

Indeed, to whom shall we turn if not Jesus? Only with Him and in Him is life; all else is meaningless, dead.

Once we find something precious, it's pure folly to let it go.

The fool says in his heart, "There is no God."...There they were, overwhelmed with dread, where there was nothing to dread. ~ Psalm 53:1 & 5

The words of verse 5 made an impression on me. 'They' were so terrified, when there was absolutely nothing to be afraid of.

Doesn't that sum up the life of those who don't have a personal relationship with Jesus? They worry and fret about every single little thing. They're bound in such heavy chains of fear. They are anxious about their health, their finances, their relationships - their life in general.

They fret that they don't have enough money, while those who do have enough money are anxious to make more; the filthy rich worry about keeping their money safe.

They are superstitious. They are so fearful that they would sleep with mediums and spiritists just to get rid of "bad aura". They refrain from wearing certain colors, or avoid certain places, because these can 'jeopardize' their 'luck'.

They run about in useless circles, trying out every single "remedy" to improve their luck and their lot. Every single way, that is, except the only true Way.

See what God says about punishment for disobedience:

...I will make their hearts so fearful in the lands of their enemies that the sound of a windblown leaf will put them to flight. They will run as though fleeing from the sword, and they will fall, even though no one is pursuing them. They will stumble over one another as though fleeing from the sword, even though no one is pursuing them. ~ Leviticus 26:36-37

How foolish indeed is the person who says - and lives as if - there is no God! For Jesus promises us this in John 14:27 ~ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

The thing I don't understand is why some people still choose to live in fear when they know that Jesus can set them free? It's understandable if they haven't heard of Jesus before. But there are those in the Church who still go through life with a worldly stand. "Christians" without Christ. Now that's sad.

Penang Drivers

It's easy to tell when you're getting near Penang, driving along the highway. The drivers get crazy, and cars around you begin weaving in and out of the lanes, overtaking on the left lane, tailgating (and scaring the daylights out of) slow-moving cars. Doing 80km/h 100 meters from the toll house.

Yea, we're not in Oz anymore. We're in the territory of the Drivers From Hell.

Every day on the roads, it seems like there's a contest going on, drivers competing to win the "illustrious" Driver From Hell Award.

There's the Beating The Traffic Light round. Needs no explanation. Points will be deducted if you are stopped by traffic police.

There's the Sudden Turnings contest, the objective of which is to wait until an oncoming car is 50 meters or less away and then do a mad dash across its path, turning into another lane and causing the oncoming car to brake suddenly. Bonus points if the oncoming car was fast.

The Road Hog round - prevent the driver behind you from overtaking by driving in the middle of the road. Best if you're neither on the right lane nor on the left lane of a one-way street, but ON the white line itself. The slower you drive, the more points you get.

Then there's the Slow-Driving Special. This is doing 40km/h or less on the road. Bonus points if there's a long line of cars behind you, and you're definitely one of the Top Three Drivers From Hell if you do it right before the traffic light turns amber and there are no cars in front of you (so that you're the only driver to get through while preventing the other cars from passing).

Drivers will be judged based on Aggressiveness and Inconsideration.

It seems like the worst drivers all around the world are congregated here. Sometimes I wonder if these DsFH are born, or made...

After all, the best defense is a good offense.

The Malaysian Problem

The Malaysian Problem can be summed up in one sentence: We want to do great things, but we can't even keep our roads and toilets clean.

The world is not our oyster; it's our free-for-all, alfresco garbage dump. Malaysians apparently don't seem to recognize garbage bins. It's quite funny (funny-strange, not funny-haha) the way trash always ends up all over the roads, or in toilet bowls, or along public walkways...in fact, anywhere else except in their rightful place in trash cans. Sometimes, if you're lucky enough, you can spot IFOs (Identified Flying Objects - usually plastic bags, food wrappers, or empty cans) coming at you from the car in front when you're driving. If you're even luckier, the plastic bags will be weighed down with bits of ice and hit your car windscreen.

It's a mystery, how grown-up women haven't mastered the art of Flushing The Toilet. Maybe reaching out for the handle and actually pulling it is too herculean a task for the average Malaysian woman. I wouldn't know, I'm above average - that's why I flush. Or maybe it ruins their manicure.

Lest you think that only the women are dirty slobs, let me correct this misconception. The men's toilets stink equally, but fairness and honesty prevent me from making any comments about them because I have not had the misfortune to enter into one and therefore should not make any statements without first seeing the situation for myself (although one would think that olfactory evidence is more than enough...).

Maybe we could look to building the World's Highest Tower entirely from trash. Or apply to be recognized as The World's Largest Open-Air Garbage Dump. Or set a record for Number Of Toilets Not Flushed.

Malaysians don't understand that architecture and breaking or setting (mediocre) records don't define Malaysia as a nation. A country, a nation, is defined by its people.

We can have great infrastructure, but without the right mentality, without the right attitude, without maturity, we are nothing.

We want to run before we can even crawl. Perfect recipe for a fall, if you ask me.

Crashing the Blue Cheese Moon

the world i built for us

is shattered

by the

magnitude of your lie.

its pure force

has torn

our precious blue cheese moon

from the burning sky

(scorched by your betrayal)

and brought it crashing down

on us.

our world is dead.

the casualties are named

Trust and Innocence.

i wonder now

if you've ever lived in our world

or was that person i loved

just

a deceptive image

i conjured up

out of my naive fancy.