PatFactorX's Xanga

How to spend less money

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:32:34 GMT

This is for all my homies in Seminary who need all the help they can get cutting down costs.

COOK! Never buy prepackaged food of any kind and drink protein shakes as meals
If you must eat out, always use a coupon/discount card
Buy everything (clothes, furniture, appliances) from Salvation Army. You save money and help the poor!
Don't internet shop, if you really need it then you probably already have it or have a friend who can let you use theirs =op
Always act as if your credit card bill was publicized. If you're ashamed to let people see what you buy or how much you spend on ... don't buy it!

Luke 12:34
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Bodyuilders run amuck on Conan O Brien

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:42:53 GMT

Bodybuilders make the world a better place =op BTW, the guy in glasses is on a krazi amount of juice and I don't mean apple juice.

Reasons for Child Sacrifice/Abortion

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:55:53 GMT

In ancient times you would sacrifice your child to a local pagan deity in order to:

be protected from tragedy/misfortune
influence deities to give your family health and good fortune
get rid of an unwanted child

WebMD says these are the top reasons for abortions.

Birth control (contraceptive) failure. Over half of all women who have an abortion used a contraceptive method during the month they became pregnant.³
Inability to support or care for a child.
To end an unwanted pregnancy.
To prevent the birth of a child with birth defects or severe medical problems. Such defects are often unknown until routine second-trimester tests are done.
Pregnancy resulting from rape or incest.
Physical or mental conditions that endanger the woman's health if the pregnancy is continued.

Think about the similarities for a second.

Christians are not against homosexuals

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 06:58:46 GMT

God is the great "I Am" not the great "I Am Not". What that means is that we do not define ourselves in the negative but instead we see ourselves as part of the Kingdom of God. That means...

We are pro-heterosexual
We are for the sacredness of marriage
We believe that human sexuality is for the glory of God over and above just pleasure

¹²Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, ¹³because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment! James 2:12-13

Instead of carrying signs that say who is going to hell we need to be carrying signs of how God rescued us from Hell.

10 people I know who love the prosperity Gospel

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 07:02:20 GMT

So I have a friend who...

believes that being a Christian means God will make your life easier in this world
God is a faithful father and will never let his kids wear rags
attending church and donating money guarantees God will give u back twofold what you gave!
the best part of the Gospel is that God died becuz ur important and he can't live without you
if you think positive, then good things will happen to u

If you believe any of those statements then u might be one of those who believe in the prosperity Gospel.

²Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. ⁴Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (James 1:2-4)
And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."
Matthew 8:19-21
You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
James 4:2-4
²³for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. ²⁵God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished (Romans 3:23-25)
³ This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. ⁴ Do not trust in deceptive words and say, "This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD!" (Jer. 7:3-5) Do not trust in positive thinking!

Apathy in Asian America

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:43:15 GMT

There can never be enough to say about how apathetic the Asian American church is. Partially becuz we have been blessed with so much education, money and opportunity. But blessing in itself doesn't cause apathy, instead these are some causes of apathy:

Lack of challenges
Nothing to be passionate about
Feelings of futility

to that I would say:

3 billion people are in people groups with no Gospel witness
Jesus Christ is the most glorious, exalted, majestic and beautiful person you could ever know
"I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." (Matt 17:20)

I start my church tour this week. Ima meet up with Pastors from various churches in San Diego and see if we can do a better job of being missional. Along the way I also hope they can help me with my fundraising cuz I'm still pretty far =op

10 reasons men shouldn't be Pastors

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 22:26:43 GMT

The following was presented by Dr. David Scholer at the Fuller Follies (Fuller’s annual spoof/talent show) in 1998. I'm a complementarian but this is hilarious. This goes to show some of the stupid arguments of the gender debate.

Dave’s Top Ten Reasons That Men Should Not Be Ordained:

10. A man’s place is in the army.

9. For men who have children, their duties might distract them from the responsibility of being a parent.

8. Their physical build indicates that men are most suited to tasks such as chopping down trees and wrestling mountain lions. It would be “unnatural” for them to do other forms of work.

7. Man was created before woman, obviously as a prototype. Thus, they represent an experiment, rather than the crowing achievement of creation.

6. Men are too emotional to be priests or pastors. Their conduct at football games shows this.

5. Some men are handsome; thus they will distract women worshipers.

4. To be ordained as a pastor is to nurture the congregation. But this is not a traditional male role. Rather, throughout history, women have been considered to be not only more skilled than men at nurturing, but also more fervently attracted to it. This makes them the obvious choice for ordination.

3. Men are overly prone to violence. No really manly man wants to settle disputes otherwise than by fighting about it. Thus, they would be poor role models, as well as being dangerously unstable in positions of leadership.

2. Men can still be involved in church activities, even without being ordained. They can sweep paths, repair the church roof, and maybe even lead the singing on Father’s Day. By confining themselves to the traditional male roles, they can still be vitally important in the life of the Church.

1. In the New Testament account, the person who betrayed Jesus was a man. Thus, his lack of faith and ensuing punishment stands as a symbol of the subordinated position that all men should take.

God is not an egomaniac

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 08:25:48 GMT

God is the most beautiful person, the most exalted king, the source of all happiness and the giver of every good gift. It is why he isn't wrong in calling us to worship him. If people did that, it would egocentricism becuz we ain't all that. If the greatest thing in the universe is God then the most important for him to do would be for him to point us toward him.

O Lord, cause us to be people who worship you.

Fundraising week #3- I love supporters who are poor

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 07:43:17 GMT

Worst moment of the week- I have a rich friend who I've known throughout college who I recently met up with. He is a business man who made a fortune through a legal services company that he later sold and is now just collecting consulting royalties on. It was pretty discouraging asking a Christian who's networth is well over a million dollars and get told that he would love to help the poor and disabled orphans but that he's just too cash strapped to even donate $10 a month.

BTW, I was upset for hours pretty much after this. He hasn't really supported me in the past either but it was just his response that made me remember why 95% of my missions support in the past has come from those who make <$30k a year.

Best moment of the Week- James Feng with his struggling acting/directing career promising to support me $1.50 a month (towards my goal of $35k). I know that sounds hilarious but I think it was really encouraging just to know that someone believes that the amount is less important than the intent. This officially is the lowest pledged amount I have ever got but easily the most encouraging moment because it reminds me... "Blessed are the poor, for theirs is the Kingdom of God".

Oh Lord, please multiply the widow's mite

Did John Calvin have the Holy Spirit

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:52:59 GMT

My professor is editing articles for a HUGE Christian dictionary that is going to be released soon and the world's foremost expert on John Calvin submitted to him an article on the spiritual walk of John Calvin (piety) but it had almost nothing about Calvin hearing from God, the Holy Spirit or Calvin's walking in the presence of God. So my professor sent back the article and told him to try again lol.

Why are Christians so afraid to recognize the power, presence and work of the Holy Spirit in our everyday life?
Aren't we supposed to be the ones who believe in the supernatural?
How does the Holy Spirit work today?