2nd Judge Of Israel

 

i dunno bout you, but i think this story is so crazy!

 

Judges 3:12-30

Ehud Becomes Israel’s Judge

¹² Once again the Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight, and the Lord gave King Eglon of Moab control over Israel because of their evil. ¹³ Eglon enlisted the Ammonites and Amalekites as allies, and then he went out and defeated Israel, taking possession of Jericho, the city of palms. ¹⁴ And the Israelites served Eglon of Moab for eighteen years.

¹⁵ But when the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help, the Lord again raised up a rescuer to save them. His name was Ehud son of Gera, a left-handed man of the tribe of Benjamin. The Israelites sent Ehud to deliver their tribute money to King Eglon of Moab. ¹⁶ So Ehud made a double-edged dagger that was about a foot^[b] long, and he strapped it to his right thigh, keeping it hidden under his clothing. ¹⁷ He brought the tribute money to Eglon, who was very fat.

¹⁸ After delivering the payment, Ehud started home with those who had helped carry the tribute. ¹⁹ But when Ehud reached the stone idols near Gilgal, he turned back. He came to Eglon and said, “I have a secret message for you.”

So the king commanded his servants, “Be quiet!” and he sent them all out of the room.

²⁰ Ehud walked over to Eglon, who was sitting alone in a cool upstairs room. And Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you!” As King Eglon rose from his seat, ²¹ Ehud reached with his left hand, pulled out the dagger strapped to his right thigh, and plunged it into the king’s belly. ²² The dagger went so deep that the handle disappeared beneath the king’s fat. So Ehud did not pull out the dagger, and the king’s bowels emptied.^[c] 23 Then Ehud closed and locked the doors of the room and escaped down the latrine.^[d]

²⁴ After Ehud was gone, the king’s servants returned and found the doors to the upstairs room locked. They thought he might be using the latrine in the room, ²⁵ so they waited. But when the king didn’t come out after a long delay, they became concerned and got a key. And when they opened the doors, they found their master dead on the floor.

²⁶ While the servants were waiting, Ehud escaped, passing the stone idols on his way to Seirah. ²⁷ When he arrived in the hill country of Ephraim, Ehud sounded a call to arms. Then he led a band of Israelites down from the hills.

²⁸ “Follow me,” he said, “for the Lord has given you victory over Moab your enemy.” So they followed him. And the Israelites took control of the shallow crossings of the Jordan River across from Moab, preventing anyone from crossing.

²⁹ They attacked the Moabites and killed about 10,000 of their strongest and most able-bodied warriors. Not one of them escaped. ³⁰ So Moab was conquered by Israel that day, and there was peace in the land for eighty years.

 

 

 

Wisdom & Discipline!

Proverbs 1

New Living Translation (NLT)

The Purpose of Proverbs

1 These are the proverbs of Solomon, David’s son, king of Israel.

² Their purpose is to teach people wisdom and discipline,
    to help them understand the insights of the wise.
³ Their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives,
    to help them do what is right, just, and fair.
⁴ These proverbs will give insight to the simple,
    knowledge and discernment to the young.

⁵ Let the wise listen to these proverbs and become even wiser.
    Let those with understanding receive guidance
⁶ by exploring the meaning in these proverbs and parables,
    the words of the wise and their riddles.

⁷ Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge,
    but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

A Father’s Exhortation: Acquire Wisdom

⁸ My child,^[a] listen when your father corrects you.
    Don’t neglect your mother’s instruction.
⁹ What you learn from them will crown you with grace
    and be a chain of honor around your neck.

¹⁰ My child, if sinners entice you,
    turn your back on them!
¹¹ They may say, “Come and join us.
    Let’s hide and kill someone!
    Just for fun, let’s ambush the innocent!
¹² Let’s swallow them alive, like the grave^[b];
    let’s swallow them whole, like those who go down to the pit of death.
¹³ Think of the great things we’ll get!
    We’ll fill our houses with all the stuff we take.
¹⁴ Come, throw in your lot with us;
    we’ll all share the loot.”

¹⁵ My child, don’t go along with them!
    Stay far away from their paths.
¹⁶ They rush to commit evil deeds.
    They hurry to commit murder.
¹⁷ If a bird sees a trap being set,
    it knows to stay away.
¹⁸ But these people set an ambush for themselves;
    they are trying to get themselves killed.
¹⁹ Such is the fate of all who are greedy for money;
    it robs them of life.

Wisdom Shouts in the Streets

²⁰ Wisdom shouts in the streets.
    She cries out in the public square.
²¹ She calls to the crowds along the main street,
    to those gathered in front of the city gate:
²² “How long, you simpletons,
    will you insist on being simpleminded?
How long will you mockers relish your mocking?
    How long will you fools hate knowledge?
²³ Come and listen to my counsel.
I’ll share my heart with you
    and make you wise.

²⁴ “I called you so often, but you wouldn’t come.
    I reached out to you, but you paid no attention.
²⁵ You ignored my advice
    and rejected the correction I offered.
²⁶ So I will laugh when you are in trouble!
    I will mock you when disaster overtakes you—
²⁷ when calamity overtakes you like a storm,
    when disaster engulfs you like a cyclone,
    and anguish and distress overwhelm you.

²⁸ “When they cry for help, I will not answer.
    Though they anxiously search for me, they will not find me.
²⁹ For they hated knowledge
    and chose not to fear the Lord.
³⁰ They rejected my advice
    and paid no attention when I corrected them.
³¹ Therefore, they must eat the bitter fruit of living their own way,
    choking on their own schemes.
³² For simpletons turn away from me—to death.
    Fools are destroyed by their own complacency.
³³ But all who listen to me will live in peace,
    untroubled by fear of harm.”

 

---

 

i’ve always associated the book of proverbs for the book of wisdom.

and in fact, i got used to it when people say “wisdom and knowledge”.

but i dont remember it ever being “wisdom and discipline“.

 

without thinking, i’d say “wisdom and knowledge” is more related to each other than “wisdom and discipline”

so then how is it that it  keeps appearing in that order?

then i got thinking.

what do wisdom, knowledge, and discipline mean?

from what i remember the term knowledge isn’t just being smart and knowing stuff and remembering.

no, knowledge in bible terms is the divine gift to know something a normal person wouldn’t without being told.

a special revelation from God.

wisdom is the ability to discern the best course of action in a situation.

 

what i realised is that without discipline, wisdom is useless.

knowing the right thing to do doesnt get you anywhere if you dont DO IT.

therefore discipline is so important.

 

i’m facing a discipline problem myself.

i cant get myself to study.

or sleep on time.

or listen to my dad sometimes.

and other stuff that requires discipline.

so now i’m gonna take this seriously.

 

i’ve read the book proverbs about 4 times now. or more… hmm i lost count.

but from now onwards i’m gonna see it from a different light.

instead of just wisdom, its how to be disciplined as well.

this is gonna be interesting.

 

 

Anak Kampung

 

 

Lirik Lagu Anak Kampung – Jimmy Palikat & One Nation Emcees

[Jimmy Palikat]
Memang aku ini anak orang miskin
Tiada apa-apa yang dapatku berikan
Engkau memang cantik
Memang tidak padan dan tidak sepadan

[Mimi]
Aku anak kampung tiada pelajaran
Kuli – kuli sahaja memang tidak padan
Cute bah kau itu
Ramai yang tergoda lagi yang jelita

Tiada keretaku bawa kau jalan-jalan
Rumahku pun tiada adapun bapa punya
Apa lagi belanja mau bayar berian
Kahwin sama kamu
Bukannya ku tidak suka sama kamu
Tapi aku takut hidup kau kan sengsara
Kerna aku cinta aku lepaskan kau sama org lain

[Jimmy Palikat/Mimi]>
Kita masih muda masih ada masa
Janganlah kau cari gadis macam saya
Engkau memang cantik
Nanti kau menyesal tiada guna

Anak kampung ku anak kampung
Tidak padan tidak sepadan

[Zydee]

Hey si gadis yang manis
Ku simpan duit sampai perut kempis
Kalau dah cukup kita renjis-renjis
Jangan kau nangis menu kita ikan bilis

[Jojo]
Sia sanggup buat apa saja
Siang malam overtime kerja
Laman facebook nda sempat buka
Ndamau kau sedih dan kecewa

[Zydee]
Jangan kau sedih sabar kau gia
Nanti kereta,rumah , ku buat kau bahagia
Bukan undur diri belum bersedia
Kau tunggu saja odooii giaaa
JP

Tiada keretaku bawa kau jalan – jalan
Rumahku pun tiada adapun bapa punya
Apa lagi belanja mau bayar berian
Kahwin sama kamu
Bukannya ku tidak suka sama kamu
Tapi aku takut hidup kau kan sengsara
Kerna aku cinta aku lepaskan kau sama orang lain (sama orang lain)

Engkau masih muda , cantik lagi menawan (jangan-jangan)
Janganlah kau cari lelaki macam saya (ok bah kalau kau)
Engkau memang cantik
Nanti kau menyesal tiada guna (tiada guna)

Nanti kau menyesal tiada guna (tiada guna bro)
Nanti kau menyesal tiada guna (tiada guna)

Click to Like!

My Car

 

 

you know, i tend to complain alot.

so i’m going to do a challenge.

a challenge to Thank God Everyday.

at least once publicly.

maybe i’ll post a status on my facebook or twitter or even write a post about it here.

its always a good story.

 

here’s one for today.

i like to complain about how i have NO CAR.

i like to bring my fav girls out, i do!

i have a licence, i do!

i complain that my home has only one car and we actually have 3 drivers with licence.

it is a legitimate complaint.

its just that this car was a MIRACLE itself!

(complaining makes you forget stuff)

 

story begins here:

my dad used to have this super OLD car (it belonged to my grandmom till she got too old to drive).

but we had to sell it as scrap metal.

thats how old it was.

we couldnt afford a car with the money from the car.

but then this uncle from my church had to move out of Sabah.

and he offered to GIVE us his car! wow!

JUST the RIGHT TIME!

not only that, my dad has been longing for an auto transmission car actually haha.

so we got it.

NOT THE PIC ABOVE!

STOP IT WITH THE EXAGGERATED PICS AARON!

its a 3-geared (thats how old it is), auto-transmission, Proton Wira.

it is still an old car, but it works quite well.

even now.

So i thank God.

 

 

ps. The car is officially owned by me.

but my dad uses it more often.

i’m okay with that.

he needs to.

take that you rich kids with enough cars at home but you DONT own your own car.

 

 

Masked

 

 

Masks cover you face

But don’t protect you from harm

 

we may cover ourselves with mask over mask

we try to protect ourselves by building these partitions

partitions that distance us from people around us

but we only make things worse

 

Why do we lie and treat others differently?

Why do we dare not open our lives completely to others?

because we’ve been hurt

and because we feel that these partitions will keep us safe

but I assure you it won’t

 

the only person who can save us from our situations,

the only person who can keep us safe,

is Jesus.

 

Put on salvation as your helmet

 

Our salvation is Jesus.

 

masks shields us from sight

the last thing we need is to be hidden from people who love us

the most dangerous thing is to hide ourselves from God

 

 

instead, trust Jesus to be the helmet that saves and protects

 

 

Victorious! Even After A Victory?

 

There are lots and lots of books out there about how to win a battle.

lots of advice.

Even the bible has SOOOO much about how to win!

but what about AFTER winning?

what to do?

 

Joshua 8

New Living Translation (NLT)

The Israelites Defeat Ai

²⁴ When the Israelite army finished chasing and killing all the men of Ai in the open fields, they went back and finished off everyone inside. ²⁵ So the entire population of Ai, including men and women, was wiped out that day—12,000 in all. ²⁶ For Joshua kept holding out his spear until everyone who had lived in Ai was completely destroyed. ²⁷ Only the livestock and the treasures of the town were not destroyed, for the Israelites kept these as plunder for themselves, as the Lord had commanded Joshua. ²⁸ So Joshua burned the town of Ai, and it became a permanent mound of ruins, desolate to this very day.

²⁹ Joshua impaled the king of Ai on a sharpened pole and left him there until evening. At sunset the Israelites took down the body, as Joshua commanded, and threw it in front of the town gate. They piled a great heap of stones over him that can still be seen today.

 

 

that’s just a taste of how unboring the bible actually is.

 

anywayssss

what you DONT usually find in books and advice and songs,

is how to be victorious AFTER winning the battle.

God gave Joshua victory over Jericho and Ai.

thats TWO kingdoms!

But that was not the end.

Joshua was EVEN MORE victorious after he responded correctly.

Joshua was the leader of the Israelites.

instead of drinking and partying and being proud,

he led them to do something else.

 

³⁰ Then Joshua built an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal. ³¹ He followed the commands that Moses the Lord’s servant had written in the Book of Instruction: “Make me an altar from stones that are uncut and have not been shaped with iron tools.”^[e] Then on the altar they presented burnt offerings and peace offerings to the Lord. ³² And as the Israelites watched, Joshua copied onto the stones of the altar^[f] the instructions Moses had given them.

³³ Then all the Israelites—foreigners and native-born alike—along with the elders, officers, and judges, were divided into two groups. One group stood in front of Mount Gerizim, the other in front of Mount Ebal. Each group faced the other, and between them stood the Levitical priests carrying the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant. This was all done according to the commands that Moses, the servant of the Lord, had previously given for blessing the people of Israel.

³⁴ Joshua then read to them all the blessings and curses Moses had written in the Book of Instruction. ³⁵ Every word of every command that Moses had ever given was read to the entire assembly of Israel, including the women and children and the foreigners who lived among them.

 

he read the word?

he taught God’s principles?

WOW!

new insight for being a leader.

Praise God! and teach about God even after you have won.

most of the time, when i’m done with an event or assignment or somehting very difficult,

i just wanna go out and meet friends or eat out or play computer or sleep.

i forget to thank God for giving me the victory.

 

the Israelites went on to defeat 29 kingdoms after that.

 

 

The SECRET To LONG LIFE

 

 

 

I FOUND THE SECRET!

unfortunately, its not fruits.

 

nor is it coffee.

 

bummer huh?

 

Exodus 20:12

Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

 

 

what a weird statement.

how does long life and honoring parents relate?

hmmmm

 

here’s my theory.

 

 

Character Building.

whoa calm down with the big words.

 

i think treating our parents right will teach us about treating others right as well.

how?

well. the home is the best place to learn and practice severe patience, unconditional love, and nonsensical consideration.

we all know that what we practice over and over and over again,

we will do perfectly.

or at least very well.

in fact, it will be a natural reflex.

for example, homework.

why do we do math homework over and over again?

so that when the test comes, we can do it naturally and easily.

if we practice getting angry at our parents for doing one little mistake,

we will naturally and easily get angry at other people for doing one little mistake too.

if we practice lying to our parents,

we will naturally and easily lie to other people.

if we practice being kind to our parents,

we will find it easy to be kind to people around us.

don’t believe me?

look at your own life.

now tell me i’m wrong.

 

if we cant treat people right,

then they wont like us.

they wont trust us.

and we will get no where in life.

thats how we die early.

 

look, honestly.

you cant be hating your parents.

why? you’ll be going around hating people around you.

if you hate people, they will hate you.

if you distrust them, they will distrust you.

if you pretend to make friends with them, all of this will turn back on to you. for reals.

i’m not doing the karma thing.

but thats just how God created things.

 

Luke 6:31

Do to others as you would have them do to you.

 

why?

THEY hated me first!

MY PARENTS are the ones who told me that i’m useless!

my FRIENDS back-stabbed me and betrayed my trust first!

now now, who said anything about revenge?

Jesus didn’t say Do to others as they have done to you.

you can be a cycle breaker.

dont live with so much hate.

hate will lead to more hate.

which will lead to stress.

stress will reduce your ability to sleep.

that will cause early death.

stress will cause much sickness.

that will also cause early death.

here are some symptoms of stress.

Difficulty concentrating, Trouble learning new information, Forgetfulness, disorganization, confusion, Difficulty in making decisions, Light headedness, faintness, dizziness, Feeling overloaded or overwhelmed, Frequent crying spells or suicidal thoughts, Feelings of loneliness or worthlessness, Increased frustration, irritability, edginess, Overreaction to petty annoyances, Increased number of minor accidents, Reduced work efficiency or productivity, Lies or excuses to cover up poor work, excessive defensiveness or suspiciousness, Chest pain, palpitations, Problems in communication, Constant tiredness, weakness, fatigue, Excess anxiety, worry, guilt, nervousness, Increased anger, frustration, Depression, frequent or wild mood swings, Insomnia, nightmares, disturbing dreams, Increased smoking, alcohol or drug use.

Jesus, however, can be your prince of peace.

ask for peace, and you will get it.

stop hating people.

treat them for who you want them to be, not who you think they are.

especially your parents.

peaceful people live long and fruitful lives. dont you think so?

 

did you notice that most problematic children have abusive or negligent parents?

it is a fact that most people who end up in jail come from a broken family.

why?

because it is hard to honour parents who are abusive, negligent, or anything close to those.

so the children have to suffer.

but still.

we have a choice.

why suffer, when we can choose to love?

when we choose to love, we break that cycle of parents making bad children, who will make their own bad children, who will make even more bad children.

 

 

i believe loving uses as much energy as hating.

so why not put that energy to good use?

 

practice honoring

practice love

 

 

 

one test for me to know how much a girl can possibly love me, is to see how much she loves her parents.

the way she treats her parents, she will treat me and her children ten times more.