I am off for exams, no more entries for at least 3 weeks... For the meantime, enjoy this:

The Voices of Eve

The limitations in tblog do not allow me to create a nice table so I have to create the entry elsewhere. Please still comment the entry here. :)

Since today is a special day, allow me to be a bit narcissistic. :)

In my office...

Serious at work...

At home after work...

Who am I O' God, if were not for Thee?
I am doubly Thine,
Thou not only created me,
By Thy Life, Thou had redeemed mine.

And did those feet in ancient time
Walk upon England’s mountains green?
And was the Holy Lamb of God
On England’s pleasant pastures seen?
And did the countenance divine
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here
Among these dark satanic mills?

Bring me my bow of burning gold!
Bring me my arrows of desire!
Bring me my spear! O clouds, unfold!
Bring me my chariot of fire!
I will not cease from mental fight,
Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand,
Till we have built Jerusalem
In England’s green and pleasant land.

- William Blake, Jerusalem -
Music

God's Kingdom, his reign, will come at the end of the age in a mighty irruption into history inaugurating the perfect order of the age to come. But God's Kingdom, his reign, has already come into history in the person and mission of Jesus. The presence of God's Kingdom means the dynamic presence of his reign. It means that God is no longer waiting for men to submit to his reign but has taken the initiative and has invaded history in a new and unexpected way. The Kingdom of God is not merely an abstract concept that God is the eternal King and rules over all; it is also a dynamic concept of the acting God. God's reign which will come at the end of the age to accomplish God's redemptive purpose in the world has also come into the midst of human history in the person and mission of Jesus. God the heavenly King, who will act mightily tomorrow is also acting today in Jesus. It is the same God, the same rule, the same Kingdom dynamically at work among men. (George E. Ladd, The Presence of the Future (2000),p. 144)

  What comfort do you derive from the article of the life everlasting?
That, since I now feel in my heart the beginning of eternal life, after this life I shall possess perfect bliss, such as eyes has not seen nor ear heard, neither has entered into the heart of man - therein to praise God forever (Heidelberg Catechism Q.58)

The Kingdom of God implies cosmic redemption. The Kingdom of God, as we have seen, does not mean merely the salvation of certain individuals nor even the salvation of a chosen group of people. It means nothing less than the complete renewal of the entire cosmos, culminating in the new heaven and the new earth... Being a citizen of the Kingdom, therefore, means that we should see all of life and all of reality in the light of the goal of the redemption of the cosmos. This implies, as Abraham Kuyper once said, that there is not a thumb-breadth of the universe about which Christ does not say, "It is mine". This implies a Christian philosophy of history: all of history must be seen as the working out of God's eternal purpose. This Kingdom vision includes a Christian philosophy of culture: art and science reflect the glory of God and are therefore to be pursued for his praise. It also includes a Christian view of vocation: all callings are from God, and all that we do in everyday life is to be done to GOd's praise whether this be study, teaching, preaching, business, industry, or housework (p.s. ennie!) (Anthony A. Hoekema, The Bible and the Future, pp. 53,54)

oscar wilde, talented author (period)

“I am young and gay”

I used to tell my Mummy Dear

Those were the good ole days,

When no one will think me queer;

Speaking of “queer” I remembered too,

That was how I addressed odd Mr. Lawrence,

His face will turn red at me, like he always do,

But he’ll never think that I doubted his sexual preference.

When I slogged through my Latin syllabus,

Half asleep, I heard the old Master said,

“unus et mediator Dei et hominum homo Christus Iesus”

Lousy as we were in Latin, no one would suspect that Jesus was not straight.

Funny these days how some words were used,

Out came from the closet, new language rules,

If you set fire on faggots, it was a most natural deed,

but now even if you write a poem like this, you’re intolerant, a witch-hunter or even a witch.

Many weary years, I vainly fought the King,

‘Twas a worthless foolish war,

Unavailing all the weapons I didst bring,

Alas, lo! How great my fall.

Subdued by Jesus, Captain of the Lord’s Army,

Subdued by Him, He had captured me,

I am Christ’s Prisoner, who ere in the Enemy’s Camp,

Bound by His chains of grace, O’ how free I now am!

Led by Lust, the Old Man marched forward,

On against God’s mighty Son;

The Spear of Sin bruised His heel, spilled His Blood,

Satan cheered o’er the battle won.

And when they thought the Battle was done,

Christ the Lord rose again!
No weapon now can hurt the Res’rected One;

Lo! The Prince now stands Who was slain.

On the great White Horse, Christ rode ahead,

With fiery eyes, a bloody grab, a mighty sword.

None His enemies could escape,

All was trampled under the wrath Lord.

Lo, behold that boisterous singing crowd,

Their chains clinking as they went,

Jesus, the Captain, their Captor, led

Walking towards the New Jerusalem.

------------------------- ------------------------- ------------------------

In the Law Library this morning