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Day 58 Honour your parents!

The next time you want to point fingers at someone else, remember Mat 7:3. First deal with the plank in your own eye.

I have a friend who hates christians because they are hypocrites. They tithe to God, but don't honour their parents. Mat 15:1-20 highlights this very clearly. It's not enough to say the sinner's prayer, we have to obey the whole bible!

Blue Ocean Strategy

The idea in this book is that the best way to drive profitable growth is to stop competing in the overcrowded industries (red oceans), and create uncontested market spaces where competition is irrelevant (blue oceans).

I think this book is just a compilation of ideas supported by success stories. It's essentially saying, don't get caught up in competition - focus on value creation. The ideas are presented in a nice way, with pretty illustrations, but insufficient credibility.

The blue oceans that they refer to are basically companies who are doing well in the past. Definitely, everybody wants to do better. That's why this book is a success. But it doesn't offer any intrinsic value apart from a catchy name.

Overall, I only recommend this book as an unnecessary introduction to business, but please question what you read carefully, because there's no guarantee of success even if you follow the principles of the book.

Computer Issue

I had a computer problem in the past few days: there's a program called Adobe Updater that tried to download something from the internet. It successfully downloaded a LOT of data, but it's hungry all the time. I can't locate any settings on Acrobat 8 to stop it. But there's a file called updater.dll, and I renamed it. I hope this fixes the problem. Next time you install something, make sure that it doesn't download updates automatically. It will make your system go very slow, and you'll run out of space very quickly. There's only 1 exception: antivirus software. What do you think?

Life and Death

Last Wednesday Xiaozhen gave birth to a son, and his name is Jireh (Jiale). I knew Xiaozhen when she came to Brisbane to study. We had a good time walking along Brisbane River and eating cheesecakes.

This morning my ex housemate passed away. His name is Richard Braun. He was an inventor, a successful guy in his own rights, and he was full of life stories. He didn't invent the shaver though. Unfortunately, to my knowledge, he was someone who grieved the Holy Spirit.

The past few weeks have been a rough time for me, and I don't see the situation getting any better. My apologies if I haven't been available, but I don't have the appetite for idle talk on msn.

Day 40 A Contextualised Church

Mat 11:11-19

Jesus was just a carpenter, and no one listens to a carpenter unless if your furniture is broken. I believe that the church needs to be contextualised. We need a business fellowship, for people who are in managerial level, and business owners. We need to reach out to the professionals. We need fellowship groups in the city.

Day 39 Who am I

Mat 11:1-10

I just find that this song really speaks volumes about God's love for me. Who am I, by Casting Crowns.

Who am I?
That the Lord of all the earth,
Would care to know my name,
Would care to feel my hurt.
Who am I?
That the bright and morning star,
Would choose to light the way,
For my ever wandering heart.

Bridge:
Not because of who I am,
But because of what you've done.
Not because of what I've done,
But because of who you are.

Chorus:
I am a flower quickly fading,
Here today and gone tomorrow,
A wave tossed in the ocean,
A vapor in the wind.
Still you hear me when I'm calling,
Lord, you catch me when I'm falling,
And you've told me who I am.
I am yours.
I am yours.

Who am I?
That the eyes that see my sin
Would look on me with love
And watch me rise again.
Who am I?
That the voice that calmed the sea,
Would call out through the rain,
And calm the storm in me.

Bridge&Chorus 2x

I am yours.

Whom shall I fear?
Whom shall I fear?
'Cause I am yours.
I am yours.

Day 38 Prophet's Reward

Mat 10:32-42

It just struck me today that I often forgot to reward people who help me. Especially those who have contributed a lot into my life. Sometimes a simple thank you will make their day.

And often, I feel too uncomfortable to lend a helping hand or extend my hospitality, even to my close friends. But the bible encourages me to actively bless others, and surely I will not lose my reward :)

Don't forget to bless your leaders on Shepherd's Day this Sunday.

Day 37 Mat 10:21-31

Today I watched a movie called A Gentlemen's Game. The story is about a young boy who loved to play golf, and there's a lot of good moral values to learn from this movie. One lesson that stood out is that we don't have to be afraid of standing up for the truth. Just because a player has been playing for many years, if he makes a mistake, then he should get the penalty. Being an experienced player doesn't make it right to shout at the caddy, just because the caddy asked him to watch out for a flying ball. In this world, there's always people who will cheat, lie, take advantage, and get jealous, but we don't have to listen to them. Be alert, but remain innocent.

Day 36: Mat 10:11-20

Day 35 Breakout Principle!

Do you have problems that keep occuring, and you are getting sick of it? Well, if you try to tackle it the same way, most likely you will get the same result. For example, you may be getting pass or credit for your assignments. Or always having a messy room. Or always paying your bills late. Today I want to inspire you on how to tackle not only management problems, but also leadership issues, in relation to Matthew 10:1-10.

1. Be aware of your problem. In a nutshell, Jesus was trying to gather 12 disciples, and get them to go out and share the gospel. The problem is, Jesus didn't have eternity to do it. And not all the disciples are very smart or eloquent people. When you have a vacant position, it has to be filled urgently, and you need to guide them until they can work efficiently.

2. Be creative. How can you do it better? Jesus headhunted his disciples. Obviously there wasn't any HR company who knew how to screen through disciples for him. It's like, they may end up with 12 pharisees or even slaves, and we will never see the cute fish symbol at the back of christian cars. Everyone has different (+ & -) experiences, but they can still grow in ministry or in your company.

3. Be productive.

3.1 Provide adequate access. Jesus gave them power. If you hire a janitor, you have to give him the keys and equipments. Well, of course, apply some wisdom here. If you give someone too much power, he will take advantage of you. Satan did that. And Judas betrayed Jesus as well. But it must not stop us from trusting people, giving them probation, and seeing them grow to their full potential. Expect them to leave your company to grow in their career. Give them a vision.

3.2 Provide clear and realistic instructions. One of the biggest cause of project failure is scope creep, where the project loses focus on the primary objective and tries to incorporate anything that looks good. In 15 mins, you can vacuum the living room and possibly the kitchen, but not the whole house. And for now, Jesus only asked them to preach to the Jews.

4. Be preemptive. Jesus gave them warnings, counselled them of their sufferings and encouraged them. The next time you see your staff, think about when was the last time you told him that you appreciate him for working with you.

This passage also reminds me about divine provision for those who are called for His purposes. Ezra 1:1-6, Isaiah 60, Zec 1:17,21.

Day 34

Have you ever been discouraged in ministry? Feeling miserable because you can't perform? Matthew 9:27 - 38 tells us that the harvest is plentiful, and I want to encourage us to cry out to God for strength and persevere until we get the crown of righteousness.

Day 33: Pardon the Interruption

Matthew 9:18 - 26
What's the worst interruption ever in your life? Phone call by marketing companies? Your boss giving you extra work? Friend asking about assignment? Someone died? A beggar asking you for money? Well, you vote.

My most frequent interruptions are: Requests (to fix computer, car, wardrobe, DVD player, toothbrush... just kidding), social purposes (MSN, phone calls), and other life issues (bills, house agent, etc).

Some interruptions are enjoyable, it makes me feel important to the right people, but sometimes I have to think twice. Especially if I'm doing something else.

If I need help, sometimes I get things done faster if I approach busy people. Some busy people learnt to organise their time even better to cope with the increasing demands. They even learnt how to expect or allow time for interruptions.

So, do you think it's good to be interruptible? What do you do when you are very tired, but your friend needs some company?

Day 32: Mat 9:9-17