mattypau's Xanga

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 10:45:36 GMT

oh xanga, it has been fun.

but i have decided to move to a new blog-spot now. you can find me here: http://mattypau.wordpress.com/.

my posts and blogs will now be found on my new site. thanks for those who kept up with me and even took the time to read! even though i've moved to a new blog, you can still comment there!

take care ya'll God bless.

soli Deo gloria.

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Tue, 04 Dec 2007 08:15:27 GMT

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
let me hide myself in Thee;
let the water and the blood,
from Thy wounded side which flowed,
be of sin the double cure;
save from wrath and make me pure.

Not the labors of my hands
can fulfill Thy law's commands;
could my zeal no respite know,
could my tears forever flow,
all for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and Thou alone.

Nothing in my hand I bring,
simply to the Cross I cling;
naked, come to Thee for dress;
helpless, look to Thee for grace;
foul, I to the Fountain fly;
wash me, Savior, or I die.

While I draw this fleeting breath,
when mine eyes shall close in death,
when I soar to worlds unknown,
see Thee on Thy judgment throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
let me hide myself in thee.

soli Deo gloria.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 07:50:06 GMT

11 "Behold, the days are coming," declares
                   the Lord GOD,
          "when I will send a famine on the
                      land-
             not a famine of bread, nor a thirst of
                         water,
                but of hearing the words of the LORD.
12 They shall wander from sea to sea,
          and from north to east;
       they shall run to and fro, to seek the
                    word of the LORD,
          but they shall not find it.

- Amos 8:11-12

the Old Testament never ceases to amaze me. for the past year or so, i have been slowly going through the Old Testament as part of my devotionals. and to be honest, it was a struggle, as i never grew up in the church as a child, and so many of these stories are quite frankly, unfamiliar to me. but the Lord was gracious as to convict me of my need to read the OT and to understand and to apply it to daily living, for "all Scripture is breathed out by God..." (2 Tim 3:16), the Apostles referred to the OT, and as did our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus. but i digress...

there is something about the above passage which rebukes and cuts to my own soul. in our pursuit of God, we may study theology, we may read books regarding eschatology, lapsarianism, justification, etc. even in our reading of God's very Word, we may study each nuance and each word as it was written in its original form, consider the context and the parts of speech, and in our pursuit of sanctification, we may allow time each day to proper reading of the Word in which we may learn and be sanctified by.

but there is something incredibly significant in the above passage that i fear we have not considered. and if i could sum up the above passage in one word it would be this: URGENCY. we don't need to dwell into much historical context, but consider the word famine. even today, it has a sense of barrenness, a sense of need. and while we may find food and water to be absolutely important to our daily living, we have forgotten that even more so than food or water, God's Word is absolutely important to not just our daily living, but our eternal life.

but more than just a sense of importance, shouldn't God's Word invoke in us a sense of URGENCY? or in other words, are we DESPERATE for God's Word as we would be for food and water in a time of famine? are our lives characterized by a desperate need to seek His Word? yes we may say that we love God's Word, but to what extent? how extreme is our love for His Word? would we find ourselves utterly lost, utterly broken if we do not have God's Word? yet this is exactly what this passage portrays. a deep sense of if God's Word could not be found, people would search all over the world, "run to and fro" to seek the Word of the Lord.

i think the reason why the church has lost its sense of the importance of God's Word in everything that they do, why people have such trouble reading or desiring to read and to grow, why people find themselves not desiring God's Word, is because there is no sense of urgency when approaching God's Word on a day to day basis. God's Word would never be neglected, we would never need a reformation if only we would cultivate within our hearts, and pray for His grace and mercy to instill in us, a deep sense of urgency and desperate need for God's Word on a day to day basis. and would we be men and women of berean nature, who search the Scripture's eagerly. would we regard God's Word in a desperate manner, as if it were a time of famine of His Word.

soli Deo gloria.

Monday, October 08, 2007

Mon, 08 Oct 2007 05:14:21 GMT

    "When I am told that God became man, I can follow the idea, but I just do not understand what it means. For what man, if left to his natural promptings, if he were God, would humble himself to lie in the feedbox of a donkey or to hang upon a cross? God laid upon Christ the iniquities of us all.
    This is that ineffable and infinite mercy of God which the slender capacity of man's heart cannot comprehend and much less utter- that unfathomable depth and burning zeal of God's love toward us. And truly the magnitude of God's mercy engenders in us not only a hardness to believe but also incredulity itself. For I hear not only that the omnipotent God, the creator and maker of all things, is good and merciful, but also that the Supreme Majesty was so concerned for me, a lost sinner, a son of wrath and of everlasting death, that he spared not his own Son but delivered him to the most ignominious death, that, hanging between two thieves, he might be made a curse and sin for me, a cursed sinner, that I might be made just, blessed , a son and heir of God. Who can sufficiently declare this exceeding great goodness of God? Therefore the holy Scripture speaks of far other than philosophical or political matters, namely of the unspeakable and utterly divine gifts, which far surpass the capacity both of men and of angels."
                - Martin Luther

Monday, September 10, 2007

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 17:04:13 GMT

my freshman year at ucsd, i first met walter at an in-n-out.

around this time i had met annice for the first time as well.

last year, i received a phone call in my on campus apartment that walter had proposed to annice.

and just this last saturday, i had the privilege of watching walter and annice proclaim their love and commitment for each other, and they were wed.

... and just yesterday, i proposed to the girl of my dreams once again. =)

err... maybe not the last part... again. but here's to you walter and annice! i love you both. "tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme, walter and annice." for Christ's sake. to His glory. in His name.

soli Deo gloria.

Monday, August 27, 2007

Mon, 27 Aug 2007 05:32:42 GMT

around 2 years ago, i first asked a mr. ryan cheung if he would be willing to disciple me.

about a year ago, mr. ryan cheung asked natalie chan to marry him.

a day ago, mr. ryan cheung and natalie chan were married.

and just today i proposed to the girl of my dreams.

... well not quite.

but here's to ryan cheung and natalie chan. i'd write more, but ryan knows more than words can say. congratulations. i love you both. cheers =)

soli Deo gloria.

still together for the Gospel.

Thu, 23 Aug 2007 01:52:36 GMT

for those of you who don't know, there has been an ongoing debate between the finest theologians (piper, grudem, mohler, dever, duncan and others) regarding baptism and church membership. the question is this: should a credo-baptist (so someone like mark dever) allow a paedo-baptist (someone like r.c. sproul) membership within their church, and allow for the partaking in the Lord's supper? you can read these articles through here.

this is a very interesting question to consider and to ponder about. i for one, am more inclined (unless convinced otherwise) that it is okay. although my convictions about baptism are credo, that is to say i hold to the convictions of a believer's baptism, i would allow someone who is a genuine believer, but holds to the conviction of a paedo-baptist or infant baptism, access to the Lord's supper. i have yet to consider church membership, but i think i would lean towards saying no depending on the requirements for church membership.

now this can be debated all day long. in the end, it is an affirmation to the truth that God's thoughts are not our thoughts, nor are His ways our ways, His ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts higher than our thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9) in fact, rather than puff up our conceited egos, it should humble us. because we are brought to that place where we pale before the Cross. where we see just how sinful our minds are that we do not know and cannot know all of His ways, and how insignificant our thoughts are and we are as compared to the glorious Cross.

yet even amongst such disagreements, we make the plain things the main things, and the main things the plain things. and i was absolutely struck by the humility of dr. j. ligon duncan in his post at together for the gospel:

Second, and just for starters, let me say that this significant difference (on baptism and church membership), far from being fatal to our unity, is precisely one of the reasons that Mark and Al and C.J. and I are in fact "Together for the Gospel." It is precisely one of the things that makes Together for the Gospel so different and extraordinary. Let me attempt to begin to explain.

The unity of T4G is not a unity in spite of doctrinal differences, in which we gain unity by downplaying doctrine, minimizing ecclesial differences and going with a lowest common denominator. Our unity is instead a unity of respect for the truth and for truth-in-practice, that sees in each other such a dogged commitment to God's word in both faith and practice that we want to be together promoting biblical Christianity, even (and especially) in the way we handle the points of principle on which we seriously disagree.

I like the way Al Mohler expresses this. He says: "We (speaking of Bible-believing, Christ-exalting, Gospel-preaching Baptists and paedobaptists) are among the last people on the planet that can have an honest disagreement, because we both believe in truth and that truth matters." It is precisely that commitment that invincibly unites my spirit to Mark, Al and C.J.

still together for the Gospel.

... but just out of curiosity, any thoughts? your views? or just in general?

soli Deo gloria.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Thu, 16 Aug 2007 06:12:57 GMT

today the Lord was kind enough to reassure me of the confidence His saints have in Christ. surely if not for His unchanging grace, i would have long succumbed to that which my soul was once disposed to: sinful rebelliousness. and while the struggle is great within this earthly pilgrimage, there is one thing that remains constant; a Christ who lived righteously, has once died for His elect, and is resurrected. The same Christ who is "appointed the heir of all things, through whom also He created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name He has inherited is more excellent than theirs." (Hebrews 1:2-4)

And so it is with utter confidence that i sing:

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus' Name

On Christ the solid Rock i stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand

When darkness seems to hide His face
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil

On Christ the solid Rock i stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand

His oath, His covenant, His blood
Support me in the whelming flood
When all around my soul gives way
He then is all my Hope and Stay.

On Christ the solid Rock i stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand

When He shall come with trumpet sound
O may i then in Him be found
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.

He will never falter. He will never fail.

soli Deo gloria.

Thursday, August 09, 2007

Thu, 09 Aug 2007 02:31:06 GMT

so there has been a few more shows that i have started watching:

LA ink (a spin-off to MIAMI ink. showcasing some of that LA culture. after her stint at MIAMI ink and her fallout with ami james, kat von d goes back to the one and only city of angels and starts up her own tattoo shop. how the shop is run, the lifes behind kat von d and her tat crew, and the stories behind the tats clients request makes for a great show.)
special forces: man hunt (the premise is a british SAS agent named chris ryan, who is dropped in any given environment and must survive. BUT as a special twist, he must accomplish his given mission, whether it is to pick-up a weapons cache, rescue a downed pilot, or whatever, AND he has to evade a special forces team ranging from NAVY seals to SAS, who are given the task to track him down and find him, and escape. the greatest part is that they even use traps one each other. basically: bear grylls on steroids.)

so my list is now:

24
man vs. wild
MIAMI ink
LA ink
special forces: man hunt

lovely.

soli Deo gloria.

Monday, August 06, 2007

Mon, 06 Aug 2007 18:14:15 GMT

fairest Lord Jesus, ruler of all nature
o Thou of God, and man the Son
Thee will i cherish, Thee will i honor
Thou, my soul's glory, joy and crown.

fair are the meadows, fairer still the woodlands,
robed in the blooming garb of spring:
Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer
who makes the woeful heart to sing

fair is the sunshine, fairer still the moonlight,
and all the twinkling starry host:
Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer
than all the angels heaven can boast

beautiful Savior! Lord of all the nations!
Son of God and Son of Man!
glory and honor, praise, adoration,
now and forevermore be Thine.

soli Deo gloria.